2.5⭐

Blood and Mascara is a Noir Mystery Thriller. I'm struggling to write this review. There were parts that I loved about this book, but there's others I didn't like so much. It took me 3 days to read it and that because the last 75% of the book was good and I couldn't wait to see what happened.

The character development was good. I was glad to see how Bronze had developed and changed by the end of the book. The action was intense at times, especially towards the end. The plot and premise of the book was excellent. All these factors I liked about the book.

What turned me off of the book was some of the writing. It was disjointed in a way. The book would be moving along and then all of the sudden something out of left field would be put in. I honestly got confused during those times. It seemed to me that there were a lot of those in the book. One chapter in particular to me should have been in the first half of the book, instead just thrown into the last 15%. It was completely out of place for me.

Tentative Publishing Date: July 9, 2024

Thanks to Netgalley, Pulplit, and Karnin for the E-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#nergalley #pulplit #colinkarnin #bloodandmascara #arc #readaway2024 #readmytbr

So many books claim to be noir and yet so seldom are. This book truly is. Words like gritty, dark and seamy don't even come close to describing the story contained within these pages. At its deepest core, this book left me with a feeling of revulsion, fear, despair, anger, pity and grief, while simultaneously imbuing me with a overwhelming urge to cry, a sense of melancholy, and yet a lingering and soaring spirit of hopefulness. That is the mark of great noir. The heart of this book is its people and all it takes is a sentence or two and you get a sense of their entire life, hopes, dreams and future, which is what draws you in and will keep you hooked. I can't say enough good things about this author and can only hope he goes on to write more stories in this vein. A truly great work.

With BLOOD AND MASCARA by Colin Krainin, I was dropped emphatically into a noir world where no one is who they seem to be, a wily and accomplished assassin is on the hunt, and relatable private investigator Bronze Goldberg is pulled into a high stakes world from the usual cheating spouse cases into life and death moments. The violence is brutal and hits especially hard in this well-written, tautly plotted thriller. It kept me up too late reading, nervously checking the windows now and again and jumping at every noise. It felt like the very best of the original works of Raymond Chandler and the others specializing in spare language and wonderfully complex and perfectly logical stories. What I particularly enjoyed was simply reading the story, unable to know beforehand what was coming next. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

I really liked the synopsis to this book but it was hard for me to get into and I felt that I couldn't really connect with the characters. I decided to not finish this book at this time. I hope to go back and read it eventually one day.

Bronze Goldberg feels everything too deeply, falls in love too easily, and is damaged deeply. Working as a PI, he finds himself embroiled in a political plot when he's tasked to follow and document the cheating spouse of a powerful man.

It's strange to read a noir mystery in which the actual mystery takes the back seat, but Krainin makes it work. Bronze is a study in flaws and pining, and often gets caught in the grips of the past when he needs to be solving a crime in the present. This book does fall into some overused tropes - like the long line of dead women that contribute to Bronze's suffering - but I was able to enjoy it.

This book is dreamy and descriptive - almost bordering on purple prose in places. The rich language draws you in and holds you in this liminal, unsure state as you bounce back and forth between a murder plot and the inner musings of our main character. As the layers of the conspiracy fall apart and we learn more about our cast of characters, Krainin brings this novel to a dramatic and satisfying end.

If you're looking for a plot-focused, hard-driving, clean cut noir novel, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. But if you've got time to spare and you're mostly here to be immersed in some quality gumshoe vibes and examine the ticking of the human soul, then Blood and Mascara is a great choice.

Blood and Mascara by Colin Krainin was a fun and entertaining noir mystery.
An intriguing and well written mystery with such great characters. The pacing, plotting and characterization is so well done.
I had a lot of fun reading this one.

