I was so excited for this one. At first, I was invested in the story. What an opening. But as it continued to go on, I struggled to stay invested because of how the character interactions seemed so one sided. I lost interest and have decided to move on.

This book was fine but nothing ground-breaking. I enjoyed it well enough, but I probably won’t go out of my way to recommend it.

A fast paced read as Eve and Jae take off across the country as fugitives. The writing was tight and descriptive. Something was always happening, as these two women came to rely on each other. Interesting, twisty towards the end. A really good debut novel. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This book is okay. The characters make so many choices that absolutely do not make sense, which could be fun if the book was a little bit more self aware, but I was able to finish the book without getting too bored.

“Killer Potential” by Hannah Deitch is a sharp, fast-paced debut that brilliantly blends literary depth with thriller suspense. Evie Gordon is a compelling protagonist—smart, driven, and achingly relatable—as she’s thrust into a nightmarish whirlwind of murder, media frenzy, and mistaken identity. With biting commentary on privilege, ambition, and the illusion of social mobility, Deitch delivers a thought-provoking narrative that’s as gripping as it is timely. Equal parts heart-racing and heartbreaking, this is a standout novel that lingers long after the final page.

Thank you Hannah Deitch, William Morrow, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This was such an incredible book. The cover really intrigued me.. I love a strong female, main character energy. This was part contemporary part coming of age and part thriller, all wrapped into one. I seriously binged it in less than 24 hours which says a lot because I don’t really read a lot of books in one setting. I have never read any books by this author previous to reading this, but I can tell she has a lot of potential.!

I really enjoyed this! I feel like I would have liked to see a little more mystery with who other potential suspects would have been and Evie's journey to exonerate herself, but otherwise this was great!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a honest review. My first Deitch novel and I enjoyed myself!

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy! This started off slow and was a bit hard to get into for me, I found the plot to be predictable. It was very hard for me to engage and connect with the main character. I felt that the pacing did not lend itself to the best reading experience even on audio. This just didn’t do it for me. I am an avid thriller reader, but I think this one was just not my cup of tea. Other readers may love this it just wasn’t to my taste.

4 stars rounded up!! This was a great thriller - I did not see the twist coming and even though I didn’t love the ending it was a fun read. Great book for book club!!

I knew that girl was going to be the end of Evie! I knew that her not talking was not some trauma response but something more sinister. Evie got herself in big trouble by trying to be a good person and help out a victim, when she should have turned around the leave that damn house where she was tutoring

After Evie and mute girl ran away from the house of murders, they started a Bonnie and Clyde like fugitive life. They tried to find a spot they wouldn’t be named. During this long journey, Evie managed to open up the mute girl. They started to share their stories and share more than car seats, but was it all there was when it came to this girl? Was Evie walking into a trap?

I couldn’t like either of the characters in this story. I think there were so many things that needed to be clarified before story progressed, but I couldn’t find answers. I was happy to find at least one twist, but I knew it was coming as well

This book was such a fun read!

Oh my goodness… I could not put it down. It was a roller coaster ride that’s for sure. Getting caught up in a murder that you have no part of, seems insane and then to immediately go on the run was next level.

I found myself rooting for Evie and hoping she would escape detection all the way through.

I did think it was interesting to have that close-proximity romance included too. It felt like it enhanced the story for me as there’s been so many stories that romanticize life of the run with a partner.

Thank you to William Morrow for selecting me for this ARC. I’m looking forward to more by Hannah Dietch someday.

"Killer Potential" was published on March 18, 2025. A big thank you to the publisher and author for providing an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley.

2.5 stars.

I was drawn to this book because I typically enjoy a good “whodunit” type of read, but overall, this one fell a bit flat for me. The story follows the main character, Evie, an SAT tutor for wealthy families. After arriving for one of her shifts, she discovers that the parents she works for have been murdered. In a panic, Evie tries to leave but hears the voice of a woman, whom she finds tied up. While attempting to free the mystery woman, the family’s daughter returns home and in a fight is badly injured. Evie decides to flee with the woman, and the story follows their attempted escape.

I felt that the plot twist was somewhat predictable; however, there were still a few surprises I didn’t see coming.

Overall, the story was a bit boring for me, and much of it felt unbelievable. Evie made decisions that no real person would make. This novel just wasn’t my favorite.

Killer Potential had a lot of potential but feel short. I thought the characters were boring and the overall plot was tired. I kind of skimmed until the end bc while I wanted to know what happened I didn't really care that much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. The story was captivating, the characters were well-developed, and the writing pulled me in right away. Every chapter kept me wanting more, and I didn’t want to put it down. The pacing was strong throughout, and the emotional moments really stayed with me.

This is a standout read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for their next great book.

Evie Gordon is a former gifted kid turned unfulfilled SAT tutor for the wealthy residents of Los Angeles. One day, she arrives to a grisly scene : her student’s parents have been brutally murdered on the yard and there’s a strange cry for help coming from a closet inside. Evie stumbles into the home and frees the trapped woman from the closet, but they are immediately discovered and trouble ensues. The two women set off in a rush as fugitives fleeing the violent crime scene and must find a way to elude the countrywide manhunt that launches after them. Evie must find a way to clear herself from suspicion for the murders, but she’s low on resources and her companion has refused to share so much as her name… can she ever get back to the “boring” life she formerly despised but now now desperately craves?

This was an interesting read, at times taking on attributes of different genres: literary fiction, thriller, romance. I sped through the book in just a few sittings because I needed to know what would happen next. Deitch touches on several themes elegantly: gifted kid burnout, the shame of unrealized potential, inter-class relations, and the desperation caused by a capitalist society. There were some aspects where I was left wanting, however: the connection between the two main characters was not well-explored and it was unclear why they had such an intimate bond beyond necessity. The romantic plot seemed to be based solely on physical chemistry rather than emotions. I also struggled with the feasibility of the pair eluding law enforcement for so long with pretty simple schemes - this stretched a bit beyond suspended belief for me. Overall, this was a really solid debut and I’m interested to read more from this author!

Not your typical thriller! A very interesting premise and I enjoyed the ride, even if it was a bit long-winded and we spent a lot of time inside Evie's head. There were some parts about the reveal that I thought were not plausible (or at least not explained), and the end was a bit of a bummer to me. It was fun that Evie was from Hendersonville, NC (where I live)!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Wow - so I went into this book blind (as I often do) and was a bit blown away that this book is a debut! It's done well considering that, and this book will keep you turning the pages as there is a lot of action!! There's so much going on at all times that it's impossible to ever get bored or to not be entertained by this book. The twist wasn't easily guessed and I really enjoyed the surprise of not guessing it before!

I kept hearing about this book and was excited to start it! It is exciting and engaging, with the story taking twists I didn't see coming. I didn't find that I cared too much about the characters, but honestly I wasn't sure if I was meant to be that invested in them. Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC!

So this was wild, and I was reading this like wow this is intense, and then the TURN IT TOOK OMG.

This is like a drama thriller, then it gets a little horror-ish with some stuff near the end. I am STILL shocked I was not expecting the direction it took.

I do think the ending felt, off maybe? So the last 20% we start to get the POV of Jae, when the rest of the book was from Evie. And like, how is Evie not in therapy? She is a MESS and needs help. Someone help this girl!???

And there’s a lot of time jumps later on that make things a little confusing. Like I feel like this was pretty solid until the turn, and the ending was a shaky. But what a read. Like wow 😳. I was stressed a majority of the time 😂.

Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.