A Calamity of Souls

Best-selling Baldacci’s (The Edge) latest is an electrifying courtroom drama set against the tense racial backdrop of 1960s Virginia. Jerome Washington, a Black man, has been accused of the brutal murder of an affluent older white couple. Jerome’s wife, Pearl, is also taken into custody as his accomplice. The odds of exoneration are almost nil, and the electric chair awaits ominously. Jack Lee, a local white criminal defense lawyer, takes the case, teaming up with Desiree DuBose, a Black lawyer from Chicago, when he realizes he’s out of his depth. Jerome is severely beaten by the deputies who arrest him, and Jack and Desiree face increasingly violent threats from a virulently racist community determined to see their clients convicted. Sisi Aisha Johnson, MacLeod Andrews, Kiiri Sandy, and Cary Hite offer a multifaceted reading of the book, skillfully capturing the dialects, pitches, and tones of the varied cast of characters.