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The Incredible Winston Browne
Beloved writer Sean Dietrich--also known as Sean of the South--will warm your heart with this rich and nostalgic tale of a small-town sheriff, a mysterious little girl, and a good-hearted community pulling together to help her.
Folks in Moab live for ice cream socials, baseball, and the local paper's weekly gossip column. Sheriff Winston Browne has watched over Moab with a generous eye for a decade, 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 seemingly mute runaway with no clear origin arrives in Moab. The residents do what they believe is right and take her in--until two suspicious strangers arrive and begin looking for her. 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.
Sometimes ordinary people do the most extraordinary things of all.
Praise for The Incredible Winston Browne:
"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 set in the 1950s
Includes discussion questions for book clubs
Also from Sean Stars of Alabama
Folks in Moab live for ice cream socials, baseball, and the local paper's weekly gossip column. Sheriff Winston Browne has watched over Moab with a generous eye for a decade, 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 seemingly mute runaway with no clear origin arrives in Moab. The residents do what they believe is right and take her in--until two suspicious strangers arrive and begin looking for her. 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.
Sometimes ordinary people do the most extraordinary things of all.
Praise for The Incredible Winston Browne:
"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 set in the 1950s
Includes discussion questions for book clubs
Also from Sean Stars of Alabama
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2021
499 people are currently reading
10749 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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February 2, 2022
The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich
Narrated by the author
I loved this audiobook and wish I could have spent more time with Winston and the people he loved. Taking place in the mid 50s, the story sets us down in Moab, Florida, population 912, elevation 17 feet. The town is obsessed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and because there is so little entertainment, the kids' baseball practice can draw a crowd of townsfolk. Fifty-two year old Sheriff Winston Browne is the glue that holds this place together. He never lets the kids of the town forget that there are folks less fortunate that need attention and supplies and will haul the kids he coaches to deliver food to those in need. Winston is a people person and his reason for living is to help others.
But Moab's beloved sheriff is dying. He hides it, at first, even though everybody can see that Winston has a terrible cough that isn't going away. He still mourns the fact that his one love married another man while he was fighting in the trenches overseas. Once he lost that chance at marriage, he became married to the town of Moab, always working towards making sure each and every person is not forgotten or neglected. Now, Buzz, a fourteen year old boy, more adult than child due to his family's poverty, has lost his grandfather, and Winston embraces the boy as if he were his own son. And, Jessie, a mysterious ten year old girl shows up in town, refusing to disclose her background, but needing the love of a family. Winston even discovers romance late in life, as Eleanor takes in Jessie, and she and Winston give her the sense of family she needs.
I cried several times but so did the characters in this book. Men cried, women cried, kids cried. Still, the tears have meaning and feel good and the story left me feeling connected with the things in life that have real meaning. The story is funny, sad, and silly and highlight life the way it should be lived. Dietrich's narration was wonderful and a great way to experience this story.
Pub March 2, 2021 by Thomas Nelson
Narrated by the author
I loved this audiobook and wish I could have spent more time with Winston and the people he loved. Taking place in the mid 50s, the story sets us down in Moab, Florida, population 912, elevation 17 feet. The town is obsessed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and because there is so little entertainment, the kids' baseball practice can draw a crowd of townsfolk. Fifty-two year old Sheriff Winston Browne is the glue that holds this place together. He never lets the kids of the town forget that there are folks less fortunate that need attention and supplies and will haul the kids he coaches to deliver food to those in need. Winston is a people person and his reason for living is to help others.
But Moab's beloved sheriff is dying. He hides it, at first, even though everybody can see that Winston has a terrible cough that isn't going away. He still mourns the fact that his one love married another man while he was fighting in the trenches overseas. Once he lost that chance at marriage, he became married to the town of Moab, always working towards making sure each and every person is not forgotten or neglected. Now, Buzz, a fourteen year old boy, more adult than child due to his family's poverty, has lost his grandfather, and Winston embraces the boy as if he were his own son. And, Jessie, a mysterious ten year old girl shows up in town, refusing to disclose her background, but needing the love of a family. Winston even discovers romance late in life, as Eleanor takes in Jessie, and she and Winston give her the sense of family she needs.
I cried several times but so did the characters in this book. Men cried, women cried, kids cried. Still, the tears have meaning and feel good and the story left me feeling connected with the things in life that have real meaning. The story is funny, sad, and silly and highlight life the way it should be lived. Dietrich's narration was wonderful and a great way to experience this story.
Pub March 2, 2021 by Thomas Nelson
February 25, 2021
4.5 stars
“Miss Anna Jordan accompanied Mr. Richard Hackle to the VFW dance in Mobile.”
“Emmet Threet has returned from Detroit, Michigan, where he visited his brother, Earl, who is ill.”
“Miss Eunice Freeman Hoyt was a guest of Miss Mattie Hicks. “The deviled eggs were delicious,” said Miss Mattie. “I made them.” “ (From “MOAB SOCIAL GRACES)
Moab, Florida is a very small town and when you read the notices of happenings around the town in the early 1950’s, it’s a pretty dull place. However, they do love the Brooklyn Dodgers and there is excitement when they win the World Series. It’s not all innocence and gossip and pot luck suppers, and baseball, though. The human condition, life affecting things happen here as they do anywhere. There is terminal illness, alcoholism, people on the edge of poverty. There also is a little girl, who finds this town as she runs for her life and finds her way into the hearts of the people here. Jessie’s story is heartbreaking and unnerving and it takes a while for her to tell these kind people who take her in just who she is running from and why. This quiet town is now facing danger they have not seen before.
I love these small town stories with a variety of characters. Some are quirky and at times provide a bit of comic relief, but most are characters that you’d want as a neighbor or friend. The time and place are so perfectly depicted and I felt I was right there . Okay, I’ll admit that there were a few minutes when I thought, this was a little corny, but the story has so much to offer. It’s about friendship, love, life’s seeming disappointments, about the goodness of people. There’s the Dodgers, too. And yes, Winston Browne is indeed an incredible man. A wonderful story that was perfect for me just now.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley.
February 19, 2021
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.
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.
January 30, 2021
In the 1950's, Moab, Florida was a miniscule, one horse town in the Florida Panhandle. Population 912. Elevation 17 feet. Everyone in town was obsessed with baseball. "Kids in Moab chose allegiances early in life. A boy decided which team he would root for on the day he was born. The majority became a Dodger fan, but some traitors rooted for Mantle and Berra." Winston Browne, town sheriff, had persuaded WWLA to broadcast Brooklyn games since Mobile's minor league team, the Mobile Bears, were part of the Dodgers farm system." On tinny sounding radios "...boys from the rural corn cribs and remote farm communities could hear about the fantastic...feats of Jackie Robinson...".
Three older men worked on Moab's first community ball field. As reported in the town's weekly gossip column, "The Moab baseball field is nearly completed. Lights were erected last week by Mark Laughlin, Sheriff Browne, and Jimmy Abraham." Sheriff Browne aka "Win" had been watching over and patrolling the town since returning from WW II. Win however had a secret. "He'd endured gunfire in muddy European trenches...but...was frightened by a little old man in a white frock coat...[who said] get your affairs in order. Wallowing in self-pity was a death sentence in itself...He was not going to wallow...Winston Browne was going to live right up until he died." His changing priorities had a ripple effect on the community of small town Moab.
"Eleanor Hughes did almost everything at Moab Methodist except preach the sermons. [She] had been Jimmy Abraham's steady girl...he didn't romance or marry her." It was the end-of-summer social and Jimmy was late. Winston appeared. "I could use some company tonight...consider me Jimmy's pinch hitter...You'd be doing me a favor, Miss Hughes." "Life. It could change so quickly...being dipped on the dance floor by a sheriff in a salt-and-pepper suit."
"The scenery outside the train window...trees, fields, horses, cows, rivers, valley. [Ten year old Jessie] had no idea the secular world was so big with wide-open farmland and sunlight." "In some ways the infidels seemed more at ease with themselves than the temple brethren." Tangled in a homemade booby-trap in the henhouse behind Jimmy Abraham's Mercantile, she tried to defend herself with a spoon. A mystery child, a child soon to be lovingly ministered to and mentored by Eleanor and Winston. Baseball, a segway to unlocking the challenges faced by Jessie. Baseball, encouraging Buz Guilford to excel in what he did best. Baseball, Winston mentoring his little league baseball players.
"The Incredible Winston Browne" by Sean Dietrich is a wonderful novel that depicts small town rural life. Dietrich is an inspirational storyteller who reminds us that "sometimes ordinary people do the most extraordinary things of all". I laughed. I cried. I thoroughly invested myself in the lives of the residents. Everyone deserves a second chance. Winston's kindness and compassion made him truly incredible. I highly recommend this tome.
