I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. Sean Dietrich did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

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 pleasant with an ultimately hopeful message. I enjoyed it!

1950s, small town sheriff, little girl and a great community—the main points of this story. This is so many genres put into one book that just works — mystery, drama, thriller & romance.

This is a story about a small southern town, the town's benevolent sheriff, and the mysterious young girl who appears in town one random evening. It is the perfect picture of small town America in the 50s, and while it wasn't my typical read, I actually really enjoyed it. There were parts of the story that felt a little slow, but, then again, that's kind of how life in a small town feels sometimes. It was very slice-of-life, and I think I would like to try another book from this author.

I loved this book! Set in a fictional small town somewhere near Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL in the 1950s, the author has really captured the spirit and ambience of small town America. The main character, Winston Browne, is the town sheriff and he has just found out he has terminal lung cancer. Although his impending death is a theme, it's not really the whole story. This is life in a small town over the course of a year -- the lifelong friendships, romance, routines, teenage pranks, festivals, and (most importantly) the beloved Brooklyn Dodgers. I loved the baseball references and the quirky characters.

There is a secondary storyline of a child and her mother who have sought shelter from an oppressive cult. This was a bit distracting and puzzling at first, but the child becomes a critical part of the story. ( While I understood the plot element of a mysterious child who touches the lives of the townspeople, I did question the necessity of the oppressive cult/religion storyline itself.) In any case, Jessie's presence has an impact on everyone in town and becomes a very important part of Winston's life.

This book reminded me of A Man Called Ove with its quirky characters and humor and heartwarming tale. It's never sappy or silly, just touching, suspenseful, and sometimes outright hilarious. Highly recommended!!

Due to a personal difference in beliefs (WITH THE PUBLISHER) I will not be reviewing this book outside of Netgalley nor do I plan to support Thomas Nelson in the future due to their decisions of late and the lack of fiction with good Biblical values.

This does not mean I do or do not like the book, it just means I will not be reviewing books for this publisher anymore as I do not care to support them when I do not agree with the way they have left their former standards.

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!

I loved getting to know Mr. Winston Browne and the cast of characters from Moab, Florida. It was a lovely change of pace in this simple sweet story. My only issue is I wish the backstory of Jessie was less complicated and more realistic. It would have fit better overall.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich.

Winston Browne, benevolent and beloved sheriff of a small southern town, has just gotten some devastating news that will have a wide impact. Tempted to proclaim defeat and hideaway, Winston is determined to make the most of his time and health, and enjoy all that life has to offer while he has it. But it's amazing how much can be thrown at you in such a short period of time. Some good, some bad, and some transformative.

I loved this story, multiple stories of multiple people in this sweet small town, all melding together to make one fantastic tale. The writing was heartwarming, sometimes silly, but always full of depth and weight. I loved watching the characters shift and change, and all of the self discovery that happens on the way. Very sweet book.

This was my first novel by this author. It was set in the Moab, which I’ve never been to. Light southern historical fiction. Great read!

Though it took me a bit to get into the book because it jumped from one character's point of view to another, I ended up becoming absorbed with this story. I had never read any books by this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was the story of a small southern town that drew me in with its quirky, lovable characters. The titular character was someone I would have loved to meet in real life. Each character brought seemed like someone I could run into in my hometown. The ending was beautiful and not rushed. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

This is the most human book I've read in a very long time and it certainly won't be my last reading of Dietrich's work after the immense impact I feel it's left on me. Everything about it is lovely. The author has a great conversational style of prose that fits both the characters and the place of the story. It's the kind of book you fall into because the reading is as easy and enjoyable as a late summer afternoon.

Moab (the small town setting that I would argue is a character itself) and all of its residents press into you like a hug as they showcase all of what it means to be alive: joy, disappointment, love, regret, grief, laughter, and all the things in-between. It truly is a book that will make you smile the whole way through, though I won't lie that I started tearing up and then downright cried in the last few chapters.

Winston is a fictional character but as you read the book you realize there are many Winstons in this world, as well as Eleanors, Jessies, Buzs, and all the rest. If we all had hearts like Winston's, we'd probably recognize them more. I can't wait to read more of Dietrich's stuff. If it leaves half the impression that this novel did, I'll be a happy reader because The Incredible Winston Browne is going to be with me a very long time. I'd recommend this novel to any reader. In fact, I insist on it. People need this kind of story at least once in their lives so they know what not to miss as they live it.

Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

I laid this book down and thought, wow! Actually, I'm not really sure what I thought. It's the kind of book that leaves you a bit breathless when you turn the last page, not wondering so much what just happened, but wondering how the story of a dying man can leave you wanting more. More from the story, yes, but more from life. It challenges you to live, really live, each day. See the beauty around you, see the people around you. Build relationships, love the down and outer, take the risk, just live.

