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A Calamity of Souls cover art

A Calamity of Souls

By: David Baldacci
Narrated by: Cary Hite, David Baldacci, Kiiri Sandy, MacLeod Andrews, Sisi Aisha Johnson
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Summary


'This is David Baldacci at his best' - Michael Connelly
'I couldn’t stop turning the pages, fascinated, moved, horrified' – Alex Michaelides

'A Tour de Force' – S.A. Cosby
'May be the best novel David Baldacci has ever written' - Scott Turow
'A tale of high tension, false assumptions and stubborn humanity' - Stacey Abrams


Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a murder case sets a duo of Black and white lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from the number one 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 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 town. 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.

©2024 David Baldacci (P)2024 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about A Calamity of Souls

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Now that was something different

It took me a long time to get into it, and I almost gave up but once the story got going I was hooked. As a Swede, I am not so invested emotionally in American history. To me, there is only one race, The Human Race. Having said that, the problem doesn't get nearer a solution it seems. With the polarization going on today to my mind it is heading for a second civil war. Had to put those thoughts aside to get into the story. The narrator was what kept me keen to stay with the book

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A gripping read

I loved the characters and the story had me hooked from the start. A very moving and distressing subject that’s quite a departure from Baldacci’s usual books.

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storyline

This book moved me in so many ways, the injustice of how people of colour even today are treated. The two main characters where brilliant in how they got to the end of this trial, I would have been locked up unable to keep my mouth shut, will not say anymore as I do not wish to spoil the plot. Narrator brilliant brought the characters and story to life.

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absolutely brilliant

I could not put it down - many twists & turns. extremely well read - would highly recommend this book - you will not be disappointed.

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Great story telling.

I have lost count of the number of Baldacci's books that I've read or to which I've listened and I can't remember one that I didn't enjoy very much. But this one has been the best of the lot! Great story telling, as ever, and great narration. Bravo!

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Baldacci at his very best

The characters were so alive. Fantastic storyline and so factual. I lived in Va at the time and I was taken back in time.

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Timely and poised - his best yet

The author (who I really enjoy) exceeded all my expectations with this work. A classic court room formula but the nuanced inclusions of themes that are as -if not more - relevant than the time setting make this far greater than the sum of its parts. Loved the characters, the plot, the suspense and the relevancy. One to recommend

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Baldacci at his best

The quality of writing and the compassion in the story telling. Very thought provoking and moving. Great narration. I can never get my head around man's inhumanity to his fellow man.
1968 was mentioned in the detail of the story, while some things have changed for the better I do not believe you can legislate against racism or control how people think. I feel very sad that so many people of all colours still feel so unaccepting of other people's colour and cultural differences. We are all human beings who bleed the same colour. I for one feel ashamed of our past, from slavery and Indians being forced off their land to things that are happening in the world today We had no right to do this. We can't change the past but we can learn from it. We can change how we behave in the future and call it out when we see injustice happening.

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What an amazing book

The story was well thought out. I learnt so much about civil right struggles, even though that was not object of the book.

In my humble opinion, it is one of the best books I have listened to this year.

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One of DB’s best!

Just a remarkable book on so many levels. From the first page I could not put this book down until I had finished it. Beautifully written and a story well told, combining the facts with fiction to make this book a compelling read. I have had the pleasure in reading most of David Baldacci’s books and this is certainly one of his finest so far.

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