I haven't read any of David Baldacci's novels for a while and a friend recommended A Calamity of Souls. Apparently, having grown up in Virginia, David Baldacci had formed a story in his mind over a decade ago and finally put pen to paper. Set in the Vietnam War era, A Calamity of Souls highlights the racial divide in the south with a white lawyer fighting for his black client. It's quite a powerful novel and thought provoking. But it seems that no matter what the era, there is always a divide, black v. white, rich v. poor, and now in the U.S. it's a political divide of Democrats v. Republicans.
From the cover:
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 brutally 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 stacked against him.
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 brutally 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 stacked against him.