Beloved writer Sean Dietrich–also known as Sean of the South–will warm your heart with this rich and nostalgic tale about community, kindness, and the meaning of the everyday incredible. In the small, sleepy town of Moab, Florida, folks live for ice cream socials, Jackie Robinson, and the local paper’s weekly gossip column. For decades, Sheriff Winston Browne has watched over Moab with a … Moab with a generous eye, and by now he’s used to handling the daily dramas that keep life interesting for Moab’s quirky residents. But just after Winston receives some terrible, life-altering news, a feisty little girl with mysterious origins shows up in his best friend’s henhouse. Suddenly Winston has a child in desperate need of protection–as well as a secret of his own to keep.
With the help of Moab’s goodhearted townsfolk, the humble and well-meaning Winston Browne still has some heroic things to do. He finds romance, family, and love in unexpected places. He stumbles upon adventure, searches his soul, and grapples with the past. In doing so, he just might discover what a life well-lived truly looks like.
“Sean Dietrich has written a home run of a novel with The Incredible Winston Browne. Every bit as wonderful as its title implies, it’s the story of Browne–a principled, baseball-loving sheriff–a precocious little girl in need of help, and the community that rallies around them. This warm, witty, tender novel celebrates the power of friendship and family to transform our lives. It left me nostalgic and hopeful, missing my grandfathers, and eager for baseball season to start again. I loved it.” –Ariel Lawhon, New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia
“Make no mistake. [The Incredible Winston Browne] is a classic story, told by an expert storyteller.” –Shawn Smucker, author of Light from Distant Stars
- Stand-alone historical novel
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
- Also from Sean Dietrich: Stars of Alabama
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I have to admit that it has been several days since I finished reading this book. But I needed to wait and absorb all of the emotions that I experienced while traveling through the pages. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
The characters are so well developed and I fell in love with them. My heart overflowed as I got to know Moab Sheriff, Winston Browne; his friends, Jimmy Abraham and Eleanor Hughes; young people, Buz Guilford and Jessie. There are lots of topics covered, including terminal illness, alcoholism, cult mentality, love, loss, friendship, etc.
One of the reasons I loved this book so much was that I had laugh out loud moments and then times when I literally sobbed out loud. It was such a pleasure to read a good clean fun book that focused on small town life and the relationships that had existed for years and new ones that developed slowly and deeply.
And then you add in the occasional “Moab Social Graces” newspaper column and you cannot help but roll your eyes and chuckle.
I cannot say enough positive things about this book. I loved it so much that I purchased more books by the author. I strongly recommend you put this at the top of your to-read list!
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich is the best book that I have read so far in 2021. I would not have thought that a book set in the small fictional Florida town of Moab during the 1950’s would end up being a five star read. But this historical fiction with some suspense and action was excellent.
It features fifty-two year old Sheriff Winston Browne who not only handles the normal sheriff’s duties, but is also the coroner and baseball coach. He even delivers groceries while doing patrol duty. After nine-year-old Jessie shows up needing help and protection, Winston’s life becomes more fulfilled as well as complicated.
While the town rallies to help Jessie, Winston gets some bad personal news. As he deals with that, he also reflects on his life and continues to care for the town’s inhabitants (including Jessie), and finds he still has more heroic acts ahead of him.
Winston shows tremendous character depth and growth during the course of the book. The other characters have varying degrees of depth, but it was adequate with some being complementary to the protagonist and some being oppositional.
The author brought a strong sense of time and place to the events in the book. Whether it was the attitudes towards and expectations of women, the social and gossip columns, the church social events, the thrill of baseball, the daily Scrabble games, or the townsfolk looking out for one another, I felt transported to northwest Florida in the 1950’s. The town and its citizens came alive for me. While I wish the author had explained why Jessie had to initially run, I came up with my own answer that seemed plausible to me.
The way Winston deals with his bad personal news has a huge impact on the reader, but that is just one of the dramas playing out. When you add in a teen that quits school so he can get a job to help support his mother and his alcoholic grandfather, mail that gets delivered erratically, a love triangle, and the people trying to locate and retrieve Jessie, you have a heartfelt and intriguing novel.
