With a cover like this, one would expect a Thelma and Louise vibe for this debut psychological thriller. Though there were a few moments where this was true, mostly it was far more intense than I anticipated.

Evie Gordon, a scholarship kid at private school, was destined for great things. She exceled in all her classes and got into an elite college. Along with that exclusive admittance came the crushing debt. To keep deferring her debt, she continued to go to school while tutoring high school kids for their SAT on the side. This gig paid well as she tutored for very affluent LA families.

One day when walking into a client’s house, rather than seeing her high school student, she discovers that students’ parents brutally murdered in their own backyard. Before she could flee, she hears a small cry for help, and Thelma meets her Louise.

Killer Potential is a character driven novel, and I really struggled with Evie. She’s snarky, a self-admitted bully, and there were more than a few moments her behavior felt a little far-fetched based on her background. She’s intriguing for sure, but hard to like. What starts as a buddy adventure, takes a hard left into "how well do we really know ourselves—or what are we capable of" territory. If you are looking for a fast-paced sapphic thriller that will make you think, this Thelma and Louise journey will do the trick.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and of course the author Hannah Dietch for the advanced copy of the book. Killer Potential is out now. All opinions are my own.

Oh, now I get it. It's a love story.

I didn't hate it but I never warmed to either of the main characters.

Thanks to the good folks at NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

Is it cliché to start this review with the fact that Killer Potential had so much potential, but ultimately didn’t complete the assignment? That’s truly how I feel about this book, and I’ve given myself a fair amount of time to mull it over. I was pulled in by the premise of a “lesbian Bonnie and Clyde story” and I do love a good literary crime novel. My hopes were high! Alas, there were a lot of things about Killer Potential that just didn’t do it for me.

Let’s start with the good first though. There’s a lot of good narrative in this story, especially at the points where Evie is critiquing the current state of America. She mentions a lot about feeling let down by the education system, and there is a fair amount of commentary on corporate crime and how it thrives in the shadows. I even agreed with Evie’s outlook on the mega rich, and their all too shiny lives hiding so much darkness. When Evie has a moment where she feels oddly pleased to be in the spotlight, regardless of the circumstances that got here there, I felt that too.

The problem is that as relatable as Evie is in some ways, she’s also endlessly frustrating in other ways. There’s a lot about this story that requires you to fully suspend disbelief. The spree of car jackings, the altercations with witnesses, and even just the sheer amount of time that Evie and Jae are able to stay uncaught by the police were pretty baffling. I know there would be no story otherwise, but Evie makes a whole bunch of terrible decisions. Truth be told, I wanted to literally shake her so many times.

My other issue was Jae’s backstory. When the story starts out she’s unknowable. Tough as nails, but unwilling to divulge anything concrete about herself. Which, makes sense, once you get to the twists in this story. It was the idea that Jae’s impoverished upbringing led her to this point in her life that frustrated me. The idea that poverty and crime are inevitably linked is just so cliché. I would have loved to see a deeper character arc for our Jae. She deserved so much more.

The plot itself isn’t too badly done. The beginning of the novel is understandably slow, as the reasons that Evie is now a wanted criminal slowly unfold. I actually enjoyed this part the most, as the two women got to know and trust one another. Be warned, there are on on-page, pretty steamy love scenes here. In case that’s not your jam. The second half of the book then went into warp speed to round things out before the ending. This latter half felt like an entirely separate book and threw me off a bit, but I did like the ending! It was solid.

So, yeah, 3 stars from me! There’s a lot of good here, and I know this is going to be a book that a lot of readers enjoy.

After reading about this book on social media, I was really excited to check it out but sadly it did not quite live up to the hype for me.

I started off feeling pretty intrigued - the beginning is compelling and left me excited to find out what happened. The middle part felt pretty tedious to me, and also very unrealistic. When one of the big reveals happens I felt more invested and disturbed, but overall it wasn't really for me.

I enjoyed the writing enough to check out whatever Hannah Deitch writes next! I enjoyed a lot of the ideas in the book but overall something didn't work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I almost gave up on this book right after I started. It involves two young women on the run across the United States. They are suspected of murder. I can tell you how this ends, Bonnie & Louise…in a hail of FBI gunfire outside a cheap motel in Kansas started off by an agent who swears he thought that burner phone was a gun (and it will always be a “he.”). But this doesn’t go that way.

i kinda went in blind to this book and recommend you do too—all you really need to know is: it follows an overeducated and broke SAT tutor who finds her rich employers brutally murdered in their backyard and a mute woman tied-up in the walls of their mansion.

