A Calamity of Souls - David Baldacci
Pub. Date: April 16, 2024
She read; he will read it next
It is 1968 in southern Virginia, a place where some of the activities and certainly the attitudes of the abolished Jim Crow Laws are still evidenced to a large extent. Jack Lee is a young White man who has returned to his home town to practice law. Although he does not prescribe to the racial prejudices of many of the people with whom he grew up, he has never really done anything about the hate he sees around him. When a Black veteran of the Vietnam war, Jerome Washington, is charged with murdering the well to do elderly couple for whom he worked, Jack has the chance to do something. When outside forces try to bully him out of defending Jerome, he digs in his heels, just as his mother has taught him to do when facing tormentors.
Jerome’s wife Pearl is then charged as an accomplice. Jack worries that he, who has never argued a homicide case, won’t be up to the task. Desiree DuBoise, a Black litigator from Chicago who has participated in many high profile racial cases and even won one before the Supreme Court, partners with Jack as they face all the tension, lies, and grave danger of this racially charged case. As the trial takes on national notoriety, it also becomes a political issue, particularly for the campaign of George Wallace.
This is a legal thriller; but, oh, it is so much more. It chronicles the racial tension and injustice of the 1960s while also serving as a cautionary tale for our times as so much of the hate and vitriol expressed by some of the characters is still heard today.
Well written and plotted with characters that truly come to life, Baldacci weaves an edge of the seat tale while making a strong case for equal justice and opportunity for all. As I read this book, I felt an entire range of strong emotions from empathy, to sadness, frustration, anger to fear for our present day political situation. A five star read that I highly recommend. I think it is Baldacci’s best!
Thanks to @netgalley and #grandcentralpublishing for the DRC.
*****
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