My opinion of who the guilty party was changed so much, and I was surprised in the end! The Barclay's were definitely keeping secrets and trying to keep Stella from finding out the truth. This was a great suspenseful read that was quick and easy to follow. I liked the background on Stella and how she came to be where she is now.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sarah Pekkanen for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date for House of Glass is August 6, 2024

If you are looking for a thriller with a solid gothic feel, this is the book for you! The protagonists are dark and twisted, and you will be glued to this thriller the whole time!

This started off with promise for me, I was intrigued by the story early on. However, I'm about 25% in now and that interest for me is just gone. I'm not sure why, but I don't have the urge or desire to continue reading.

I was caught by the story with the Nanny death, that's one thing I usually enjoy reading.

I'm not sure if my mood is just not right, as I'm a crazy mood reader... but this just isn't doing it for me.

I like the fact that it seems both parents have something they are hiding, but the in between is losing me. I plan to try to read this again at a later date.

Thank you for this arc.

✨ ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎 ✨
House of Glass
•Author: Sarah Pekkanen
•Rating: ✰✰✰✰
•Genre: Thriller/Mystery
•Book # 7 of 2024

This was a very solid thriller! I am definitely a fan of Sarah Pekkanen. I was surprised that I actually kind of predicted the ending to this one because that doesn’t normally happen with this author. I didn’t 100% predict the ending but at least a big part of it. I really liked the short chapters and I loved the main character! I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you so much @netgalley & @stmartinspress for this ARC!!

Publication date: August 6, 2024

𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨: Tina was a nanny for a wealthy until one day she “fell” (was pushed??) out of a window and died. 9 year old, Rose, is caught in the middle of her parents divorce while also dealing with the loss of her nanny. Stella is a best interest attorney assigned to Stella’s case to help figure out who should have custody. The things Stella will uncover will blow her mind.

I really enjoyed this book. I haven't read a thriller around the possibility of a sinister child before and was surprisingly happy with how everything played out in this one. This book is centered around family dynamics and the lengths that parents would go to protect their child EVEN if said child was innately bad.

Rose Barclay has experienced a tragedy. She found her nanny's dead body after she either fell or was pushed out of the upper window at her house. This is devastating for anyone but especially for a child who has now gone mute from the experience. Not only that but her parents are going through a divorce after it was discovered that her father had gotten said nanny pregnant. Her parents both want full custody and so the court has appointed someone to interview the family and make the decision on where Rose will be living after the divorce. On a side note- I have never heard of this happening but WOW what a tough job that would be.

Enter in Stella who is said appointed person. Stella has a bit of a background of her own which is why her friend who happens to be the judge of this case asks her to take it on. Stella found her mom after she had passed away and then Stella went mute herself. Stella comes into the Barclay household knowing what the media has said about the family, but she also starts picking up on other things. Like the fact that there is no glass in the house anymore. The fact that Rose seems to be collecting weapons for some reason. The fact that Rose will be very sweet and seem to want a relationship with Stella one moment and then flip into wanting nothing to do with her the next. All of this as well as the adults involved in Stella's decision made this book so intriguing. We have Beth- Rose's mom- who is wealthy beyond belief. She seems to want nothing to do with Stella and questions why she is even involved. We have Ian- Stella's dad- who we now know has cheated on her and also seems to be aloof with Stella's questions. Then we have Harriet- Ian's mom/Rose's grandma- who is her caretaker for the moment. She has a lingering injury that has caused her to move in and help with the household.

What would help you make this decision to determine where a child should live? What if the child was the one who hurt her nanny and was maybe even planning on hurting other people in her family? What can a family hide when they are in protector mode?

All of these questions and more are explained in this book! I loved how we got to see Stella start to question herself and what she is experiencing because I could totally see that happening to me. She starts to get in her own way but then everything becomes clear on what was happening and MAN I did NOT see that twist coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I hope you enjoy this one as well :)

House of Glass was solidly pretty good: it had characters I cared about, a plot that moved swiftly, interesting twists, and an easy style that kept me reading. I think ultimately it tried to do a little too much, which made the narrative more cluttered than it needed to be, but that didn't necessarily feel out of the realm of believability - we've all had our 'when it rains it pours' eras. The unexpected queer relationship (this is hardly a spoiler, it's not set up at all it just randomly happens lol) was a funny but welcome addition in this often straight as hell genre.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a great book with good twists and a likable protagonist. It centers on Stella, who is an attorney hired to make a recommendation on which parent should get custody of 9-year-old Rose, the child of a wealthy family who is currently under the spotlight after the death of their young nanny. Rose doesn't speak at all, and Stella is uncomfortable every time she enters the mansion where the family resides; she knows something is lurking under the surface but can't put her finger on what it is. Stella is also trying to work through the deep-seated trauma she experienced as a child after losing her parents.

