A gripping historical mystery; courtroom drama set during the turbulent 1960s. Themes of race, privedge and power; well written and evenly paced. High stakes story that's difficult to put down

A deeply thoughtful book, this one covers the turbulence of the south in the 1960s. Jack Lee is the local boy done good where he becomes a lawyer and sticks around his home town, forever the high school star. He is a good man. And, as a favor to his father, he takes on a case that will change him forever. He takes Jerome’s case when he is accused of murdering a white couple in their home. The tug and pull of black versus white is predominant in this novel, and ultimately we ask what is important. My favorite piece is that question of why do we focus so much on what separates us rather than what we have in common… let us unite and not divide. Thanks to NetGalley for this read.

What can I say - this novel lived up to my expectations. Highly recommend what is bound to be a classic and one that will be among my favorite reads of the year.

A Calamity of Souls was a well-written, gripping mystery and courtroom drama set in 1968 Virginia about Jerome, a Black man who was on trial for the murder of a wealthy elderly white couple. Defending Jerome was Jack Lee, a young white lawyer and his co-counsel, Desiree, an African American experienced lawyer.

These times in Southern Virginia hearkened back to times when not only blacks but also women of any color were barely considered "people." It was a time of solid rule by white men and no one else.

It is a necessary reminder for all of us today lest we slide back in any way to the dark past.

This book is David Baldacci's effort at exploring the racial issues of the post segregation south. Segregation may be illegal, but it takes far longer for the views of some people to change. This was different from the usual Baldacci, but I really enjoyed it.

A Calamity of Souls is David Baldacci's foray into writing about the troubled history of the racially segregated world of Virginia in 1968. Attorney Jack Lee, a resident of Freeman County, Virginia takes on the case of a Black man, Jerome Washington who is accused of murdering his employers, an elderly white couple. Straight off the success of her Supreme Court win in the Loving case, Black attorney, Desiree DuBose comes to town and wants to represent Washington as well. Lee and DuBose not only have a huge court battle on their hands, they both must fight against the racist cops and community who want to see Washington go to the electric chair for his alleged crimes. This story held so much promise to say something poignant about 1968 Virginia, but Baldacci's work is riddled with stereotypes of racist characters who have no nuances to them; they're simply stock bigots. Baldacci also wraps everything up neatly in the end allowing for the possibility of a future series with Lee and DuBose. A new series could be good, but the one dimensional characterizations need to go. An author of Baldacci's standing should be able to create a world where characters have subtleties and gradations of emotions and beliefs.

David Baldacci lays it out for the reader:

“I wanted to make this a story of two people from divergent life experiences who come together to tackle a problem as difficult as any America has ever confronted. I wanted it to be an unwieldy, fractious partnership ….. I wanted each to learn from the other, and for them to eventually find mutual respect and empathy for one another.”

Baldacci nailed it and then some. This is a powerful, demanding, frustrating and horrifying story that was made more difficult by baggage that I brought to it. Having seen it first hand as a northerner attending a Virginia college exactly during the period in this book, the hate, fear and division of blatant racism was front and center every day in every way. His writing perfected all the emotions I was channeling even as he was spinning an enormously well crafted story.

Extraordinarily written, upsetting for its undeniable truth and hard look at what we only wish was in the past. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the amazing book.

This was my first David Baldacci book but it definitely won’t be my last! I was familiar with his name because many friends and family have read him but hadn’t picked up one of his books until now. There’s definitely a reason he has had as much staying power as an author as he’s had. He is a masterful storyteller.

In this book he brings together the social injustice and the fear exhibited by society and the judicial system. He also shows the courage of individuals willing to take a risk and make a difference even though it is the more difficult path.

This book, set in the late 1960’s in southern Virginia, focuses on the case of a black man, Jerome Washington, who is accused of killing one of the wealthier white couples that he is a handyman/gardener for. After the couple is found brutally murdered in their home, Jerome is quickly arrested and charged, and the State of Virginia is bringing back the death penalty. Jack Lee is a local lawyer who decides to take on the case despite never having represented an accused murderer before, let alone a black one but he is sure his client is innocent. He is soon joined by Desiree Dubose, a black female lawyer from Chicago. The two form a formidable team as they navigate the turbulent environment running into many both personal and professional challenges along the way.

