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.

While I’m torn between disbelief that they could stay on the road and my firm certainty that most people don’t notice/don’t care about the world around them (and I’m not excluding myself. If anyone from the FBI’s Ten, make that One Hundred Most Wanted List knocked on my door right now….well, Inprobably wouldn’t answer, but it’s because I’m lazy, I hate people and I’m wearing a nightgown, not because I would recognize them.).

Anyway, the story becomes much more interesting, and, though I had a few raised eyebrows about the end (I’m a lawyer), I actually enjoyed it. Evie is a strong main character with totally understandable angst, for once. There’s a lot to like here.

“An entire country was chasing us - and isn’t this what so many women say they want? Men persuing them, courting them, waiting up late next to the telephone for news of their whereabouts, twirling their hair…a funny thing, how the language of courtship mirrors the language of hunting. Chase. Pursue. Stalk. We had become the object of it all. Objects of lust, objects of fear. What was the difference, really?”

This was my first Hannah Deitich novel. I was pleasantly surprised with this cat and mouse like thriller. I loved the suspense and wanting to know what was around every corner of this book!
Evie was a fun and relatable character, a tutor of rich kids. One of her appointments goes wrong when she walks into the site of a killing. Some details seemed a bit repetitive but overall I enjoyed it and couldn’t wait to see how it turned out.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I thought the writing and plot were great. But I just couldn’t get into it. I felt there was too much unnecessary backstory and I wound up getting bored at times. Although I will say this book had me on a rollercoaster ride towards the end, it did end up being a fun read. I just wish I found it more captivating.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC of 'Killer Potential', by Hannah Deitch - expected release date March 18, 2025.

I'm rating this a 3 because the writing was good, descriptive and detailed, especially for a debut, but I had a hard time getting through the book.

The relationship between the two main characters Evie and Jae, as strangers, progressed too quickly romantically/intimately - it seemed unbelievable to happen that fast on Evie's side, given what horror she had stumbled into when meeting Jae and the lack of response from Jae as they started their escape journey.

The whole road trip was also unrealistic. Stealing multiple boats and cars, IDs, money and making it across a country's border all undetected and evading many people who recognized them as criminals from the media blasts. That being said, while it dragged on in some parts and was over-the-top, it did provide entertainment and I wanted to see how it ended. It didn't seem like there could be a good outcome for either Evie or Jae so I was surprised to see where the author took it and how she made it "work".

Wow, this book blew me away! It’s been a while since I’ve read a thriller book that genuinely had me on the edge of my seat reading so fast to find out what would happen next. This book gave me Thelma and Louise vibes, which was amazing.

I struggled to get through this book, but I give it 3 stars because I think it was written well, the writing is just not for me.

Evie's internal monologue could be rambly. It was wordy and boring to read at times because nothing was happening to further the story.

The dialogue with Jae was often lackluster. And sometimes Jae would respond to what was written as Evie's internal monologue which was confusing.

Despite being wordy, I felt like words and details were missing. (Jae was described in great detail but like, not enough. I can't picture her at all.)

This didn't feel like much of a thriller as this book was more about them being on the run than it was a murder mystery. I didn't really guess who committed the murders, but I didn’t really care, and wasn't all that shocked at the twist. Then, after there were some huge time jumps, the book abruptly ends, with no real indication of what became of Evie and Jae. It was unsatsifying, but I prefer my books tied up in a bow.

🌶 for a couple short scenes between the the two FMCs

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC 🤍 All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC!

I gave this 3.75 stars, rounding up.

For me, all of the small critiques I had (some parts dragging on or feeling repetitive, a couple instances of what felt like info dumping, certain choices characters made) were very easy to overlook because the story itself made it so hard to put this down. Evie and Jae were both such compelling characters. Evie's wit and dark humor as well as the connection between her and Jae were the high points for me. A part of me saw the twist/reveal coming but it still managed to make me gasp. I couldn't stop reading once I got there, I had to see what happened immediately.

I was surprised this was a debut novel with how well-written and captivating it was. Only the ending felt just a little rushed, but I can fully understand why it was written that way.