The book is perfectly creepy and I enjoyed the undertones throughout; I always felt like something big was getting ready to happen. I also liked that it took place in the Washington DC area, as the locations were familiar to me. The author takes you through Stella's thought process as new clues are encountered, and I enjoyed being able to see what she was thinking and compare it to where my own mind was going. There wasn't even one area where I questioned Stella's motivations, or her ability to ask the right questions and connect the right dots. The twist at the end was good and I didn't see it coming- I thought the ending of the book was very satisfying. If I had one minor nit, I wish less time had been spent on Stella's own personal situation and more information on the larger mystery, but I do think that the focus on her past and current relationships helped build her character out more than it would have without it, and there was a surprise twist in that respect, too, that added to the mystery across the whole book.

Overall, this is another winner from Pekkanen, who is quickly becoming a favorite! I would definitely recommend the book to those who like psychological thrillers and mysteries, and I am a little sad that I read it so fast that it's already over. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much for this ARC! I really enjoyed this suspenseful story - I finished it in a day and a half because I could not put it down. I love Stella's character and loved that everyone was a suspect. I tend to figure out the endings of books often but I did not figure this one out. I also loved the side plots from Stella's life that tied in. I always enjoy Sarah Pekkanen's book so very thrilled to get to read this one early.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. This book kept me guessing until the very end and it moved at a good pace. I loved the short chapters too. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

I described this to my deskmate at work as being creepy, but not nightmare creepy. There are two concurrent stories here - the MC is investigating her own childhood trauma surrounding her mother's death, while also acting as a legal representative for a child presently living in a home where her nanny just died under suspicious circumstances. I definitely wanted to know what was going on in this book, but it's hitting a solid 3 to 3.5 for me - I was never fully invested in either storyline, and felt some details were unnecessarily added.

For example, the MC was married and signs her divorce paperwork towards the beginning of the book. Throughout, we find out that her now-ex is moving on, and we see her spending time with her family, struggling to separate from him and that familial bond, but like... why? It never develops into anything regarding the main plot (maybe one could argue it's character development? Or for a red herring?), but comes up several times throughout the story. Things like that made it more difficult to connect with the whole story, because it took away from moving the thriller aspects of the story forward.

I didn't figure out the whodunnit in advance, so the big reveal was a reveal for me. I found it to be underwhelming, though - just not as satisfying as I expected, for reasons I can't fully describe. Overall, the story was fine and things got tied up at the end, but I was left wanting more from a release people are already giving five very enthusiastic stars.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC! Sarah Pekkanen does it again!! Solid 4 star read! The story kept me quessing what was going to happen next. Many tense moments which will keep the readers attention to find out what was going to happen next (for me anyway). Great character development and growth.
Great mystery/thriller I highly recommend.

Stella is a best interest attorney who represents children in custody cases. Her new client is Rose ad 9 year old girl who not only is dealing with her parent's divorce but also is a witness to a murder. Since the murder, Rose is experiencing mutism and has not talked. As Stella gets to know Rose, she begins to wonder who she is protecting Rose from, her parents, a murder or herself.

This book has lots of twists which I enjoined especially the twists dealing with Stella's past. The author did a great job of making me think I knew what was going on but of course, I was wrong. It was a good book if you like thrillers.

Whodunnit in the House of Glass? The mom? The dad? The grandma? The little girl? Yes. The author kept me guessing as to what happened to the nanny. Great job. There were a lot of little hints and innuendo thrown in along the way, and all of them believable. No eye-rolling from this reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ms. Pekkanen for the opportunity to read and review House of Glass. Well done. I enjoyed it.

Stella is a best interest attorney who represents children in complicated custody cases, Her newest client is a nine-year-old whose nanny has died.
Every time Stella goes to this child’s house, she has a feeling of doom and gloom. She also describes various ways people express anger, or different ways they lie.
Highly recommended,

Admittedly, I don't usually read thrillers, but I liked the premise of this book and was excited to give it a go. It was twisty-turny, and had a whodunnit vibe that wasn't too scary or intense. This book had a similar feel to "The Housemaid," I couldn't put it down and wanted to figure out where the story was going.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy of House of Glass in exchange for my review.

One of her best yet! Loved the premise and found the story satisfying overall. Eerie house vibes for sure!

Sarah Pekkanen's books are always page turners and House of Glass was no exception. Stella Hudson is a BIA (Best Interest Attorney) representing children to ensure a custody agreement is in their best interest. She takes a case that hits a little close to home because the child suffers from the same condition (following witnessing a death) that Stella did after her own trauma. The child lives in a creepy house where every single person is suspicious, and nothing seems normal. At the same time, secrets from Stella's own childhood come to light.

I thought the pacing was fantastic, it started out slow and built up quickly. I finished this in a day because I couldn't put it down. The conclusion was satisfying, and I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a quick, engaging, entertaining read.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this book!

I love this author & anytime I see she has a new book, I am excited. As usual, this one did not disappoint. Recommend!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Another great read by Sarah Pekkanen! This one kept me guessing the whole way through. Very twisty. Excellent character and plot development. Stella is an extremely likeable protagonist and it’s easy to empathize with the other characters as well. The storylines are different and interesting enough to keep you reading but have a cohesiveness that makes for a great novel.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and St Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. Publication date Aug 6, 2024

The you NetGalley for letting me read this one early! I really enjoyed House if Glass. I was just as lost as Stella until the answers revealed themselves at the very end, a must read for those who love a good thriller.