Thank you Thomas Nelson-Fiction and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Three older men worked on Moab's first community ball field. As reported in the town's weekly gossip column, "The Moab baseball field is nearly completed. Lights were erected last week by Mark Laughlin, Sheriff Browne, and Jimmy Abraham." Sheriff Browne aka "Win" had been watching over and patrolling the town since returning from WW II. Win however had a secret. "He'd endured gunfire in muddy European trenches...but...was frightened by a little old man in a white frock coat...[who said] get your affairs in order. Wallowing in self-pity was a death sentence in itself...He was not going to wallow...Winston Browne was going to live right up until he died." His changing priorities had a ripple effect on the community of small town Moab.
"Eleanor Hughes did almost everything at Moab Methodist except preach the sermons. [She] had been Jimmy Abraham's steady girl...he didn't romance or marry her." It was the end-of-summer social and Jimmy was late. Winston appeared. "I could use some company tonight...consider me Jimmy's pinch hitter...You'd be doing me a favor, Miss Hughes." "Life. It could change so quickly...being dipped on the dance floor by a sheriff in a salt-and-pepper suit."
"The scenery outside the train window...trees, fields, horses, cows, rivers, valley. [Ten year old Jessie] had no idea the secular world was so big with wide-open farmland and sunlight." "In some ways the infidels seemed more at ease with themselves than the temple brethren." Tangled in a homemade booby-trap in the henhouse behind Jimmy Abraham's Mercantile, she tried to defend herself with a spoon. A mystery child, a child soon to be lovingly ministered to and mentored by Eleanor and Winston. Baseball, a segway to unlocking the challenges faced by Jessie. Baseball, encouraging Buz Guilford to excel in what he did best. Baseball, Winston mentoring his little league baseball players.
"The Incredible Winston Browne" by Sean Dietrich is a wonderful novel that depicts small town rural life. Dietrich is an inspirational storyteller who reminds us that "sometimes ordinary people do the most extraordinary things of all". I laughed. I cried. I thoroughly invested myself in the lives of the residents. Everyone deserves a second chance. Winston's kindness and compassion made him truly incredible. I highly recommend this tome.
Thank you Thomas Nelson-Fiction and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 3, 2021
4.5 stars rounded to 5 stars
My goodness, what a treasure this little novel is! I give credit to my Goodreads friend Pam G whose review I read. She said it is the best book she has read so far this year. Those of you who know Pam G know that she reads a book every day (from all genres no less), so this is very high praise indeed. Without reading the blurb I hit the Net Galley button and was lucky enough to be approved.
What can I say about this book? It is simply a lovely down-to-earth story of a small southern town, its dying sheriff and his best friends, the townspeople, and a frightened little girl on the run. Winston has lung cancer. But for the longest time, that doesn’t stop him. He continues his work as the town protector, baseball coach, adviser to all, and surrogate dad of two. He falls in love several times over. Though this is Winston’s story, there are other characters that will win your heart. Characters like Jessie, Eleanor, Buz, Tommy, and Jimmy. No one is related, but they are as true a family as they come.
Next to the characters, I was most impressed with how Mr. Dietrich, rightfully nicknamed “Sean of the South”, portrayed the tiny Northwest Florida town of Moab in the mid 1950s. He nailed the ambience perfectly. I felt transported back in time to when I grew up in East Tennessee in the mid 20th century. It is one of the best portrayals of a town in this specific time period that I have read.
This is not a terribly pacy book as it is mostly character-driven, but I read it fast as I was so absorbed in these people and their town. There is however a pretty darn awesome stretch in the second half of the book that is downright nail-biting. The last several chapters are so beautifully written. I cried a lot as I read those. The epilogue is perfect and so appreciated.
Oh, how could I almost forget to mention the periodic “Moab Social Graces” daily news bulletins. They reminded me so much of my life in mid 50s Tennessee. “The Women’s Missionary Society annual trick-or-treat caravan will be meeting at 7:00 PM at Miller’s Drugstore. Costumes involving use of blood are not allowed. Mr. Martin Bass escorted Miss Laney McWilliams to the theater in Pensacola last Friday. Rev. Lewis has been called to a West Virginia parish and will be leaving Moab Methodist after two years of faithful service. Farewell party on Tuesday. Bring hot covered dish.” I laughed so much at these!
So obviously, I am strongly recommending The Incredible Winston Browne to anyone looking for a fast read that squeezes the heart and supplies all the feelings. I will definitely read more of this author.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins, and Mr. Sean Dietrich for an advanced copy. Opinions stated are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
My goodness, what a treasure this little novel is! I give credit to my Goodreads friend Pam G whose review I read. She said it is the best book she has read so far this year. Those of you who know Pam G know that she reads a book every day (from all genres no less), so this is very high praise indeed. Without reading the blurb I hit the Net Galley button and was lucky enough to be approved.
What can I say about this book? It is simply a lovely down-to-earth story of a small southern town, its dying sheriff and his best friends, the townspeople, and a frightened little girl on the run. Winston has lung cancer. But for the longest time, that doesn’t stop him. He continues his work as the town protector, baseball coach, adviser to all, and surrogate dad of two. He falls in love several times over. Though this is Winston’s story, there are other characters that will win your heart. Characters like Jessie, Eleanor, Buz, Tommy, and Jimmy. No one is related, but they are as true a family as they come.
Next to the characters, I was most impressed with how Mr. Dietrich, rightfully nicknamed “Sean of the South”, portrayed the tiny Northwest Florida town of Moab in the mid 1950s. He nailed the ambience perfectly. I felt transported back in time to when I grew up in East Tennessee in the mid 20th century. It is one of the best portrayals of a town in this specific time period that I have read.
This is not a terribly pacy book as it is mostly character-driven, but I read it fast as I was so absorbed in these people and their town. There is however a pretty darn awesome stretch in the second half of the book that is downright nail-biting. The last several chapters are so beautifully written. I cried a lot as I read those. The epilogue is perfect and so appreciated.
Oh, how could I almost forget to mention the periodic “Moab Social Graces” daily news bulletins. They reminded me so much of my life in mid 50s Tennessee. “The Women’s Missionary Society annual trick-or-treat caravan will be meeting at 7:00 PM at Miller’s Drugstore. Costumes involving use of blood are not allowed. Mr. Martin Bass escorted Miss Laney McWilliams to the theater in Pensacola last Friday. Rev. Lewis has been called to a West Virginia parish and will be leaving Moab Methodist after two years of faithful service. Farewell party on Tuesday. Bring hot covered dish.” I laughed so much at these!
So obviously, I am strongly recommending The Incredible Winston Browne to anyone looking for a fast read that squeezes the heart and supplies all the feelings. I will definitely read more of this author.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins, and Mr. Sean Dietrich for an advanced copy. Opinions stated are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
March 15, 2021
EXCERPT: His ankle was acting up, and he was pretty sure he'd pulled his groin. He hadn't moved this fast since he wore catcher's gear. By the time he reached the chicken house, he was limping like a lame horse and his ankle was throbbing. Whatever was making the noise was tangled in the homemade booby trap of pots and pans. Before he opened the door, he handed the lantern to Robbie. 'You hold the light, I'll scare him! Whatever you do, don't let him get away!'
After a few deep breaths, Jimmy cocked the rifle, kicked open the door to the coop, and used such force he almost brought the little building down.
Chickens screamed. Virgil fluttered his wings like he was possessed by the Devil. White feathers went everywhere. Jimmy barged inside, rifle in both hands. Robbie stayed beside him, holding the lantern outward.
Jimmy dropped the rifle. He expected to see an old drunk, or a few teenagers, or a hobo tangled in wire and tin pots. But it was no man.
'That's your chicken thief?' said Robbie.
It was a little girl.
ABOUT 'THE INCREDIBLE WINSTON BROWNE':
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 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.
MY THOUGHTS: I honestly don't know how to describe this book. I loved the characters and the setting, and I really, really wanted to love this overall, but I just didn't. I liked it. I liked it a lot, but I just didn't quite fall in love with The Incredible Winston Browne.
I loved the character of Winston Browne. He is everything to the town of Moab, and the town and its people have been everything to him, but now that he is dying there are a few things he realizes he has missed out on, including the love of a good woman. He has never married - and there is a story behind that - and has no children. But it's obviously too late for all of that - or is it? Life has a strange habit of filling the gaps in the most unexpected ways.
I also loved the growth in Eleanor's character. I was amazed at how old the characters seemed for their age. They all acted a lot older than their age if you compare them with people of the same age today. But then they didn't have all the labour saving devices that we enjoy today either. If you look back at photos of people in the 1950s, they even look older.
Jessie is the sort of character you can't help rooting for. She is determined and loyal.
This is a good story that defies categorization. There is a little romance, a little thriller, a little drama. A little like life.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.3
#TheIncredibleWinstonBrowne #NetGalley
#thomasnelsonpublishing #seanofthesouth
@ThomasNelson @seanofthesouth1
#historicalfiction #sliceoflife #romance
THE AUTHOR: Sean 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.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas Nelson via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
After a few deep breaths, Jimmy cocked the rifle, kicked open the door to the coop, and used such force he almost brought the little building down.
Chickens screamed. Virgil fluttered his wings like he was possessed by the Devil. White feathers went everywhere. Jimmy barged inside, rifle in both hands. Robbie stayed beside him, holding the lantern outward.
