Harmony’s Peace and Joy

Reed (Free Spirits) delivers a heartwarming tale of second chances, focused on two middle-aged brothers and lifelong rivals. Stone Hunnicutt, a litigator in Madison, Wis., receives a letter from Harmony, the partner of his younger brother Ted, asking for $10,000 to renovate a historic home in her rural community, a hippie commune called Peace and Joy. Stone visits Ted, whom he hasn’t seen for 10 years, to determine if he should donate to the cause. There, Stone discovers that Ted, a former professor who has published one well-received novel and was their father’s favorite, is now living in poverty. While Ted is momentarily away, Stone finds a cache of his unpublished novels and steals the manuscripts. Moved by love for his brother and a desire to improve Ted’s life, Stone sets out to get the books published, drawing ire from Ted for invading his privacy. The feud escalates until Stone’s wife and Harmony try to get the brothers to make peace. The writing is a bit rough (a cherry placed on a napkin “bled brightly like fresh blood”), but Reed offers appealing insights on the relationship between art and life and generally sidesteps sentimentality in her portrayal of the brothers’ conflict. This has plenty of charm. (Self-published)