Author David Baldacci is best known for his Memory Man crime thrillers. But he returned with a legal thriller that put him in good company with John Grisham. “The Calamity of Souls” is Baldacci’s latest book and it is a page-turner.

Set in 1968 Virginia, Jack Lee is a lawyer who finds himself representing black duo Jerome and Pearl Washington, who are accused of murdering an elderly white couple. It challenges modern-day racism and discrimination, including an all-white (and all-male) jury.

Considering Harper Lee’s classic 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” one could argue that this has already been done for this book. In fact, Baldacci references Harper Lee’s novel in A Calamity of Souls when the lawyer objects to paralegal Desiree Dubose that he is not Atticus Finch (the title character of “To Kill A Mockingbird”).

What most distinguishes Baldacci’s book from “To Kill a Mockingbird” is the presence of evidence against Jerome and Pearl Washington in A Calamity of Souls. The first was found at the scene of the crime, in a blood-soaked room where the elderly couple had been stabbed to death. There is no blood on Washington’s clothes, but the prosecution produces a witness who testifies that Pearl Washington did not show up for work that day and brought Jerome new clothes to the scene of the crime.

As for the lawyer, he is a black civil rights lawyer from Chicago whose resume is superior to Jack Lee’s. He is a graduate of Yale Law School who has argued before the United States Supreme Court. Lee’s elderly parents are still alive, and in the background is his brother Jeff Lee, who is living as a deserter in Canada. There is also Lee’s older sister, Lucy, who has special needs.

The background of the story is the 1968 presidential election and the candidacy of George Wallace. Howard Pickett is a multi-millionaire who has devoted his life to segregation (via violence if necessary) and is the force behind the Wallace campaign. Although a consummate racist, it must be said that George Wallace would never associate himself with the malevolent counterparts of Howard Pickett’s fictional character.

On the other hand, people like Howard Pickett would definitely identify with George Wallace. And Baldacci, a Virginia native (he still lives there), knows where he speaks. Jack Lee doesn’t even raise the issue of the couple being released on bail because they are safer in jail than being released.

There is no unusual tension between the lawyers. While Jack Lee focuses solely on the case at hand, Desiree Dubose sees a bigger, broader case. While Jack Lee stays away from the press as a distraction, he believes the case should be brought to the media.

The slain couple also has two adult children, a son and a daughter, Sam Randolph and Christine Hanover. Both were called to the hearing as witnesses. And there are suspicions about Sam Randolph (who had more reason than the defendant to kill the elderly couple). In fact, the justification attributed to the Washingtons is hollow and should never have been accepted as evidence.

The Washingtons face a stacked deck that includes a white judge as well as an all-white jury. The judge also shows that he is on the side of the prosecution with his decisions. The investigator working for Jack Lee even reveals that the judge was once a member of the KKK, but the paralegal agrees not to pressure the judge to recuse himself.

As stated, the book is a legal thriller. And this is important until the end (depending on the outcome of the case) as there are important developments. David Baldacci is a writer of enormous success. His success and talent are amply displayed in “A Calamity of Souls.”

John O’Neill is a freelance writer in Allen Park.