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The Other Side of the Bay
Small towns have a way of burying things, and small-town people have a way of keeping things that way.
With reminiscence and narration, a local sheriff must comb through his own humid world to unravel the truth behind the death of a local boy. But it’s not as easy as it seems, because no one is talking.
The Other Side of the Bay is a remarkable portrait of the unique people in the Panhandle of Florida. The story weaves itself into the tall longleaf forests, and along the crests of the uneasy bay, telling a tale of the human spirit. This is a novel of how things aren't always as black and white as they ought to be, and how right and wrong aren't always easy to tell apart.
It's an evocative tale that delivers its reader to the apricot sun rises and sepulchral storm clouds of their own bittersweet memories.
With reminiscence and narration, a local sheriff must comb through his own humid world to unravel the truth behind the death of a local boy. But it’s not as easy as it seems, because no one is talking.
The Other Side of the Bay is a remarkable portrait of the unique people in the Panhandle of Florida. The story weaves itself into the tall longleaf forests, and along the crests of the uneasy bay, telling a tale of the human spirit. This is a novel of how things aren't always as black and white as they ought to be, and how right and wrong aren't always easy to tell apart.
It's an evocative tale that delivers its reader to the apricot sun rises and sepulchral storm clouds of their own bittersweet memories.
149 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2014
215 people are currently reading
631 people want to read
About the author
Sean Dietrich
35 books1,069 followersSean Dietrich is a columnist, podcaster, speaker, and novelist, known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in Southern Living, The Tallahassee Democrat, Good Grit, South Magazine, The Bitter Southerner, Thom Magazine, and The Mobile Press Register, and he has authored ten books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
May 20, 2017
In a small-town Florida Panhandle town, everyone knows everyone else. So when the Sheriff happens upon Gabe and Jon Jon Alison -- two of the most polite and hard-working young men in the town -- with a body, he is immediately confused. Fortunately for the Alisons, the body is still alive. Unfortunately, that won't be the case by the time morning arrives.
Tasked with getting to the bottom of this death, the Sheriff, like his father before him, comes to realize the world isn't always white and black.
***I can't say the story was super-deep or thought-provoking, but it was fast-paced and engaging, so I always wanted to keep reading. Plus, the chapters are really short, which helps me rationalize reading "just one more chapter" when it's midnight. I enjoyed the author's use of flashback, as it helped to develop Jimmy's character more for me.
Tasked with getting to the bottom of this death, the Sheriff, like his father before him, comes to realize the world isn't always white and black.
***I can't say the story was super-deep or thought-provoking, but it was fast-paced and engaging, so I always wanted to keep reading. Plus, the chapters are really short, which helps me rationalize reading "just one more chapter" when it's midnight. I enjoyed the author's use of flashback, as it helped to develop Jimmy's character more for me.
January 29, 2018
Good contrast between the past & present
Interesting snapshot of small town life. I liked the contrast of the past & present life of the narrator. The book needs a good proofing though.
Interesting snapshot of small town life. I liked the contrast of the past & present life of the narrator. The book needs a good proofing though.
March 20, 2022
A very good story but the editing was non existent! I have never read a book that had as many errors as this!
March 24, 2017
Rural coastal life
This review is from: The Other Side of the Bay (Kindle Edition)
Some reviewers have compared this to Greg Iles, John Grisham, Eudora Welty and Fannie Flagg. If you read the book with those kinds of expectations, you will likely be disappointed. If you read it expecting a deep mystery, you may also be disappointed. The mystery is mostly predictable as is the ending. It is a good story of small town life, attitudes and justice. Attitudes which I generally share and admire which may be why I found the mystery predictable. Well written for the most part, the author has trouble with the usage of me and I which strikes a discordant note. The first page has a very awkwardly constructed sentence which gives a poor first impression. Fortunately this sentence is the exception rather than the rule. A very few details such as two men, one a leader, who served in the military during WW2, needing instruction in the use of a radio are just a bit off. My personal opinion is that the author has potential.
This review is from: The Other Side of the Bay (Kindle Edition)
Some reviewers have compared this to Greg Iles, John Grisham, Eudora Welty and Fannie Flagg. If you read the book with those kinds of expectations, you will likely be disappointed. If you read it expecting a deep mystery, you may also be disappointed. The mystery is mostly predictable as is the ending. It is a good story of small town life, attitudes and justice. Attitudes which I generally share and admire which may be why I found the mystery predictable. Well written for the most part, the author has trouble with the usage of me and I which strikes a discordant note. The first page has a very awkwardly constructed sentence which gives a poor first impression. Fortunately this sentence is the exception rather than the rule. A very few details such as two men, one a leader, who served in the military during WW2, needing instruction in the use of a radio are just a bit off. My personal opinion is that the author has potential.
September 8, 2022
Such was the sense of timelessness and place in THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BAY that for much of it I thought I was reading a story set in the 1950s.
It was only when occasional terms like “Gatorade” or “rFord Escort” leaked into the languorous forward narrative that I saw that it was closer to a contemporary time. But that’s all you’d have to know that, given this portrait of small-town Florida Panhandle cultural that transcends the calendar in favor of community values: shared hobbies, shared livings, shared last names, shared love and mastery of the unforgiving landscape, shared preferences in food and privacy … and shared peculiarities: “I remembered how Momma used to polish all of our furniture with mayonnaise, like all the country people in her family did.”
A sheriff who wants to hold sway over these parts would do well to mind those things, even over the law when necessary, and the one in THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BAY is as much bound to that order as he is to his past, and the daddy (and former sheriff) who can’t surrender his own past. As Jimmy puts it: “ I think I've always liked easiness better than happiness anyhow. I think an easy life is better than a happy one.”
I might have wished for a more robust plot here, and suspense to match, given the fig leaf of them presented in these pages, but author Sean Dietrich is more concerned with people and place, and as such they make for easy company for this reader. Slight in structure but substantive in heart, and ultimately satisfying as something more than a literary snack. A nice in-between meal.
It was only when occasional terms like “Gatorade” or “rFord Escort” leaked into the languorous forward narrative that I saw that it was closer to a contemporary time. But that’s all you’d have to know that, given this portrait of small-town Florida Panhandle cultural that transcends the calendar in favor of community values: shared hobbies, shared livings, shared last names, shared love and mastery of the unforgiving landscape, shared preferences in food and privacy … and shared peculiarities: “I remembered how Momma used to polish all of our furniture with mayonnaise, like all the country people in her family did.”
A sheriff who wants to hold sway over these parts would do well to mind those things, even over the law when necessary, and the one in THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BAY is as much bound to that order as he is to his past, and the daddy (and former sheriff) who can’t surrender his own past. As Jimmy puts it: “ I think I've always liked easiness better than happiness anyhow. I think an easy life is better than a happy one.”
I might have wished for a more robust plot here, and suspense to match, given the fig leaf of them presented in these pages, but author Sean Dietrich is more concerned with people and place, and as such they make for easy company for this reader. Slight in structure but substantive in heart, and ultimately satisfying as something more than a literary snack. A nice in-between meal.
January 10, 2022
State Florida.
Specifically the Panhandle. Do they really get about 2x the amount of rain as Seattle? There was a lot of fog and freezing weather for the Panhandle that I would not have expected. A lot of on the bay and fishing for a short novel but the author is a fisherman.
So, I'm not a fan of one chapter in a different time than the next. It went back and forth between when Jimmy the current Sheriff of the small town was a boy and his daddy was Sheriff and now. It's like trying to keep track of two different stories at the same time. But it ended up small town justice. So, the "good" hardworking family is a mom (whose husband was a bad guy), 2 sons and a daughter--all in high school. The bad guy rapes the mom. He was always after the daughter (what a creep). She "allows" him into her car and drugs him. The brothers come upon the passed out creep and try to do something with him but they are discovered. The 3 spend the night in jail and the drugged guy ends up dying. Each of them comes to the sheriff at different times to tell the story and in the end the sheriff says it was suicide.
Specifically the Panhandle. Do they really get about 2x the amount of rain as Seattle? There was a lot of fog and freezing weather for the Panhandle that I would not have expected. A lot of on the bay and fishing for a short novel but the author is a fisherman.