Jimmy dropped the rifle. He expected to see an old drunk, or a few teenagers, or a hobo tangled in wire and tin pots. But it was no man.
'That's your chicken thief?' said Robbie.
It was a little girl.
ABOUT 'THE INCREDIBLE WINSTON BROWNE':
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 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.
MY THOUGHTS: I honestly don't know how to describe this book. I loved the characters and the setting, and I really, really wanted to love this overall, but I just didn't. I liked it. I liked it a lot, but I just didn't quite fall in love with The Incredible Winston Browne.
I loved the character of Winston Browne. He is everything to the town of Moab, and the town and its people have been everything to him, but now that he is dying there are a few things he realizes he has missed out on, including the love of a good woman. He has never married - and there is a story behind that - and has no children. But it's obviously too late for all of that - or is it? Life has a strange habit of filling the gaps in the most unexpected ways.
I also loved the growth in Eleanor's character. I was amazed at how old the characters seemed for their age. They all acted a lot older than their age if you compare them with people of the same age today. But then they didn't have all the labour saving devices that we enjoy today either. If you look back at photos of people in the 1950s, they even look older.
Jessie is the sort of character you can't help rooting for. She is determined and loyal.
This is a good story that defies categorization. There is a little romance, a little thriller, a little drama. A little like life.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.3
#TheIncredibleWinstonBrowne #NetGalley
#thomasnelsonpublishing #seanofthesouth
@ThomasNelson @seanofthesouth1
#historicalfiction #sliceoflife #romance
THE AUTHOR: Sean 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.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas Nelson via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
March 22, 2021
4.5 Stars
My brother and I often talk about how lucky we were to have experienced our childhood in what seems like a golden era compared to today. That's what lured me into reading this book. The book cover reminds me of the thriving storefronts of the boutique stores along Broadway in my hometown ( I still live here, so please don't ask me where). This book takes place in the fifties when there was still the Brooklyn Dodgers, who weigh quite heavily in this story. However, the story takes place in a tiny, idyllic town in Florida called Moab, which didn't even have a population of a thousand people. This was a town where everyone knew everybody, and there was even a little publication where quaint things would be reported like who escorted who to a party, who took a vacation where, and who painted their house what color. The church held socials where people were asked to make pies, and there would always be jello and fruit mold concoctions. It was still scandalous for a woman to be seen wearing pants. Men played scrabble in the little shop across from the courthouse while nursing their coffee and smoking Lucky Strikes.
The book's main character Winston Browne is the local sheriff. He had been in Europe in the war, and came back to find that his one true love married someone else. As the book begins it becomes evident that this town is obsessed with baseball, and especially the Brooklyn Dodgers. They are always glued to their radios when the game is on. Sheriff Browne was instrumental in getting the baseball field built. He idolizes Jackie Robinson. One day a little girl named Jessie suddenly appeared in town, clearly on the run and hiding from some unknown entity. Winston entrusts Jessie's care to one Eleanor Hughes, master flower arranger for the church.
Another fact reveals itself early on in the book; Winston Browne is dying from lung cancer. He keeps it a secret from everyone. He is living each day to the fullest as if it is his last. Eleanor had been frustrated by her longtime boyfriend Jimmy who had never honored her with marriage. When he stood her up after she prepared for a big dance, to her surprise Sheriff Browne spun her around the dance floor. In fact, they danced the whole evening away. Eleanor began to feel like a woman reborn.
Winston Browne was a man who never married and had children, but felt as though he were married to the public in his care. He safeguarded Jessie, and inspired in her a love of baseball. He also rescued a local boy growing up in a life of hardship to become his best self. His favorite author was Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain, and he always carried around one of his books. In fact, at a funeral where the vicar never showed up, Winston read a beautiful passage from a Mark Twain book as the casket was lowered into the ground. This book, like the atmosphere in this sunny, nostalgic town, at first was slow moving. But as it crept to its end, it had me in its grip and I fought back tears many times. In the end, I loved this man, Winston Browne. Reading this book was such a lovely interlude, and I thank my Goodreads friend Angela M for drawing me to it based on her excellent review.
Thank you to the publisher Thomas Nelson for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
My brother and I often talk about how lucky we were to have experienced our childhood in what seems like a golden era compared to today. That's what lured me into reading this book. The book cover reminds me of the thriving storefronts of the boutique stores along Broadway in my hometown ( I still live here, so please don't ask me where). This book takes place in the fifties when there was still the Brooklyn Dodgers, who weigh quite heavily in this story. However, the story takes place in a tiny, idyllic town in Florida called Moab, which didn't even have a population of a thousand people. This was a town where everyone knew everybody, and there was even a little publication where quaint things would be reported like who escorted who to a party, who took a vacation where, and who painted their house what color. The church held socials where people were asked to make pies, and there would always be jello and fruit mold concoctions. It was still scandalous for a woman to be seen wearing pants. Men played scrabble in the little shop across from the courthouse while nursing their coffee and smoking Lucky Strikes.
The book's main character Winston Browne is the local sheriff. He had been in Europe in the war, and came back to find that his one true love married someone else. As the book begins it becomes evident that this town is obsessed with baseball, and especially the Brooklyn Dodgers. They are always glued to their radios when the game is on. Sheriff Browne was instrumental in getting the baseball field built. He idolizes Jackie Robinson. One day a little girl named Jessie suddenly appeared in town, clearly on the run and hiding from some unknown entity. Winston entrusts Jessie's care to one Eleanor Hughes, master flower arranger for the church.
Another fact reveals itself early on in the book; Winston Browne is dying from lung cancer. He keeps it a secret from everyone. He is living each day to the fullest as if it is his last. Eleanor had been frustrated by her longtime boyfriend Jimmy who had never honored her with marriage. When he stood her up after she prepared for a big dance, to her surprise Sheriff Browne spun her around the dance floor. In fact, they danced the whole evening away. Eleanor began to feel like a woman reborn.
Winston Browne was a man who never married and had children, but felt as though he were married to the public in his care. He safeguarded Jessie, and inspired in her a love of baseball. He also rescued a local boy growing up in a life of hardship to become his best self. His favorite author was Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain, and he always carried around one of his books. In fact, at a funeral where the vicar never showed up, Winston read a beautiful passage from a Mark Twain book as the casket was lowered into the ground. This book, like the atmosphere in this sunny, nostalgic town, at first was slow moving. But as it crept to its end, it had me in its grip and I fought back tears many times. In the end, I loved this man, Winston Browne. Reading this book was such a lovely interlude, and I thank my Goodreads friend Angela M for drawing me to it based on her excellent review.
Thank you to the publisher Thomas Nelson for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
March 2, 2021
In the small southern Alabama town of Moab, pop 912, fifty two year old sherriff Winston Browne has just received some bad news from his doctor. It's the mid 1950s and with the Dodgers heading for the World Series, everyone is baseball mad. With the low crime rate in Moab, Winston has time to coach the little leaguers, in-between acting as the local coroner, delivering groceries to the elderly, playing scrabble with the old timers and scaring off courting couples parking in quiet spots. He's not ready to give up on life and all that he loves yet.
Into this small quiet town, arrives a small girl, Jessie. A runaway who refuses to speak about where she's come from or why she's running away. She's immediately cared for by the town with church stalwart Eleanor taking her in and Winston doing his utmost to search far and wide for missing children. Unknown to Winston, someone is looking for Jessie and she might not be safe even sheltered as she is in Moab.
Sean Dietrich is a wonderful writer who brings to life the very likeable character of Winston Browne and the town that loves him. He has a lovely comic touch with his characters including Win's hapless deputy Tommy, Buz, the teenage boy trying to look after his mother, and Jimmy the overworked mailman and Win's competitor in love. Dietrich brings a marvellous sense of time and place to the novel, not just with the lead up to the Dodgers 1955 World Series win but with the social calendar encompassing charity dances, potluck suppers, church picnics, trick or treating at Halloween and Easter egg hunts. The fashions of the day also feature with Eleanor shedding her frumpy dresses and aprons in favour of more modern colours and styles, and causing palpitations by wearing trousers. Ongoing excerpts from the local paper's gossip column also add flavour to the doings of the town people and are guaranteed to cause a few smiles. A lovely, moving tale about love and friendship and finding your place in the world.
With many thanks to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for a copy to read
Into this small quiet town, arrives a small girl, Jessie. A runaway who refuses to speak about where she's come from or why she's running away. She's immediately cared for by the town with church stalwart Eleanor taking her in and Winston doing his utmost to search far and wide for missing children. Unknown to Winston, someone is looking for Jessie and she might not be safe even sheltered as she is in Moab.
