Blood & Mascara by Colin Krainin (2024)
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......
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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. 2 stars (**). SQ's advice - there's far better thrillers out there this summer.......
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