I'll absolutely read whatever this author puts out next.

thank you to netgalley and William Morrow for the arc read.

sooooo, this was gripping and fast paced - to ME. i love when female characters are less than perfect. its sapphic and fun and the writing is amazing. do i understand half the choices either of the characters made?? absolutely not but lmao it work for what the story was telling and for who the characters were.

my only complaints are that some of the writing itself was long winded. evie's thoughts went on forever and into random tangents that circled back to the original thought. it was too much at times and made those moments in the book drag.

i do want to preface by saying this was fun, what i mean is that Evie is hilarious and there are moments of comedy but i found it a bit heavy, especially the more you get into it.

recommend to anyone that wants a sapphic crime thelma and louise type of vibe!

I really liked the way this began and it had great promise conceptually, but like a number of other reviewers I felt like that promise was never realized. The novel devolved so quickly into ridiculous decisions that made no sense at all that it became impossible to keep suspending disbelief enough to imagine things playing out this way... I get some suspension of disbelief. I get some bad choices made In the heat of the moment. But from start to finish nothing made sense here, and that made it next to Impossible for me to connect to the characters or storyline. This one was not at all a good fit for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this advance reader’s copy, in exchange for an honest review. “Killer Potential” is scheduled for publication on March 13, 2025.
And check out all of my reviews at my Raised on Reading (www.raisedonreading.com) blog site.
I’ve always been a glass-is-half-full person, because if you’re thirsty, that half glass sure looks refreshing.
But when it comes to novels, that half-glass theory doesn’t hold water (pun intended). And that’s the case with Hannah Deitch’s debut novel, “Killer Potential.” It gets the reader half-way there, but not all the way home.
Evie Gordon works as an SAT tutor in Los Angeles. One day she shows up at the home of a wealthy family and finds both parents dead. She’s about to leave and phone 9-1-1 when she hears a voice from the closet under the stairs calling for help. There she finds a young woman, bound and unable to speak. Evie cuts her loose, but just then Serena, Evie’s student, shows up and all Hell breaks loose. Serena is injured (Evie thinks she’s dead) in the ensuing struggle, and then Serena’s boyfriend shows up. Knowing how guilty they look, Evie and the woman she rescued flee.
This begins an improbable journey that at times reads a bit like Thelma and Louise – two women on the run from the law. And to this point in the story that’s okay. I’ve been drawn in, and I’m wondering what’s going to happen to these two women.
But as their journey unfolds, it becomes increasingly unbelievable that they are not only able to elude law enforcement during a cross-country drive from L.A. to the Florida panhandle but do so again during a return trip to the far reaches of Washington state. All while their images have been broadcast and posted everywhere imaginable.
As you might imagine, the two women begin to open to each other. But more than open to each other. It doesn’t take long before they become sexually engaged. And perhaps to break up the monotony of the drive – for them as well as for the reader – Deitch feels it necessary to reveal their sexual exploits in finely detailed specifics. For me, it was a bit too graphic. I don’t need to be hit over the head with minutiae to know that a sexual encounter has taken place.
The latter portion of the book left me empty. The entire narrative is written first-person perspective in Evie’s voice. Then toward the end it alternates between Evie’s and Jae’s (the woman she rescued) voice. And Jae’s narrative comes across way too bland.
The book’s climax is also a letdown. I wasn’t sure what to make of the ending. It’s abrupt and left me hanging. Perhaps Deitch just got tired of writing.
Which was fine, because I was tired of reading.
Two-and-one-half out of five stars (rounded up to three) for “Killer Potential,” because the story never did live up to its full potential.

The story gripped me from the first page. The concept was intriguing and I devoured Deitch's words. A very impressive debut.

Evie isn't exactly a relatable character, she's far smarter than I could ever dream of being and that makes her kind of conceited and cold, but there was just something that made me root for her.

The writing in this is great, and I really appreciated the pacing. It made for an addictive read. I had a feeling where this was going and was a little disappointed when I ended up being right in regard to what happened to the Victors, and the ending was a bit underwhelming, but it was still very enjoyable.

A very tense, murder-y thriller. Suspension of disbelief is a must, and the end feels a bit rushed, but it kept me interested.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read and review Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch!

What a ride! Loved it from the very first page to the ending! Fast paced and a great debut novel!