Sean Dietrich is a wonderful writer who brings to life the very likeable character of Winston Browne and the town that loves him. He has a lovely comic touch with his characters including Win's hapless deputy Tommy, Buz, the teenage boy trying to look after his mother, and Jimmy the overworked mailman and Win's competitor in love. Dietrich brings a marvellous sense of time and place to the novel, not just with the lead up to the Dodgers 1955 World Series win but with the social calendar encompassing charity dances, potluck suppers, church picnics, trick or treating at Halloween and Easter egg hunts. The fashions of the day also feature with Eleanor shedding her frumpy dresses and aprons in favour of more modern colours and styles, and causing palpitations by wearing trousers. Ongoing excerpts from the local paper's gossip column also add flavour to the doings of the town people and are guaranteed to cause a few smiles. A lovely, moving tale about love and friendship and finding your place in the world.
With many thanks to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for a copy to read
October 17, 2021
4★
“But there wasn’t much to brag about in Moab. To many, this part of the world was 'Florabama'.
. . .
To local residents it was covered dish socials, municipal meetings, and a bunch of people minding your business.”
Moab is a small, fictional (as far as I know) town in Florida’s panhandle, which is the little skinny bit that runs across the Gulf of Mexico towards Texas. Florida sticks down from the continental US in roughly the shape of a stretched open number 7, the panhandle being the top, with the bottom wrenched east into the Atlantic Ocean.
Enough geography. Small towns seem to be the same everywhere with “a bunch of people minding your business,” in this case, popular Sheriff Winston Browne’s business. He is not a well man, which we learn early, but he’s determined to keep it to himself as long as possible.
“Doctors’ offices were their own kind of purgatory. He’d endured gunfire in muddy European trenches and he’d captained teenagers across acres of farmland littered with antipersonnel mines. But he was frightened by a little old man in a white frock coat.
. . .
Doctors always needed to run experiments on you, the same way a little kid needed to take apart a wind-up toy using nothing but a sledgehammer.”
This is the early 1950s. He’s an old-school cop who delivers groceries to people stuck at home, helps old folks and small children, and loves the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. The focus on baseball and teams and the need for everyone to play is akin to that of hockey in the Beartown books of Fredrik Backman. The kids and adults are all passionately involved with the local team, the Moab Dodgers.
Running alongside the story of small-town America is the story of a couple of escapees, one a child, who are being hunted by members of a religious cult up north. I can see why the author wanted a young girl like Jessie introduced to the story as a way to bring characters together, but the rest of her story felt like an afterthought.
Other characters are Jimmy (the sheriff’s lifelong best friend) and Eleanor, who have been “an item” forever, due to Jimmy’s lackadaisical approach to formalise their relationship. When Jessie is drawn into the picture by the sheriff, and Eleanor is asked to lend a hand, the dynamics change between them all. Old flames, jealousy, romance - some things never change, small town or big city.
I liked 14-year-old Buz, but then I have a soft spot for young boys struggling to grow up, especially when there are missing parents (which there almost always are in books about kids). Our “incredible” Winston Browne deals with all of his people and his town and his baseball team as best he can while declining physically. There’s plenty of philosophising with a bit of humour.
“The knowledge of death changes the way a man handles guilt. Guilt is sometimes more about what other people think of you than about what’s right and wrong. But when you’re dead and gone, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about you because you are worm food. All that matters is heart. Who gave a cuss if they had a beef with your choices? What were they going to do? Dig up your coffin and smack you around?”
The author knows how to write and how to push all the buttons to make you want to see what will actually happen to the characters, but I kind of resented caring. It felt obvious. But – and it is a big but – I did have to read to the end to make sure he struck a satisfactory (if predictable) resolution.
I imagine readers everywhere will eat this up without any reservations, so for that, I’m rounding it up.
Thanks to #NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the review copy from which I’ve quoted.
“But there wasn’t much to brag about in Moab. To many, this part of the world was 'Florabama'.
. . .
To local residents it was covered dish socials, municipal meetings, and a bunch of people minding your business.”
Moab is a small, fictional (as far as I know) town in Florida’s panhandle, which is the little skinny bit that runs across the Gulf of Mexico towards Texas. Florida sticks down from the continental US in roughly the shape of a stretched open number 7, the panhandle being the top, with the bottom wrenched east into the Atlantic Ocean.
Enough geography. Small towns seem to be the same everywhere with “a bunch of people minding your business,” in this case, popular Sheriff Winston Browne’s business. He is not a well man, which we learn early, but he’s determined to keep it to himself as long as possible.
“Doctors’ offices were their own kind of purgatory. He’d endured gunfire in muddy European trenches and he’d captained teenagers across acres of farmland littered with antipersonnel mines. But he was frightened by a little old man in a white frock coat.
. . .
Doctors always needed to run experiments on you, the same way a little kid needed to take apart a wind-up toy using nothing but a sledgehammer.”
This is the early 1950s. He’s an old-school cop who delivers groceries to people stuck at home, helps old folks and small children, and loves the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. The focus on baseball and teams and the need for everyone to play is akin to that of hockey in the Beartown books of Fredrik Backman. The kids and adults are all passionately involved with the local team, the Moab Dodgers.
Running alongside the story of small-town America is the story of a couple of escapees, one a child, who are being hunted by members of a religious cult up north. I can see why the author wanted a young girl like Jessie introduced to the story as a way to bring characters together, but the rest of her story felt like an afterthought.
Other characters are Jimmy (the sheriff’s lifelong best friend) and Eleanor, who have been “an item” forever, due to Jimmy’s lackadaisical approach to formalise their relationship. When Jessie is drawn into the picture by the sheriff, and Eleanor is asked to lend a hand, the dynamics change between them all. Old flames, jealousy, romance - some things never change, small town or big city.
I liked 14-year-old Buz, but then I have a soft spot for young boys struggling to grow up, especially when there are missing parents (which there almost always are in books about kids). Our “incredible” Winston Browne deals with all of his people and his town and his baseball team as best he can while declining physically. There’s plenty of philosophising with a bit of humour.
“The knowledge of death changes the way a man handles guilt. Guilt is sometimes more about what other people think of you than about what’s right and wrong. But when you’re dead and gone, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about you because you are worm food. All that matters is heart. Who gave a cuss if they had a beef with your choices? What were they going to do? Dig up your coffin and smack you around?”
The author knows how to write and how to push all the buttons to make you want to see what will actually happen to the characters, but I kind of resented caring. It felt obvious. But – and it is a big but – I did have to read to the end to make sure he struck a satisfactory (if predictable) resolution.
I imagine readers everywhere will eat this up without any reservations, so for that, I’m rounding it up.
Thanks to #NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the review copy from which I’ve quoted.
December 9, 2021
‘This place didn’t look like much, but the Brooklyn Dodgers once visited this place. Jackie Robinson had played on this vey field. Still, even the fantastic, nearly unimaginable feats of Jackie Robinson faded in comparison to the man who had laid the field's foundation.
For nobody was more incredible than Winston Brown’.- Sean Dietrich, The Incredible Winston Browne
Absolutely charming & full of heart!
I really enjoyed getting to know the wholesome townsfolk of Moab, Florida. The characters were richly drawn and the pureness of their relationships was a joy to witness. The world needs more Winston Brownes in it… he’s a character that I will not forget. *Tissue alert for the beautiful ending.
As much as I loved this, I felt that Jesse’s storyline could’ve been done differently. It interrupted the flow of the story and just didn’t fit. I loved her character but I wish her backstory had been simpler and not tried to be as ‘suspensful’. The story didn’t need it.
This novel definitely gave me Andy Griffith/Mayberry vibes which felt like wrapping myself up in a cozy blanket. I’d recommend if you’re in the mood for a story that will touch your heart & transport you to a simpler time. 4.5 stars.
For nobody was more incredible than Winston Brown’.- Sean Dietrich, The Incredible Winston Browne
Absolutely charming & full of heart!
I really enjoyed getting to know the wholesome townsfolk of Moab, Florida. The characters were richly drawn and the pureness of their relationships was a joy to witness. The world needs more Winston Brownes in it… he’s a character that I will not forget. *Tissue alert for the beautiful ending.
As much as I loved this, I felt that Jesse’s storyline could’ve been done differently. It interrupted the flow of the story and just didn’t fit. I loved her character but I wish her backstory had been simpler and not tried to be as ‘suspensful’. The story didn’t need it.
This novel definitely gave me Andy Griffith/Mayberry vibes which felt like wrapping myself up in a cozy blanket. I’d recommend if you’re in the mood for a story that will touch your heart & transport you to a simpler time. 4.5 stars.
March 15, 2021
4.5 Stars
Set in the small town of Moab in Florida’s panhandle during the 1950’s, the post-war era when men who had returned from WWII set about trying to return to a normal life after everything they’d seen and endured, and the losses they’d faced, as well. Some men returned, anticipating the girl who had promised to wait for them would have kept her promise, only to be disappointed to find her married.
Baseball plays a large role in their life, and it’s a game they take seriously, not only when the pros are playing, but it’s also a way for the town to get together and celebrate life.
When young Jessie ends up in Moab, Winston Browne - the town sheriff - senses something about her that has him concerned, and he tries to befriend her in an effort to find out more about her, and how she ended up in their small town. But, Winston has other concerns, as he knows that his own days are somewhat numbered after he receives a medical diagnosis, a diagnosis that seems to make him more determined to protect this young girl.
