Bronze Goldberg is a private investigator who gets caught up in a dangerous situation when he takes on a case that seems like the usual. He gets wrapped up in a whirlwind of danger and mystery.


This book was good, but took a long time to get started. I almost quit at about page 100. It was boring up until it finally got going. Once it did, it was interesting, but for me, the payoff wasn’t quite enough.


The multiple point of view didn’t work in favor of this story. It would finally hit an exciting plot point then switch to another character and completely break the rhythm dragging the momentum to a screeching halt. Usually, I like multiple POVs, but this one felt disjointed and I was lost a lot in the beginning. I had a hard time connecting to the characters which impacted how much I cared about what happened to them.


Overall, it was very well written and the mystery wasn’t predictable. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good PI noir mystery.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this early for an honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this copy of an eARC to read and review! All thoughts are my own!

This book follows a couple of different characters throughout the story, and all play vital role. Bronze is a former investigative journalist turned private investigator who has SEEN some things. Iris is Bronze’s neighbor, landlady, writer, and someone he feels fondly for. Roth is our connection to the DC police force within this novel. These are the three main characters whose point of view we follow the most. While this book is set in the 90’s there were times I felt like it could’ve been set in the 50’s, which is fine I love the old time noir feel that books can give off. The writing was impeccable and while at the start of the book there does seem to be a lot said that we don’t understand, those seeds are there to bloom later in the book and it all ties together so incredibly well.

Highly recommend if you enjoy mystery books!

Four stars! I read this in about two days. A detective old school noir type of vibe except it was set in the 90s. The writing was incredible. The character development was amazing. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew all the characters intimately.

The story follows Bronze, a former journalist turned private eye, who accidentally finds himself in a murder investigation via his clients. As he puts the pieces of the murder puzzle together, he finds himself deep in the world of unethical politics and scandals. While Bronze is deeply troubled by a traumatic past (as all good investigators are) and struggles with alcoholism, he is smart, witty, and loveable in an unorthodox way.

The cast of characters are all eccentric including the romance writer landlord who is secretly in love with Bronze and the beautiful yet unfaithful politician's wife.

It could have been a 5 star read for me but it was a bit slow in the beginning. Not much happened for about 90 pages (a lot of insight into Bronze's psyche and his troubled past) but then it really picked up as the plot started to unravel. But the various characters kept me engaged and turning the pages.

Your average PI knows that violence is always a possibility. For Bronze Goldberg, it’s little short of a certainty. Finding himself squarely in the sights of an assassin, Bronze can’t be sure who is really pulling the strings. Key political and industrial figures are caught up in a maelstrom of deception and vested interests and Bronze is the bullet awaiting a target.

Dizzyingly violent and written with such flair and panache, Blood and Mascara is absolutely what I want from a PI novel and a whole lot more. Outstanding.