Nelson Richard DeMille was born on August 23, 1943 in Jamaica, Queens, NY. He
is a novelist who writes action adventure, thriller, suspense and crime fiction. In
addition to using his own name, he has also written under the names of Jack Cannon,
Ellen Kay, Kurt Ladner, and Brad Matthews. He has published more than thirty books.
Cathedral was published in 1981. It is set in New York City on St. Patrick's Day. A
group of Irish Republican Army (IRA) rebels take control of St. Patrick's Cathedral
and hold four hostages. They threaten to kill the hostages and bomb the church the
next morning if IRA prisoners aren't released from British rule. A review by
readingwithmyeyes.com called the book ". . . a tight, well thought-out thriller. It
feels like it takes place in real time, and we, the reader, always know where everyone
is and where the alliances lie. It was almost written forty years ago and is still well paced."