Reviews

Blood and Mascara by Colin Krainin

jonesy_reads's review

4.0

I read lots of crime dramas and thrillers, but this is my first 'noir' novel, set in the late 80's to late 90's. Bronze is a drunk PI who's been sober for awhile now after making some terrible life decisions. He lives in Iris' basement apartment, a bit of an agreement between them that she can use his life as research for her next novel. But, when the men connected to a woman he's following for work start dying things quickly begin to unravel. The 'assassin' is working his way through his list of targets, and if Bronze doesn't keep his head on his shoulders and away from the alcohol he may find himself on the target list.
Well written, with a plot line that although bouncing back and forth between Bronze's memories and current events kept me interested. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the noir genre.

ellie_estelle's review

3.0

I am trying this year to open my genres up a bit and this was my first gritty-noir-esque type of book. Unfortunately it wasn't quite for me but I can understand the overall appeal. The character development was great and the writing itself was good, I just was not that engaged. I think also the first part of the book was at a slower pace than what I am used to so I found myself not reaching to pick it up. I would say it is a 2.75 stars rounded to a 3.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my opinion.

hviareadsbooks's review

4.0

Okay, so I will be honest I thought this was about vampires at first. Don't hate me, I just really love vampires.

HOWEVER!

It was a really great detective thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. The intrigue, the characters, the situation. Just. Perfect. I love the intermix of political intrigue within the story, and just how the you can't always predict how the story is headed. So, despite there being no vampires (which honestly, there could have been?), I still am really glad I got an ARC of this book. Going on the re-read pile.

wwoodman's review

5.0

Wow, this is one of the best books I have read in a long time! It is a well crafted plot with great character development topped off with great writing. I could really feel the tension or the emotion of the moment and reveled in the descriptive language.

dtchantel's review

5.0

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.

***I received an ARC copy through NetGalley. My review is strictly voluntary.***

bookalorian's review

3.0

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

bribwriter's review

2.0

Thank you netgalley & pulp lit for an arc in exchange for an honest review. This book took me forever to read because I was bored. The noir detective vibes and settings were there and I loved the atmosphere of each scene, but I just didn’t care about the characters enough. The plot was interesting but then I continued to get confused. The literary aspect was interesting but potentially necessary to keep up the noir-ness but all of this just did not work for me.

stacey_unchecked's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 This book!
The harsh staccato of prose, the paragraphs are sharp and leap off the page.
This is my favourite style of writing...so noir..so elegantly descriptive!
Bronze has a backstory. We are slowly given glimpses into his darkness, the tragedy he experienced which colours everything in his life since.
Guilt, shame, fear.
The mystery of this tale goes far deeper than the 4 deaths we see on the page. Political intrigue and corruption is rampant.
The author keeps us turning pages. Chapters end in cliffhangers...chapter 25! What did Iris find...what did she see?
I don't know but I want to! but we turn the page and it's not her turn, so we keep turning the pages till we get back to her POV and we have answers!
So well done. 

asifjulia's review against another edition

2.0

this book was serving old detective movie, very black and white, very film noir. it simply wasn't for me.

amanda_m_harwood's review

Was too slow for me.