Great story line, easy read, not too many twists or turns but certainly kept my interest! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was instantly hooked into the daily life of Evie Gordon, a young woman who fails to seamlessly get into the working world despite her extensive education and ends up working as an SAT tutor to wealthy kids in Los Angeles. She resents her gig and the kids, the wealth, and the injustice of it, but needs the money and is good at it. At heart Evie is a small-town girl who is smart in books but less so in how the world works.

One day she shows up to her job at the Victor’s house to tutor her student. This is where the story takes a dramatic turn, and without spoiling the whole book, the action begins.

The story is certainly compelling. It is long, and at points does get repetitive. Of course you must read to the end because many of the details that fill in the narrative happen at the end. I was a bit numb at the end of reading it. I am not sure I was satisfied by the ending, but I was sure that I could not take much more.

The writing is well paced with good use of language and plot. Hannah Deitch is an author to watch. Thank you to NetGalley the author and the publisher for this arc.

A murderous protagonist with a cutting sense of humor. Most authors take their murder/mystery/thrillers very seriously but Hannah Deitch throws some spice into her debut with Evie Gordon. This makes for not only an exciting page turner but a darkly humorous book. These bold characters and fast paced plot have the makings of a Netflix Thelma and Louise.
An intelligent SAT tutor, life has not turned out the way Evie envisioned it. Stepping into the homes of the wealthy, she tutors their privileged children and gets to take a peak at a world she imagined for herself. Serena Victor is one of her students and Evie has gotten to know her family well. She comes in one afternoon for an appointment and discovers both the girls parents dead and a strange woman tied up in a hidden closet. After Evie frees this terrified woman Serena walks in and discovers both Evie and the woman covered in blood and assumes the worst. She attacks them and in self defense is knocked unconscious by Evie. Serena and this victim from the closet, Jae, are now the assumed murderers and a National wide manhunt begins.
The story circles around their unique relationship and the unknowns that surround Jae. The ending had a twist that was nicely done however no spoilers here. Killer Potential is not just a thriller as it puts the subject of privilege under the microscope.
Ann unexpected find I found it unique and thoroughly enjoyed it. A fabulous debut, I look forward to Deitch’s next book. 5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Williams Morrow for this advance copy. These opinions are my own.

I mostly enjoyed Hannah Deitch's debut novel. Evie's character is fascinating in its multiplicity, both exciting and tragic. To say much about the plot would ruin the reading experience for others. I recommend it 100%!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book, which will be published on March 18, 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow books for this ARC for review. This is a fun debut thriller! Evie Gordon is smart, a scholarship kid with straight A’s. Definitely not who you would expect to get mixed up in all this. Evie is an SAT tutor who shows up at her rich family’s house for a tutoring session and finds blood everywhere and hears a women calling for help. She finds a women her own age tied up in a closet. Evie unties her and tries to figure out what happened here, but they are spotted and they go on the run. This book is fun and twisty as secrets are revealed about every single person until the very end. Definitely keeping this author on my radar.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC of Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch. I had high expectations for this book and unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. Overall, the storyline was good, there was plenty of mystery and suspense, and the book was well written. However, I found myself struggling through overly complex or very wordy explanations for events. I did like the twist with Jae and found that it was tied in nicely. For a debut novel, this author shows a lot of potential and I will be looking forward to reading more of her work.

4 stars

This is SUCH a great debut, and I found it extremely readable.

Evie is giving Gen Z realness in her devotion to her own specialness along with a simultaneous justification of how it's fine that she's a tutor for (often) wealthy folks, though this is not how she originally envisioned the use of her fancy (read EXPENSIVE) degree. It's a regular day when she heads over to tutor one of these clients and instead finds a house full of murdered individuals and one person who appears to be on the brink of that. What can Evie and this survivor do but flee? So quickly, Evie's manifesting about her specialness starts to work in an unexpected way. She's now "special" because she's a murderer on the run (in the public discourse).

