This was my first book from the author, and it won't be my last. Solid, creepy page-turner. Several different story lines, but it was not confusing (I get confuddled easily). Several twists, not really unexpected, but interesting enough and believable.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sarah Pekkanen for this amazing e-ARC!

This was a real page turner for me from beginning to end. I love a suspenseful whodunit with an entire family of potential suspects, one being a 9 year old girl.

I thought I had it figured out, and I was loving the path it was taking. However, I did not have it figured out, but the outcome didn't make it any less enjoyable.

This book was quite a thrill ride throughout and had me pretty creeped out numerous times. I loved it!

3/5 stars rounded up.. The Barclay's nanny has died suspiciously, and everyone's a suspect. Stella has been assigned by the court as a guardian ad litem, acting in the interest of Rose, the child at the heart of the story. The book kept me guessing but I felt the subplot of Stella's mother received too much attention. Overall, a good twisty thriller., Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Spoiler alert
Overall the book was very well written and enjoyable….BUT I took off a star for the unnecessary spark between Stella and Detective Garcia. It added nothing to the story, and it felt thrown in to be PC.

Brilliantly written page turner by Sarah! If you've read any of her other books you know how she locks you in right from the first page and doesn't let go until the end. She'll have you second guessing yourself the whole way.

Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favorite authors, and House of Glass did not disappoint! This book focuses on Stella, a lawyer who is tasked with having to make recommendations to judges in child custody cases, and the Barclay family comprised of young girl Rose, parents Ian and Beth, and grandmother Harriett. Ian was having an affair with their nanny, Tina, and one day, Tina falls from her bedroom balcony. Who did it? Who is the best option for Rose to live with? Could Stella be inadvertently placing her with a killer... or placing one of her parents in dangers way because Rose is actually the dangerous one? Such a great book and one you won't want to put down!

This story is a page-turning with slowing growing suspense. Stella is an attorney who agrees to take a case supporting the best interest of a 9-year-old girl whose parents are going through a divorce and whose nanny fell to her death out of a window at the family's home. The girl, Rose, is mut from the trauma - something that Stella also experienced in her childhood. Stella is invested in finding the best option for Rose, but also curious about what really happened to the nanny and who is telling her the truth. Stella starts to uncover oddities and experiencing things that make her skin crawl and more of the story is uncovered.

House of Glass
Sarah Pekkanen
Publication Date: August 6, 2024

Stella Hudson is a Best Interest Attorney assigned to Rose to determine custody following her parent’s divorce and her nanny’s death. Rose has stopped speaking since her nanny’s death and Stella finds herself trying to solve a murder/accident? to determine the best placement for Rose while also uncovering more about her own traumatic childhood.

I enjoyed this book! It was suspenseful and creepy. The chapters are short and ended on cliffhangers which made me want to continue reading. The first half of the book was better than the second half but still a good thriller.

Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this one thinking that I would love it but I'm now on middle ground. The ending was wrapped up, some would say, nicely but I still get the feeling that it was missing something. I can't pinpoint what. Stella's tragic background, while explained, felt rather incomplete and anticlimactic. I think the thrill of reading this book subsided once I guessed half way through who had done it and why. That said, the premise of a dead nanny was interesting along with a nine year old who was left mute from the trauma so not all was lost. I was curious enough to want to see how it would all figure out. I just wished for a little more grit and surprise.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

An enjoyable mystery. The protagonist is a BIA (Best Interest Attorney) tasked with representing child Rose after her nanny has died and her parents are divorcing. Suffering from traumatic mutism, Rose is unable to give her account of the death. The death may have been accidental and it might have been murder. Everyone is a suspect. The philandering husband? The jealous wife? Even Rose herself?

Recommended.

I found myself really liking part of this and then rolling my eyes at times when I knew what was coming.

Here's what I liked:
-the main plot. We've got a dead nanny and we're trying to figure out how the nanny got dead. Who did it? Why? What's with the secrets? Anyone in the household could have done it. The way this wraps up is fantastic!
-Stella's future. Stella's current life changes were hard, and relatable, I really felt for her as her family dynamics were changing but I was glad she was moving forward. I liked where she appeared to be headed

Here's what I didn't like:
-the cliched way that Stella's past transpired. It made my eyes roll so hard I'm surprised they didn't stick. Also, it almost seems like a separate plot point that didn't have much to do with current events. Maybe it was supposed to be a distraction, but it wasn't needed.

Overall, I rate this 4 stars because the pros outweigh the cons.

Sarah Pekkanen is an instant read, always. In House of Glass, Stella is assigned to help decide which parent young Rose should live with once they finalize their divorce. Unfortunately recent events has left Rose unable to speak and this sparks uneasy feelings of Stella’s childhood. 5/5 stars for short chapters and keeping me turning page after page.

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me early access to read this book. Honestly, I don’t really have the appropriate words to describe how well written this book was.

I went through most of this book thinking I knew exactly what was going to happen, I had NO IDEA. There was two big twists and boy, were they twists!

I can’t wait to see others read this knockout book because other thriller lovers are going to eat this book up!!! 😍🤍

They appeared to be the perfect family; wealthy, gorgeous home and a nanny. But now the nanny is dead and the parents of 9 year old Rose are getting divorced. Did the nanny fall or did someone in the house push her? It is now Stella’s job to figure out who Rose should stay with but to do that.. she needs to figure out what happened to their nanny. Is Rose simply a witness to the death or could she have been behind it herself? In a “plastic” house, there are many secrets and lies to uncover and Stella can’t trust anyone. Not the mother, father or grandmother and maybe not even Rose. Someone doesn’t want her to uncover the truth but who’s lying and who’s protecting who?

