Wooow this was so different than Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. It is not the hardboiled noir that I was expecting.

First, the book is longer and the pace is slower.

Second, the dread is a thick cloud and a slow burn. Whenever something good happens, you can never fully rest because you know that something terrible is right around the corner.

Third, the primary drama is between mother and daughter instead of husband and wife.

Finally, the psychology of the characters is complex! In the other books, it is pretty straightforward (instant sexual attraction, therefore a need to get rid of existing husband). There is a point in Double Indemnity where a character explains a psychological theory to another character to pull back the sheets on the plot point that had happened - but it is obviously being explained more for the reader's benefit than the character's. In Mildred Pierce, the author expects much more of the reader. A lot is explained; a lot is left unsaid. He did a great job developing the layers, links, and dysfunctions between Mildred and Veda. I say this because even though there is this disturbing subliminal incestuous undercurrent going on between mother and daughter, we as the reader are led to empathize so completely with Mildred.

Truly, a master class in that midcentury psychological terror that feels so fresh even today.