The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth about Ethan Wilder takes place in a small town in Bowie, Georgia. Everyone knows everyone’s business. And when Ethan Wilder returns to town, it’s pretty obvious that he was going to be talk of the town. Considering that many believe that he killed his older sister years ago. An unfortunate mishap allows for Delilah Doherty and Ethan to meet. Because of her family is used to being the gossip of the town, Delilah feels drawn to Ethan and begins to dig into his past.

I have conflicting thoughts about The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth about Ethan Wilder. It was not by any means a bad book; I actually enjoyed the writing and the premise of the story. And as someone from a small town, I understood how fast gossip travels. I found the small town aspect the most relatable thing about the book.

I also really enjoyed the main character Delilah Doherty and her relationship with her aunt and mother. It was also interesting to how Delilah was treated because of her family’s reputation. However, I wanted a little more back story about their reputations. For example, her mother and aunt’s reputation. How and why did it start?

The biggest issue that I had is that I felt that the premise was not executed well. While reading I had this feeling that something was missing. All the ingredients were there, but it just barely touched the surface. This is a mystery; I just I wanted more hints and a little more depth. I was not on the edge of my seat while reading and the big reveal felt like it came out of nowhere.

There were a few things that I was not sure about. For example, the relationship between Delilah and Ethan. I did not understand their immediate attraction to one another.

Also, it was established early on that Bowie is full of gossip, how did Delilah not know about Ethan’s sister. She mentioned that she had been on a family trip but still, it would have been hard to not know that someone had been murdered in your small town.

Final Analysis

The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth about Ethan Wilder is a decent book. The characters and premise are both good, however, the execution of the plot drags the book down.