Office of Innocence A Novel

Marshalling the vast powers of narrative and historical re-creation that he brought to his international bestsellerSchindler's List,Thomas Keneally has created a moving and provocative novel about a headstrong young Catholic priest in World War II Australia. As Sydney braces itself for a Japanese invasion, Father Frank Darragh finds his pastoral duties becoming increasingly challenging. How should he counsel an AWOL black American soldier who may face death for his involvement with a white woman? And what should he say to another womanthe distressingly beguiling Kate Heggartywho impresses him with her virtue even as she edges toward sin? When Kate is found murdered, Darragh falls under suspicion. And even if the police clear him, his superiorsand his own consciencemay not.Office of Innocenceis a book that's impossible to put down, dense with moral complexity and alive with period detail.

Thomas Keneally is the acclaimed author of more than two dozen books, including <b>Schindler's List</b>, which won the Booker Prize and inspired the film; <b>The Great Shame: The Triumph of the Irish in the English-Speaking World</b>; and, most recently, <b>American Scoundrel</b>, a biography of Civil War general Dan Sickles. He lives in Sydney, Australia.