“Decisions were made: I made them. Violence was done: I did it. Crime scenes were fled: I fled them. People were hurt: I hurt them. Someone was loved: I loved them. Not everything I did was bad. Just most of it.

A scholarship kid with straight As and massive potential, Evie Gordon always thought she was special, that she’d be someone.

But after graduating from an elite university, she finds herself drowning in debt and working as a private tutor to the children of Los Angeles’s super-rich.

Everything changes when Evie arrives at the Victor family’s lavish mansion for her weekly lesson to discover, not the bored teenager she excepted, but pure carnage: the bloody remains of Mr and Mrs Victor sullying their beautiful back garden, and a woman crying for help from within the walls of the house.

Within moments, Evie and the woman go from bystanders to suspects to fugitives.

Suddenly at the heart of a nation-wide manhunt, Evie finds that her mysterious companion, who refuses to speak, has quickly become the most important person in her upside-down life. Meanwhile, the press runs wild with Evie’s story – anointing her the new Charles Manson, a blood thirsty ninety-nine percenter looking to start a class war.

Evie is – finally and disastrously – someone.

Droll, dark and deeply insightful, Killer Potential is an edge-of-your-seat break-neck ride, a queer love story, and a darkly funny critique of the horrors of late capitalism and how the stories we’re sold about our potential can shape the course of our lives.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch. Killer Potential was published by W&N Books on 20th March 2025 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow. I chose to read a free ARC of Killer Potential but that has in no way influenced my review. My grateful thanks to Ellen at W&N Books for sending me a proof copy.

Evie Gordon was once a grade A+ student with bags of potential and a blindingly bright future. Now, with her school days a distant memory, she’s a SATS tutor for the privileged, struggling to pay off an overwhelming mountain of college debt. Her regular tutoring session on a Sunday is with Serena Victor. When Evie arrives at the allotted time, she notices the front door of the Victor’s grand home is wide open, which is unusual. Further investigation reveals the bodies of Serena’s parents in the garden. Terrified, Evie knows she must call the police, but she wants to be a million miles away from the house when that happens. On her way to her car, she hears a voice calling for ‘help’….’please’. Evie knows she needs to leave, put herself first, but she can’t leave a stranger to the same fate as the Victors. What follows is a chain events that turn Evie into the most wanted woman in the US. Chased across the country, vilified and hated by the nation. With her face splashed across every newspaper and live news broadcast, will Evie’s life ever be the same again…?

Killer Potential is a cracking read. A superbly written debut from an author to watch. I LOVED the setup of this book. I love how the title is a perfect fit for the story. It was one of those books where I was reading the first couple of chapters whilst thinking to myself ‘someone definitely needs a pay rise for coming up with that title!’. Magic. Let’s talk about Evie. Evie was an honors student at high school. With praise heaped upon her from every direction; her parents, her teachers, and literally everyone else, she was told how much potential she had and all the great things she could accomplish. But, following an expensive college course which resulted in a mountain of debt, she’s still nothing special and hasn’t made her mark on life. So she spends her time as a SATS tutor to the super-rich of LA. Surely the promises made by her parents and teachers meant something, didn’t they? Evie is a great character. Multi-layered and interesting. The story is mainly told from her perspective as she and the woman she rescued from the Victors’ understairs cupboard make their way across America in multiple stolen cars. Hoping a solution to their problem will be around the next corner.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Killer Potential is a great debut novel and I’m excited to see what Deitch publishes next. We spend a lot of time with Evie and her mysterious passenger which allows the reader to really get to know what makes Evie tick. During their trek they find themselves in numerous scrapes and dangerous life or death predicaments, which only add to the overall tension of the novel. The big twist wasn’t all that surprising for me but that certainly didn’t take anything away from the story. I enjoyed the way the author tells a story. I thought Deitch’s characters were strong, and I found myself fully immersed in the women’s plight. Evie’s thoughts of her family back home, how they were feeling and whether their opinion of their bright, clever daughter had changed brought a lump to my throat. Whilst this is a literary mystery with a Thelma & Louise feel about it, it’s also a love story. And I know what you’re probably thinking if you’re a regular visitor to damppebbles. ‘Emma doesn’t like romance in her crime novels’. Well, actually, I rather enjoyed this particular romance. Over the course of their time on the road, Evie gradually falls for the enigmatic Jae and how their relationship builds is a big part of the story. I promise though, this is a one-off and from now on, no more romance please 🤣. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Killer Potential. An enthralling, character-driven thrill ride across the US. A strong plot, even stronger characters and chock-full of lovely suspense. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of Killer Potential. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch was published in the UK by W&N Books on 20th March 2025 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Hannah Deitch is a former SAT tutor with an M.A. in English from UC Irvine, where she studied Marxist theory and contemporary pop culture. A former arts magazine editor, she holds an M.A. in journalism from USC. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She currently lives in Los Angeles. Killer Potential is her first novel.