["Mignon"], James M. Cain's first novel in a decade, is nominally about the Civil War: period costumes aside, it barrels along like a private-eye escapade. Into New Orleans in the year 1864 comes Bill Cresap, invalided out of the Union Army and on the lookout for a stake. Before you can say Raymond Chandler, a Creole damsel in distress named Mignon Landry has appeared at Cresap's hotel room door, with a heartrending plea to get her daddy out of a military prison, where he has been sent for trading with the enemy. From this point on Mr. Cain never looks back, pulling onstage one gaudy character after another, including a sporting lady (gambling) who vies with Mignon for Cresap's heart—and involving one and all in some get-rich-quick trading in confiscated cotton. There's enough blood and lust in all this to satisfy the author's public. However, one nostalgic admirer of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" would prefer Mr. Cain in modern dress—where the blood he lets seems redder and the dialogue truer.
Martin Levin, in a review of "Mignon," in The New York Times Book Review (copyright © 1962 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), May 6, 1962, p. 31.
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