Every book by this author seems to get better and better for me.
While do you believe that nature vs nurture is a subject that needs to be explored…. Can we possibly think a child can be born bad? This had my mind going in so many directions while reading the book and looking for ways to find good in a child that seems to have so many different issues, and why are the adults always trying to divert your attention from her? Is there an adult to blame or is the child really that evil?

I really enjoyed this new one from Sarah Pekkenen. It was a creepy and satisfying read! I enjoyed the two plot lines of the mystery around Stella's mom's death and the main mystery of who killed the nanny and where should Rose live. Rose was creepy and unsettling. The parents were both unlikeable and I wasn't really rooting for either of them to get custody. In the end, the story came together and the hints and clues throughout made sense. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Stella Hudson has a hard job. Working on different custody cases, she has to figure out the best placement for the kids she serves. Usually working the teen scene, a good friend pushes her to take the case of a 9 year old with selective mutism, who has experienced a trauma.

Rose Barclay is 9, and her nanny fell to her death while Rose was home. Did she see it? Does she know who did it? Why is she collecting sharp objects? The more and more Stella investigates, it seems like more and more members of the family aren't being truthful. What she finds is a reality more disturbing than she could ever imagine.

Who did murder the nanny? The father? The Mother? The Grandmother? The Chef? The piano instructor? A house made of glass just reveals the truth...

This one got me good and I read it in one sitting. Loved the twists and was glad that some of my predictions were wrong. The lesbian twist felt a little far fetched but I was happy to see the main character happy.

Interesting premise, with an inside view to the work of a guardian ad litem attorney. The mystery is almost secondary to the unsettling atmosphere created by her role in the divorce. Tempo was good, lots of red herrings and likable characters. Definitely had me guessing!

Oh. My. Gosh. I could not put this down!!!! I enjoyed this SO much. I loved the storylines and how everything intertwined and wrapped up at the end. I was rooting so hard for Stella, the main character of this story, and I’d love to see her / follow her in future books! A few parts were a little wordy / dragged a bit for my liking, but overall didn’t take away from my enjoyment and suspense of this story. A must read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
Woof this was a roller coaster ride, a creepy who-done it of the first order.
A seemingly perfect upper class family, a dead Nanny and a family of secrets. As layer by layer is peeled back, my guess of “who done it” changes. The heroine lawyer“ Stella” has some trauma of her own, and takes on the case as an advocate for the child Rose, who is no longer able to talk. Told in first person, we learn of Stella’s story that has a lot in common with Rose’s. Stella herself was stuck mute after finding her mother’s dead body at a young age. What exactly happened to her mother has been a mystery to Stella that she hasn’t been ready to explore just yet

The first half has a constant sense of dread- creepy old mansion, full of creepy people, including 10 year old Rose. Her parents are divorcing and Stella must determine which parent should get custody. Its clear that everyone has a secret but who and what they are trying to protect is a mystery.

The second half I want to scream- “ Get out of the house” at every scene. Stella is a brave intelligent woman who doesn’t scare easily . Her first goal is to protect Rose and get her whatever help she needs. Rose is brilliant and perhaps manipulative. What’s going on is rendered in heart pounding ending. I really liked all the characters here - especially the supporting one- they were richly written and believable. Highly recommend

I was really excited for this because of the premise. I had just read Gone Tonight, and was a little disappointed by how slow it was but thought I would give this a chance. Unfortunately this book fell flat for me. It was way too slow and repetitive, I wanted the author to get to the point. Every chapter revealed how messed up Rose was. It was too slow for my taste and not suspenseful. Thank you for the ARC!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw this author had a new book out, I knew that I had to read it right away! House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen is the newest book by the author of several bestselling thrillers. The story revolves around Stella, who is working as an attorney for Rose, a nine-year-old girl who possibly witnessed something traumatic and is now selectively mute. To figure out this case, Stella will need to spend a lot of time with Rose, her parents, her grandmother, and everyone who works in the house. Will Stella be able to reveal the secrets that someone is desperately trying to hide? Was Rose's nanny pushed out the window, and if so, who pushed her?

Here is an exciting excerpt from Chapter 1:

"She’s tiny, even smaller than I expected. She appears to be closer to seven years old than nine.
Her mother—tall, brittle-looking, and carrying a purse that costs more than some cars—holds my client’s hand as they approach their destination: a gray stone building with its address discreetly displayed on a brass plaque. Inside is the office of DC’s top child psychiatrist.
In another few moments, they’ll disappear through the doors and be swallowed up by the building."

Overall, House of Glass is a fast-paced thriller that will appeal to fans of Sharp Objects or The Push. One highlight of this book is how the main character works as a lawyer and actually investigates things, which is not often the case in these types of thrillers. Another highlight of this book is the intriguing premise. I literally could not put this book down. I had to keep reading to figure out the mystery.

One final highlight of this book is the amazing and unpredictable twist. I was totally not expecting it, but it made sense, and all the clues came together in the end. In summary, I enjoyed reading this book so much, and I will definitely be reading anything this author writes in the future! If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in August!