Winston Browne is a simple man, but there is much wisdom in how he sees the world, but also in how easily he gives of himself and tries to help others, at least those who are good people in his eyes. Perhaps it’s the time, the place or the people in this town, but their views on life, on living, are simple, if also wise.
’What if we don’t understand death at all? What if it’s the same as birth...One minute you’re nothere, the next minute you are here. It’s a miracle. That’s what everyone calls it. What if death is a miracle too but we’re too simpleminded to see it?’
Love permeates this story, both in the making of it and the love for the era along with the love of baseball, life in a small town, friendship, as well as a love story, and the love of this experience we call a life. A story of the beginning of a new life, and the end of another and how intertwined life and death are.
Published: 02 Mar 2021
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Thomas Nelson / Thomas Nelson--FICTION
Set in the small town of Moab in Florida’s panhandle during the 1950’s, the post-war era when men who had returned from WWII set about trying to return to a normal life after everything they’d seen and endured, and the losses they’d faced, as well. Some men returned, anticipating the girl who had promised to wait for them would have kept her promise, only to be disappointed to find her married.
Baseball plays a large role in their life, and it’s a game they take seriously, not only when the pros are playing, but it’s also a way for the town to get together and celebrate life.
When young Jessie ends up in Moab, Winston Browne - the town sheriff - senses something about her that has him concerned, and he tries to befriend her in an effort to find out more about her, and how she ended up in their small town. But, Winston has other concerns, as he knows that his own days are somewhat numbered after he receives a medical diagnosis, a diagnosis that seems to make him more determined to protect this young girl.
Winston Browne is a simple man, but there is much wisdom in how he sees the world, but also in how easily he gives of himself and tries to help others, at least those who are good people in his eyes. Perhaps it’s the time, the place or the people in this town, but their views on life, on living, are simple, if also wise.
’What if we don’t understand death at all? What if it’s the same as birth...One minute you’re nothere, the next minute you are here. It’s a miracle. That’s what everyone calls it. What if death is a miracle too but we’re too simpleminded to see it?’
Love permeates this story, both in the making of it and the love for the era along with the love of baseball, life in a small town, friendship, as well as a love story, and the love of this experience we call a life. A story of the beginning of a new life, and the end of another and how intertwined life and death are.
Published: 02 Mar 2021
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Thomas Nelson / Thomas Nelson--FICTION
April 3, 2021
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
So now I really know what is meant by a "slow Southern style" - Sean Dietrich does a great job of selling his corner of the world to the rest of us "folk." The town of Moab, Florida, was caught in a cultural time warp: nothing much happens here, and nothing much changes. That is, until Winston receives bad news from his doctor, and decides to live whatever time he has left to the full.
And then the Fates grant Winston his secret wish: the knowledge that he did in fact make a difference in the lives of the town he protected all of his life. There is a fair amount of discussion about baseball. I have to admit that I had my usual knee-jerk reaction when my siblings would start discussing sports: my eyes glazed over and I tuned right out. But, thankfully, I would tune right back in as events heated up and all the town folk rallied round Winston Browne to help defend young Jessie from the evil people she was fleeing from. I loved the way the town rallied behind Winston and took turns sitting with him, right up until the very end.
A truly heartwarming read with lots of humour and likable characters.
So now I really know what is meant by a "slow Southern style" - Sean Dietrich does a great job of selling his corner of the world to the rest of us "folk." The town of Moab, Florida, was caught in a cultural time warp: nothing much happens here, and nothing much changes. That is, until Winston receives bad news from his doctor, and decides to live whatever time he has left to the full.
And then the Fates grant Winston his secret wish: the knowledge that he did in fact make a difference in the lives of the town he protected all of his life. There is a fair amount of discussion about baseball. I have to admit that I had my usual knee-jerk reaction when my siblings would start discussing sports: my eyes glazed over and I tuned right out. But, thankfully, I would tune right back in as events heated up and all the town folk rallied round Winston Browne to help defend young Jessie from the evil people she was fleeing from. I loved the way the town rallied behind Winston and took turns sitting with him, right up until the very end.
A truly heartwarming read with lots of humour and likable characters.
October 9, 2023
Sean Dietrich, known as Sean of the South, was not known to me prior to this novel. But he totally captures the small town life of Florida, 1955. He writes from the heart, equal parts humor and empathy. It’s one of those books that brings smiles, laughs…and tears. I loved the bits from the local paper - all the local snippy gossip that provide comic relief.
Winston is the sheriff and he’s just received some literally life changing news. And now, here comes this young girl running away from who knows what. But it’s soon apparent some very bad people want to get their hands on her.
These are great characters. I loved them all. Jimmy, the postman so determined to deliver the mail despite lacking the proper staff that he ignores his own life. Eleanor Hughes, a fifty year old spinster and tired of being taken for granted. And especially Winston, who coaches the little league team, worships the Brooklyn Dodgers and goes above and beyond the call of duty, even providing the final words over the town’s drunk when the preacher fails to show up for the funeral.
There’s a wonderful sense of time and place. In the background of the story, is the 1955 World Series between the Dodgers and the Yankees. It’s a book that requires careful listening or you’ll miss some of the small jewels of a phrase. At times, it skates the line of being too saccharine, but I’ll forgive it that for the joy it brought.
Sean narrates his own book and does a great job. This was my first book by Dietrich, but it won’t be my last.
Winston is the sheriff and he’s just received some literally life changing news. And now, here comes this young girl running away from who knows what. But it’s soon apparent some very bad people want to get their hands on her.
These are great characters. I loved them all. Jimmy, the postman so determined to deliver the mail despite lacking the proper staff that he ignores his own life. Eleanor Hughes, a fifty year old spinster and tired of being taken for granted. And especially Winston, who coaches the little league team, worships the Brooklyn Dodgers and goes above and beyond the call of duty, even providing the final words over the town’s drunk when the preacher fails to show up for the funeral.
There’s a wonderful sense of time and place. In the background of the story, is the 1955 World Series between the Dodgers and the Yankees. It’s a book that requires careful listening or you’ll miss some of the small jewels of a phrase. At times, it skates the line of being too saccharine, but I’ll forgive it that for the joy it brought.
Sean narrates his own book and does a great job. This was my first book by Dietrich, but it won’t be my last.
April 22, 2021
Winston Browne is the 52 year old sheriff of Moab, Florida. This is a small town full of scrabble players, church socials and fans of Jackie Robinson. A young girl in hiding provides the only excitement this town has ever seen. Winston finds love and friendship, and bonds are developed over a love of baseball. This book is slow moving and pleasant with an ultimately hopeful message. The book was a little too cosy for me, but I am sure people who like reading about small town life will like it more. The audiobook was well-narrated by the author. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. 3.5 stars
Trigger warning
Trigger warning
April 11, 2021
It's wonderful going into a book with high expectations only to find they're not only met but exceeded. Such was the case for me with The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich. Not that I'd read this author before but friends had praised this book and rightly so too. For such a gently moving, character driven tale there was a lot going on. There was intrigue. There was friendship, romance, sense of community, love and hate. These two powerful yet conflicting emotions are such extremes yet it became clear how common it is for them to be experienced at the same time.
If I had to choose the element I appreciated the most I'd settle on the characters of small town Moab. I especially loved Winston, Jessie, Eleanor and Jimmy although we met many more of their 842 residents. More than anything Dietrich's characters helped readers know how it feels to be part of this close knit community
Winston, the Moab county Sheriff and baseball coach, was such a likeable man. He had never married and had devoted his adult life to his town. From the first line of the book readers know Winston is dying but that secret is not shared with others. Instead of allowing himself to mope he dives into making the most of what's left of his life. He finds extra meaning in the shape of a young girl by the name of Jessie and a teen boy named Buzz. Both youngsters are in unusually tough places in their young lives and Winston does what he can to protect, nurture and care for them and in doing so he is surprised to find how much they have enhanced his life. He's filled with joy from simple things such as teaching Jessie to pitch a ball and introducing Buzz to the writings of Sam Clemens.
Dietrich did a sterling job of ensuring readers got a feel for the fabric of this society. Without ever referencing a date we get the sense of time and place, the social norms applicable and their local customs. He included some gorgeous touches including the Moab Social Graces in the local paper which made me chuckle every time they appeared. Not only did they portray that small town feeling - who was sick, who had Gone to Glory (died in other words), who had married (and how often), who danced with who at the Women's Missionary Social dance. Pretty much gossip in print but it made me chuckle every time I read it, especially the continuing thread of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Allen. This is Sam's second marriage.
To cap it all off, not only did he make me laugh but he also made me cry. Sean Dietrich has written a large number of books and the only surprise to me is that they're not more widely read than the Goodreads stats indicate. This was a terrific book about community, family, friendship love and resilience and if it's in any way indicative of anything else he's written I'll definitely be reading him again.
My thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review which it was my pleasure to provide.