It took me a while to pick up this book. I didn't know the author, the title wasn't super captivating, and it just didn't seem that interesting. I wasn't very far into it until I was on our library's website seeing what other books they had by this author. Sean has a way with words that when they are strung together are haunting and beautiful and funny and just so well articulated.

It truly is the story of the incredible Winston and yet he didn't really do anything out of the ordinary. He was just a sheriff doing his job, but when death came knocking, he gave it a fight. That's not really a spoiler because you learn this in the first sentence.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be looking for more books by Sean Dietrich.

I received this book from Nelson Books via NetGalley and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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.

Sheriff Winston Browne faces his mortality in this novel set in Florida in the 1950s. In his small town, he has a handle on all the goings-on. Into Moab, Florida arrives a young girl, a runaway, with no credible backstory. Her muteness and reticence touches Winston’s heart. Instead of sending her to foster care, he asks Eleanor Hughes to take in the girl. The runaway, though, does has a story – she has been set on a journey to escape the cult in which she has resided. A trusted friend from the cult has arranged this for her and promises to follow-up later.
We also meet a teen boy in desperate need of a role model. Again, the sheriff steps up to provide a path for him.
Baseball is huge for Moab and figures into the story prominently as a unifying force for the town, giving them something to hope for each season as they are a minor league town for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Many thanks to Netgalley.com for the advanced digital copy of The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich in return for my honest review.

The Incredible Winston Browne is the story of a man and all of the lives he touched throughout his lifetime. It is also about unexpected change, and how embracing change can transform one’s life. The setting is 1950(s), in a small, rural town in Florida. There are a cast of memorable, quirky characters. I wish the author had spent even more time on the various characters’ back-stories.

I enjoy a quiet story, and for the most part, this book was just that, with the exception of one storyline that for me detracted from the read but was necessary to introduce a very important character. If you are looking for a quick, fast-paced, suspenseful read, then this is definitely not the right choice, but if you like to linger in a charming town with characters that know one another since childhood and share each others’ joys and sorrows, then this is the book for you. It is very slow in parts, but the ending…oh that heartfelt, perfectly satisfying conclusion was the best. 3.5 stars.

For me, this book wasn't a good fit. I am sure many will love it, but the small town charm didn't strike me as real. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher

I loved this book so much! It tells the story of Winston Browne's last months on earth before he moves to Ethernal Glory. It's the kind of southern tale that moves slowly like a lazy river, but the flow picks up when the rains come.

Winston's a World War Two veteran, now the sheriff of Moab, Florida. He's been a Moabite his whole life, a well respected Methodist, beloved by his community, seen as a hero by the local children. He's best friends with Jimmy Abraham, who has been postponing marrying Eleanor Hughes for tens of years. They're all in their early 50s now.

The approaching death due to his cancer makes Winston look at things differently. He's not affraid to become very good and close friends with Eleanor, who finally leaves behind the confining mentality of the small town and embraces some bold fashion choices. Eleanor and Winston's friendship makes Jimmy Abraham quite jealous, indeed.

These small town people's lives are changed when a ten year old girl, Jessie, makes her appearance in Moab. She's the child of one of the women from a strict religious organisation up in Pennsylvania. Jessie ends up living with Eleanor, all the while being searched by people from the organisation. The passages about these people's search for Jessie and for Ada, her mom, are suspenseful and made my heart beat faster. It was the right amount of additional plot to make the novel wholesome.

Buz Guildford's drunken grandfather drowned, leaving him and his polio striken mother to live a small, poor people's life. Buz's mamma works long hours, while Buz left school to work to earn money. Winston Browne takes Buz under his wing after an unfortunate night when Buz and his friend P.J. tried to steal gasoline from a Pensacola gas station to sell for cash. Winston sees a lot of himself in Buz, and Buz sees in Winston the father figure he needs in his life.

Baseball plays an important role in the story. Every good Moabite is a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. In 1955 the Dodgers won the Wolrd Series, and their victory was celebrated down to Moab, Florida. Winston Browne loves himself some baseball.

The thing is that Winston Browne changed everyone's life for the best - he's the sheriff, and the town's little leage baseball coach, he's the one delivering groceries, he's the one people can count on. It's not a surprise that he dies in the end, but he left the world a better place in his wake.

The novel ends with Buz being a grown-up, now a sheriff himself, just like his hero Winston Browne, and he's now married to his teenage years sweetheart, Becky. Jessie, too, is married with one child. Eleanor and Jimmy are enjoying the tranquil years of grandparenthood for Jessie's baby boy.

This is both a heart warming novel and a heart gripping one - it leaves you wanting to be a better person. I loved it so much, and I want to read more of what Sean Dietrich has written so far.

Beautifully written. Authentic. Nostalgic. Excellent character development. Enjoy this novel. You will not be disappointed. Five stars.

Set in a small town in the Florida Panhandle, this story reminds us that at our best, we are part of a community of people who care about and take care of each other. Well drawn characters who will leave their mark on your heart.