Entertaining. Kind of felt like a podcast. In a good way. I didn’t expect the romance aspect. It felt kind of weird but I liked it.

I’m not a thriller reader, so I’m not sure how this book compares to other thrillers. I thought it was an interesting exciting book with a lot of tension. I enjoyed Evie as a main character, and Jae as her partner in crime. However, I agree with a lot of the other reviews that this book requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. I also felt like the novel tiptoes around the themes of class without actually engaging. That sort of commentary would’ve been great to see worked into the novel.

This gave such a fun Thelma and Louise vibe and I had a good time with that. The queer twist was absolutely delicious and I wanted more of that! Although I thought the vibes were fun, I felt like the ending was underwhelming and that there were too many pieces that were too unrealistic for me. But overall, this is a good, quick thriller!

At first, I wasn't too sure. But this was a very interesting and imaginative read! I ended up really, really liking it! It contains elements of Thelma & Louise, with some mystery and even romance! If anyone is looking for a fresh and fun debut, this is it!

I had a hard time with my rating of this book, but in the end I rated it 2.5⭐️ rounding up to 3 for GR.

The overall premise behind this story intrigued me and had so much promise. However, it really fell flat in terms of a thriller/mystery. It lacked a big twist or wow moment, as I had it figured out from the very beginning. For a mystery, that just doesn't work for me. Additionally, I felt like Evie was written in a way that made her either very stupid or naive. I can't say more than that, or I would potentially give something away.

All that said, I liked the writing style, overall idea, and unlikeable characters. The ending as also fairly satisfying! As this was a debut for the author, I would definitely check out her next book.

What do you get when you mesh a love story with a lit thriller? Killer Potential by Hann Deitch. This was such a fun read. It was easy to get through and actually was not as predicable as I expected it to be. Would love to read more from Hannah!

honestly, i loved the 'be gay, do crimes' vibes of this and it was compulsively readable but <i>something</i> was missing for me. it's been almost a month since i read this and it hasn't really stuck in my memory. i definitely still recommend it for people who love thrillers (especially gay ones).

This book was not what I expected, and I loved it so much. It kept me on the edge of my seat. The twists were interesting and disturbingly realistic. One involving one of my biggest fears (no spoilers, though)! It was paced perfectly and I can’t wait to read more by the author. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

This book had such a genuinely interesting premise. And I enjoyed it! I loved the Thelma and Louise vibe without feeling too close to the source. I fell in love with the characters and loved the plot. My only critique is I feel like the book over-explains itself to the point of affecting the pacing, including through the “action”. I still finished it in a couple of sittings, but felt it could’ve kept its pace.

I really liked this! Are you a litfic girly who is never satisfied with thrillers, but is always looking to read a good thriller??? Then this is perfect! I will say, if you are an actual thriller girly, this might not scratch that for you!

I think my biggest issue was the amount of unbelievable crap that was happening in the book lol suspension of disbelief was at a whole other level, which I guess is common in a thriller. However, not being an avid thriller reader, I found it hard to ignore all the highly improbable events that were occurring. I have one other issue, but I can’t share it because it’s a spoiler.

Aside from that, it had really good character development, and a lot of commentary about our school system, job market, society and class, the American Dream, etc.

Definitely not a hollow book. I had a blast reading this, and went and purchased a copy to have on my shelf. I will absolutely read Deitch’s next book, no questions asked!

I loved this book so much! It is interesting and unique, and it drew me in pretty quickly. I had a minor gripe with how often the main character talked about going to her parents for help. At the beginning of the book, I thought she was in high school, not 29 yrs old. But other than that, this was an amazing book. Thank you, Netgalley for the eARC!

This was a really fun, often thought provoking, read that definitely delivered on its sapphic Thelma and Louise premise; it was a 5 star read by the end, but I struggled with giving it that rating for several reasons. But first--

What worked for me:
-the writing on a line level is incredible. Evocative and yet terse at the same time, it reminded me a lot of Otessa Moshfegh mixed with Capote, and this blend worked very well for me. Especially in the last third of the book, Deitch's writing had me glued to the page
-I genuinely liked Evie as a character, in the sense of: she's insufferable because she's MEANT to be insufferable, and it's the mark of a good writer to portray a complex character like Evie so well
-to some extend, I also liked her roadtrip partner/partner in crime/lover Jae
-the last third of the book was truly phenomenal. Changing up the POV as Deitch did was an excellent move, and I felt she truly stuck the ending. I loved the complexity of Evie and Jae's relationship as well

What didn't:
-as other reviewers have noted, the first chapter involves a LOT of suspension of disbelief. Evie's decision to assault Serena, the Victors' daughter, and flee with Jae makes relatively little sense for a woman who's supposed to be a former gifted and talented student. As a former gifted child myself, I can attest to having absolutely zero common sense BUT Evie's portrayed as rather sensible all things considered throughout the rest of the novel.
-compared to other litfic I've read recently, the themes did not come together as well as I'd hoped. The social commentary often felt meandering relative to the main plot, and relatively superficial until, as noted, the last third of the book
-the twist is rather obvious, though the WHY behind the killer's rationale is less obvious. I'm not sure whether the obviousness is the point, but again--we've got a main character who's supposed to be smart.
-the middle sort of meanders. Going from locale to locale while fleeing the law got old rather fast; I felt this book may have been more propulsive as a novella

Many thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Hannah Deitch for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! Even though I have my gripes with this debut, Deitch is a promising writer and I can't wait to see where she goes next!

There are only two characters in KILLER POTENTIAL that matter and are well developed: Evie Gordon, an overeducated and underemployed SAT tutor; and Jae Park, an enigmatic and silent woman rescued from captivity by Evie. The book begins with Evie arriving at the house of one of her students, finding a dead body or two as well as a woman calling for help, and making an impulse decision that has the pair running from the authorities. The initial feel of the book, with Evie narrating her story, is very self-satirizing and cynical. Once Evie and Jae meet up and the real action begins, that tone drops away in favor of a much more declarative structure. Short sentences and phrases, as well as short chapters, move the plot forward.

As the two find themselves on a desperate road trip to evade capture after Jae’s rescue, their characters, motivations, values, strengths and weaknesses are developed. Their actions as much as their words bring the complexity of their characters to life. All other characters serve mainly as foils for Evie and Jae.

Undergirding the fast paced plot, the book analyzes, from a variety of perspectives, the question of how an individual is seen both by others and by themselves. Deitch deals with the way that suffering can become a commodity through social media, ownership of the power to decide a person’s value, how poverty and privilege define the boundaries of one’s consciousness, and the means by which one’s self can become defined by others’ portrayal. The many aspects of this theme appear again and again, mainly in Evie’s narration of the two women’s motives for their actions.

Despite the thematic and character development, the plot screams along, told in short chapters that engage the reader. There is a breathlessness to the action. Evie and Jae’s development as characters does not suffer from the fast pace since both their ruminations (particularly Evie’s) and actions propel the book. However, the descriptions of setting are less than transformative thanks to a road trip that allows little chance of taking in the sights.

I didn’t enjoy the ironic tone of the beginning of the book, but it did fit with all of the reflection upon personal vs. societal influences on a sense of self that permeated the book. Once the book’s road trip-based plot took off, the theme remained without the irony and I found it much more enjoyable. The plot moved so quickly that it veered a step away from plausibility. This was only apparent in retrospect, however, as the somewhat hazy detail of the road trip kept the focus pinpointed on Evie and Jae’s isolated state. Their self-contained world makes sense while the reader is immersed in that world.

Deitch did a good job with unreliability, so that when the twist came it made complete sense and fueled the book’s resolution, such as it was. I do not love endings that tie things up with a neat bow, and I respected the way that this book resolved some issues and left others open. KILLER POTENTIAL was so well written that it is hard to believe it is a debut! I will be watching for Deitch’s sophomore outing.

This one started great but slowed down for a bit as we learned the characters and background. I was not expecting the steam, so that was a plus. I enjoyed the Bonnie and Clyde type plot it had going.

So...not my favorite read.

It started out okay, though I didn't like Evie. I was interested in the crime and her situation and what promised to be a fascinating crime spree/road trip/getaway novel.

But...it changed. It became a story about the RELATIONSHIP (and, yes, all caps) and sex on the run and way too much blather.

Eventually, as things started coming to a head, I got interested again only to have the author throw in a bit of a twist that I simply didn't like.

I ended it not liking any of our characters (except maybe Evie's parents who were largely non-entities, but pleasant) and really not enjoying the interminable loose end wrap up.

Readable, but not really for me.