Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. This was a WILD ride, super dark humor, a bit gory at times, and had a pretty satisfying set of twists and turns. This one is hard to describe or categorize, it's not a mystery or a thriller, but some dark & twisted in between.

This thriller just wasn't for me. With that being said I think that some readers might really enjoy this book. The main character's tone and attitude was not something I can relate to. That doesn't mean that others couldn't really enjoy the book especially if they are looking for a sapphic thriller.

This was pretty good. Had some unexpected twists and turns. I did find myself skimming at times when the main character got in her head too much but overall I think it was a fun read.

If you’re looking for something fast, wild, and action-packed, this is it.

Evie is a broke SAT tutor clinging to the idea that she’s meant for something bigger. But when she shows up at a client’s Beverly Hills home and finds the parents murdered and a woman tied up in the closet, everything unravels. Minutes later, she’s on the run, and the media paints her as a gifted girl turned killer, the face of a class war.

There’s a lot of action, which kept me entertained the whole time. I read a lot of thrillers, so I’m usually trying to guess the ending right away (my toxic trait), but I didn’t really have any theories with this one, which made it all the more interesting. Can't wait for the tv show which appears to already be in the works?!?!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC of Deitch's Killer Potential - out now!

Hannah Deitch's debut novel, Killer Potential, follows Evie Gordon - a formerly gifted, currently burnt-out 20-something-year-old who tutors the rich kids of SoCal to pay her bills. When she walks into a tutoring session and stumbles upon a brutal crime scene, Evie and her unnamed companion, a bound woman she frees from the mansion, suddenly become two fugitives on the run.

From the very first page, this sapphic Bonnie and Clyde thriller had me on the edge of my seat. The first two parts of the novel are narrated through Evie's panic-stricken point of view. Evie worries about being framed murderer, yes, but she's also worried about her wasted potential. In particular, “Part II: Bootstraps” reveals the harsh realities of her untapped potential. Her overwhelming guilt has her almost wishing that she had committed the murders, just so that she could at least be known for something. Evie falls quickly and dangerously in love with not only the notoriety, but also with her companion.

The last third of the book, “Dream House,” occurs after the murderer is revealed. Deitch does away with the panic-driven pacing, and we see a much more methodical narrative interwoven with snippets from the media that show just how detached Evie is from reality. And honestly, the reveal made me feel so stupid; like, of course! But just like Evie, I was swept away by a false narrative that seemed too good to be true.

The setup of the novel works beautifully, and Deitch's character building is immaculate (and that’s so incredibly hard to do with an unnamed character that was mute for a good third of the novel!). Within one chapter, I already knew who Evie was, and it is so easy to root like hell for her. The character development, the pacing, and the plot were everything I wanted and more!

Deitch’s Killer Potential was both heart-wrenching and exhilarating. Again, thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC!

Killer Potential pulled me in right from the beginning with its sharp writing, compelling setup, and the instantly relatable main character, Evie. As someone who’s ever felt lost after graduation despite having all the “right” qualifications, Evie’s struggle hit close to home—gifted, driven, yet somehow stuck in limbo. Jae’s family situation was also very relatable - trying to find herself in the world and not really knowing where to turn or asking for help.

The story’s pace slowed a bit in the middle, but the “wrong place, wrong time” narrative kept me intrigued enough to push through. And I’m glad I did—because this book made me seriously pause and think: What would I have done in Evie’s situation? Her choices felt messy, human, and honest.

The ending left things open to interpretation, which I actually appreciated. It gave me space to sit with the story afterward and wrestle with what I think might’ve happened next. That said, I do think the book could’ve done with less sex—I felt like it was more for showing their budding relationship and bonding because of what happened to both of them. I understand why it was included, and it didn’t completely pull me out of the story.

Overall, this was a twisty, thought-provoking debut that sticks with you after the final page.

This book had a really great beginning. The middle dragged and the end was exciting and a bit confusing. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this book. A lot of cool ideas in it.

This was fun and twisted! A wild ride from start to finish! It's hard to describe the elements I liked without giving too much away, but the characters are really well-written onions, peeling back new facets with each chapter and shift. I really enjoyed it!

Read If You Like:
• Sharp, fast-paced thrillers with dark humor
• Women on the run
• Character-driven mysteries with social commentary
• Twisty plots with escalating tension
• A touch of Thelma & Louise chaos

Evie Gordon’s life isn’t glamorous—she’s a broke SAT tutor barely scraping by, with dreams of graduate school and a quiet escape from her reality. But everything changes when she shows up at a wealthy family’s mansion for a tutoring session and finds the parents dead—and a woman tied up under the stairs. Within minutes, Evie is on the run with the stranger, dodging police, media, and questions she doesn’t want to answer.

The road trip that follows is tense, strange, and darkly funny, unraveling not just the mystery of what happened in that house, but who Evie is when stripped of her carefully constructed life. The stranger she’s fleeing with doesn’t speak, but her presence forces Evie to examine the lies she’s told herself about power, ambition, and survival.

This novel is equal parts thriller and social satire, examining what it means to be complicit, ambitious, and desperate in a world obsessed with optics. Fast-moving and unsettling, it keeps the stakes high and the tension tighter with each chapter. A great pick if you love messy heroines, morally gray choices, and the thrill of watching everything spiral out of control.

Thanks to William Morrow for my gifted ARC!