There was a melancholy feel to the atmosphere at times, but there was also humor, hope, protection, love, romance, and friendship to balance it. The ending is impactful, uplifting, and insightful.
Overall, this book was moving and inspiring. Winston Browne is a memorable character and I will continue to think about him for some time. This is the first book that I have read by this author but it won’t be the last. I highly recommend this novel.
Thomas Nelson—FICTION and Sean Dietrich provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for March 2, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
Fans of small-town stories will fall in love with The Incredible Winston Browne. This book is full of nostalgic stories set in small-town Moab, stories that reflect the normal ups and downs of real life. Grief and loss, friendship and love, but most of all, family. The families we make.
Mr. Dietrich’s rich prose is by turns funny, tender and bittersweet with a strong sense of place that left me feeling as if I had taken a trip to visit the community of Moab. I felt a roller-coaster of emotions as Winston Brown’s story was told. I felt this to be a compelling read, of how a seemingly ‘normal’ person can have an incredible influence on those who crossed their path.
This is a story every reader’s heart will embrace.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Honestly, nothing I could write here would do this book justice. This author hit this one out of the ballpark <-- see what I did there??! It is probably my favorite read so far this year. The writing was amazing. The small town setting was wonderful. The characters were heartwarming. It had ALL the feels and then some. Everything about this book was utter perfection. Two HUGE thumbs up from yours truly. **ARC Via NetGalley**
Thanks to Thomas Nelson & NetGalley for a gifted digital copy. All comments and opinions are my own.
This was a sweet, heartwarming 1950s story featuring Sherriff Winston Browne of the small southern town of Moab, Florida. Baseball overrules all other activities, with most of the town rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Everyone knows everybody else’s business with the help of the town’s local newspaper. Jackie Robinson, a runaway young girl and friendly red dog, and an overwhelmed postmaster preoccupy the quirky characters both young and old.
Mark Twain-loving Sherriff Browne is conscientious and caring both professionally and personally. Together with long-time friend Eleanor they rescue Jessie, a runaway 10-year old who is escaping a dangerous cult. The novel vacillates between Jessie’s saga and Winston’s health, and comes together in a wonderfully loving climax as the community honors Winston.
In addition to the story, what makes this novel so enjoyable is the writing style – folksy yet witty humor and phrasings that create a warmhearted, tender novel that celebrates the power of friendship and family.
This was my introduction to author Sean Dietrich, and you can bet I’ll soon be reading another one of his many novels. If you liked Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café or any of her other small town novels, or William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land, you’ll enjoy this charming and memorable novel.
Oh, Sean Dietrich. The things you do to a reader’s heart. I absolutely loved this book, set in small-town Moab, Florida, and the characters who made this town vibrant and real. The main character, Winston Browne, is dying. The story isn’t just about him, however, but about all the people his life touches. There is grit and humor, and of course, some heartache, too. But the way this tale unfolds is so full of grace and beauty that I felt filled up and overflowing with it.
I listened to this book on audio because the author narrates it himself and does such an amazing job. And now I’m going to order the hard copy, too, because this book is just too good not to have sitting on my shelf, ready to be thrust into a friend’s hands, or revisited for the power of the writing.
I will read every novel by Sean Dietrich forever. His books are meant to be savored.
Oh, what a story! I did not want it to end. The author captures a time gone by in a small town, Moab, Florida, where everyone knows your name and your business. The characters and their situations grabbed at my heartstrings from the start, “Winston Browne knew he was dying. He couldn’t explain how he knew. He just did.”
I loved how the author took his time in introducing his colorful and bold leading characters one by one; so that the reader is fully invested in each of them. He did a great job of making readers wonder how and/or if their lives would intersect. After the intros, the reader feels the connection to these town folks as they look forward to gathering for ice cream socials and watch Jackie Robinson make baseball history All this leads up to a climatic event I didn’t see coming. The author has brilliantly woven a magical story that you will not want to end.