Thank You NetGalley and Pulplit for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is an intelligent and modern take on the old world hardboiled detective mysteries of the 40s and 50s. Our main character, Bronze, nicknamed that since he won a bronze medal in the 1976 olympics, is a damaged, flawed character, with a weakness for femme fatales. He soon meets one in Carolyn, the wife of a slain political advisor. Carolyn was having an affair with a senator (also mysteriously murdered) and her husband hired Bronze to find out who it was, and collect the evidence.
Upon meeting the husband at his office with another detective, he's involved in the shoot out that takes place and kills Carolyn's husband. He then goes to inform her that she must leave immediately as she could be the next target. 
Thus begins their adventure as they run from place to place to outwit the killer. There's also Iris, Bronze's landlord, who may or may not be in love with him. She has a vision in the beginning of him lying on the ground bleeding, and there are several chapters devoted to her backstory and life as a romance novelist.
There are long sections in the book devoted to Bronze's musings on women, hints at his tragic past, and Iris's writers' block in creating her next book. This slows things down a bit, as you are eager to get back to the action in the story and see if Bronze can save Carolyn. There's great character development here of Bronze and Iris, and you imagine Bronze as a modern day Humphrey Bogart who is damaged and broken, but still attracts all the women he cannot have.
The style of writing does not immediately flow so you do have to read slowly to get an idea of what is going on. It's not a long book, so that makes the experience all the more pleasurable.

Blood & Mascara is perfect for the readers who love the classic detective mysteries. Set in the 90s, this book is atmospheric, descriptive, and told in the point of view of 3 main characters. Overall, it's a good dark and gritty book that's definitely not predictable.

Bronze is a former investigative reporter who let his addictions to liquor and women destroy his professional integrity; he became a private investigator and suddenly finds himself wrapped up in a case involving a murdered member of the house of a representatives, a political operators wife having multiple affairs, and an assassin tied to keeping secrets that made depend on the nomination for a Senate seat.

This was WILD. It's told through a few different points of view but primarily with Bronze, who really, really hates himself. Parts of him weren't as fleshed out as I'd like them to be, but his feelings of failure, his confusion, his oddly open emotions, were often easy to relate to. His landlady/collaborator Iris is also a famous writer under pseudonyms, and is looking for more inspiration while trying very hard not to be in love with Bronze. I loved her as a character, her contemplative nature, her wounded approach to life, she was interesting to read. There's also the detective, Roth, who actually is the pin that ties it all together. The three of them care about each other and their cases, and both Roth and Iris try hard to accept Bronze for who he IS, not who he could be if he'd get it together.

A great mystery, absolutely brutal, and melancholy with a bittersweet ending as all noir should be.

I was really looking forward to this read. The synopsis, title, and cover had me hooked and looking forward to some noir detective vibes! Unfortunately, I fell asleep every time I picked this read up. I did not finish this book.

This book felt like it had so much potential but burned way too slow and leaned too far into its noir-esque delivery at some points. I found myself losing interest. As we’re getting a story from different perspectives, some voices are stronger than others and even more distracting. I can say the author took their time to build out small moments with the characters. But in a book already running at a snail's pace, I think some of these moments should’ve been left out.

I think this could even be more interesting as a show. But for me, getting over 50% into the book and still feeling like I’m being presented with so much irrelevant information to sift through and still very little mystery or action has occurred was very disappointing.

Thanks to NetGalley & Pulp Lit for this digital ARC.

It was a little dry. I loved the plot but it was so dry I struggled to stay completely engaged and the jumping back and forth got a little annoying.

I was really interested in the characters but the pacing was a tad off.

I loved the end though which more than made up for the dryiness

3.5 stars

May 1997 -Private investigator Calvin “Bronze” Goldberg is obsessed with women and is always falling in love. Hired by a powerful political consultant to spy on his unfaithful wife, Bronze soon finds himself entangled in a series of perilous events. The discovery of a young congressman's body sets off a chain reaction, leading to more deaths as well as the realization that Bronze himself could be the next target of a paid assassin.

While the plot is undeniably intriguing, it lacks the distinctiveness to truly set it apart from other works in the genre. The most captivating element is the protagonist's personality. Bronze's infatuation and obsession with women are central to his character, yet these aspects are not explored as deeply as they could be. This oversight makes the title feel somewhat misleading and underwhelming.

One of the book's standout features is its gorgeous prose, which provides a striking contrast to the fast-paced crime narrative. The writing elevates the story, expanding the readers' experience. The supporting characters also add depth and color, particularly like his landlady Iris, who writes romance novels under a pen name, but who’s true aspiration is to write crime fiction.