This one started so fast and heavy! Bam! Bam! Bam! With two murders and an escape, but after a while it got a little redundant and the last 20% dragged.
I just couldn’t understand Evie’s actions at any point, I guess she didn’t either.

Killer Potential is basically a thriller - kind of a Hitchcockian at first where Evie, an SAT tutor, happens onto a murder scene and is blamed for it and goes on the run. At the murder of her employers, she finds a young woman tied up in the closet, and they escape together on a cross country (and back) trip. The whole country is looking for them, and Evie is not prepared for this, but her companion has some useful skills. The two of them build an interesting relationship. Evie is not particularly likable, but it's a good book to follow.

Killer Potential is Hannah Deitch's debut. The opening hook of this story drags you in and lets you know within these pages there will be a twisty ride. Within the first 4th of this book I was all in and could not wait to see what was about to unfold. Do we have a trustworthy narrator or an unreliable one? By this point in the story I wasn't sure what to believe.
By the half way mark I was sure I knew just how things were going to work. I was absolutely sure I could see the twist coming.
By the 75% mark I found myself saying "oh, that's not what I thought at all."
While this story does read as a debut novel, it has certainly left me with anticipation of what is to come from Hannah Deitch in the future.

Hannah Deitch's Killer Potential is a strong debut. I love a cat-and-mouse thriller, and this one delivers. It also has Thelma and Louise vibes, Did I disagree with some of the characters' decisions? Absolutely. Did it affect my enjoyment of the book? Not a bit. I can see this being a great spring break or summer beach read. Enough substance to keep a reader intrigued, but not so heavy that it requires too much thinking, which is what I crave in my warm-weather reads.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters all really had depth and I felt like I was actually there with them the whole time, on the run. I loved all the little plot twists and side characters we go to meet, and of course the big plot twist/reveal was amazing! I would definitely read another book by Hannah Deitch!

Evie is stuck in neutral after excelling in school and accumulating degrees. Tutoring rich kids seems easy enough, until she walks into a murder scene and finds a terrified woman hidden in the walls. Being in the wrong place at precisely the wrong time, Evie takes off running, before she can be arrested for murders she didn’t commit. Finding herself on the lam (which her liberal college education did NOT prepare her for) with a woman who won’t say a damn thing (much less explain why she was tied up behind a wall), she finds that she isn’t good at lying or self-preservation. Also, apparently running from the cops can make you horny. Very impressive debut novel and a great beach-read candidate. ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

🔪🩷 Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Evie Gordon is an SAT tutor who stumbles upon her wealthy employers murdered and finds a scared, mute woman tied up in the walls of the house. When someone else arrives at the house, she knows she looks guilty and runs. But not before rescuing this woman and taking her as she flees.

What a wild ride. This book is dark but written in an upbeat, casual tone reminiscent of Thelma and Louise. After they hit the road, Evie is all over the news. To escape recognition they travel cross country and a strange but necessary friendship blooms, and then maybe something more. It’s a cat-and-mouse chase, queer love story, and mystery mixed into one. It’s full of action and I found myself flying through, needed to know what happened next. The story slightly meandered towards the end, which I think took away from the strong first half, but all in all this was an enjoyable thrill ride of a book.

This book hit all the cliche buttons for me. A down on her luck girl (except she was nearly thirty), rich people are evil, two women left alone will eventually become lesbians, and things will always work out in the end. Honestly, I had a hard time even finishing this book. The writing was adequate but uninspired and the character development was shallow at best. The ending was to be expected.

“𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧-𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧.”

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Pub Date: 3/18/25

*Thank you @NetGalley and @WilliamMorrowBooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Evie is a former TAG student with a college degree she isn't using and significant debt from student loans, making ends meet as an SAT tutor to mostly wealthy families. One Sunday she arrives at her students home, to find her parents murdered. She finds a woman bruised, tied up, and mute under the stairs. The student Evie was there to tutor walks in on them, and in a split second decision Evie and the mystery woman go on the run to avoid being tied to the murders.

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲:
*Wrong place, wrong time
*Thelma & Louise (with a twist)
*On the run
*Mystery with a twist

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
This was an interesting read, I wast too sure what to make of the genre. Its a bit thriller with a bit of literary fiction. The author obviously has talent with words, even if her style was not my preference.
I was captivated by the mystery of it all, and the events while on the run. The relationship between Evie and Jae. The twist wasn't that twisty, but the dark secrets leading up to the twist are what made the story. The chapters where short and easy to read. I did use some audio book for parts, and the narrator was great as well.

#KillerPotential

I figured this out in the first few chapters but hoped I was wrong and would be surprised at the end... I was not. There was so much potential in the storyline but too many clues at the beginning.

*Provided a DRC (digital review copy) from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

Killer Potential is a Thelma and Louise-style road trip romance, but it didn’t work for me. The plot was so far-fetched that I had to suspend too much disbelief. Everything felt a little too over-the-top or convenient, and because of that, I never really connected with the characters.

There were a few sweet moments in the love story, and I could see what the book was going for emotionally, but it just didn’t land. The characters’ choices didn’t feel real, and I kept getting pulled out of the story because I couldn’t buy what was happening.

If you’re into chaotic, dramatic escapes from reality, this might still hit the mark for you. But for me, it was hard to care when nothing felt believable.

Thank you to William Morrow for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.