The general premise, pacing, and relationship between Evie and her fellow survivor make this an incredibly engaging experience. As a native Southern Californian, I also truly appreciated the regional references and at times hilarious interjections about the area and general mentality here. Deitch is...never wrong on any of these points.

This is a quirky book that won't necessarily resonate with the lay reader but will really hit home for the right audience. I can't wait to read more from this author.

From the first chapter, this book grabbed me. An excellent page-turner that twists and turns. I loved this first novel by Hannah Deitch and look forward to her second.

A SAT tutor gets mixed up in a murder and goes on the run. This book was entertaining and kept me in the edge of my seat. There were things I didn’t see coming and I really enjoyed that!

Hannah Deitch’s Killer Potential is a darkly captivating debut that blends the razor-sharp commentary of a literary novel with the pulse-pounding intensity of a thriller. Evie Gordon, a scholarship student with a string of straight A’s and big dreams, finds herself stuck in the grind of life as an SAT tutor for the privileged elite of Los Angeles. Her seemingly unremarkable existence takes a dramatic turn when she discovers the brutal murders of her wealthy clients, the Victors, and becomes embroiled in a web of crime and suspicion.

Caught between being a suspect and a fugitive, Evie is forced to join forces with a mysterious, silent woman whom she rescues from the Victors' estate. Together, they embark on a cross-country chase to uncover the real killer and clear Evie’s name. As Evie’s story dominates the media, she is cast as a bloodthirsty symbol of class war—a far cry from the hopeful student she once was, and perhaps even a reflection of how society shapes the narratives we tell ourselves about success and identity.

Deitch’s prose is biting and incisive, offering both a gripping narrative and a sharp critique of the American dream and social mobility. The novel delves deep into themes of privilege, the myth of self-made success, and the stories we construct to make sense of our lives. Evie’s journey is as much internal as it is external—her quest for the truth mirrors her own confrontation with the disillusionment of her former dreams.

With its cutting humor, suspenseful pace, and thought-provoking exploration of class and ambition, Killer Potential is a stellar debut that will resonate with readers who enjoy thrillers with a literary edge. Deitch’s first novel promises a lot, and it delivers—keeping readers on the edge of their seats while offering a keen reflection on the price of success and the stories we tell ourselves along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to honestly review.

What is painted as a "mysterious killers on the run" book, is actually a stoning commentary on class consciousness and wealth inequality. In what is eerily similar to recent events (Luigi), from the onset, author Hannah Deitch sets up a narrative that explores how far someone might be pushed when they have lost everything.

SAT tutor Evie shows up for a weekly Sunday session with a student, only to find the student's parents murdered in their LA garden. After a misunderstanding, Evie is on the run, desperately trying to survive and figure out who the murderer is.

Throughout the book, Evie shares details of her upbringing, her incessant chase of wealth and status, and the realization that upward mobility is near impossible. Given the current class climate in the United States, I found this particularly interesting. As we've seen from social media, politicians, and talk shows, the reactions vary: how responsible are the vastly wealthy for the poor?

Overall, I liked the pacing, writing and character development. Halfway through, I had an idea of how the book might end, which is what happened. With the way it ended, there were some plot holes and the expectation that readers would believe ultra-wealthy people would not have in-home cameras. But, I really liked the commentary brought up in this book!

I really really enjoyed this! Two girls on the run for crimes they did not commit. Fantastic story line, many different settings as they ran. Loved it!

Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC. **Spoiler:** The premise was promising, but the story felt implausible and forced. It’s hard to believe a smart adult would tamper with evidence at a murder scene and flee, starting the book’s downfall. Evie’s rambling thoughts and Jae’s silence were grating, and their love story felt unnatural. Their ability to evade law enforcement without cash or cards was unbelievable, and Jae’s convenient problem-solving strained credibility. The secret tunnels were unrealistic unless magic was involved. I prefer my endings neat and tidy, but the writing has promise with tighter editing and better continuity.

Wow! What a debut!

This is the tale of Evie, an SAT tutor, living in Los Angeles. When she shows up to tutor one day and finds her student’s parents murdered in their home, she goes on the run.

This book has it all…a fast pace, murder, mystery, action and romance. I was hooked immediately.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

The prose here is sharp and clever and really hit me in some places--especially as a former SAT tutor (to pay the bills) while I did a PhD program. Anything that stung was because it was too close to home. Deitch's debut is nuanced and sharp.

If I'm being honest, it took me a little bit to get into the story. But once the story really got going then I found myself glue to the pages. This has Thelma & Louise vibes. If you like a good murder mystery with a cat and mouse chase game then you will devour this!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An SAT tutor shows up to work at her rich employers' mansion in LA just to find them brutally murdered, and ends up on the run across America with the woman she found tied up in their closet.

This is an absolutely wild premise that blossomed into a fun, unpredictable, fast-paced read. There is a love story angle to it that didn't quite work for me, though, and when that became the main focus of the book, it lost me a bit. It was also hard to suspend disbelief at times, especially when the tone veered away from camp and more towards self-serious.

*Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC*

This book was so easy to read and so compelling I finished it the same day I started it, which says a lot about the skill level of this author. The plot was well-paced and it was clear that the author really thought things through to every detail when plotting it. Additionally, I thought all the commentary on class, education, and society's black-and-white views on criminals as well as crime (and the mob mentality that comes with that) was very thoughtful and spot-on. Great balance of storytelling with execution of theme.

Debut author Hannah Deitch has crafted a thriller about continuous bad decisions. The paths of the book could have gone so many different (and better) ways if only the main character did not follow up one bad decision with another bad one.

Evie Gordon, recent graduate who has failed to find steady employment, is eeking out an existence by being an SAT tutor for Beverly Hills teens. This actually suits her since she’s into real estate porn. Her current Sunday afternoon clients, the Victors (mom Dinah, dad Peter, daughter Serena) live in an Old Hollywood 1920s estate, (built by an architect who promised mazes of secret passageways and hidden doors, designed for staff to remain out of sight). Evie stumbles upon dad dead in the pond and mom with a bashed-in head in the garden and Serena nowhere in sight. Instead of calling 911 immediately, Evie returns to the house and hears a cry for help. There’s a woman tied up with an electrical cord in a tiny, almost hidden, room under the staircase. Again, not calling for help, she unties the woman, Serena suddenly arrives, Serena screams, and Evie hits Serena with a vase (?!). Serena’s boyfriend also arrives so he can be the witness who says, “the teacher did it!”. So Evie takes off with the freed and very mute woman in her car, and goes to Walmart to empty out her bank account to head to Arizona. What was Evie thinking? Of course, there’s a nationwide manhunt for her and her non-talkative friend.

Once upon a time, Evie was always “talented and gifted,” and full of potential, which she is prone to reminding us in every chapter. But now she’s twenty-nine years old and in the middle of a Thelma and Louise style road trip of her own choosing. She actually relishes the spotlight of a “Most Wanted” list. Her relationship with her rescued and silent friend starts to grow (unbelievably), but not until many, many more bad decisions are made.

I so wanted to like this book more than I did. Evie just started to grated on my nerves after starting out with a wry sense of sarcasm and a sense of humor about her predicament. But the unbelievability of the plot wore me down. The long coming explanation of why the woman was in the wall resolves a lot, but too late. By then I just expected Evie to die in a Wild West shootout with the FBI. You’ll need patience to finish this and maybe you’ll like Evie more than I did. 3.5 stars.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only Serena’s blue eyes are mentioned.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): YES The dead body in the backyard koi pond was not surrounded by sea kelp. It was probably just an algae bloom.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Killer Potential is a well-written, haunting novel that will leave you needing more. As my first novel by Deitch, I had no idea what I was getting into. The details within the story were absolutely on point and the storyline baited you and kept you holding on by a string throughout. Different that a lot of novels out today, Killer Potential takes you through the story in a traditional fashion, but the last 20% of the book follows the characters as they reflect on the first 80%. This helped tell the story of before the first page. I really enjoyed this method of writing and would enjoy reading more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for this ARC. This will absolutely be at the top of a lot of lists in the spring!!