SOURCE: "Leaving Las Vegas," in The New York Times Book Review, July 28, 1996, p. 9.

In the following review, Patrick offers praise for The Last Don.

It is a measure of Mario Puzo's skill that after turning the last page of his rich and ebullient new novel, I was able to remember no fewer than 35 characters and recall clearly their backgrounds, motivations and roles in the convoluted plot and subplots. Indeed, all of Mr. Puzo's formidable storytelling talents are on display throughout The Last Don, a big, fast-paced tale that should provide his fans our most entertaining read since The Godfather. The primary settings are the seats of power and wealth in Las Vegas and Hollywood. The characters are larger-than-life personalities, supremely self-confident risk takers with great appetites for money, sex and power.

The prologue is set on Don Domenico Clericuzio's walled Long Island estate on Palm Sunday in 1965, where...