4.5 stars on Goodreads
If I had to choose the element I appreciated the most I'd settle on the characters of small town Moab. I especially loved Winston, Jessie, Eleanor and Jimmy although we met many more of their 842 residents. More than anything Dietrich's characters helped readers know how it feels to be part of this close knit community
Winston, the Moab county Sheriff and baseball coach, was such a likeable man. He had never married and had devoted his adult life to his town. From the first line of the book readers know Winston is dying but that secret is not shared with others. Instead of allowing himself to mope he dives into making the most of what's left of his life. He finds extra meaning in the shape of a young girl by the name of Jessie and a teen boy named Buzz. Both youngsters are in unusually tough places in their young lives and Winston does what he can to protect, nurture and care for them and in doing so he is surprised to find how much they have enhanced his life. He's filled with joy from simple things such as teaching Jessie to pitch a ball and introducing Buzz to the writings of Sam Clemens.
Dietrich did a sterling job of ensuring readers got a feel for the fabric of this society. Without ever referencing a date we get the sense of time and place, the social norms applicable and their local customs. He included some gorgeous touches including the Moab Social Graces in the local paper which made me chuckle every time they appeared. Not only did they portray that small town feeling - who was sick, who had Gone to Glory (died in other words), who had married (and how often), who danced with who at the Women's Missionary Social dance. Pretty much gossip in print but it made me chuckle every time I read it, especially the continuing thread of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Allen. This is Sam's second marriage.
To cap it all off, not only did he make me laugh but he also made me cry. Sean Dietrich has written a large number of books and the only surprise to me is that they're not more widely read than the Goodreads stats indicate. This was a terrific book about community, family, friendship love and resilience and if it's in any way indicative of anything else he's written I'll definitely be reading him again.
My thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review which it was my pleasure to provide.
4.5 stars on Goodreads
January 17, 2021
This book blew me away! Sean Dietrich is an awesome writer. I loved the characters, the plot, and the writing. Parts will make you laugh out loud, and others will make you want to cry. This is the first book I've read by Sean Dietrich but I will be looking for more now.
Winston Browne is the Sheriff of Moab, a small town in the Florida panhandle. He has just gotten some bad news from his doctor when a runaway shows up in town. The runaway will give no information about who she is or where she's from, but the town takes her in as one of their own. This mystery has to be solved. Winston seems to play babysitter to the whole town and his good deeds abound. Also, there are a lot of baseball fans in Moab rooting for either the Dodgers or the Yankees. Winston is involved heavily with the town's baseball team and mentoring the players.
The writing puts you in the story, you get the full picture of your surroundings - the sounds, smells, and the scenery; I felt like I was there. This book was so much more than I expected when I picked it up.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson - FICTION through Netgalley - I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Winston Browne is the Sheriff of Moab, a small town in the Florida panhandle. He has just gotten some bad news from his doctor when a runaway shows up in town. The runaway will give no information about who she is or where she's from, but the town takes her in as one of their own. This mystery has to be solved. Winston seems to play babysitter to the whole town and his good deeds abound. Also, there are a lot of baseball fans in Moab rooting for either the Dodgers or the Yankees. Winston is involved heavily with the town's baseball team and mentoring the players.
The writing puts you in the story, you get the full picture of your surroundings - the sounds, smells, and the scenery; I felt like I was there. This book was so much more than I expected when I picked it up.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson - FICTION through Netgalley - I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
February 5, 2021
“Throughout his life and career, he’d seen enough senseless tragedies to know that wallowing in self-pity was a death sentence in itself. Some folks never quit wallowing once they started, and it killed them early. Self-pity was like a dangerous painkiller; it felt good somehow, but it turned you into its slave. So he made a promise to himself, right there, right then. He was not going to wallow. Not anymore. One morning of wallowing was enough. Winston Browne was going to live right up until he died.”
The Incredible Winston Browne is the fourth novel by American columnist, podcaster, speaker, and novelist, Sean Dietrich. After a lot of poking and prodding by the doctor in Pensacola, fifty-two-year-old Winston Browne has a diagnosis, a decidedly unenviable one. He has been the Sheriff of Okeauwaw County in the Florida Panhandle since he returned from the war, and the prospect of a shortened future is unwelcome news: he’s not yet ready to “go to Glory”, as the obits put it.
His job is not terribly challenging: Moab, population 912, elevation 17ft, is a tiny town that sits on the Escambia River, home to mill workers, drunks, gossips and old biddies making jellied salads, people who engage in church ice cream socials and complain about the unsightly new neon sign over Ray’s Café.
Win and his moderately incompetent deputy, Tommy Sheridan spend their time doing odd jobs for local elderly people and widows, and delivering sacks of groceries to shut-ins. Win coaches the baseball little league and plays scrabble with his good friend, Jimmy Abraham. And, of course they all listen to the baseball: it’s 1955, and almost all of Moab is Dodgers mad.
But just then, nine-year-old Jessie, strangely dressed and resolutely reticent, lands in Moab after an extended journey involvinga coded sentence, from a place to which she fervently wants not to return. She knows not to talk about it. People took risks to help her escape, and she’s not sure how she feels about what Ada wrote in the letter. Will she ever see her again? Will Ada make it out alive?
Jessie is surprised at the genuine welcome she receives: even those people she initially fought off are kind to her; Eleanor Hughes, the Sunday School teacher, takes her in; Sheriff Browne takes an interest but respects her refusal to say more. Win makes enquiries far and wide, failing to find Jessie’s family. But when some strangers try to abduct Jessie, the townspeople close ranks around her.
This disturbing little drama plays out against a background of fairly ordinary small-town happenings that include: a wedding, the town drunk drowning in the river, late mail deliveries because the Postmaster has no staff, a teen who’s quit school to support his polio-damaged mother, a magic spot under a tree festooned with coloured bottles, petrol theft, an unexpected love triangle, a tenacious red dog and a persistent gray cat.
The Moab Social Grace column in the Moab Messenger is merely one (very entertaining) device that authenticates Dietrich’s rendering of the era and the town’s mindset: Margie Brach’s commentary is usually gossipy, often inane, and occasionally quite pointed: “Mr. Leonard Bradley and Miss Sylvia Grantham are engaged and are rushing the wedding.”
Dietrich’s tale is wonderfully atmospheric: clearly, he is a talented storyteller, of the calibre of Stephen King, but without the paranormal aspect. He gives the reader a slow build to an exciting climax, but there’s also plenty of humour, some lump-in-the-throat moments and a beautiful resolution. A heart-warming and uplifting tale, brilliantly told.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction.
The Incredible Winston Browne is the fourth novel by American columnist, podcaster, speaker, and novelist, Sean Dietrich. After a lot of poking and prodding by the doctor in Pensacola, fifty-two-year-old Winston Browne has a diagnosis, a decidedly unenviable one. He has been the Sheriff of Okeauwaw County in the Florida Panhandle since he returned from the war, and the prospect of a shortened future is unwelcome news: he’s not yet ready to “go to Glory”, as the obits put it.
His job is not terribly challenging: Moab, population 912, elevation 17ft, is a tiny town that sits on the Escambia River, home to mill workers, drunks, gossips and old biddies making jellied salads, people who engage in church ice cream socials and complain about the unsightly new neon sign over Ray’s Café.
Win and his moderately incompetent deputy, Tommy Sheridan spend their time doing odd jobs for local elderly people and widows, and delivering sacks of groceries to shut-ins. Win coaches the baseball little league and plays scrabble with his good friend, Jimmy Abraham. And, of course they all listen to the baseball: it’s 1955, and almost all of Moab is Dodgers mad.
But just then, nine-year-old Jessie, strangely dressed and resolutely reticent, lands in Moab after an extended journey involvinga coded sentence, from a place to which she fervently wants not to return. She knows not to talk about it. People took risks to help her escape, and she’s not sure how she feels about what Ada wrote in the letter. Will she ever see her again? Will Ada make it out alive?
Jessie is surprised at the genuine welcome she receives: even those people she initially fought off are kind to her; Eleanor Hughes, the Sunday School teacher, takes her in; Sheriff Browne takes an interest but respects her refusal to say more. Win makes enquiries far and wide, failing to find Jessie’s family. But when some strangers try to abduct Jessie, the townspeople close ranks around her.
This disturbing little drama plays out against a background of fairly ordinary small-town happenings that include: a wedding, the town drunk drowning in the river, late mail deliveries because the Postmaster has no staff, a teen who’s quit school to support his polio-damaged mother, a magic spot under a tree festooned with coloured bottles, petrol theft, an unexpected love triangle, a tenacious red dog and a persistent gray cat.
The Moab Social Grace column in the Moab Messenger is merely one (very entertaining) device that authenticates Dietrich’s rendering of the era and the town’s mindset: Margie Brach’s commentary is usually gossipy, often inane, and occasionally quite pointed: “Mr. Leonard Bradley and Miss Sylvia Grantham are engaged and are rushing the wedding.”
