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False Cathedrals
"The imagery, word use, characterization, everything. Jonathan D. Clark's writing reminds you of some of the legends."
—Destiny Eve, author of Her Heart in Chains
Following his third novel, Jonathan D. Clark comments on the tedium of contemporary life in present-day America; offering a novel which holds humanity's obsessions with consumerism, violence, and misplaced celebrity under a well-trained lens of scrutiny.
At the heart of the novel is Daniel Bloom, a middle-aged psychotherapist who can't seem to escape the haunting memory of his first wife, Karen, even after fourteen years have passed since her untimely demise at the hands of the infamous Side-street Shooter. Hoping to distract himself, Daniel aims his focus toward helping a patient find lucidity after spending well over a decade lost in a state of uncertainty.
But it doesn't help when he hears that the Side-street Shooter has started a new, violent rampage.
—Destiny Eve, author of Her Heart in Chains
Following his third novel, Jonathan D. Clark comments on the tedium of contemporary life in present-day America; offering a novel which holds humanity's obsessions with consumerism, violence, and misplaced celebrity under a well-trained lens of scrutiny.
At the heart of the novel is Daniel Bloom, a middle-aged psychotherapist who can't seem to escape the haunting memory of his first wife, Karen, even after fourteen years have passed since her untimely demise at the hands of the infamous Side-street Shooter. Hoping to distract himself, Daniel aims his focus toward helping a patient find lucidity after spending well over a decade lost in a state of uncertainty.
But it doesn't help when he hears that the Side-street Shooter has started a new, violent rampage.
349 pages, Paperback
Published December 18, 2020
3 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan D. Clark
7 books13 followersJonathan D. Clark is an independent author who writes primarily what he describes as "philosophical fiction" which he blends with other genres. He published his debut novel, Division Street, in 2016 under J.D. Clark.
A California native, he currently lives on Long Island with his wife and their two sons in New York.
A California native, he currently lives on Long Island with his wife and their two sons in New York.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 19, 2022
This book took me three times longer to read than any book before it, and for good reason: this book had more substance than any book before it. Once I read how the story had escalated, I most certainly had to know how it ended.
Clark has a phenomenal style of writing secrets that the readers know but the characters do not. For instance, he linked our three biggest players in the book by a mental health visit. When it happened, knowing the killer was sitting with the husband of one of his victims, my jaw struck the floor. This happened a couple times throughout the book when details would line up in a way that only we knew where they were headed.
Each paragraph in this book, especially in the beginning, was woven with unacknowledged truths to life. Like "consumerism" on pages 10 and 11: “Humanity...had become lazy. There was no effort to surviving anymore. Everything was handed to them. They had become easy prey, and the art of the well-worded advertisement had become their inanimate predator.” Every page had a moment like this where Clark vocalized the unspoken, and often unnoticed truths behind death, loss, crime, and the general grimness of life.
I didn't enjoy the amount of violence and vileness in the book, and I didn't like being inside the killers' heads, but that just means that Clark wrote them well. I gave it a three-star review just for the baggage of characters and sub-plots and the ending not rewarding me for having read the full story. But it certainly had its beautiful moments.
Clark has a phenomenal style of writing secrets that the readers know but the characters do not. For instance, he linked our three biggest players in the book by a mental health visit. When it happened, knowing the killer was sitting with the husband of one of his victims, my jaw struck the floor. This happened a couple times throughout the book when details would line up in a way that only we knew where they were headed.
Each paragraph in this book, especially in the beginning, was woven with unacknowledged truths to life. Like "consumerism" on pages 10 and 11: “Humanity...had become lazy. There was no effort to surviving anymore. Everything was handed to them. They had become easy prey, and the art of the well-worded advertisement had become their inanimate predator.” Every page had a moment like this where Clark vocalized the unspoken, and often unnoticed truths behind death, loss, crime, and the general grimness of life.
I didn't enjoy the amount of violence and vileness in the book, and I didn't like being inside the killers' heads, but that just means that Clark wrote them well. I gave it a three-star review just for the baggage of characters and sub-plots and the ending not rewarding me for having read the full story. But it certainly had its beautiful moments.
June 24, 2024
This was a psychological thriller if I ever read one! As I considered my review a few days ago, I was discussing the plot with my wife and she said, "It would have to be extremely well written or it would unbelievable or to 'out there' to be believable!"
That's exactly how I would describe this book. From the start, the troubled lives of our main characters are incredibly intertwined--and I immediately wondered how Clark would resolve these relationships. Clark introduces and identifies the Side-street Shooter very early in this book which leaves the reader wondering what more could be revealed to us to keep us involved in the story. This is the real magic of the writing shines!
The relationship between all of the characters becomes very believable and almost overwhelmingly sad. As I was exposed to the inner demons of each character, I found myself being sympathetic to each of them--even the killer(s). These demons are completely relatable with the difference for most of us being that we are able to suppress and control the urges to act on them. Because of how convincingly these characters were written, I found myself wondering what aspects were pure research and gifted writing and which were written from the author's experience.
Should the author choose to, I see openings at the end for a sequel. Whatever happens with Daniel, Abigail, and even Brian? Does Heather ever learn the truth?
That's exactly how I would describe this book. From the start, the troubled lives of our main characters are incredibly intertwined--and I immediately wondered how Clark would resolve these relationships. Clark introduces and identifies the Side-street Shooter very early in this book which leaves the reader wondering what more could be revealed to us to keep us involved in the story. This is the real magic of the writing shines!
The relationship between all of the characters becomes very believable and almost overwhelmingly sad. As I was exposed to the inner demons of each character, I found myself being sympathetic to each of them--even the killer(s). These demons are completely relatable with the difference for most of us being that we are able to suppress and control the urges to act on them. Because of how convincingly these characters were written, I found myself wondering what aspects were pure research and gifted writing and which were written from the author's experience.
Should the author choose to, I see openings at the end for a sequel. Whatever happens with Daniel, Abigail, and even Brian? Does Heather ever learn the truth?
April 8, 2022
A heart-breaking, gut-wrenching masterpiece of a novel.
In False Cathedrals, Jonathan D. Clark delves into the psyche of criminal, victim, and those of us that are left behind to make sense of it all, all while delivering beautiful and jaw-dropping prose throughout its narrative.
While False Cathedrals isn’t by any means an easy read, it will no doubt be an unforgettable one. It’s ending kept me up well past my bedtime and I couldn’t put it down until I was done.
I will definitely read more by this author as I really enjoy his writing style.
In False Cathedrals, Jonathan D. Clark delves into the psyche of criminal, victim, and those of us that are left behind to make sense of it all, all while delivering beautiful and jaw-dropping prose throughout its narrative.
While False Cathedrals isn’t by any means an easy read, it will no doubt be an unforgettable one. It’s ending kept me up well past my bedtime and I couldn’t put it down until I was done.
I will definitely read more by this author as I really enjoy his writing style.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews