A Calamity of Souls: The brand new novel from the multimillion copy Sunday Times number one bestselling author of Simply Lies

In "The Innocent Man," David Baldacci presents a powerful courtroom drama set in 1968 in southern Virginia, where a murder case pits a duo of Black and white lawyers against a deeply unfair system. Jack Lee, a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, represents Jerome Washington, a Black man accused of killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against him and his client. Desiree DuBose, a Black lawyer from Chicago, enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in town. Together, they fight for a chance for a fair trial and true justice, despite powerful outside forces working to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.

Format: Hardback
Length: 512 pages
Publication date: 11 April 2024
Publisher: Pan Macmillan

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This is David Baldacci at his finest - Michael Connelly. I couldn't put the book down, fascinated, moved, and horrified - Alex Michaelides. Baldacci is on top form - a tragic, gripping, and intensely believable thriller. - Peter James. 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 prosecutions deliberate march towards a guilty verdict.

Weight: 756g
Dimension: 242 x 160 x 46 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781035035588