I loved this authors’ writing style, humor and the depth of character throughout the novel. Here’s a peek at how he sets up a scene, “The late autumn rain was coming down hard, and a small river was flowing down Evergreen Avenue pavement, collecting in the gutters, rushing toward the end of the street. The frogs were singing in the happy way that north Floridian frogs do when it rains. The sounds of the night were like a symphony.”
This is a must-read! I highly recommend this book for your next book club pick and/or just for pure enjoyment.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”
Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog http://www.bookfun.org
The Incredible Winston Browne is a slice of life in Moab, Florida during the fifties. The Dodgers have a chance at the World Series and Sheriff Winston Browne, a man with chocolate coins in his pocket, and a love for Mark Twain is finding life anew. He has been given the ultimate diagnosis of lung cancer, one that doesn’t slow down his love for Lucky cigarettes and now he’s beginning to live life as it should be. He’s a town patriarch who coaches the little league team, helps the young man whose grandfather is an alcoholic and pays attention to the town spinster. It’s about old friendships and new and the value of living life to the fullest. I loved this story and the beautiful way Sean Dietrich told it. The reader feels the heat, the mugginess, sees the anxious faces of the little leaguers, and sees love in the eyes of a woman unloved. Beautiful and uplifting. I obtained this book from Net Galley and have left an honest review.
As advertised, this is truly a story of the south and small southern towns. The characters are like many you have known if you grew up, as I did, in the south. The small town newspaper that prints all the comings and goings of the townspeople is EXACTLY like the one in my home town. I used to entertain my friends by reading the column to them from the copies my mother sent to me long after I had left.
I found the storyline confusing in places, and I never DID understand where Jessie came from. That part is actually superfluous to the story, because the life of the book is in the town of Moab and its residents. Winston and Eleanor are wonderfully characterized and it is so much fun to see Eleanor come alive through the course of the book. Buz’s character is so sympathetically drawn, and the paths of all the characters are so wonderfully true to life. It was a real pleasure to share a little time with Winston and his town.
Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a nostalgic story that touched a lot of different emotions but ended in a feel good way. Set in the mid twentieth century in a small Northwest Florida town, it brought back some memories of a slower lifestyle-one where everyone knew each other and each other’s business but had a strong sense of community and friendships. Everyone went to the Methodist Church or the Baptist Church across the street in the fictional town of Moab. Winston Browne grew up in the town, went to Europe for World War II and became a Captain in the Army. His girl did not wait for him so he has remained single for all of his fifty plus years. Now he is Sheriff, baseball coach, lover of the Brooklyn Dodgers (as are many locals) grocery deliverer and much more. While the story revolves around Winston and his whole life, it is about so many other interesting, funny, and realistic friends and townspeople. There is also a side story of the mystery of a little girl showing up in town and touching many lives, including Winston’s. Sean Dietrich does a great job capturing the time in the Deep South where life moved slower. Lovely story that I recommend for those who want to read something a little different.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This was a surprisingly good book! It takes place in a small town and gives us a glimpse into their life. It was full of interesting characters and a few side stories. It’s kinda a baseball story and kinda just about the title character.
It was well written and for me hits alittle close to home. I really enjoyed the book. Definitely recommend
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
Sean Dietrich writes a novel that will simultaneously break your heart and fill your heart with good emotions. The stories and people who encompass the months of Winston Brown’s life will both humor you and grip you. A great novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich is a wonderful, heartwarming story that has it all: historical fiction, heartwarming characters, southern living, a bit of mystery, and a story about finding hope, love, and acceptance after all.
I loved reading this story centered within this small-town atmosphere of Moab, Florida. Even though it was in FL, the location felt as if it was more within the “deep south”. The community had a very 50s, quirky, creative vibe that brought along with it a unique and memorable set of inhabitants. I loved being placed within the community and felt at many times as if I was actually there.
I loved the focal story of second-chances and finding love and home after feeling as if all is lost. The ending was wonderful and satisfying, however I cannot say that a few tears weren’t shed throughout the story. It was so warming.
On a light note, I really enjoy baseball and relish the memories of going with my parents to many Indians games. I know, not the same team, but this book brought back those memories so easily.
I really enjoyed this journey and am glad I read this heartfelt novel.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 3/2/21.