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NEED TO KNOW
- Kate Clark Stone’s debut novel, The Last Sunday in May, is out April 21, 2026
- The Last Sunday in May is “an exhilarating and emotional novel about family, ambition and second chances,” per an official synopsis
- PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the cover
Readers, start your engines!
Fans of the Indianapolis 500, race to bookstores next April for Kate Clark Stone’s debut novel, The Last Sunday in May. The story about family, racing and romance is out next April via Lake Union Press, and PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the cover.
The debut book from the Tennessee-based author and longtime Indy 500 devotee is about second chances — specifically for main character Mack, who was once an up-and-coming motorsports star and “wild child” an official synopsis teases.
“She’s a single mom, a devoted daughter and an Indy 500 hopeful daring to dream in an exhilarating and emotional novel about family, ambition and second chances. Mack Williams was the next big thing in motorsports,” the synopsis reads.
That is, “until her wild ways forced her to leave racing in her rearview mirror.”
Lake Union Publishing
“Ten years later, she’s a single mom in rural Indiana, with a struggling family business and a dad who needs full-time care. The fastest woman on four wheels now drives carpool, her dreams turned to dust. But Mack’s childhood idol, Janet Joyner, still sees the spark,” the synopsis continues.
“Famed for breaking gender barriers on the track, Janet gives Mack a last-ditch chance to qualify for the coveted Indy 500,” it adds. “Mack thought her days of impulsive choices were over, but she can’t say no, whatever the risks ― moving in with her estranged sister, facing down her daughter’s absentee father and working with Mack’s new teammate, Leo.”
Leo is “gorgeous” and “supportive,” the The Last Sunday in May synopsis adds. In other words, “every kind of distraction Mack can’t afford.”
“Juggling her personal life with a professional dream close within reach, Mack won’t let a second chance slip away again,” it concludes. “Win or lose, the stakes have never been higher.”
The book’s subject matter hits close to home for author Stone, who attended her very first Indianapolis 500 at just 6 years old. It’s also a long time coming for the attorney-turned-author: She penned her first book five years later, at age 11.
Sarah Unger
Stone’s fiction, according to her official author bio, “features strong and vulnerable heroines, a lot of heart, and endless love for flyover states.”
The Last Sunday in May is out April 21, 2026, and available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.