I’ve only read Pekkanen with the books she co-wrote (and I devoured those books!) so i was super excited to dive into this one after receiving it as an ARC. I loved this book! It has just the right amount of thrill and truly leaves you guessing until the very end. Told from the perspective of Stella, you get a dive into her life and how she ended up where she is and why she’s the best person for Rose. It keeps your attention all the way through and wraps up the story so well at the end. With so many questions you need answers to; sometimes the ending can feel a bit rushed but the ending was heart racing while still wrapping up everything so well. One of the twists you kind of “expect” but the ins and outs of the entire twist is still something you wouldn’t guess. Highly recommend checking this one out when it releases in August of 2024! 4.5⭐️ from me, Pekkanen is quickly being added to the “short list” of my TBR. Thank you netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC! 🩵

This book is one of the best thrillers I have ever read. While reading it, there are secrets and other things from the past to the present. Stella, who is an attorney, tries to help a little girl named Rose. Rose witnessed the death of her nanny. Also, her parents divorced and have stopped speaking since the death of her nanny. Stella has to solve this mystery behind the family while helping Rose.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this book and do a review.

3.75 rounded up to 4.

Engrossing from page 1, dark, twisty and somewhat atmospheric. It can be summed up by: everything you think you know, you don’t.

Good writing and plot with a creepy vibe. Intriguing characters and relationships. I enjoyed how the main story of determining a child custody case evolved into Stella, the main character, deciding it was finally time to solve the death of her mother. The intertwining of the two stories played well off of each other.

I didn't expect the end. Not where I thought either of the intertwining plot lines was going.

Creepy kid
Creepy House
and seriously messed up adults
=
A recipe for a fun twisty thriller!

Sarah Pekkanen sucked me in on the first page when Stella, a women who is appointed as counsel to Rose Barclay-a 9 year old who witnessed her nanny's death and whose custody is being determined-witnesses her pocket a shard of glass as she is in the streets with her mother. Talk about chills up your spine.
This book is as complex and creepy as they come. You never know who to trust or what is truly going on in the Barclay home. The mother is petrified of glass, the dad had motive to kill the nanny, and GrandMa is an overbearing control freak. So how can Stella figure out where Rose will be safe....or better yet, which of the adults needs protection from her?

As I was reading this book I felt like the little ball in a Pinball machine, being whacked around side to side (in a good way) She really had me losing and gaining trusts in each of the characters. With such a small cast, you would think it would be obvious "Who Done It", but in actuality unless you were an 80's mall rat and hung out at the arcade you arn't gonna win this game of pinball.
Many authors in this genre strive to create an atmosphere to match their book. I honestly felt like I needed to read and constantly look over my shoulder and when there was a scene in the house I got chills.
I was deeply invested in how this story played out and loved the thrills. The conclusion however did leave me a bit dissapointed with how obvious Pekkanen played into needing to "check some boxes". My question is , why did we need the "diverse" relationship.

Overall if I could block that one thing from my mind, I really enjoyed the fast pace of this book and was eager to find out what happened.

Side note: I would have loved nothing more than to sit down and hate a tupperware of Stella's mother in laws baked ziti and chat with Charles. Those two made the best side characters and helped cut the slow burn tension throughout the novel.

Thank you Netgally for this advanced copy read of "House of Glass". I was not influenced or paid for this honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Gotta love reading a psychological thriller while stuck inside during a snow storm! So many suspects (everyone) and side stories that basically prove just how awful people can be to those they claim to love.

I did not expect the ending. It was a little too tidy, but not in a way that took away from my overall enjoyment. Kudos on the psychological aspects!

4 out of 5 stars and my respect to the author

2.5
tragically this one was not at all for me.
I've been seeing Sarah Pekkanen everywhere, forever, and I've always thought her books sounded so intriguing. I wanted to finally pick up her latest.
Unfortunately, while I clearly love her plots, I don't think her writing style is for me. My main issues...

1: Clunky introduction of details
-I think it's important to work in information about the main characters early on, but some of the phrasing was just awkward to me. Early on, there's a line from the MC around the lines of "I'm not some naive 26 year old" which is how we learn her age. But the phrasing of that just made me laugh—it was like, "I'm not a naive 26 year old, I'm a cool one!"
-Some things also just felt over-described. There's a scene where the MC is like "... I said, while unloading my groceries. I put my green juice, which I use for the base of my smoothies, on the shelf." Okay?? Pop off health goddess.
-I swear it felt like product placement was used at some times, although I don't know if that's even a thing for books. But I will not be downloading the Waze navigation app or—get this!!—starting a Book of the Month subscription

2: Formula/reveals
The short chapters and their formula helped the book move quickly, but it didn't do much for the plot. Each small chapter tries to end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it ended up having moments that were not ~that~ dramatic written as if they were big reveals.

3: Lack of trust in the reader
Ultimately, it felt like Sarah Pekkanen didn't trust the reader to be picking up what she was putting down. We get a lot of the MC's inner monologue, which immediately summarizes the significance of certain reveals/clues. I think Sarah also did some clever things throughout the whole narrative but just wasn't confident enough that we'd notice. There were a few times when the main character was literally like, "Wow, this moment is a great parallel to this earlier moment!" And I was like... let me cook Sarah. We'll notice the fun things you're doing!

Obviously I enjoy Sarah Pekkanen's plots and brain, but I just don't think we're a match stylistically, and now I know! Other early reviews for this one seem to indicate that I'm in the minority, so I'll just shut up and drink my green juice (which I use as a base for my smoothies).

Everything you think you know, you don’t.

Good writing and plot with a creepy vibe. Intriguing characters and relationships. I enjoyed how the main story of determining a child custody case evolved into Stella, the main character, deciding it was finally time to solve the death of her mother. The intertwining of the two stories played well off of each other.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.