I just finished “Killer Potential”, the debut novel of Hannah Deitch, and I’m honestly struggling to find anything positive to say about it.

I didn’t necessarily like it for reasons I can’t seem to pinpoint other than it felt very disingenuous to me. Like when people want you to know how smart and clever they think they are and it comes across as annoyingly presumptuous. This book was like someone who constantly drops into conversations that they went to Harvard.

At best I would say this book was overambitious. The plot really made no sense and it’s so obvious what the twist is that I hesitate to even call it a twist. I’m generally fine with suspension of disbelief, but there were just too many idiotic things that a supposedly intelligent and gifted woman did that had me sighing in annoyance and frustration.

If you like books that try to be overly academic while meandering around a patchy plot, metaphors that make zero sense and sound uber pretentious, and insta love between artificial characters that comes outta nowhere, then you’ll probably enjoy this book. I really wanted to like it based on the blurb, but unfortunately it fell short.

I received an ARC copy courtesy of William Morrow and NetGalley, however my review is completely my own unbiased personal opinion, left of my own volition.

Wow!! That a debut! Really enjoyed this cat and mouse game thriller! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for early arc of this book and opportunity to read it early! It’s well written, haunting and leaving you wanting more! Great book

Cover: I do not really like the cover, I would most likely pass up picking this book up on a shelf to inspect further.

What I liked the most about this book: I thought I knew exactly how this book was going to go after a few chapters, and I almost had my first 'no feedback' book of the year. Thankfully I finished the book. The book took a major turn on the interesting factor. Overall I liked Evie, she is a strong main character with totally understandable angst. Evie was my favorite thing about this book.

What I liked the least about this book: Well, the fact that I almost put it down. I can see many people DNF this book because of the 'assumed' predictability of this book.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

This book started with a bang, struggling SAT tutor Evie stumbles upon the bodies of her employers. Things go terribly wrong and now she’s on the run with a woman who was tied up in the closet but cannot speak. This was fun a mix of a literary thriller and a Thelma and Louise love story. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thelma and Louise but make it a love story!

I really enjoyed this thriller! It felt like Thelma and Louise meets The Guest by Emma Cline meets Natural Born Killers. When Evie arrives at the house of her client, she not only stumbles onto a murder scene, but rescues a woman she finds tied up in a secret room.

Both Evie and Jae were likable characters, and I rooted for them until the end. The story gripped me from the start. I was intrigued by Jae's character, and what she experienced inside the Victors' home. Her flashbacks later on were fascinating, especially learning about how she ended up inside the walls of the house. The pace was steady, and I enjoyed following along as they drove across state lines causing chaos in order to survive. The author's voice was compelling and kept me engaged from beginning to end. A great debut! I'm excited to read whatever she publishes next.

4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For readers who enjoy a fast pace, compelling female characters, and unreliable narrators.

I read this book in a single day—it is compulsively readable, delightfully dark, and overall a wicked good time. Evie is a fascinating narrator, part of a generation of "gifted kids" who have grown up to find out that being good at school most certainly does not mean being good at life. The social commentary in the book is cutting without being overly didactic or distracting from the lightning-quick plot. The twist is not at all surprising, but it is still enjoyable.

That said, there were a few things that bothered me. The introductory framing, Evie looking back at this period from a remove in the future, is intended to reduce some forms of tension while introducing others—I almost DNFed the book right from jump because of it. It didn't work for me. I'm glad I stuck it out, but I was feeling pretty "meh" for a minute. Evie's fixation on using rich people's bathrooms, something that comes up at least three times, got distracting—we get it, you think pooping in a fancy toilet is somehow sophisticated/funny scatological class commentary.

There's also a scene where Evie and Jae are wounded in what is described as pretty horrific ways (slight spoilers ahead). There's a car crash, and Evie gets absolutely wailed on by a group of drunk teenage boys in a way that she describes as breaking things internally. Those injuries go on to play absolutely no role in subsequent events. They have zero impact on Evie and Jae's ongoing activities, ability to get around, steal transportation, etc. That moment was one of a few that took me directly out of the storytelling, because something that should have clear, direct consequences on the characters' actions just...doesn't? What happened there?

On the whole, however, this was a fun romp of a read.

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley.

Too a bit to get into but once I was in I was hooked. Felt like a game of cat and mouse in the best way. Loved the murder mystery aspect

A straight A scholarship student, they told Evie that she was gifted, that she was destined for great things. But after graduating from a top university with a ton of debt Evie’s stuck as an SAT tutor for LA’s ultra wealthy. What starts out as a normal day ends with the unexpected murder of her student’s parents and the discovery of a woman tied up under the stairs. One thing leads to another and sets up circumstances that has the two women on the run. What exactly happened that day? If they figure out who the real killer is can they be exonerated or will they be forever on the run?

Killer Potential is adventurous and fast paced. Think of Thelma and Louise or Bonnie and Clyde but sapphic. The majority of the novel is fast paced and humorous and I really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters. As Evie and her mysterious companion flee across the country and try to find out what exactly happened that day the tension and chances of being apprehended made it impossible to put down. But the last third slams the break on the pace that was established. And while that slower more reflective and poignant pace and tone was effective and brought an emotional weight, it really threw off the momentum. I thought the elements of falling through the cracks living on the fringe of society and the exploration of class were explored in an interesting way. The wistful and bittersweet feeling of those final chapters very much stayed with me. Despite some issues with pace I really enjoyed this debut novel and am eagerly anticipating what Hannah Deitch writes next. 

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A twisty thriller with unexpected surprises, great characters and a story I couldn’t put down. It’s gritty, full of adventures and a wild ride until the last page.

ARC received from NetGalley for an honest review.

3.5 stars

As other reviewers say, this is a Sapphic Thelma and Louise type story, but it crosses with Parasite toward the end. Protagonist Evie leads us through her adventure with the sometimes mute Jae in a fascinating stream of conscious. They manage to cross the country by their wits (mostly through Jae's skills at theft) and escape every confrontation until the end.

Some readers have questioned how they were able to stay on the lam for so long in this age of social and mobile phones, et cetera, but Deitch makes it believable. Considering the current state of our country and the absolute Darwinism of some people, I found it feasable.

Overall I enjoyed the story, even during the sudden POV shift toward the end that might kick the book off balance for some. The ending is abrupt and leaves you to decide for yourself how it really ends. This is not romance but it is raw and worth a try.

This was a strong debut. I was hooked from the beginning. I enjoyed our main characters. It was very much a Bonnie and Louise feel with LGBTIA+ rep. It was predictable and parts were a little far fetched but it's fiction so it worked for me. An enjoyable, easy read. Thank youa

Wholly unbelievable. It requires a suspension of belief that I just cannot do. I had to force myself to keep reading. Not what I was hoping for.

KILLER POTENTIAL was a book filled with mystery and thriller aspects, feminine and class rage, character driven, and narratorated by an unlikable female: all favorites in my books. I think this book was a really fun read if you like those elements, if only that it was after the initial action in the beginning, was a bit slow until about the halfway point. 

The story follows Evie, a once promising student turned SAT tutor that has never reached what she believes is her full potential. At one of her usual appointments, she finds the bodies of her client's parents and a woman tied up in the closet. 

Evie is such a great narrator for this story because she is full of just simmering feminine and class rage. It makes her unlikable, but man does that make the narration better and the story better as a whole. It touches everything, including the character driven aspect that this novel provides, and I really enjoyed it. Seeing how Evie finds herself in this situation, her resentment, and her comically quick adaptation to criminal life was what made the book so interesting.

The only thing that I think could have made the book better was the pacing. After the beginning, it got a bit slow. At some parts I wanted some action to drive the book forward a bit. The middle of the book is where it picked up, but I wanted it to not take that long to hold my interest. Once I got to the halfway point, I was hooked. 

Overall, this was a really interesting book that I think is worth the read. If you like unlikable female characters, simmering rage, character driven novels that also have elements of mystery, this is your book.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had so many real life references it felt like biographical fiction. The themes were a bit repetitive and I felt that often the writing would insist upon itself to make its point.
e.g. “ Decisions were made: I made them. Violence was done: I did it. Crime scenes were fled: I fled them. People were hurt: I hurt them. Someone was loved: I loved them. Not everything I did was bad. Just most of it.” Pg. 10

I think that should have been trimmed down a bit...
Also, this sentence structure was repeated at a few other points in the book and I wouldn’t call it poor writing exactly but it was a bit cringey.

Overall this was a great debut. The plot is compelling and often times the twists were intriguing.

I’m looking forward to the author developing their writing as their career progresses. I’d recommend this one to adults 25-40 years old.

My thanks to NetGalley and William Marrow for the digital ARC.

Killer Potential kept me reading, but not guessing. I picked up on the 'surprise' plot twist the very sentence it was introduced, so there was no shock in the third act. But I did really enjoy Evie's escape across the country and back again.

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. Part Thelma and Louise, with a sapphic twist, it follows two women on the run, as they try to escape a crime they didn’t commit.

When SAT tutor Evie Gordon shows up at the Victors, where she tutors teenager Serena, she discovers a couple things. The dead bodies of Serena’s parents and a woman tied up in a closet. From there, she and the woman have to go on the run to avoid being implicated in the murders. But not everything is what it seems.

I loved the narrative style, and the way information is provided to the reader and to Evie. I will say there was a big plot twist that was too similar to a popular movie that I will obviously not name for spoilers. But it did take my enjoyment down just a bit. The journey leading up to this discovery was still very entertaining, and this is a book I would highly recommend.

Thank you to netgalley and Williams Morrow for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The author had good instincts - a gay Thelma and Louise? sign me up! - but the final product was underdeveloped in some areas and overdeveloped in others. I loved the creativity and thriller vibes.

3.5 rounded up to 4. This book captured my attention from the beginning, lost me for a bit and then picked up again. Overall a fun read following two girls on the run after fleeing a crime scene. This feels like it would easily translate to the screen. While I did see the surprise coming it was worthwhile watching the story play out. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

4.5 stars rounded up!

Shout out to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are fully mine.

This book was so fun! A modern day Thelma and Louise! I did NOT expect the killer to be who the killer was. And I didn’t love the ending, but that’s just personal preference. The writing was great, the plot was fun, twisty, and action packed. A modern day Thelma and Louise, and a book that DESERVES a spot on your TBR!

Killer Potential 🛻

Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Pub Date: March 18, 2025

Evie was always a gifted and talented student growing up. Now that she’s grown up she’s realized all her gifts growing up didn’t get her much of anywhere. She’s settled for a job as an SAT tutor. When she shows up at her students home and finds the parents dead and a girl tied up in a closet, she finds herself on the run as the suspected killer.

Ugh I really wanted to like this one more than I did. The set up of the story sounded so good. Finding two people dead and a woman who won’t speak to you in a closet…what the hell happened!? Throughout the story there were little patches where I would get really invested and want to keep going. Then the author would sort of wander a bit and left me feeling bored. A big issue for me was how unlikeable the main character is. She comes across as thinking she’s better than everyone else, yet complains she’s made nothing of her life. I couldn’t find myself rooting for anyone.

The ending was, fine. I think it was relatively predictable from the start. For a debut author, it seems like she has a lot of promise. For me, I just need it more reigned in and to have a steadier pace.