So, I'm not a fan of one chapter in a different time than the next. It went back and forth between when Jimmy the current Sheriff of the small town was a boy and his daddy was Sheriff and now. It's like trying to keep track of two different stories at the same time. But it ended up small town justice. So, the "good" hardworking family is a mom (whose husband was a bad guy), 2 sons and a daughter--all in high school. The bad guy rapes the mom. He was always after the daughter (what a creep). She "allows" him into her car and drugs him. The brothers come upon the passed out creep and try to do something with him but they are discovered. The 3 spend the night in jail and the drugged guy ends up dying. Each of them comes to the sheriff at different times to tell the story and in the end the sheriff says it was suicide.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2023
There’s a broken down truck in the woods holding three men, two drunk brothers and a passed-out football has-been. By morning, the truck will be discovered in perfect working condition, and the has-been found to be dead in the drunk tank at the sheriff’s office. The Other Side of the Bay ranks among the most interesting of Dietrich’s works that I’ve yet tried, in part because of its unusual structure; it weaves back and forth between past and present, which run increasingly close together as the tale emerges, and in the world of small, rural towns, these two are not far apart: as Faulkner commented, the past is never dead; it is not even past. The continuity of this rural community is a strength and a theme of this story of two lonely men, a father and son who are heartbroken by the loss of the woman who bound their lives together. Bringing them together again is a mystery in the back woods, one that will create a further mystery when the man being held overnight doesn’t wake up in the morning. As Dietrich tells the story of Jimmy working through the mystery, attempting to figure out what happened and what the demands of justice are in this case, we experience his past, forever hovering in his mind – especially scenes of his father’s long service as the sheriff, a position Jimmy now inherits. Fans of The Incredible Winston Browne will see a precursor of that other Panhandle lawman here, as both Jimmy and his father are not merely hunters of speeders and ne’er do wells, but community fixtures, offering strength in wise counsel and steady presence rather than swaggering and boasting. It’s a strength born of suffering, as the reader shall see. Although the book deals with serious themes – loss and revenge – it also offers the comfortable escape of a small-town setting, complete with quirky characters ribbing one another even as they join together in serious work like investigating a murder. Winston Browne was a better-organized book, but I thought Dietrich’s unusual structure ultimately effective in demonstrating the living presence of the past in the South, especially its smaller towns where all are bound together by shared memories.
June 24, 2019
I enjoyed this story, whose length is somewhere between a novella and a full-length book. Highly evocative of its time and place, it features a wonderful cast of small-town characters. The chapters alternate between past and present, successfully navigating that journey while keeping the main plot moving. I'm afraid, though, that I have to mention that the book badly needs a thorough edit for its raft of typos, grammatical failings, and punctuation errors. I hope the author will take the time to fix the manuscript so as to prevent these unfortunate mistakes from detracting from what is otherwise a very well done and enjoyable book.
February 19, 2023
Heart touching and heart rending at the same time. It felt like a nice slow take of life in a small town with characters I could relate to and sympathize with. It bounced backed and forth every other chapter either telling about the principle character as a young boy or as an adult in the story’s current time. It told the timeless tale of joy and heartbreaking grief. It told the story kindness and unbelievable meanness. It made one ponder the question of “What would you do?”. Even though it was relatively short, it would be a good book club book. Having just finished it shortly prior to writing this, I wish I had someone to discuss it with.
August 13, 2018
Small town life is just that. Small town. Author Sean Dietrich is a master of telling a story and The Other Side of the Bay is a wonderful story about small town life and the people who live there.
Each character is like a next door neighbor and the trials and joys that they experience are realistic and heartfelt. Dietrich has a way with words and weaves a wonderful story about wonderfully flawed people who live their lives as best as they can.
Set in the Panhandle of Florida Dietrich writes about the death of a young boy and the sheriff who tries to unravel the mystery of his death. Of course no one is forthcoming with answers and even when the answers come there appears to be a lot of gray area. The story moves along at a nice pace and takes the reader right along.
I am a huge Sean Dietrich fan and love his writing style so The Other Side of the Bay was a wonderful book to read on a summer afternoon while sitting on my dock. Keep writing them, Sean. Your number one fan is waiting for more.
Each character is like a next door neighbor and the trials and joys that they experience are realistic and heartfelt. Dietrich has a way with words and weaves a wonderful story about wonderfully flawed people who live their lives as best as they can.
Set in the Panhandle of Florida Dietrich writes about the death of a young boy and the sheriff who tries to unravel the mystery of his death. Of course no one is forthcoming with answers and even when the answers come there appears to be a lot of gray area. The story moves along at a nice pace and takes the reader right along.
I am a huge Sean Dietrich fan and love his writing style so The Other Side of the Bay was a wonderful book to read on a summer afternoon while sitting on my dock. Keep writing them, Sean. Your number one fan is waiting for more.
February 21, 2024
This is an excellent book that kept my interest. It is a murder mystery, a story of grief, a coming of age story, a story of small towns, and a story of aging all at the same time. It has both humor and pathos. My main reason for giving only 4 stars is that the book needed editing. There were typos and grammar errors. And the book needed chapter subtitles of either Lawrence or Jimmy to let one know who was narrating in that chapter. Otherwise, a very enjoyable book that handled the language and folkways of the Deep South very naturally.
April 3, 2025
Sean Dietrich is a writer/humorist based in northern Florida. This is his first novel, self-published, and, well, it shows. There were quite a few edits that could have been made, in my opinion. The story is about a sheriff’s deputy investigating what may or may not be a murder while navigating life in a very small panhandle town. The book is short—more of a novella or even a long short story than a novel—and told in very short chapters, alternating between past/background and the present story. It was a very quick read and was generally entertaining.