Dietrich’s tale is wonderfully atmospheric: clearly, he is a talented storyteller, of the calibre of Stephen King, but without the paranormal aspect. He gives the reader a slow build to an exciting climax, but there’s also plenty of humour, some lump-in-the-throat moments and a beautiful resolution. A heart-warming and uplifting tale, brilliantly told.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction.
March 2, 2021
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.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
March 29, 2021
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.
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.
June 4, 2023
If you’re lucky, you’ll meet that selfless person devoid of pettiness and one upmanship. Always extending themselves and ready to see the possibilities in others.
Winston Brown is that character in this book. In a small town full of vibrancy, Winston is a catalyst of sorts spurring positive changes to those around him. It was definitely fun reading about various people becoming unstuck and experiencing their growth.
This is a feel good book but not without sadness as Winston is dying. However, there is no long goodbye at the end and the book remains upbeat.
This came to my attention because of Marilyn’s review and I want to thank her for the recommendation . I gravitate toward Thrillers but sometimes need a boost from the often despicable characters in that genre. Positivity is a good thing and this book has it.
From Amazon Unlimited.
Winston Brown is that character in this book. In a small town full of vibrancy, Winston is a catalyst of sorts spurring positive changes to those around him. It was definitely fun reading about various people becoming unstuck and experiencing their growth.
This is a feel good book but not without sadness as Winston is dying. However, there is no long goodbye at the end and the book remains upbeat.
This came to my attention because of Marilyn’s review and I want to thank her for the recommendation . I gravitate toward Thrillers but sometimes need a boost from the often despicable characters in that genre. Positivity is a good thing and this book has it.
From Amazon Unlimited.
March 6, 2021
Sheriff Winston Browne is dying but he is not going to wallow. He proves that time and again as the pages turned. Winston is a star, an inspirational character, a highly respected man who cares about the good people in his small town of Moab, whether it be in his role as sheriff, baseball coach, mentor or friend. When he and Eleanor Hughes start spending time together, it is a match made in heaven. My only disappointment was that I wished the author had gone further with Jessie’s baseball interest. Hopefully there could be another follow-up book in the works? I would love more of the perceptive, loyal and fearless Jessie.
This story reminds me of a Richard Russo book, his portrayal of small town America with richly drawn blue collar characters.
This story reminds me of a Richard Russo book, his portrayal of small town America with richly drawn blue collar characters.
May 3, 2021
4.5 rounded upward.
The time is the 1950s; the place is Moab, Florida, a tiny town where everyone knows everyone else. Winston Browne is the sheriff; Eleanor Hughes is a frustrated single woman that fears she is headed for spinsterhood; and a small girl, Jessie, is on the lam from a creepy cult that considers her to be “a little abomination.”
I read this book free, courtesy of Net Galley and Thomas Nelson Publishers. It’s for sale now.
The story begins with Winston in his doctor’s office. There’s bad news about his chronic cough. Tests show it’s not only malignant; it’s metastatic. In other words, Winston should put his affairs in order.
Winston is a friendly guy, but he’s also an introvert. He tells no one of his condition. He’s single, and there’s no family to warn, so he goes about his life about the same as before he learned his diagnosis.
Jessie is awakened in the middle of the night by one of the Sisters, who hustles her into a waiting vehicle. She’s being busted out of the Temple compound by softhearted women that know the girl is doomed if she remains. Jessie has an independent spirit, and so when she is dropped off at the train station with instructions of where to go and who to trust, she follows her instincts instead. Her instincts take her to Moab, Florida.
Eleanor—you can call her Ellie—is fed up with Jimmy. They’ve dated for year upon year, and she is so frustrated by his inaction that she can scarcely stand the sight of him. If he is so crazy about her, then why doesn’t he propose? She’ll never have a husband or a family, and it’s all his fault. But then Winston comes along, and the birds sing in the trees.
For the first half of this book, I thought it would be a four star read. It was a good enough tale, but I had my reservations. For starters, where are the Black people in Moab? If we’re meeting the townsfolk—and we surely are—how is it that all of them are Caucasian? A visit from Jackie Robinson is all well and good, but this is Florida, for heaven’s sake. Is Moab a sundowner town?
I run a quick search, knowing that the African-American population during this mid-1900s was much lower than it is now, and I am grudgingly convinced that there might well be a little town in the boondocks with only white residents. Back then, it could have happened, so…okay.
It is during the second half that everything falls together and I am swept away by the characters. No more consulting the Google oracle; the intimacy has become too strong for me to step back.
It’s difficult for me to find a feel-good book without schmaltz. Most books that are billed as heartwarming tend to make me roll my eyes or retch a little. Dietrich works magic, though, and although it takes a minute or two to reel me in, ultimately I am captivated. The droll, understated humor that drops in and out at just the right moments is a key element. The captions that appear regularly make me guffaw more than once; don’t skip over them! They’re terrific. The text is punctuated now and then by contributions from the Moab newsletter, whose minutiae underscores just what a dull place this town usually is.
However, let me also say a quick word here about the audio version. I began reading this book close to the publication date, and so when I was partway into it, I checked out the audio book from Seattle Bibliocommons. By doing so, I could extend my reading sessions, switching over to the audio when I had to do something else with my eyes and hands. The author reads his own narrative, and he has a wonderful voice, warm with just the right amount of drawl. The best way to enjoy this book is to access both the print version and the audio; if you must choose one or the other, it’s a toss-up, perhaps with a slight edge toward the audio.
Some readers will be pleased to know that there is no off color language or sex involved. If a movie were made based on this book, it would most likely show a General Audiences rating.
Highly recommended to those that love a feel good story, historical fiction, or Southern fiction.
The time is the 1950s; the place is Moab, Florida, a tiny town where everyone knows everyone else. Winston Browne is the sheriff; Eleanor Hughes is a frustrated single woman that fears she is headed for spinsterhood; and a small girl, Jessie, is on the lam from a creepy cult that considers her to be “a little abomination.”
I read this book free, courtesy of Net Galley and Thomas Nelson Publishers. It’s for sale now.
The story begins with Winston in his doctor’s office. There’s bad news about his chronic cough. Tests show it’s not only malignant; it’s metastatic. In other words, Winston should put his affairs in order.
Winston is a friendly guy, but he’s also an introvert. He tells no one of his condition. He’s single, and there’s no family to warn, so he goes about his life about the same as before he learned his diagnosis.
Jessie is awakened in the middle of the night by one of the Sisters, who hustles her into a waiting vehicle. She’s being busted out of the Temple compound by softhearted women that know the girl is doomed if she remains. Jessie has an independent spirit, and so when she is dropped off at the train station with instructions of where to go and who to trust, she follows her instincts instead. Her instincts take her to Moab, Florida.
Eleanor—you can call her Ellie—is fed up with Jimmy. They’ve dated for year upon year, and she is so frustrated by his inaction that she can scarcely stand the sight of him. If he is so crazy about her, then why doesn’t he propose? She’ll never have a husband or a family, and it’s all his fault. But then Winston comes along, and the birds sing in the trees.
For the first half of this book, I thought it would be a four star read. It was a good enough tale, but I had my reservations. For starters, where are the Black people in Moab? If we’re meeting the townsfolk—and we surely are—how is it that all of them are Caucasian? A visit from Jackie Robinson is all well and good, but this is Florida, for heaven’s sake. Is Moab a sundowner town?
I run a quick search, knowing that the African-American population during this mid-1900s was much lower than it is now, and I am grudgingly convinced that there might well be a little town in the boondocks with only white residents. Back then, it could have happened, so…okay.
It is during the second half that everything falls together and I am swept away by the characters. No more consulting the Google oracle; the intimacy has become too strong for me to step back.
It’s difficult for me to find a feel-good book without schmaltz. Most books that are billed as heartwarming tend to make me roll my eyes or retch a little. Dietrich works magic, though, and although it takes a minute or two to reel me in, ultimately I am captivated. The droll, understated humor that drops in and out at just the right moments is a key element. The captions that appear regularly make me guffaw more than once; don’t skip over them! They’re terrific. The text is punctuated now and then by contributions from the Moab newsletter, whose minutiae underscores just what a dull place this town usually is.
However, let me also say a quick word here about the audio version. I began reading this book close to the publication date, and so when I was partway into it, I checked out the audio book from Seattle Bibliocommons. By doing so, I could extend my reading sessions, switching over to the audio when I had to do something else with my eyes and hands. The author reads his own narrative, and he has a wonderful voice, warm with just the right amount of drawl. The best way to enjoy this book is to access both the print version and the audio; if you must choose one or the other, it’s a toss-up, perhaps with a slight edge toward the audio.
Some readers will be pleased to know that there is no off color language or sex involved. If a movie were made based on this book, it would most likely show a General Audiences rating.
Highly recommended to those that love a feel good story, historical fiction, or Southern fiction.
March 21, 2021
4 stars
You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.
I loved this book. It's a heart-warming, quiet book that reaffirms your belief in love and friendship. It's set sometime after WWII (I think maybe the early 50's) in a tiny town in Florida. Sheriff Winston Browne watches over his town with a generous spirit, even after he receives terrible, life-altering news. When a young girl with a dangerous secret shows up in town all alone, Winston takes her under his wing and ensures she is cared for and protected. That includes housing her with his best friend's girlfriend, who he starts to romance after she and his best friend part ways.
