Good Guys

As the Iraq war rages, back in the U.S. two estranged sisters become embroiled in a hometown crime involving a war hero …

Georgie and Jo are sisters, and they are not close. Georgie tries, but there’s only so much she can do while Jo is at college, obviously not having any qualms about leaving Curtisville and her older sister and their disabled father behind to pursue a journalism degree. Not that Georgie can blame Jo after all the ways she’s failed her. 

Then, Gary Clemmons dies in Iraq. The son of their pastor, the hero of their hometown, and the brother of Georgie’s secret girlfriend–a good guy. That is, until Georgie learns about the deeply disturbing photos he took during the war, and tells Jo. When Jo uses the photos for her “big break” in journalism, things quickly spiral out of control, and the fallout threatens to drive a wedge between the sisters forever. 

Good Guys uncovers the underbelly of a small town–the darkness of patriotism and masculinity, the harm caused by religious fervor, and the ways these dynamics can destroy a family. Alternating perspectives between the sisters, this propulsive story will leave you facing truths you’d rather ignore.Mindy Misener grew up in Maine. She is a graduate of Williams College and the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program. After teaching college writing for ten years, she made a career change and enrolled in Yale Divinity School. She is on track to be ordained in the UCC. Her prose has appeared in Image, The Missouri Review, CrossCurrents, The Appalachian Review, The Pinch, The Common, and other outlets.