title: Angel of Light
author: Oates, Joyce Carol
description: A story of loyalty, betrayal, revenge and finally, forgiveness. It begins when Maurice Halleck, Director of the Commission for the Ministry of Justice is accused of wrongdoing, then dies in a suspicious car accident. A suicide note and confession are found. Kirsten and Owen Halleck believe their father, was killed by their own mother and her lover. The Hallecks are direct descendants of John Brown, who was hanged in 1859, a martyr in the struggle against slavery. "He is an Angel of Light, " Thoreau said of him. In this novel Oates explores our political heritage, American history and the search for the truth. with a mounting drama that plays like a Greek tragedy.