Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. The blurb definitely intrigued me as having a wrong time wrong place murder occur to make someone go on the run. Evie is not a nice or kind person but goodness she is ambitious and seeing her navigate being on the run and her relationship with Jae was quite a ride. I did not guess the twist in totality by the time it arose but the clues were there and it made it no less enjoyable for me. The ending was a bit unsatisfying for me but I cannot deny the ride. 3.75 stars.

This book is super twisty.

Evie goes to her tutoring session in the swanky Beverly Hills neighborhood, and finds the parents of the teen she tutors dead in the backyard, and a woman crying for help in the closet. She works to free the girl, and someone walks in and it looks like they are the culprits. Evie and this girl go on the run, and a man hunt ensues. Evie knows she has to find the real killer to clear her name! The go across the country and are on the cover of every magazine, news show, everything. The press are hounding her folks and calling her all kinds of things.
It's a crazy ride!

Thrilling, sharp suspense – Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch delivers complex characters, simmering tension, and unexpected twists. Deitch’s crisp prose and strategic pacing keep you guessing until the last page.

The actions of our main character absolutely infuriated me but I could not put this book down. If you can suspend your disbelief, this book is such a fun, quick read. Which is mostly what I look for in a thriller.
It’s mostly fast paced and (insane) action packed and I really enjoyed the reveal. I also loved the LGBTQ representation.
Some of the actions taken had me rolling my eyes but nobody would read a book about a girl that finds a dead body and immediately calls the cops.

An ambitious mix of social satire and thriller, Killer Potential starts strong with a gripping premise and sharp commentary on class, ambition, and media obsession. Evie is a compelling character—flawed, driven, and suddenly infamous—but the novel's tonal shifts between dark humor and high-stakes suspense sometimes clash rather than complement. While it raises some thought-provoking questions, the story's momentum dips just when it should peak. A bold debut with killer ideas that don’t always hit their mark.

I am not a mystery reader, but this one caught my eye with the cover. I can't speak to the mystery plot elements, but I can say I always fully buy in to what the narrator tells me...so every twist got me. This book definitely played with the thought experiment of "what would you do if you were there" and it was a fun read! The author had an interesting writing style that was a newer experience with more stream of consciousness with the thoughts of the main character, which I still found enjoyable.

This fast paced dark read was exactly what I wanted and I didn't even know it. I loved this "Thelma and Louise" type of sapphic love story. It was very Bonnie and Clyde except more Bonnie and Bonnie. Evie and Jae were so well written, even if I didn't like either of them very much. I don't have to like characters to think they are still great characters though.

The story kept me riveted and I kept cheering that they would make it through their ordeal unscathed and be able to walk away completely innocent. I was totally surprised by the twist, though TBH, I probably don't guess most twists correctly anyway. The writing made this an easy read that I was able to finish in two days worth of reading off and on.

**Thank you to the author Hannah Deitch, the publisher William Morrow and NetGalley for an eBook ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.**

This was such a quick read for me. However that doesn’t mean I enjoyed every bit of it. I liked the twists and I didn’t see it coming for both of them. However I just don’t understand why the whole romance bit was necessary. Seemed very left field. The beginning was so strong and then it quickly turned into a sloppy romance. I know this was the authors first baby. And I do hope they write more, this one just didn’t hit the mark for me.

A good thriller that has you guessing from the start. These characters are more than they first appear.

This was such a fun read! Sure, parts of it seemed incredibly unrealistic, but it kept me interested from the very first page all the way to the end.

Very voicey debut about two women on the run. Prose is well written and the author clearly has a humorous voice.

(2.5) I didn't care about these characters I'm sorryyyy. The story was interesting enough, but I just wasn't invested and I didn't feel any chemistry between the two main characters.

*SPOILER* Also maybe it's because of my separation from the whole thing, but I REALLY didn't understand why Evie sort of forgave Jay at the end like I would be piiiiissed

Thank you to William Morrow books and to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review. Hannah Deitch’s debut novel Killer Potential follows Evie Gordon, who discovers the rich family she tutors for dead inside their home. She is discovered discovering the crime scene and assumed to be the killer so she escapes and goes on the run with a mystery woman she found tied up in home that she hopes holds the key to what happened and also her freedom.

This was such an unexpectedly fun book. It combines so many genres into one fast paced thrilling novel. It’s one part murder mystery, one part road trip, one part Bonnie and Clyde (or really Bonnie and Bonnie), and another part romance. I was tearing through pages waiting to see what happened next. Genuinely such a fun and amazing book with a lot to say about class and money who truly benefits in society. Lost maybe a quarter to a half star for the end being a little too neatly wrapped up for the protagonist but I think she still showed the effect the events of the book continued to have on her. Can’t wait to see what Deitch writes next!