The characters were very realistic and the story was well paced in a way where the tension builds and you want to keep reading. This book was able to blend entertainment with poignant social commentary.

Rating: 4
Genre/Topics: Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, Legal Procedural, Social Issues (Racism),

I sometimes find it hard to rate literary fiction books that focus on such serious topics, because a lot of the time I’m basing on entertainment value. But this is a whole different ball game.

the author masterfully intertwines the harsh realities of a post-civil-war South with the complexities of today's racial climate. While the subject matter is weighty and at times uncomfortable, the narrative grips you from the outset and keeps you on edge throughout.

What sets this book apart is its ability to blend entertainment with poignant social commentary. Each character arc is a testament to resilience and humanity, offering heartwarming moments amidst the backdrop of blatant racism. It's a testament to the author's skill that such difficult topics are navigated with sensitivity and grace

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review.

I am a fan of Baldacci books. I have enjoyed the characters and plots in his variety of series. This book was very different. The main character was Jack Lee, a white lawyer, defending a black man and his wife in a murder case. The story takes place in Virginia in the 60s.
The situation improves when a black, female, Civil Rights lawyer, Desiree DuBose, joins his team.
The case isn’t easy. It looks like the prosecutor and judge are brought in from outside to try the case. Every way they turn it looks like they are being set up to take the fall. There are threats and attempts on their lives as well as witnesses that are perjuring themselves for payment.

This historical-type fiction is not one that I would usually choose to read. However, I am glad I chose to read it. It opened my eyes to many things. It is interesting and well written. It kept me reading until the surprising ending.

It's been a while since I read a good courtroom drama, so I enjoyed this latest by David Baldacci. It reminded me of John Grisham's work which I love. However, it seemed to drag on in a few spots and I wish it had more of a thriller nature. My opinion seems to be in the minority so if you enjoy a racially charged legal drama you may want to check it out. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

True to David Baldacci form, he has created a gripping read. There were times where I felt uncomfortable, and I know it was meant to be that way depicting the time period, but it felt like I was in the story by the way he wrote. Another great read.

Set in the turbulent days of the 1960’s, racial tensions are running high in southern Virginia. Jerome Washington, a black man, works for one of the wealthier white families as a handyman/gardener. When the couple is found brutally murdered in their home, Jerome is quickly arrested and charged with murder - and the State of Virginia is bringing back the death penalty. Jack Lee is a local lawyer who has never represented an accused murderer, let alone a black one in these turbulent times, but is sure that his client is innocent. He is soon joined by Desiree DuBose, a female black lawyer from Chicago who works with the Legal Defense Fund to exonerate wrongly accused and convicted people, primarily blacks. The two form a formidable team as they navigate the turbulent environment of racial prejudice of the time. While some might say the story is predictable, it is gripping as the author explores one of so many eras that have wracked out country. The characters are well-defined and realistic, the story is well-paced, and the tension that builds from the very beginning will keep you quickly turning the pages.

This book is not your usual Baldacci fast-paced thriller - the author’s notes say that this book has been 10 years in the writing as he tackles a sensitive cultural topic. Baldacci is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. My thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Baldacci once again displays his storytelling prowess as he brings to life the fear and social injustice exhibited by society, the judicial system, and the corruption of public servants placed in positions of authority through the arrest of a black man accused of murder in the south. He also shows how the courage of individuals willing to stand up and take a risk can make a difference and bring attention to this malfeasance of Justice. Excellent choice for readers of John Grisham’s A Time To Kill, Greg Isles Natchez Burning Trilogy, and Harper Lee’s to Kill a Mockingbird.

Baldacci captivates with a thought provoking and impactful story. The story is well-paced and hits on so many emotions, I found it difficult to set down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This new legal thriller of David Baldacci's is charged with racial tensions and interesting characters. If you love courtroom drama and Civil Rights stories from the South stemming from stagnant prejudices of decades past, grab this book that drops April 16th. We meet characters that we fall in love with and ones that we absolutely despise because of their mindset and actions. I loved all of the late 60s historical references, but probably most of all, the To Kill a Mockingbird and Atticus courtroom references.

It's 1968 in Virginia. The Lovings interracial marriage was just recognized as lawful. Plessy vs. Ferguson has been overturned with Brown vs Board of Education over a decade ago. Desegregation (of schools, military, workplace, establishments...everything) has supposedly already happened. Sadly, none of these events make a difference in this Southern setting. George Wallace would soon be the first 3rd party candidate to really make a three way race in the presidential elections. Vietnam is raging and hometown boys are deserting. The times were tumultuous, and Jim Crow was far from being dead in Freeman County Virginia as a Black man is wrongly accused as murdering his two upper class, White employers. It's about injustices; ignoring laws; making one's own laws; fighting for justice; and lingering, ugly prejudices.

Thank you, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC. Definitely read this book in 2024. It will evoke so many emotions and pull at your heartstrings. 4.5 stars. So glad I read this one.

I have read and enjoyed all of David Baldacci's books. This book is so well written. Historical fiction and courtroom drama. A true classic in my mind, this book will touch you deep down. Based in 1968 in rural Virginia, the book features racism as it existed at that time. A black man falsely accused of murdering a wealthy white couple. A local white male lawyer partners with a prominent black female lawyer to defend him. There are political effects of a big trial such as this as well. I found this novel to be a BOLD five-star read. Highly recommend.

This book was hard to read due to the subject matter. It evoked anger many times - which is par for the course when reading about racial prejudice. The sixties were definitely a turbulent time. I was a child in 1968 and remember only a little of the disparity of those times. But, what I do remember was that Blacks lived on a different side of town and did not intermingle with whites. I grew up in Maryland and can't remember a single Black in my elementary school classes. In high school in North Carolina I do remembered only one Black in my honors courses. Integration did not happen quickly or easily. I'm so glad that times have changed for the better, at least in the area I live in now. I hope that is true everywhere, but I'm sure it probably isn't.

Description:
Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.

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.

My Thoughts:
This book brings forward the turbulent times of the 1960s. It is always difficult to stand up for what is right when so many are opposed. This was a gripping, gut-wrenching trial from start to finish. The book grabbed me from the start and I couldn't put it down. I was fully invested the entire time. I have nothing but admiration for the two attorney, Lee and Dubose, for their dedication and persistence. Baldacci is a masterful storyteller!

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing through Netgalley for an advance copy.

A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci is a story about a civil rights attorney in the ‘60s, only he doesn’t know it yet. John Robert Lee (Jack) was a young lawyer living in Fremont County, Virginia, where he had grown up. He had a small building where he lived and worked. He came from a lower middle class family made up of his parents, a mentally retarded older sister (37) and a brother who had retreated to Canada after serving in Viet Nam. He represented people who had committed small crimes in his town. It was only when Miss Jessup, the woman who was a maid next door, called on him that he ever considered representing a black man. It was her granddaughter’s husband and he was accused of killing elderly white folks in their home. Jack called on Jerome in the jail and was aghast at his condition and his state of being. He started with that. He was not a popular guy in the town with this decision but his parents had quietly raised him to be fair to everyone and this was not fair. People Jack had known his entire life ignored him or were outright hostile and threatening. Then Desiree DuBose, a black civil rights attorney showed up to be his partner.

Jack was a quiet man as were his parents, but this kind of blatant behavior could not hold. He was convinced Jerome was innocent and set out to prove it. His home/office was set on fire. His sister was attacked. He put his heard down and quietly pursued what he knew was right. The worse it got, the more he dug in. There is so much to this story it is difficult to describe, and it happened in my lifetime, not 150 years ago. Baldacci has translated to the written page facts that we all know, but try to overlook. This young man put his life in danger for another human being. He learned things he’d never known about his family and his community. He didn’t think about color. As his parents had quietly taught him. It was a beautiful story in many ways as well as it was gruesome. Congratulations David Baldacci, on writing this important and timely book! I cannot say enough.