Still, "Blood and Masara" remains a solid read for fans of noir crime fiction. The engaging prose and memorable protagonist and supporting characters make it time well spent.

(review will be posted on UnderratedReads on July 16, 2024)

2.5 stars rounded up. This book was a case of I can see the appeal but it wasn't for me. I had mixed feelings about it going in but thought the premise sounded interesting enough that I'd give it a try. Unfortunately, it wound up being a skim read that never fully pulled me in.

That said, the writing is decent and fitting for the noir style. The characters were interesting and, like I said, I can see how the book would be appealing to other readers. It just didn't really click for me.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Blood & Mascara is an old school PI tale that is wonderfully set in, and perfectly captures, the political landscape of the nineties. There is a dead congressman, a murdered PAC leader, and a cheating wife on the run. DC-based PI Bronze Goldberg is on the case along with his garbage scow-sized container of internal baggage: alcoholism, lost love, and an Olympic-level mastery of judo. Blood & Mascara contains everything a reader would want in genre murder mystery.

Author Colin Krainin also provides much, much more as Bronze’s internal agony turns this original detective story into a deep read of suffering and bad choices. Of parallel stories and superhero origins. Of long paragraphs of clipped phrases and memories. All of which burden the murder mystery like a soaked overcoat.

Blood & Mascara is presented in a cinematic style as Bronze, on a typical case of martial jealousy and cheating, first hand witnesses the murder of his client, political think-tank leader Roger Haake. Haake’s murder, soon to be revealed as an assassination by the international hitman known as the Machine, is tied into the death of Congressman Billy Kopes. This spooks Carolyn Haake, Roger’s unfaithful wife, into rabbiting.

Whereas the story could have just as quickly become another “on the run” road story full of strange encounters, dark alley shoot ‘em-ups, and risque liaisons, Blood & Mascara instead becomes a true investigative piece. Bronze enlists, or becomes enlisted by, his landlord/novelist Iris Margaryan and Metro PD Detective Mark Roth. The three of them prove to be a unique and entertaining team.

Yet in between the pulp fiction goodness, Krainin side tracks into deep, near-existential commentary that would fit perfectly into a Don DeLillo or even a later Hemingway yarn. Continuing with a cinematic feel, Krainin drops hints and sets up reveals later linking Bronze’s past failures and trauma’s near-conveniently with elements of his case. Many of these reveals - the flashing color of turquoise, Carolyn’s past, his previous life as a newspaper reporter - would work in a Lynch-ian fashion for a movie adaptation, but often times reads as a confusing info dump. Instead of being rewarded with an a-ha moment, the instance becomes a deflated oh yeah.

Krainin jumps back and forth between past and present. The methodical workings and rationalization of the hitman are counterpoint to a gruesome bloodbath brought on by a (sigh) serial killer. Iris’s youth and buoyancy are weighted down by Bronze’s inaction and yearnings. Krainin’s multiple POVs are at first interruptive but soon both author and reader slip into a groove that is not so much comfortable as it is recognizable.

Krainin presents a compelling mystery with a cool cast of characters. Both Iris and Roth are interesting co-stars who each get their own story and time to grow. Yet, Krainin deviates one too many times into internal concoctions of word soup that drowns the main plot. The steady beat of Blood & Mascara’s noir is often side-stepped into a mess of internal crises that although seem important, are mostly irrelevant; a lot like the nineties themselves.


Thanks to NetGalley and Pulp Lit for the free preview of Blood & Mascara.

We open with Iris, a romance novel-writing landlord who's obsessed with someone named Bronze. She can't stop thinking of him. When she does think of him she thinks of him bleeding.”Dragging, shuffling, limping, whimpering forward – the last instinct of a dying animal.”

Moments later we meet Bronze. Bronze is in the middle of a violent mess and he doesn't know it yet. A congressman washes up dead, Bronze doesn't think anything of it until he sees a photo on the news.

Then we hear about Carolyn, our femme fatale, she is more than any one man can handle, more than any 3 in fact. Bronze has been hired by her husband to follow her around, take photos, and report back. The now-deceased congressman is very much alive in some of Bronze's photos.