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
I absolutely loved this book. It had several unexpected twists and turns which I thoroughly enjoyed...and didn't expect either! The protagonist is likeable even tho a little naive and too trusting.
While the story line is interesting, it's not totally unique. It felt a little like Thelma and Louise vibes. I did enjoy reading this book and highly recommend it! I could have done without the sexual parts and descriptions, not needed in a suspense/mystery book and definitely doesn't do much for the story!

I’m not entirely sure how this book ended up on my NetGalley shelf other than it probably had the key words of “queer” and “thriller” in the mix. Whatever the case, I had a tough time finishing this one. I wanted so much to dive in and instead, I found myself skimming the text just to get it done. The singular strength was that the tension of attraction between the two gals was believable and well written. The twist made sense even though it was a bit obvious… so if the fact Evie only found Jae in the wall because she heard her call out and yet suddenly Jae is mute nagged at your brain like to did mine, there’s a reason for that. I wish I had paid heed to it and figured out who the villain really was early on and then spared myself the hours of slogging through this one. This one wasn’t for me, even though it really should’ve been.

Killer Potential is a modern take on Thelma and Louise, except one of the girls doesn't actually know what's going on and the other girl is very unhinged. At first, Evie is unlikeable and a little more pretentious than we'd care for. As the story unfolds, we learn more about Evie and the girl she "rescued" from the mansion and its horrors. Evie and Jae are on the run from the police/FBI for murders that happened at the mansion Evie and Jae met at. No spoilers.
This is a fast, twisty read. I had no idea how it would end since I didn't want Evie to be arrested, she is an innocent bystander. Jae, I knew had to be caught eventually but the end had me chefs kissing for Jae. I feel Evie didn't have a great character development. I wish she would have came out better by the end but maybe she didn't really deserve something better? I will say Evie and Jae were complex characters who had to grapple with things they never thought they would have to figure out, what is "murder" in the sense of self-defense or premeditated. And asks the reader what they would do in their situation.

I can't even begin to describe how absolutely perfect this title is. Once I finished the book and reflected on it a minute, I looked at the cover again and thought - damn, this title really says it all and in a way that you didn't really expect.
<i>Killer Potential</i> feels like a Thelma & Louise on the run type of story, but the book described them more as two Bonnies with no Clyde. Either works, I think. Mainly its a story about life on the run and the reflection on regrets and what could have been. There was a lot of narrative - A lot - laced with rhetoric. I felt like the author was twisting in their outlook on the world while also telling a story.
While I appreciated the potential this book had, it wasn't my favorite cat and mouse chase story.

KILLER POTENTIAL is the women on the run book I never knew I needed to read. Deitch crafted two characters that are engaging and complex.

I will say that this book is more about the characters. The mystery level isn’t as high as I thought it would be. However, this didn’t take away from what the story was. It is a cause-and-effect situation. Evie discovers a horrific murder scene and a woman asking for help. She has to make a decision and this decision sets the course for the whole book. This is not to say there aren’t twists and turns along the way, even some somewhat shocking reveals. The tension is palpable as the reader gets further entangled in the escape from law enforcement’s pursuit. It is a crazy ride.

With wit and candid reactions being wanted for murder, the author brings to life Evie and Jae. KILLER POTENTIAL is entertaining, suspenseful, and has a bit of action to it. Deitch delivered a great debut.

Audiobook Note: This dual narration by Kristen Sieh and Daru Oda did a wonderful job of bringing the characters and story to life. It was nice when we got to hear from Jae she quite literally has her own voice. The pace and diction of each of the narrators is good. If you are an audiobook listener, I would highly recommend it.

Killer Potential is a wild ride from start to finish—I genuinely couldn’t put it down. The premise alone hooked me (straight-A scholarship kid turned murder suspect?? yes please), but the execution was even sharper than I expected.

Evie is such a compelling character: brilliant, frustrated, caught between wanting to prove herself and wanting to burn it all down. Her accidental entanglement in a double murder and cross-country escape with a silent mystery woman had me turning pages way past bedtime. And that twist? Did not see it coming.

There’s a lot packed in here—satire, social commentary, media obsession, class rage—but it never feels heavy-handed. The writing is smart, punchy, and surprisingly emotional in moments. It’s a literary thriller with real bite, and I’ll definitely be watching for whatever Hannah Deitch does next.

Perfect if you like your thrillers fast-paced, thought-provoking, and just a little unhinged.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy!

Let me start by saying I think this would've been better as an audiobook.

There are a lot of reasonable things I can stand to throw out the window when I'm reading fiction, but the whole "let me just flee the country before even talking to the police about this crime I might possible be charged with" trope just isn't for me. I didn't even know that was a trope, but here I am, having picked up several books this year with a similar premise. The writing is very conversational between the two main characters, which is why I think an audio format might've flowed better through the times I thought it felt choppy.

That being said, this was a quick, entertaining read - and a fun debut! Thanks to NetGalley for the copy in exchange for my review.