August 26, 2018
Wasn't expecting much
I bought this novel because I love, love, love Sean's daily column about southerners. I just wanted to support him as a writer but figured a novel would be too much for his short-and-sweet writing style. I was wrong. This book, a murder mystery involving goodhearted people hooked me early on and didn't let go til the end. I can't wait to read his other novels!
I bought this novel because I love, love, love Sean's daily column about southerners. I just wanted to support him as a writer but figured a novel would be too much for his short-and-sweet writing style. I was wrong. This book, a murder mystery involving goodhearted people hooked me early on and didn't let go til the end. I can't wait to read his other novels!
December 27, 2018
Respect with reflection
An good and easy read, with a great respect for the landscape of Northwest Florida firmly placed throughout. The book reflects the love of our people, the importance of our dogs and the simplicity and complexity of the relationships with both. Now with our trees mostly gone it was nice to imagine the drive down 98 while I imagined the characters as people I have seen. Great work, Sean! You represent us well.
An good and easy read, with a great respect for the landscape of Northwest Florida firmly placed throughout. The book reflects the love of our people, the importance of our dogs and the simplicity and complexity of the relationships with both. Now with our trees mostly gone it was nice to imagine the drive down 98 while I imagined the characters as people I have seen. Great work, Sean! You represent us well.
March 6, 2020
Enjoyable Southern Literature
Many of my friends read and love this author but the jury was out for me. I had read the Stars of Alabama and it was just fine but not a favorite. While the settings were comfortably familiar to this native Georgia girl, I found the jumping between stories frustrating at times. This book however, was a good read once I reminded myself that the chapters jump and forth between the past and present. Glad I gave “Sean if the South” another chance!
Many of my friends read and love this author but the jury was out for me. I had read the Stars of Alabama and it was just fine but not a favorite. While the settings were comfortably familiar to this native Georgia girl, I found the jumping between stories frustrating at times. This book however, was a good read once I reminded myself that the chapters jump and forth between the past and present. Glad I gave “Sean if the South” another chance!
May 2, 2020
Set in a small Florida panhandle town, the sheriff works to solve the mysterious death of a local man who has a bit of a checkered past. His investigation analyzes the stark contrast between the lives of the relatively well off and the very poor residents of the county, and uncovers the lengths family will take to protect or defend one of their own.
The story is compelling and well written. The author uses very short chapters (a page or two) and flashbacks to his life as a child (his dad was also the sheriff back in the day) to walk us through the detective process. Some readers may question the solution but the author's clever storytelling leads us to understanding why it was really the only reasonable solution.
I think this book has won a few awards, and I can see why. Well worth the time to read.
The story is compelling and well written. The author uses very short chapters (a page or two) and flashbacks to his life as a child (his dad was also the sheriff back in the day) to walk us through the detective process. Some readers may question the solution but the author's clever storytelling leads us to understanding why it was really the only reasonable solution.
I think this book has won a few awards, and I can see why. Well worth the time to read.
May 8, 2020
Stories of the South always appeal to me most. I loved reading about the people of the panhandle.
A very likeable group of everyday people in not so everyday circumstances makes this a very good story of life, love and loss. It has its villains, it's hero's and it's survivors. I like the authors style that goes from the current day back to his younger days. It keeps the readers on their toes.
A very likeable group of everyday people in not so everyday circumstances makes this a very good story of life, love and loss. It has its villains, it's hero's and it's survivors. I like the authors style that goes from the current day back to his younger days. It keeps the readers on their toes.
November 2, 2021
Sean Dietrich - Storyteller
If you like a good Southern story told the way good Southern storytellers tell it , then you don’t want to pass this one by. Sean Dietrich is just that, a good ole storyteller. He has a voice that wraps you up tight in the words, the world and the characters ... and it doesn’t let you go, even when the story is through. You’ll feel like you have been there, met them and experienced it first hand.
If you like a good Southern story told the way good Southern storytellers tell it , then you don’t want to pass this one by. Sean Dietrich is just that, a good ole storyteller. He has a voice that wraps you up tight in the words, the world and the characters ... and it doesn’t let you go, even when the story is through. You’ll feel like you have been there, met them and experienced it first hand.
September 4, 2023
I really enjoy Sean Dietrich’s work - however this is not a favorite. It’s one of his earliest works and he has grown and improved greatly since then. I found it very confusing in the beginning with the chapters being told from different points of view. Characters are introduced but underdeveloped - I never really felt connected to any of them. It’s a quick read and a nice little story. Just (barely) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for The Other Side of the Bay.
