thriller

Book Review: Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch

Posted on by Libby Price

I’d seen Killer Potential on a list of debut novels for 2025 in Red Magazine. Given it involved a tutor to the rich and famous (and I’ve recently met someone who provides such tutors to pop stars and film stars!) and the main protagonist shares a name with one of my daughters, I was delighted to be granted an advance review copy by Net Galley. Here’s the blurb:

“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 expected, 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.“

Ooh – I really enjoyed this one!! It twists and turns at such a speed – and you’re not sure what’s going to happen next.

I liked Evie, and could see the situation she was in, trying to pay off student debt by being a SAT tutor. She’s a similar age to my eldest daughter – but I didn’t feel like an old fogey reading the book – it kept me totally engrossed and desperate to read the next chapter – which is always the sign of a good book!

Having made the decision to flee the crime scene that she’s stumbled upon, with a random person who had been tied up in the walls of the LA mansion she was tutoring at, everything snowballs from there. The young women need to keep on the run and not be found – and they set off on a road trip.

The book is split into three distinct sections – but I don’t want to describe why or how – as you need to ‘live’ the book. Whilst I did sometimes questions Evie’s decision making – it was also easy to see how she could get swept up in everything and for her story to take the route it did. Overall an excellent debut book.

Killer Potential is out this Thursday, 20th March 2025, so not long to wait! A big thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my advance review copy.

Book Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Posted on by Libby Price

I let you go

“A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn’t have prevented it. Could she?

In a split second, Jenna Gray’s world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.

Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .”

This was recommended to me by a friend (and it would seem that a mutual friend knows the author personally through her previous life in the police) but it was worthy of the recommendation on content alone. It was BRILLIANT.

It starts off with a car crash and then the aftermath of the crash.  About half way through there is an AMAZING twist – one that makes you want to go back to the beginning of the book and start again to see if you can see the clues, as I’d completely missed it on initial read.  I can’t really say any more without giving it away!

Some of the chapters are written in the first person as if Jenna is speaking – and initially these alternate with third person narrative of the police investigation.  As the book develops a third ‘voice’ is used too.  It is very clever writing and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The descriptions throughout the book – from the tragic crash, to the Welsh coastline, are wonderfully emotive and evocative. You are rooting for Jenna throughout the book and her personal roller coaster.

I really don’t want to say too much, as you need to read it to see how it develops – but I would very highly recommend it.

This is Clare Mackintosh’s first book – and I’m very much looking forward to reading her future books.

Book Review: The Book of You by Claire Kendal

Posted on by Libby Price

I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of ‘The Book of You’ to review by the guys at Mumsnet.

The Book of You

And here’s what Amazon has to say:

“A terrifying psychological thriller about obsession and power, perfect for fans of Gone Girl and Before I Go to Sleep.

Clarissa is becoming more and more frightened of her colleague, Rafe. He won’t leave her alone, and he refuses to take no for an answer. He is always there.

Being selected for jury service is a relief. The courtroom is a safe haven, a place where Rafe can’t be. But as a violent tale of kidnap and abuse unfolds, Clarissa begins to see parallels between her own situation and that of the young woman on the witness stand.

Realizing that she bears the burden of proof, Clarissa unravels the twisted, macabre fairytale that Rafe has spun around them – and discovers that the ending he envisions is more terrifying than she could have imagined.”

From the outset I really enjoyed this – way more than Gone Girl – and mostly because you actually care about Clarissa and what is going to happen to her.  The book has some chapters written in the first person, almost as diary entries – and others in the third person.  I’m not sure it particularly adds anything to the book – but equally doesn’t distract.

It is very clever writing about Clarissa being stalked, but weaving in the plots of other women having similar issues.  It makes you realise how difficult it can be for stalking victims to be believed.

Some of it is set in court where Clarissa is on jury service – and I enjoyed this having been through court proceedings myself a couple of years ago (thankfully no one was harmed before our trial apart from some sticklebacks – although they did prove to be very expensive sticklebacks for us – but that’s a whole other story!)

At times I did just want to shout at Clarissa ‘for goodness sake, please tell someone what’s going on’ – but you can understand how she wanted to gain enough evidence to be believed.

It really is a ‘just one more chapter, suddenly it’s 1am’ kind of book!

The book also cross references a number of fairy tales – I didn’t realise how dark some were – frightening.  Think I’ll stick to the mainstream ones with my kids.

The ending is not what I expected at all – but I really respect Claire Kendal for that.  I can’t say any more without giving it away – you’ll just have to read it yourself – and I would thoroughly recommend that you do!