This week’s choice for “Writers Wednesday” is David Baldacci’s A CALAMITY OF SOULS. It is one of Baldacci’s best novels to date. It is a murder mystery/courtroom drama as well as a personal story of one man’s fight for racial justice. Baldacci gathers all of his writing skills together and creates a story that lives and breathes on its pages to inform readers of a situation that both horrifies and entertains.
The story concerns an attorney named Jack Lee who lives in southern Virginia during the late 1960’s. He is talked into taking the case of a black man who has been charged with murdering an elderly white couple. The evidence against hthis man is staggering but Jack knows if he does not step up it will not be a fair trial.
Later Jack is joined on the defense team but a brilliant attorney named Desiree DuBose. Together they fight against a biased judge and a prejudiced judicial system. They also have to withstand attacks both personal and physical because of their dedication to the defense.
If you like courtroom dramas this is one of the best offered in a while. Baldacci is a brilliant writer and with this book he cements his renown as a novelist of the highest calibre.
