SOURCE: "Bloody Sunday," in Los Angeles Times Book Review, September 18, 1988, p. 13.

In the following excerpt, Champlin finds Condon's "gift for the preposterous undiminished" in Prizzi's Glory.

After Prizzi's Honor and a prequel, Prizzi's Family, Richard Condon concludes his trilogy with Prizzi's Glory, a sequel that takes us into years not yet born and into the higher reaches of respectability.

By now the Prizzis are unthinkably rich. Their holding company grosses nearly $17 billion annually, owns among other items 32 law firms, 137 hotels and 381 hospitals and has 9,208 senior executives, lawyers and accountants. It has respect but not respectability, for which Maerose (the Angelica Huston character in the film) is aiming with a drive that has overwhelmed even the old Don himself.

Paving the road to respectability, Maerose takes husband Charlie Partana away from his killing chores and, against his better judgment, sees that he has a new name, face, voice and...