He is the master of storytelling, no question, and he writes with rich, lyrical phrases, generous sprinkles of similes, and deep insight into the human psyche. Notably, he writes with empathy and compassion—even for the bad guys. Redemption as a theme is often hovering or in full force in his works. He has always brought his characters vividly to life in all their glory and their flaws, whether in his popular essays or his equally popular novels. Another Dietrich trademark is his dry wit and how he weaves humor into plots with a deft, natural flow, avoiding cheap slapstick or tricks. All in all, he is a writer who seems too wise for his relatively young middle-aged years.
Thus, it is no surprise that his newest novel, Over Yonder (Thomas Nelson, 2025), is a masterfully told story, written with humor, lyrical phrases, generous similes, deep insight, full-on characters, empathy—and plenty of car-chasing, gun-firing, fist-flying action. A plot summary does not fully express the wonder of this novel because the wonder is found in that combination of factors that Dietrich does so well. Nonetheless, here’s a quick look at the plot: an Episcopal priest just out of prison. He needs a heart transplant and is soon on the run with a pregnant teen in possession of a flash drive with cryptic information that some seriously bad guys will stop at nothing to retrieve.
In the hands of a lesser writer, this basic plot could have turned into just another story about the bad guys chasing the good guys. But Dietrich is too fine and talented a writer to let that “just another chase story” curse happen. Instead, filled with complicated, multi-layered characters and some devious plot twists, he conjures up a marvelous, fresh novel. Filled with redemption, love lost and love found, and, yes, Dietrich’s trademark humor, Over Yonder is classic Dietrich: a glorious read.
The story opens with fast drama focused on Melinda, a drug addict, failed mother, and chain-smoker dying of cancer, who nonetheless will find her redemption. But first she must grab a flash drive from a dead woman on a gurney moments before the corpse is hurried into the ER by harried medics. When a shaved-headed man with “a thick cowboy mustache in the shape of a horseshoe” tackles Melinda savagely and grabs the flash drive, Melinda, who might be weakened by the chemo but—never count her out—still fiercely tasers him. She reclaims the flash drive.
Thus begins the chase.
While the chase and the action are compelling, the characters are what make this novel soar. Woody Baker, the defrocked priest just out of prison, is described as a “Chatty Cathy doll missing its string.” He is met outside the prison by his aged father, who will play a key role in the unfolding drama and who is first seen with his hand “hanging out the open window with the butt of a cigar cupped in it.” The father-son dynamics are about as far from sentimental as one can get, but the two men are relentlessly loyal to each other.
Woody, despite his ill health, has learned some survival fighting skills in prison that he will put to great use in the ensuing chase. Yet he remains haunted by the ghost that lies behind his prison sentence. His ex-wife and their daughter are loving (and bossy) toward him, and they form a unique family.
It soon seems that Woody’s family isn’t finished yet. Melinda, on her deathbed, drops a big secret on Woody and sets in motion once more a chain of action with peril, fighting, gunfire, FBI agents, and of course—the chase.
The big secret is Caroline, the pregnant seventeen-year-old cast-off daughter of Melinda. Caroline is tough and resilient from years in foster care. Her boyfriend and the father of her child is a nitwit named Tater, but, like Melinda, he will have his moment of redemption. Caroline is “ninety-four percent freckles” and should charm readers with her determination and spunky abilities, which land her on her feet no matter the danger. Despite her hand-to-mouth youth after her addicted mother left her to state supervision, Caroline is smart and has managed to get a decent education. Yet she is troubled by the notion that Tater might be right when he accuses her of being “just sorry white trash like the rest of us. …Ain’t no amount of reading what can fix being trash.”
Dietrich, famous for his Sean of the South blog and podcasts, as well as his popular and acclaimed novels, can write the most dramatic plot twist brimming with danger and guns and mayhem—yet he can infuse it with enough humor to take the sharp edge off the violence. For example, just as the bad guys look like they are winning in an intense action scene, one Caroline is unlikely to survive, a villain grabs the tail of a cat in order to better reach Caroline. Both the cat and Caroline escape the fate the villain had in mind because: “Grasping an angry cat by the tail teaches a man something he can learn in no other way.”
Dietrich can also shape the mundane and ordinary with new dimensions by his skillful use of similes. Take these examples: a woman “stabbed out her smoke like she was killing a spider” and “The car made a sound not unlike a Folgers can of rocks falling down a public stairwell.”
Over Yonder is a great, fun read. Yes, there is violence, but there is such a rich vault of humor, grace, and pure-D spunk that the book is far more than another action-adventure. Rather, Over Yonder is a character study in transcendence and redemption, written with Dietrich’s everyman eloquence and his profound, kindly insights into the human condition.
Sean Dietrich
Dietrich is the author of eighteen books, including Stars of Alabama, The Incredible Winston Browne, and a 2020 memoir, Will the Circle be Unbroken. He is also a widely published columnist and podcast host, known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in many well-respected national and regional publications, and he is the creator of the Sean of the South Podcast. He and his wife, Jamie, live in Alabama. Dietrich is also a musician and has appeared on The Grand Ole Opry.
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