In Sugar Creek, Councilman Reginald Dixon's annual Fourth of July celebration is the most coveted invitation of the summer. But someone came to that party with more than fireworks in mind. When Dixon turns up dead before the fireworks fade, the neighborhood's simmering secrets refuse to stay quiet any longer.

Retired schoolteacher Eugeena Patterson-Jones was only there for the food and fireworks. But when the smoke clears, she and her husband Amos find themselves in the middle of a mystery where everyone had a reason but only one person pulled the trigger.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tymm Publishing LLC

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 26, 2026

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 277 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1961437368

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1961437364

• Author: Tyora Moody 

#1 New York Times Bestseller!

Academy Award winning actress Viola Davis and the world's #1 bestselling author James Patterson’s Judge Stone “delivers first-class courtroom drama, small-town excitement, and strong characters all wrapped in a moral dilemma. Tense, readable, and relevant.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

“Talk about a power combo! ... With Davis’s razor-sharp emotional insight and Patterson’s mastery of rocket-fuel pacing, this is the dream team to deliver an up-all-night read that will keep the group chat buzzing.” —Oprah Daily

“Wonderfully satisfying ... This legal thriller from [a] superstar duo ... demands attention from its opening pages and never lets go.” —Booklist, starred review

All rise... for Judge Stone.

The most respected citizen in Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. It's there she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South.

Criminally, it’s open-and-shut.

Ethically, there is no middle ground. Essentially, it’s a choice between life and death.
 
No judge can satisfy everyone. It would be dangerous to try. But Judge Stone is willing to fight to bring justice to the people and place she loves.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 9, 2026

• Author: Viola Davis

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 432 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316579831

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316579834