Bronze isn't sure if his surveillance and the death are related but he's about to be introduced to a deadly assassin known as The Machine. Who hired him? How many will he kill? Who's next?

This is Washington DC in 1997, you don't need to look in the seedy underbelly of society to find bleak cynicism and ne’er-do-wells. Everything you need is all around you, on the sidewalks, and in the halls of power. Blood and Mascara is gut-punch noir that keeps you on the ropes until the end.

The dialogue and descriptions are right up my alley. Thick with pulp but not so thick you'd choke, just enough for you to chew on if you're into that kind of thing. Bronze, our main character, is a soft-boiled PI in a hard-boiled world. Dangerous dames, check, violent men, check. A hardened killer who reminds you that police are here to direct traffic and hassle bums, compared to him they don't know what real violence is. Check.

I found Blood and Mascara to be a difficult read. The plot was meandering and confusing. It was hard to follow or connect with the characters. There are many positive reviews, so this is about writing style and what works or doesn't work for each reader. Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC of Blood and Mascara in exchange for my honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pulp Lit. for the ARC of "Blood & Mascara" in exchange for an honest review.
Initially, I couldn't wait to plunge into this one. How could I not? What a grabber of a title. A modern day private eye noir with an emotionally broken detective navigating his way through a tangled web of D.C. political corruption leading to murder.....yes please. And on top of all that, throw in a drop dead gorgeous woman in peril and an international assassin who's making people drop dead for real........you had me at "drop=dead=gorgeous-woman-in -peril.......
But what a crushing disappointment this book turned out to be.
All of those surefire elements tossed into the mix sank like heavy stones, gurgling for air as they drowned in author Colin Krainin's quicksand of impenetrable literary fiction prose.
As much as the story and the characters intrigued me, I must have reached the bail-out point at least a dozen or more times. Was this a genuine mystery-action thriller or some graduate student M.F.A. creative writing thesis masquerading as one? I wasn't sure until the final chapters, when at long last, the book curbed its appetite for molasses-thick internal monologuing and finally swung into its ultra-violent finale.
But even when the book erupts into a Quentin Tarantino-like display of graphic gore, it still can't resist some characters delivering speeches so blatantly overwritten, you can practically hear the author typing in the next room.
I realize that hardcore mystery thriller fans might be willing to wade through all the ornate blah-blah-blah to reach those final chapters.. I know I did. The characters were well drawn and when allowed to breathe free at the end, the story gripped me. But given what a reader has to endure here, I'm still wondering if it was worth the time spent.

I really, really wanted to love this novel, and there were definitely parts that I did love! However, overall it was a miss for me.

Blood & Mascara is set in the 90’s, and being a 90’s kid myself, this immediately drew me in! It feels like classic noir detective mystery, filled with flawed, jaded, all-too-human characters. I loved the juxtaposition of a 90’s setting with a noir theme, which I normally associate with an older time.

The first ~50% of the book was a very slow build that I felt I had to power through. There are multiple POVs and timelines filled with fantastic character development. Each character and POV was fully-formed and unique, adding to the dark vibes of the book. But on the same wavelength, I struggled through what felt at times like long, tangential stream-of consciousness digressions (especially by Bronze) that I felt more distracting than helpful.

This is a novel that really makes you think and connect the dots, and is probably best read slowly and not in short stints (which made my reading experience difficult as that’s all I have). I am grateful I stuck it out though because around the halfway point things really picked up and all the pieces started falling into place. And that shocker of an ending! I love an ending I can’t predict and wow this was one of them.

Overall, this book wasn’t for me because I simply wasn’t the right audience for it. BUT, I fully see Blood and Mascara being a huge hit for other readers.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Pulplit, and the author for the gifted ARC!

Good character development and a plot that had a classic noir feel. Unfortunately, the author was quite wordy. The story would be moving along and all of a sudden, the author was taking a bunch of nonsense that didn’t contribute to the story in any way. For me it was a distraction that interfered with my enjoyment of the story.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.

Please don't hate me but- there is a lot going on in this book. I still don't know if I've fully grasped what's going on. I felt like there were several stories in one here and too many characters to keep track of. All-in-all, I think this might appeal to some readers.

I received an advance review copy for free (thank you NetGalley), and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.