This book had me hooked from the start! Everyone just seemed like the suspect, each with their very own motives.. I thought I had it a figured I out but NO!! Love when that happens!!

So full of suspense and a total page turner! It totally unputdownable!

Thank you NetGalley for advanced copy!

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…

This book had my attention from the first page all the way through until the last! I loved Stella’s character, and felt that everything and everyone else was so relatable and real. I’m so glad that I took a chance with this book, and I cannot wait to read Pekkanen’s next! I highly recommend this twisty thriller!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book which I had the pleasure of reading. Publication date: August 6, 2024.
Genre~ Women’s Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers

Thank you NetGalley and St, Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Stella is a best interest attorney assigned to Rose Barclay, the nine year old daughter of Beth and Ian who are divorcing after the death of their daughter’s nanny. The story revolves around the mysterious death of Rose’s nanny - did she accidentally fall from a window or was she pushed? If she was murdered who could have done it - the husband, the wife, the grandmother, the child? The story is told from Stella’s perspective and delves deeper into her childhood trauma as the plot unfolds. When reading thrillers, I enjoy being surprised by the final reveals and this story didn’t disappoint as far as the main mystery was concerned. I was able to figure out a smaller reveal, but overall that did not lessen my enjoyment of this book. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy domestic thrillers.

House of Glass is a character driven whodunnit centering around Stella Hudson an attorney in charge of determining which parent her young client, Rose should live with when her parents divorce. But the elephant in the room is who killed the nanny that oh by the way Rose's father had an affair with.

There are many suspects and and twists that will keep the reader turning the pages in this fast paced read. Highly recommend for fans of a good mystery wrapped in a thriller.

This is my first by Sarah Pekkanen and won't be my last. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sarah Pekkanen for this opportunity.

I have read several of Sarah's books and enjoyed them but this one was not my favorite of hers. It is a good thriller and I do think a favorable amount of readers will love this one. There are times that I felt the story line dragged a bit but overall it kept me entertained and guessing until the end.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sarah Pekkanen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stella must find a way to get through to a nine year old girl who,after seeing her nanny laying dead,quit talking. The best way seems to be to find out what happened to the nanny. Police don't believe that it was an accident but have no leads to prove otherwise. Everyone is a suspect. Even the child. Stella vows to do everything to protect young client.
I enjoyed this book. The clues make you suspect everyone and fear for the safety of everyone. The ending was great. Stella gets all of the answers she was looking for including what happened to her own mother.

This was a very well written thriller, and it definitely kept me coming back for more to find out what happens. I think at times I would’ve liked it move a little bit quicker. The one criticism I have is the LGBTQ side that was thrown into here. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but could’ve done without that side of it. I feel like a lot of books lately throw that side and into a book randomly just to give the authors point of view on it. That being said, I do recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book! I’ve read so many thrillers that they have started to feel monotonous but this was a refreshing read. I thought I had it all figured out but it went in a different direction that I was expecting. I liked the main character a lot and her role in the story was unique. My only feedback is that the pacing felt strange during certain parts of the story. Some chapters seemed to drag on a bit or seemed unnecessary, while other story elements came up too abruptly with no build up. Still, I think the mystery is sure to keep anyone flipping through the pages quickly! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

Wow!! I really enjoyed this one. I was immediately drawn into the mystery surrounding Tina's death and Rose's trauma response. Stella was a great narrator, and her backstory was also compelling. All of them minor characters added to the story and kept me guessing throughout. There were enough twists to keep the reveal a surprise and to give a layer of suspense and make me question reality.
Thanks to Net Galley for the book to review.

Stella Hudson is a lawyer who specializes in cases relating to the best interest of the child. She takes on the special, high profile case of Ian and Beth Barclay, who are divorcing after Ian had an affair with the family nanny (who recently died with a few secrets of her own.)

Their daughter, Rose, has suddenly stopped talking- a condition called traumatic mutism. Stella becomes the perfect person to help, because she also suffered from this rare condition caused by her childhood trauma.

Stella must do her best to decide which parent is better suited to be Rose's primary parent, but she must answer questions she has first: who killed the nanny? Why is all of the glass removed from the house?

Sarah Pekannen does a fabulous job and writing an exciting story line following not only the case, but also the murder of the nanny and her own personal history as well. I found it to be written in a way that was easy to follow, and builds along with the story. I loved Stella's character- the fact she endured so much as a child and grew up to be a strong career-driven woman helping others is a nice twist on a character based around dark childhood trauma. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early. I will definitely re-read this book as well as recommend it to others.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen was an unnerving and atmospheric domestic thriller. The story follows Stella, a best interest attorney, as she infiltrates the Barclay home to determine what the best course of action is for Rose Barclay. Rose's parents are getting divorced after it is revealed that the father had an affair with Tina, the nanny, who died falling out of a window in the house. As Stella looks deeper into the family, she finds that everyone seems to be lying to cover up for Rose, who has taken to collecting broken pieces of glass and other sharp objects. This book had many layers that were all interesting to follow, although it did feel like everything tied up a bit too neatly in the end. This will definitely be a fun read for fans of the author or anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers.