Very dark, suspenseful story about a young girl who has been unable to speak since the nanny's death - accident or murder? The story took you down one path after another - anyone could have been responsible. I didn't love how it tied up at the end with the other subplot, but other than that, I couldn't stop reading this one.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Marten's Press for the ARC!

Creepy, check. Unputdownable, check. Unique, check. Whatever boxes you need to check ✔️ in order to read a book, this one does it. Beautiful writing, great character development, spectacular twists, and many turns. Grab this one. You'll be ecstatic you did.

9-year-old Rose has witnessed her nanny's dead body. A piano prodigy, and seemingly wise beyond her years, she no longer speaks due to the trauma of the nanny's death. Rose lives in a grand home with her parents, who are on the verge of divorce, and an overly protective grandmother. Stella is the lawyer who is appointed to determine what is in the best interest of Rose in the custody battle. Something is very wrong in the house, and Rose is secretly collecting sharp items in her room. Someone knows what happened to the nanny, and someone is desperate to keep a secret. It's up to Stella to speak for Rose. Filled with emotion and tension, House of Glass is intriguing from beginning to end.

Publication date: August 6th, 2024
Page count: 358
Genre: domestic thriller
Setting: suburban Washington DC
POV: child advocate
Featuring: child with mutism

Stella Hudson is a child advocate lawyer who is trying to determine the best disposition for Rose during her parents’ divorce. Her parents are divorcing after her father Ian’s affair came to light after the nanny who he was having an affair with fell out of the 3rd floor of the house to her death.

This is a whodonit with many suspects, filled with suspense and lots of twists and turns.
Thank you to author, publisher, NetGalley for advanced copy. This is an honest voluntary review.

After a nanny falls to her death from the wealthy residence of the Barclay’s, all signs point to it being an accident, but was it really? In this unique who-dunnit, everyone has motive and no one should be believed.

As Ian & Beth Barclays navigate their tumultuous divorce, Stella is brought in to be a lawyer whose only goal is to provide recommendations on the best interests of Rose, the Barclay’s young daughter. But Rose has her own secrets which even make her a possible suspect! With an ominous setting and a dysfunctional family of liars, it’s up to Stella to figure out the truth.

The suspense in this story is palpable from the very beginning. With brilliant writing and sinister tones throughout, you’ll be instantly sucked into this binge-worthy read.

4.25 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I could not put this book down! I started it last night, reluctantly went to sleep when I realized I still had 90 minutes to go and it was 2 am, and then started back in immediately upon waking up and read til I finished it.

It's the best kind of psychological thriller, where you know you are being led astray and a twist is coming but you still don't figure it out. I was drawn in from the opening scene and kept guessing until very close to the ending. I highly recommend this one but definitely suggest not starting until you know you have time to read it all the way through!

I so appreciate NetGalley providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stella is a D.C attorney that helps decide which parent should get custody of their children during messy divorces. Stella prefers to work with older children but feels compelled to take on Rose Barclay's unique case because Rose suffers from loss of her voice due to a traumatic event which Stella also suffered from when she was a little girl. Rose's family was turned upside down when her Nanny plummeted through an upstairs window to her death. Rose's father also happened to be having an affair with the Nanny. So did the Nanny fall through the window accidentally or did something more sinister happen? Everyone in the house is a suspect-even Rose who has been hoarding sharp objects. Can Stella help Rose heal while simultaneously healing her own childhood trauma? Everyone involved has something to hide and you cannot read fast enough to get to the bottom of what happened.

Wow! I could not put this book down. I loved following along as we got to know the characters better and the plot continued to thicken and unravel. This book is so well written. The story has a perfect flow that pulls the reader in and won't let them go until they reach the final page.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is *chef’s kiss*🤌🏻

I loved everything about this book. No, seriously, EVERYTHING. The writing, the characters, especially my girl Stella, the mystery, the suspense, the plot twist and ending I didn’t see coming… 10/10. I also really enjoyed Stella’s personal story and the plot twist with Charles had me in tears IT WAS SO WHOLESOME WHAT THE HECK 😭


Thank you so much to the publishers and Sarah Pekkanen for letting me read an early arc of this book! One of my favs and I can’t wait to buy!

WOW! This creepy whodunnit was tremendous. My heart was racing and I could not put this book down. The characters are so realistic and I felt as if I was at the Barclay’s residence with Stella throughout her visits, and her stops around DC. Well done! Thank you for the ARC

I could not put this down. It’s early in the year and I already know this will be one of the best thrillers I’ll read this year. Unique plot line, fast paced, and creepy! I’d probably give 5 stars if the second story line regarding her mom didn’t seem so random to me. 4.5

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review House of Glass by the accomplished Sarah Pakkanen.

Stella is a court appointed attorney with a dysfunctional childhood. As a children’s advocate, she must decide the best placement for a child during heated divorce settlements. Adding to her latest complex case is the fact the child is completely mute. Having recently witnessed the death of her nanny, the child has lost her voice in response to trauma. Without verbal communication as an option, Stella must make the best decision for the child and uncover the mysterious death of the nanny.

This story had a great build up, but I was slightly disappointed with the ending. With only so many characters, the mystery is fairly narrow. I will say the twist is in the character development and you will look back after reading this one and think, “huh, ok!”. Definitely worth the read. Check it out!

First off, I want to commend Pekkanen for writing a book that was SO eerie and creepy that I had a hard time reading it alone at home at night.

This was SUCH a fun ride and the pacing was PHENOMENAL. The pacing is fast enough that you are NEVER bored, but slow enough that you are interested throughout the entire story. With short chapters and a thrilling story line, it's so hard to say "just one more chapter" with this one! Pekkanen's pacing is one of the things I love most about all of her work!