At the beginning of the book Winston is a lonely character - while he has friends, he keeps them at arms length. Spending time with the young girl, and interacting with her care-taker, brings him out of his solitary life and he finally starts living, and not a moment too soon. With the town obsessed with baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers, he also takes a fatherless boy heading down a dangerous path under his wing to help the boy's family out, and gain the boy as a catcher for his baseball team.
Reading this book is like snuggling under a warm blanket and listening to a rain shower on a lazy weekend spring day. I loved the cast of characters in the town, and loved the journey Winston took as he interacted with the people in his life. If you want to read a book that is going to make you laugh, smile and cry - this is a must-read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson. All opinions are my own.
You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.
I loved this book. It's a heart-warming, quiet book that reaffirms your belief in love and friendship. It's set sometime after WWII (I think maybe the early 50's) in a tiny town in Florida. Sheriff Winston Browne watches over his town with a generous spirit, even after he receives terrible, life-altering news. When a young girl with a dangerous secret shows up in town all alone, Winston takes her under his wing and ensures she is cared for and protected. That includes housing her with his best friend's girlfriend, who he starts to romance after she and his best friend part ways.
At the beginning of the book Winston is a lonely character - while he has friends, he keeps them at arms length. Spending time with the young girl, and interacting with her care-taker, brings him out of his solitary life and he finally starts living, and not a moment too soon. With the town obsessed with baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers, he also takes a fatherless boy heading down a dangerous path under his wing to help the boy's family out, and gain the boy as a catcher for his baseball team.
Reading this book is like snuggling under a warm blanket and listening to a rain shower on a lazy weekend spring day. I loved the cast of characters in the town, and loved the journey Winston took as he interacted with the people in his life. If you want to read a book that is going to make you laugh, smile and cry - this is a must-read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson. All opinions are my own.
May 9, 2025
Winston Browne didn’t know what he had until he lost it. A long and lazy read filled with whit, colorful similes, the vicissitudes of friendships, Southern charm and hospitality, baseball—namely the New York Dodgers—and the author’s particular love of Mark Twain. I recently started following Sean Dietrich on social media and fell in love with his tongue-in-cheek writing, so I had to read one of his a novels. I wasn’t disappointed. Not by a long shot. He isn’t as old he sometimes pretends, but the man writes with the heart and soul of an old man, but not so old he can’t still connect with younger readers—provided they are willing to listen. And I hear he does a pretty mean roadshow to boot! Bring a tissue, folks! The Incredible Winston Browne is a keeper! Five stars!
November 16, 2025
4.5 rounded up, because this was a feel-good read.
Haruf books are peaceful heartfelt reads, evoking a simpler time and place, where characters dominate the storytelling and leave you pushing back from the table fully satisfied. The Incredible Winston Browne was also such a book. If you enjoy Haruf novels, chances are you'd enjoy this one.
Set in the fifties (which WERE simpler times for the most part), this small town is exactly what you think about, giving exactly that Leave-it-to-Beaver vibe. Sheriff Browne is all you'd hope to experience as the primary lawman in a laid back place, where pilfering gas is about as unlawful as it gets; where everyone knows your business, which is both good and bad, and where which marriage you're on or who you are visiting is worthy of newsprint.
Enter an unknown girl, running for her life, and watch the town come alive and rally around, just like you'd hope it would.
I enjoyed this gentle story with its recognizable and well-drawn characters. It was a lovely mix of tension, danger, and small town flavors. The thread involving the Dodgers baseball team was a delightful dessert, given that I've a brother who has been a lifelong fan.
Haruf books are peaceful heartfelt reads, evoking a simpler time and place, where characters dominate the storytelling and leave you pushing back from the table fully satisfied. The Incredible Winston Browne was also such a book. If you enjoy Haruf novels, chances are you'd enjoy this one.
Set in the fifties (which WERE simpler times for the most part), this small town is exactly what you think about, giving exactly that Leave-it-to-Beaver vibe. Sheriff Browne is all you'd hope to experience as the primary lawman in a laid back place, where pilfering gas is about as unlawful as it gets; where everyone knows your business, which is both good and bad, and where which marriage you're on or who you are visiting is worthy of newsprint.
Enter an unknown girl, running for her life, and watch the town come alive and rally around, just like you'd hope it would.
I enjoyed this gentle story with its recognizable and well-drawn characters. It was a lovely mix of tension, danger, and small town flavors. The thread involving the Dodgers baseball team was a delightful dessert, given that I've a brother who has been a lifelong fan.
October 1, 2024
Not what I expected given it's ratings but writing is art and individual tastes vary.
"... And that's all I'm gonna say about that..." Forrest Gump
"... And that's all I'm gonna say about that..." Forrest Gump
May 31, 2022
Really good. Heart-warming. Sad. Life-affirming.
Follow Winston Browne, a small town sheriff in rural NW Florida in the '50's. He's a WWII veteran, suffers from a broken heart, and loves baseball - especially the Brooklyn Dodgers. But most of all he is a man with an enormous heart, beloved by all.
Meet Ellie, a beautiful woman who feels she's wasted her life waiting for her boyfriend Jimmy to propose. Jessie, a young girl with a mysterious past. A fatherless teen who works to support his mother. And others in Winston's orbit.
Lovely imagery of Southern landscape combined with '50's nostalgia is a winning formula. And if you love baseball, this is a home run!
Follow Winston Browne, a small town sheriff in rural NW Florida in the '50's. He's a WWII veteran, suffers from a broken heart, and loves baseball - especially the Brooklyn Dodgers. But most of all he is a man with an enormous heart, beloved by all.
Meet Ellie, a beautiful woman who feels she's wasted her life waiting for her boyfriend Jimmy to propose. Jessie, a young girl with a mysterious past. A fatherless teen who works to support his mother. And others in Winston's orbit.
Lovely imagery of Southern landscape combined with '50's nostalgia is a winning formula. And if you love baseball, this is a home run!
August 7, 2021
There was a lot to like about this story - the setting (1955 small town Florida), the main character (not sure how incredible Winston Browne was but I liked him), and the baseball (Brooklyn Dodgers vs. NY Yankees). The problem was that the sweet nature of the story quickly became saccharine and the Pennsylvania religious cult storyline seemed out of left field and wholly unnecessary. And although there were several well written passages that rang true, in the end I didn’t believe enough to care.
Didn't love it+didn't hate it=meh or 3 stars.
Didn't love it+didn't hate it=meh or 3 stars.
March 20, 2021
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**
**ARC Via NetGalley**
August 21, 2021
THE INCREDIBLE WINSTON BROWNE
What a great read for those of us that can slow down a bit, who don't need fantasy or sci-fi to entertain us always, those of us that can relate to nostalgic times before the Internet, cell phones, and being glued to the TV. I was entranced and overcome with emotion several times and fell under the spell of Win. I was also captured by Jessie and the relationship she filled in Win's heart.
The story is placed in Moab FL in a time period where people still know their neighbors and go to town events like ice cream socials, baseball, and the local paper’s weekly gossip column. I grew up in much the same place, only in Texas. There is an old sheriff, a public servant for sure who serves the public. Winston Browne has been the guardian of the community and knows them all.
But we don't live forever and some will die and others will be born, he mentions that these are important things to know when you serve the public. It is also a time when a found child is taken care of in town, that is until the villains arrive to reclaim her. Laced with baseball rivalry, marbles, and issues delivering the mail the story moves forward at an interesting pace. I would say more, but then you wouldn't need to read this book. I loved all of the quirky and interesting characters and how their lives were impacted by this interesting and generous man.
The book brought a gold coin's worth of enjoyment to my day and I am so glad that I read it. I laughed and cried, so it was a great read.
5 stars
Happy Reading!
What a great read for those of us that can slow down a bit, who don't need fantasy or sci-fi to entertain us always, those of us that can relate to nostalgic times before the Internet, cell phones, and being glued to the TV. I was entranced and overcome with emotion several times and fell under the spell of Win. I was also captured by Jessie and the relationship she filled in Win's heart.
The story is placed in Moab FL in a time period where people still know their neighbors and go to town events like ice cream socials, baseball, and the local paper’s weekly gossip column. I grew up in much the same place, only in Texas. There is an old sheriff, a public servant for sure who serves the public. Winston Browne has been the guardian of the community and knows them all.
But we don't live forever and some will die and others will be born, he mentions that these are important things to know when you serve the public. It is also a time when a found child is taken care of in town, that is until the villains arrive to reclaim her. Laced with baseball rivalry, marbles, and issues delivering the mail the story moves forward at an interesting pace. I would say more, but then you wouldn't need to read this book. I loved all of the quirky and interesting characters and how their lives were impacted by this interesting and generous man.
The book brought a gold coin's worth of enjoyment to my day and I am so glad that I read it. I laughed and cried, so it was a great read.
5 stars
Happy Reading!
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