Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Length: 496 pages
Audiobook Length: 12 hours
First Published: 2024
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Publisher’s Description
Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.
Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.
Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.
Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the reader through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.
Quotes from A Calamity of Souls
Dr. King may no longer be with us, but he loved the possibility of this country. And his spirit and his message of hope, his cry for equality, will forever be part of us.
There are only imperfect human beings who work through the difficult challenges associated with living.
Winston Churchill once said so succinctly but brilliantly, democracy is the worst form of government there is, except for all the others.
About David Baldacci
Baldacci was born in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He has been writing since he was a child, and continues to enjoy writing and his philanthropic ventures. He still lives in Virginia with his wife. Visit the author’s website →
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