The characters were so well written that you had no idea who to trust throughout the book - it was constantly changing! The only character I wish I could've connected with more was Tina, the murdered nanny. I did not feel super connected to her or her death and felt that would've made the ending far more impactful.

I loved the multiple storylines throughout the book, though I felt like each were just a tad bit underdeveloped. I feel that having so many storylines can murky the waters of what is truly important in the book.

I also love the different themes that were explored lightly throughout the book - addiction, family drama, and mental health.

Overall, this is a phenomenal thriller from an auto-buy author for me. If you love books like The Perfect Child, Baby Teeth, Don't Let Her Stay, and The Push - this book will be one that you love! I am so grateful for the advance copy and cannot wait to add it to my physical shelf when it comes out!

What a page turner! If you’re looking for an addicting murder mystery this is the book you are looking for! I thought I knew who the murderer was the whole time and of course I was wrong!
I genuinely loved the main character and how her back story developed who she is today. I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen was a bingeable mystery from one of my auto-read authors; I devoured it in a weekend. If you enjoy a “who did it” mystery with questionable characters, this is a great choice.

This story surrounds a wealthy family in the midst of a divorce when their nanny falls to her death. A court-appointed attorney is assigned to determine the best interest of the nine-year-old child, and which parent should receive custody. When she starts to unpack the dynamics of the family, it feels like anyone could have caused the nanny to fall… including the child.

I’m never disappointed by this author, and I started reading as soon as I got my hands on this book. She has a talent for building characters and helping the reader to see various angles. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys a page-turning mystery that gives full closure in the ending.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Content warnings: infidelity, death, childhood trauma

Readers that love thrillers will scoop this book up.

A murder takes place in Potomac, Maryland at a historic Colonial just outside the DC beltway where you’re away from the crazy horn-blasting drivers. It’s peaceful with beautiful trees and exclusive homes.

However, there’s something evil about the $12 million mansion which sits on a 20-acre lot. Stella, a divorce attorney and advisor for child custody cases, walks into the large home and instantly feels the negative energy. Tina, the nanny, was found dead on the stone patio and it was left unsolved; a cold case.

Stella needs to know who murdered the nanny before she can determine who will get child custody of Rose, the 9-year-old daughter. The detective wasn’t able to resolve if Tina was pushed out of the third-floor window by Rose’s mother, father or grandmother. They all lived in the home and were present at the time of Tina’s death. This is not easy as no one is giving Stella good clues and Rose stopped talking when she witnessed the death. Her therapist said, "We often repress periods in our life that are too painful to acknowledge."

It’s cleverly written and includes another story of Stella’s traumatic childhood with a similar case where she lost her mother around the same age. The plot has a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming. However, without giving away spoilers, there were some questionable situations that will most likely come up in book club reviews.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of August 6, 2024.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Four stars for this super creepy whodunnit and uh is this kid crazy novel of domestic suspense. Sarah Pekkanen has yet to disappoint me and will forever be an auto-buy author for me.

Early on this book very much felt like Riley Sanger’s “The Only One Left”, in the sense that this was a very atmospheric book. Sarah Pekkanen is great at describing the scene and not boring you to tears which let me say is hard to do. This book could easily give someone the creeps. The little girl…. Think of the twins in that movie staring in the hallway. That’s what Rose reminded me. A completely unnerving child. What do you do with a child like that??

Beth… bah humbug. Someone remove the stick from up her entitled toosh. She was not endearing at all and was not that warm and fuzzy mom.

Ian…. Aside from his mishap with the nanny he was likable. He clearly adored his daughter.

Harriet…. Grandma….. talk about overbearing. Sheez.

Stella….. I liked Stella…. For the most part. She was a fierce advocate for Rose but she made it known A LOT that she held all the cards and what can I say.. I’m a mom. I didn’t like that.

The mystery surrounding Tina’s death makes it obvious someone in the Barclay family is a killer, but the who and why is something you have to read to find out. There’s also a subplot with Stella trying to uncover what really happened to her mother all those years ago. Honestly I enjoyed her story just as much as I enjoyed the Barclay’s story.

This was a strong domestic suspense novel and I would recommend it to all lovers of this genre!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this book, was a one sitting read for me. Once I started, I found the story easy to follow and I definitely did not see the twist coming. I will continue to read more books by this author and I thank you for allowing me to read it early!

This was such a fun read! It's definitely my favorite Sarah Pekkanen’s book to date. A nanny falls her death and everyone is a suspect, including a 9 year old girl named Rose. I loved how complex the characters were and the storyline had me on the edge of my seat. You will not be able to put this down!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc.

A locked box mystery/thriller is always a favorite of mine. A dead nanny and a couple in the throws of a custody battle over their daughter. Was it a terrible accident, or was it murder? This one had me hooked.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Judging off of the blurb I read, I didn’t think I’d like the storyline. I enjoyed this author’s other books so I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did.
A family’s nanny has a mysterious death, leaving the child she cared for traumatized. Stella is given the impossible job of deciding who the child should live with after the divorce. The complication? The child is left mute after the possible murder. With the case of the nanny’s death left unsolved, Stella is suspicious of everyone in the house. What if she sends the child to live with a murderer? What if the child is the actual threat?
This book really brought to life the feeling of unease that Stella was feeling in that house. I felt creeped out and uneasy at times, looking over my shoulder. I was suspicious of a character early on and was tricked into believing exactly what that character wanted everyone to believe instead. This was a wonderfully written thriller. Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy.