A Calamity of Souls

In a small Virginia town in 1968, a Black man named Jerome works for an elderly white couple. On Friday, when he expects to get his weekly salary, he walks into their house and finds their dead bodies. The police arrive and accuse him of resisting arrest and beat him. In jail with a head wound and bruises, the innocent man has already been convicted. A white lawyer named Jack Lee takes the case and immediately finds himself in the crosshairs of hate. Working with a female Black lawyer from Chicago, Jack struggles for justice in a town and environment where the verdict is already a foregone conclusion, and there is no lifeline for him or the case. Baldacci is one of the great storytellers, and he channels John Grisham in this compelling and harsh story that explores racism, the criminal justice system, and family dynamics. Half legal thriller and half an examination of the South at one of its most tumultuous times, this will be yet another bestseller for Baldacci and a novel destined for book club discussions.