January 4, 2024
I was hoping to really like this book. It was ok. Being from the area I did enjoy the descriptions of the FL panhandle and could connect to things mentioned in the setting. The book goes back and forth from present to past. It just didn't feel like that worked best for this book. It only took me a few hours to read and overall there was a sense of satisfaction reading the book, just nothing amazing.
March 21, 2024
Makes me nostalgic for home
I love Sean’s books. I grew up in the same part of the country as he did and I can literally see the places he describes in my mind when I read his words. This story about small town sheriffs makes me long for a simpler time- when people really knew people and justice sometimes came in different forms. I can recommend this and all of Sean’s books. But read them on a weekend because they’re too good to put down once you start.
I love Sean’s books. I grew up in the same part of the country as he did and I can literally see the places he describes in my mind when I read his words. This story about small town sheriffs makes me long for a simpler time- when people really knew people and justice sometimes came in different forms. I can recommend this and all of Sean’s books. But read them on a weekend because they’re too good to put down once you start.
March 14, 2025
Another special read from a favorite author
This book is filled with some great storytelling. Some made me laugh,some made me sad and drew tears from my eyes. Several stories were downright tragic. I am getting close to completing all of Sean's books. I listen to all of his podcasts. My sister loves reading Sean's books as well. Keep on entertaining your readers, Sean. You never disappoint.
This book is filled with some great storytelling. Some made me laugh,some made me sad and drew tears from my eyes. Several stories were downright tragic. I am getting close to completing all of Sean's books. I listen to all of his podcasts. My sister loves reading Sean's books as well. Keep on entertaining your readers, Sean. You never disappoint.
May 1, 2025
Solid Southern Lit. I can’t say that about a lot of that genre. The writing conveys the nuances of the world down here without going over-the-top cornpone. I did, however, have a curiosity about this Kindle edition. There were a number of misspellings and other editorial lapses. It left me wondering whether it was lazy editing by the publisher or some attempt by the author at “folksy.” I am disappointed at either without being sure about which bothers me more.
September 10, 2023
My first Sean D book
I have read Sean Diet Rich’s columns for a few months and enjoy the over breakfast and coffee. I wasn’t sure what to expect in a novel, but I enjoyed the book. I made this my first as we live in the Panhandle. It is written in Sean’s easy reading style with the right amount of suspense and humor. I’ll read others.
I have read Sean Diet Rich’s columns for a few months and enjoy the over breakfast and coffee. I wasn’t sure what to expect in a novel, but I enjoyed the book. I made this my first as we live in the Panhandle. It is written in Sean’s easy reading style with the right amount of suspense and humor. I’ll read others.
January 5, 2018
I liked it. I like the small town, everyone knows your business attitude of this book. I liked the way it went back and forth between his current life and his growing up years. I really liked the ending. Sometimes Justice is exactly what it should be.
May 31, 2021
Fantastic story!
I love Sean's style of writing. I'm from Pensacola so I love his mentions of my home town in the Florida panhandle. His characters are so very interesting. Sean makes you wish you knew them and the simpler way of life in this story. What an enjoyable read!
I love Sean's style of writing. I'm from Pensacola so I love his mentions of my home town in the Florida panhandle. His characters are so very interesting. Sean makes you wish you knew them and the simpler way of life in this story. What an enjoyable read!
June 4, 2022
100% Sean
A novel so full of heart that it compels you to believe in goodness and kindness again. Characters so real that they feel like family, people you could never forget. Every word this man writes is pitch perfect. Every Florida scene drenched in beauty.
A novel so full of heart that it compels you to believe in goodness and kindness again. Characters so real that they feel like family, people you could never forget. Every word this man writes is pitch perfect. Every Florida scene drenched in beauty.
May 8, 2023
I was not impressed with this book. The storyline was okay, but at the same time, it was so confusing. I don't like how it was written. It was such a short book that I felt obligated to finish it, and I was hoping it would get better. So much for that.
November 13, 2023
A fun story.
My wife and I read this book together. We often read the author's columns and always enjoy them. This was a great story and well written. The only improvement I'd suggest is having a proofreader go through and fix the typos.
My wife and I read this book together. We often read the author's columns and always enjoy them. This was a great story and well written. The only improvement I'd suggest is having a proofreader go through and fix the typos.
January 19, 2024
Another Gem
My wife introduced me to Sean Dietrich's writing a few weeks ago. Each new book is my new favorite. It's like finding buried treasure every time I start a new one. Love it!
My wife introduced me to Sean Dietrich's writing a few weeks ago. Each new book is my new favorite. It's like finding buried treasure every time I start a new one. Love it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews