Shout out to both William Morrow for publishing, and NetGalley for providing the ARC.

First I've got to say; that I wanted to love this book so badly - but what goes up must come down.
The opening hooked me - but I wasn't able to suspend disbelief long enough to really get into it.
The story was advertised as an intriguing, page-turning, high stakes crime-thriller but it was, unfortunately, not at all what was delivered. Instead the focus shifted onto the relationships of the characters entirely, and the "crime" aspect became a sub-plot.

This book could have been half as long - and would have been much better for it.

Not impressed. This one won't be memorable unfortunately. I don't like open ended endings and this one had just that. It was entertaining at times but there were things that felt yuck to me.

I wish I liked it more, it did have *potential* (pun intended) but I guessed the ending right away. I do read a lot of mysteries, so do with that what you will, but this book didn’t stand out to me

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book had a lot of potential (lol no pun intended) and I really love the cover. However, it didn’t work for me.

It all felt way too unrealistic to me. The whole time i felt like rolling my eyes because it just didn’t sound right to me.

I hope others love this one but it wasn’t for me.

I really loved Hannah Deitch’s writing in her debut novel “Killer Potential.” I found her style to be really sharp and there were some great insights into what it truly means to be “without.”

Our main character Evie walks into a mansion for her weekly SAT tutoring gig to find the mother and father of her student murdered. She heard a woman calling for help and helps her escape after she’s discovered having been tied up and beaten.

This starts an international manhunt for them as they are assumed to be the killers while Evie maintains her innocence. I liked that the end of the book told stories from Jae’s point of view, the other woman on the run with Evie. I wish this dual POV would have been throughout the book. I’d like to have been “in on” the overall picture instead of fed at the end with Evie. I also found that there were a few too many side stories about Evie’s childhood and would have loved even more action in the plot. Overall I really enjoyed this book! Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC!

This thriller was truly a wild ride! It is giving the vibes of Thelma and Louise, and follows two women on the run from the FBI. I lost count of the number of twists in this book, and I could never have guessed the biggest one! The subplot of romance in this was also crazy but somehow felt genuine at the same time! I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend. These women were both so messed up, but so interesting to read about!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This was a twisty thriller that I totally went into blind... which I kinda am happy I did. It's told between dual prospectives.

Really loved this one! Twisty and sexy at the same time!

(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch was well written and the idea sounded great but the actual plot was just not my for me. It felt like a lot of the decisions the main character made were absolutely insane. She feels responsible for someone and runs away from the scene of the crime rather than just calling the police. I could not get over the initial plot line to enjoy the book. While it had "killer potential" it was just not for me. I think that if you are able to get past the terrible decision making this book might be for you!

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Hannah Deitch for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When I first saw Killer Potential described as a Gen Z, queer Thelma & Louise, I was immediately intrigued. That pitch alone had me ready to dive in—and I’m so glad I did. I was genuinely surprised to learn this was Hannah Deitch’s debut, because the writing is polished, sharp, and deeply readable. It pulled me in from the very first page.

We meet Evie, a gifted kid turned burned-out adult, who’s stuck tutoring rich teenagers and grappling with the relatable ennui of being someone who was always told she had “so much potential.” Then, in a weirdly engaging turn of events, she stumbles upon a murder scene, discovers a starved woman hidden behind a wall, and finds herself attacked by the victim’s daughter. What follows is a wild, tense, and strangely intimate journey with Evie and the mysterious woman she helps escape.

Evie is not what I’d call likable, but she is for sure interesting. She’s messy, sarcastic, horny, and constantly questioning the choices that led her here—and I appreciated that complexity. Her fugitive partner is even more interesting but I don't want to give any spoilers! The book plays with themes like social mobility, burnout, and how the American Dream can turn dark fast. It’s a story about women on the edge, about reinvention and identity, and about the stories we tell ourselves just to keep going.

The pacing is tight, the dialogue is sharp, and the tone balances dark humor with genuine emotional weight. I especially loved how the tension between the two women never fully resolves—it stays uncomfortable in a way that feels intentional and real.

This is a smart, fast-paced thriller that manages to say something bigger while still keeping you turning the pages. If you’re into thrillers with morally gray characters and an undercurrent of social critique, definitely give this one a try.



Vibe check:
🎓 Former gifted kid burnout
🔪 Feral feminist thriller
📺 True crime meets late-stage capitalism
🌪️ Complicated women making worse choices, beautifully

Rating: 4.5/5 emotional breakdowns in stolen car

Thank you to Hannah Deitch and William Morrow for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I found this book to be very strange. A young woman, Evie, is a SAT tutor. Upon arriving at the Victor home, she doesn't see anyone. She wanders around, and then sees the owners dead. She hears a voice and finds a woman tied up in a closet. Her student appears and accuses them of killing her parents. The two women go on the run, believing they will be found guilty of murder. If this first few chapters of mayhem isn't bizarre enough, the story gets crazier from there!
A bit of obsession, lies, and gore are present in this debut.

I think I needed a little more hint to motive and an earlier hook. Overall, 3.5 stars. Thank you for the advanced reader copy.

What an awesome debut from Hannah Deitch! This book hooked me right away and I was on the edge of my seat until the very end. Twisty, tense, and fast-paced. I loved it!

Bridging the gap between literary and genre fiction is a delicate act. Inevitably, you draw in two different kinds of reader and neither leaves fully satisfied. Readers of thrillers and mysteries will call the story "slow" or brag they saw the twist coming, as if that were the point. Readers of literary and general fiction will be unimpressed with the gimmicky nature of the plot. While not quite achieving the impossible, <i>Killer Potential</i> gives it a good college try (get it? because of the SAT?).

The story begins with Evie, an in-home SAT tutor, who discovers her employers brutally murdered inside their home. She starts to flee the scene, but before she goes, she hears a woman calling for help in the basement. She frees her but must now flee as a fugitive when the two are discovered by the daughter of her employers who believes they were involved in the murder—perhaps an unrealistic leap to an exaggerated set of choices, but now the scene is set. Evie and the mystery woman are now on the lamb hoping to avoid law enforcement with their faces plastered on every TV screen in the nation.

I was pleasantly delighted by the additional depth of the story beyond your typical cat-and-mouse car chase. Unexpectedly, the book explored interesting themes like class inequities, the mirage of class mobility, homelessness, and racism. However, it never really settled on any of them long enough to share a novel perspective. Even more unexpectedly, a romance between Evie and Jae blossoms—sweet, but ill-fated. I enjoyed the story, but wish we either got more exploration of the deeper themes or at least resolution to the novel's open-ended questions: What did Peter do that made his death so unregretted? And, what ever happened to Jae?

<i>Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I was absolutely SUCKED right into this!! what an amazing story with a wild twist at the end, i cannot recommend this book enough

This was a short, easy, entertaining read. It wasn’t the most complex, and the characters didn’t feel fully developed, but it was still well done

I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins for giving me the opportunity to receive an ARC copy.

This was fast-paced and well written! Incredible debut that I'd HIGHLY recommend!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun. It keeps your full attention on this wild ride while these two women are on the run. I had to force myself to put it down at times. I completely guessed who the killer was so the twist wasn't a total shock to me.

My only real complaint was the ending it just felt kind of meh to me. Once it hits a point at around maybe 90% it starts ending and it just felt like it was ending with a whimper for me. Not really sure how else to word it. The rest of the book was total non-stop action and then that you got around there and it was like someone hit the breaks.

4.5 stars rounded up

Killer Potential is a darkly clever, high-concept debut that starts with a bang—literally—and rarely lets up. Evie Gordon, a bright scholarship student turned disillusioned tutor, becomes the accidental face of a media frenzy after stumbling onto a brutal crime scene, setting off a whirlwind cross-country chase with a mute and mysterious companion.

The novel offers a sharp critique of social mobility and media spectacle, and its satirical bite adds flair to what might otherwise be a familiar fugitive thriller. But while the premise is gripping and the voice distinct, the plot occasionally strains believability, and the emotional stakes don’t always land. It’s a smart, provocative ride—just not as fully realized or resonant as it could have been.

2 ⭐️

Immediately had a hard time with this because Evie -- after completely innocently stumbling upon a crime scene -- convinces herself the police are going to think she's guilty (for no reason whatsoever) and is then subsequently "on the run" for the entire book, committing actual crimes while doing so, and making herself look guilty when there was no reason to originally think she was.

This book was also unexpectedly spicy at a few points, which just totally through me off because I headed into it thinking it was a thriller. And for a thriller, it was not that thrilling. Quite disappointing :/

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC in exchange for my honest review!