I was invited to read A Calamity of Souls by Grand Central Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #GrandCentralPublishing #DavidBaldacci #ACalamityOfSouls

In a tale that's reminiscent of A Time to Kill and To Kill a Mockingbird, David Baldacci has poured his soul into this amazing book. The book takes us back to the late 1960s in rural Virginia, a small town that has ignored the Civil Rights Movement and has continued on much as they have for years. Jack Lee and his family are forced to come to reckoning with their small town, and the people they thought they knew.

3.5 stars

It’s 1968, and it’s been fourteen years since the United States Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of public schools and four years since the Civil Rights Act outlawed segregation in public facilities, like drinking fountains and bathrooms.

This makes no difference in Freeman County, Virginia, where Whites and Blacks live on opposite sides of the McHenry River, and Blacks are expected to know their place.

Black maids and nannies can be seen working on the White side of town, but Black men are considered dangerous and not welcome in any occupation. Thus, it’s unusual for Black army veteran Jerome Washington to be employed by Anne and Leslie Randolph, one of the wealthiest and most prominent White couples in Freeman County. Jerome drives the elderly Randolphs around in their car, works in their yard, and repairs things around the property.

Jerome gets paid every Friday, forty dollars cash, which he needs for his wife and three children. One Friday, Jerome knocks on the Randolphs’ back door several times, and getting no answer, reluctantly ventures into the house.

Shortly afterward, Jerome is on his knees, his hands shackled behind his back, being viciously billy-clubbed by a white policeman, while another cop looks on. Anne and Leslie Randolph are in the dining room, dead and covered with blood. Jerome is arrested for murder, and in Freeman County, that means Jerome’s conviction is almost a certainty.

Even in Freeman County, however, a defendant is entitled to a lawyer, and White criminal defense attorney Jack Lee takes the case. Thirty-three-year-old Jack has always been aware of the unfair treatment of Blacks, vaguely thought it was wrong, but never did anything about it. Jack now has his chance, and he means to mount the best possible defense for Jerome Washington.

This infuriates White racists in Freeman County, and Jack is called names and violently attacked. Things get even more fraught when a female Black lawyer from Chicago, Desiree DuBose, becomes Jack’s co-counsel. Desiree works for the Legal Defense Fund and has spent her life fighting for Black rights.

The government stacks the deck against Jerome from the get-go. Working with representatives of segregationist George Wallace, who’s running for president, the state picks Virginia Attorney General Edmund Battle to prosecute Jerome, and Judge Josiah Ambrose to oversee the trial. This is massive firepower for an out-of-the-way town, and it’s clear the government has an agenda.

Though the odds are against them, Jack and Desiree mount a vigorous defense for Jerome. Along the way, they endure public hostility, threats, and violence.

Jack’s parents, Hilly and Frank, are ambivalent about Jack defending Jerome, and have other concerns as well. Jack’s older sister Lucy has the mind of a child, and Hilly—who had a dental procedure with nitrous oxide while she was pregnant—blames herself. And Jack’s father can barely stand to think about his son Jeff, a decorated soldier who had a crisis of conscience about Vietnam and deserted the army.

The book is a compelling courtroom drama and a realistic depiction of the struggle for Black civil rights. In his foreword, author David Baldacci explains that he grew up in Virginia during the 1960s and 1970s, and has personal knowledge of the racism, offensive language, and right-wing politics of the era.

Baldacci tries to temper the novel’s Jim Crow ugliness with the inclusion of a few touching scenes, but they feel contrived and unrealistic. That said, the book is a page-turner that’s well worth reading, especially since America still struggles with race relations.

Thanks to Netgalley, David Baldacci, and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book.