Member Reviews
4.5 stars. This is the first solely Sarah Pekkanen book that I've read and I really enjoyed it. The premise is that Stella is given the job to decide a custody agreement for Rose, whose parents are getting divorced following a revelation of cheating and their nanny dying due to an accident (or murder?). It's a bit of a whodunit as Stella tries to figure out where Rose should live, not wanting to home her with a potential murderer.
The book kept me guessing throughout, and I particularly liked how all the loose ends are tied up. I'm a girl who likes order. The reason I downgraded the star was I felt Stella was a little bit annoying - while her insecurities were meant to make her more personable, I think it made her seem more immature.
Thank you to netgalley for providing me this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
i enjoyed reading this book - that's why I gave it 4 stars. But honestly, I was able to easily see some of the mysteries up front and I thought there was going to be something more eerie - tying Stella - Charles - Harriet - Ian together when they started going into her background, but that wasn't the case. There are 2 storylines in this book that parallel, but do not cross. It was an easy read with a good amount of mystery, twists, and turns, and it did keep my attention. 4 stars but not 5.
In a world of cheesy thrillers, I found a gem! Read in less than 24 hours because I could simply not put it down. By far the best book written by Sarah Pekkanen. Everyone is under suspicion, but you never can truly guess who did it. Docked one star for the second half. It slowed down quite a bit. Still enough to keep me engrossed, but lost some of the turbulence from the first half.
House of Glass is about a whodunit.
The nanny of a family is murdered, but who committed the crime? The mother, the father, the grandmother, or the child?
This is a book that keeps you guessing until the very end and also gives off creepy child vibes reminiscent of The Push or Baby Teeth.
I found the conclusion and wrap up very satisfying. I recommend this novel to anyone looking for an engaging thriller and character study.
I rate this novel 4 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing this copy for my review.
I loved this book! It had some interesting twists and kept me guessing. The story surrounds a lawyer for a little girl in the middle of a custody battle. The family has a lot of secrets, but the child is not able to verbalize any of them, making the attorneys task more complicated. It was a well crafted story.
Stella is a best interest attorney, tasked with determining the custodial fate of Rose, after her parents' contentious divorce. Stella must get to know Rose's family intimately, to understand under what environment Rose will best thrive. But to complicate matters, Rose's former nanny was just murdered. And to complicate matters even more, Rose witnessed the whole thing. And now is suffering from traumatic mutism as a result.
House of Glass takes a deep look into the psychological affects of trauma, and uncovers dysfunctional family secrets. There is a parallel storyline of Stella's own past, which I found to be equally as interesting and compelling. I really enjoyed this book and sped through it. Another 5 stars for Pekkanen.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.
OOOOO this was a good one!
A nanny has fallen to her death out of a window at the Barclay’s residence. A very wealthy couple who are going through a divorce with a nasty custody battle of their nine year old daughter, Rose. Stella Hudson has been appointed to represent Rose during the custody battle, looking out for her best interests.
Was Tina, the nanny, murdered or did she fall during a terrible accident?
I literally suspected EVERYONE in this story at one point or another. While this was definitely a slow burn at first (in my opinion) it was FULL of suspense. I would definitely recommend grabbing this one when it comes out in August.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sarah Pekkanen for the opportunity to devour this ARC.
Stella is an attorney who helps children in custody cases. She’s assigned to a case of a little girl named Rose whose nanny recently died after she fell threw the window at the family home. Question is…
Did she fall or was she pushed? Poor Rose can’t talk after the incident and Stella is able to related to her in many ways. There are a few story lines in this book that keep you on the edge of your seat. The writer did a great job at bringing all the plot lines together at the end. This one book had my heart pounding at times trying to figure out what was going to happen! Very well written!
Sarah Pekkanen sustains the creepy atmosphere pretty much throughout her latest thriller HOUSE OF GLASS. The family has everything until they have nothing. Except their secrets and suspicions. It’s all there for the first person narrator Stella Hudson to sort out and find the truth.
Stella is appointed BIA, Best Interest Attorney, to recommend custody arrangements for a traumatically mute 9-year-old girl, Rose, who may be victim or perpetrator, implicated or not, in the murder or accidental death of her nanny. The parents are divorcing but they and Rose’s paternal grandmother who lives with them are united in trying to protect the child. Many other odd and unsettling incidents blight the home and as Stella gets involved, she too has inexplicable experiences. With Rose unable to speak for herself, Stella must resort to subterfuge and outright daring to flush out the real villain, and to save her client.
Stella is drawn deeply into the case because she also experienced childhood traumatic mutism after the death of her mother. She desperately wants to save Rose, by protecting her from herself if she’s psychopathic or if she’s innocent, from whoever is manipulating events. Involvement with this case pushes her to investigate and discover what actually happened to her mother, and ultimately her father. The two plots run simultaneously and twist together.
This book wasn’t quite a 5 for me, but it came close. Close enough that though I had reservations, I know most readers tempted to read it, would be glad they did, quibbles or not!
With thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Definitely kept me glued to the pages and wildly guessing.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
Yooooo a new favorite thriller! Will for sure be recommending this one to friends. I did not guess even ONE of the plot twists. Obsessed.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC. The author, Sarah Pekkanen, is clearly a prolific writer, but I don't recall ready any of her other novels. As with any good thriller, there were some great twists and turns in the book. The major character, Stella had a lot of personality and you were quickly invested in the outcome of this book. I found the pace a bit slow, except for the ending when it definitely sped up. I looked forward to the free time I had so I could continue reading House of Glass. I think you'll find it an enjoyable read!
Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy! This book was riveting from the start and right up to the very end I wasn’t sure how it was going to end. I was captivated, on edge, and quite frightened of Rose. I found myself wanting protection from her. Fantastic work! This will be a great addition to any book club. There’s so many themes to discuss: parental love, an illicit affair, split custody, childhood trauma, love, loyalty, and betrayal. That’s still not including everything. I highly recommend reading it.
House of Glass is a new novel by Sarah Pekkanen.
Overall I enjoyed the story, but at times it dragged on. I also didn't really need all the backstory with the main character and her mentor. I didn't see the end coming so that was good. I like all of Sarah's books with Greer Hendricks, but this standalone one wasn't one of my favorites.
I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
Stella is an attorney that helps advocate for the child’s best interest. In this story the parents are going through a divorce after the husband Ian has an affair with the nanny and shortly afterwards there is a terrible accident which leaves the nanny dead. The author does a great job of setting the scene. The family is dysfunctional. The sprawling mansion is creepy and the 9 year old child is potentially a psychopath. The plot line moves a bit too slowly for me but there is a good build up to the end. Overall I liked this story.
Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book.
This is my favorite Sarah Pekkanen solo book so far!
This thriller has two interesting plot lines occurring, one post and one present for the protagonist, Stella. Stella lost both of her parents at a young age to deaths that have caused her pain, heartache, and fear, leaving questions that linger. More importantly, it’s pushed her to save children going through tragic and hard things. While she’s trying to discover more about her mom’s death, she is determined to also save Rose, a troubled child who suffers from mutism and whose custody is in the air, its determination influenced by Stella. Stella’s decision is hard to determine due to the recent death of Rose’s nanny, Tina. It’s unclear who killed Tina or who could be a threat to Rose, even if it’s Rose herself.
This book is full of intrigue, anticipation, and straight up creepy vibes. It is such a good thriller, and while some elements could be guessed, I didn’t have everything figured out until the end! The characters are well depicted and the plot puts them in interesting situations that keep you wanting more. With short chapters that kept me on the edge of my seat, I couldn’t set this one down, especially before bed!
Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC copy! It's my first ebook ARC review, and I'm so excited to share my thoughts! Totally had creepy vibes going while reading this book. It was my first by Sarah Pekkanen, and it did not disappoint! Can't wait to read more by this author. I genuinely got goosebumps while reading.
House of Glass was a "page-turner" (I didn't actually turn any physical pages, as I read it on my phone) for sure! Short chapters, excellent character-driven plot, and a main character that was very likable. I loved how Stella (the protagonist) could relate in many ways to Rose, the young girl in the Barclay family. It helped her connect to the case (the family nanny being pushed from a window in their home) in a unique way. All of the members of the Barclay family are very unreliable/suspicious in their own ways, so it made the ending quite a jaw-dropper, in my opinion. I highly recommend this book, and I will absolutely be picking up a physical copy to have as part of my home library.
I’m not going to lie- I was very hesitant to read this as the author’s previous book, “Gone Tonight” was not one of my favorites. However, Sarah Pekkanen redeemed herself with “House of Glass”, because I absolutely enjoyed everything about this book! The writing and the storyline were absolutely remarkable!
In this story we have Stella Hudson, who is appointed counsel for Rose Barclay. Rose is a nine year old girl whose parents are going through a bitter divorce, and she has also just witnessed the death of her nanny. During this traumatic time, Rose has developed traumatic mutism and she cannot speak. Stella can relate to Rose because when Stella was a young girl she witnessed the death of her mother, and then developed traumatic mutism herself.
Because Rose’s parents are divorcing, it is Stella’s job to spend time with Rose and her parents to see who would be the better parent for Rose to live with once they divorce. We have the wealthy, uptight Beth Barclay- her mother. Then there is Ian Barclay, more down to earth and not so wealthy- her father. We soon learn that Ian’s mother, Harriet has lived with the Barclay’s for several years and is witness to many events that has happened within the family.
Which brings us to the death of the nanny, Tina. Tina fell to her death through her third story bedroom window. Was she pushed? Was it an accident? Or was it suicide? And did Rose witness what really happened that night? Also why are the parents replacing all the glass in the house? Even the mirrors are being replaced…
initial thoughts: just okay. While I really enjoy Sarah's books, this one fell a little short for me. I was hoping to feel a bit more connected to the characters, and the second story line of Stella trying to find out what happened to her mother took away (in my opinion) from the main story line of: what happened to Tina?
will definitely pick up whatever this author puts out next though.
So this was a very solid thriller. I liked the premise of it and the twists we get and I loved it took place in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) area. The main character, Stella Hudson, was very interesting and I loved the deep dive we get into her past and why her marriage to someone who was perfect, went south.
"House of Glass" follows Stella Hudson who is a best interest attorney, she's pulled into cases involving children in custody cases. Her mentor and friend recommends she takes on the case of Rose Barclay. Rose is 9 and her nanny plunged to her death, and many think either her mother or father did it. But Stella is starting to wonder about Rose...
"House of Glass" was really good. I loved the premise of a house where all of the glass is slowly being removed. And us following Stella as she tries to determine what is best for Rose, but slowly unearths who murdered the nanny and why. She's an interesting character and I could have read about her for a while.
I always loved the other characters we get to know, the police detective, Stella's ex, her neighbor, and of course the Barclays.
The flow works from beginning to end. The setting of the house just feels oppressive and scary. All of the glass being gone it just seems makes things feel even worse there. It's definitely a character we come back to again and again throughout the book.
The only reason why I didn't favorite this one, you all know my rule. 5 stars is great, but a favorite means I will re-read it in the future. I think this was a great thriller that kept me guessing and reading. And I adored the twists. But I don't see this being a re-read for me in the future.