Fans of murder mystery and a cat and mouse chase game will love this thriller #debutnivel by @hannahdietch that crosses the country several times. Evie Gordon is an SAT tutor who was “gifted talented” in school, and like so many of us, find that not being the indicator of success that her elementary school teachers said it might be. She is tutoring Serena Victor, a teenage girl in Southern California.

One day, when Evie goes to the Victors’ home in order to conduct her lesson. She finds the parents brutally murdered, and a seemingly mute woman tied up inside of their closet. Without thinking, she freeze, the mute woman, but covered in blood, finds herself to be the main suspect in the brutal murders. Of course, the only way for her to be free is to find out who the real murder is, the reasons why they had a woman trapped in their closet, and how their journeys have come to meet.

Fans of Thelma and Louise, parasite, Gone girl, and Heather Gudenkauf might enjoy thisraucous adventure. The ending is going to be a bit polarizing, so without any spoilers, I will say that this ending goes in a direction that most books in this genre do not. That said, I did truly enjoy the story, the writing is very solid, as well as the commentary. The themes include privilege, educational privilege, academic success, trust, and even a little romance. It is a fascinating character study and mystery.

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the ARC. Book to be released March 17, 2025.

#netgalley #bookreviews #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #booktok #killerpotential

Deliriously fun, provocative, and gripping, it's almost too easy to give THRILLER POTENTIAL a perfect score. Hannah Deitch has a voice I would follow anywhere and this book has such a breathless, propulsive pace that I found myself turning to it whenever I had a spare moment. I kid you not, I propped my kindle on top of the bathroom faucet so I could read it while I brushed my teeth last night. I thought the balance of wit and darkness was perfectly rendered and I *love* a novel that is able to wrap the failings of peak capitalism into narrative in a seamless way. I know this word is overused when talking about books, but truly: unputdownable.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the chance to read the e-arc Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch..

This debut read by Hannah Deitch packs a solid punch in 300 pages. Part dark comedy, part fast paced thriller, the first page opened up a page turner that made a cross-country flight feel like a blip. When I looked up, I was 200 pages in!

Told mainly through the eyes of Evie Gordon, we get right into the nitty gritty when Evie stumbles into the site a double murder and a violent kidnapping within minutes of arriving to her SAT student’s home on a Sunday afternoon. What follows is a four-week chase across the United State and Canada, as Evie and the victim she frees attempt to evade law enforcement while being branded as killers. I was super invested in both her survival and the what happens next of the story. By the time I encountered the twist, which was clever and jaw dropping, I was truly on the edge of my seat. Have not read a thriller like this one before, and will certainly be recommending it to everyone when it publishes in March 2025. 5/5 star read

This was super compelling. I had a hard time putting the book down and when I did it felt like I woke from a fever dream! I was not expecting the story to completely suck me in. I felt as though I was experiencing everything that the characters were! I also really enjoyed the love story that formed throughout the novel. Very strong voice and very strong driving narrative

The suspense level is high throughout the entire story, with one heck of a twist.

When Evie Gordon arrives to her job as an SAT tutor for the rich, she finds a horrific scene with two dead parents and a woman tied up under the stairs. As the scene unfolds, Evie unties Jae and their long journey of hiding from the law ensues. They are naturally the suspects of this brutal double murder and must survive while hiding in plain sight and running from the law.

This is an addictive thriller with a very clever plot twist. The characters are intriguing and the plot is very unique. I highly recommend this 4-star book to psycho-thriller lovers and anyone who loves a lot of drama in their reading. Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC.

Killer Potential had, well, just that… killer potential. But unfortunately for me this one missed the mark. It was good, but it certainly wasn’t great. The story, albeit a predictable one, was entertaining enough but I couldn’t connect with either of the characters. This is the kind of book where you WANT to root for the “bad guys” but I just didn’t have it in me.

WOWOW! What a debut novel! This was such a fresh and creative thriller. Super fast paced and such a fun ride. I can’t remember the last time a thriller kept me on my toes this much, and I was literally on the edge of my seat anxiously anticipating what was going to happen next. I honestly wouldn’t change anything about this novel; a beautifully sapphic Thelma & Louise - esque story. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC!