Loved this! Sarah Pekkanen has a way of writing that seems to immediately hook me every time and I can not get enough. What do you get when you combine a dead nanny, a child who wont speak and is hoarding sharp objects, and a fucked up family dynamic? This fun and twisty little book. Huge thank you to Netgalley and St Martins for my review copy!

This is a gripping and suspenseful novel. At first, it may seem clear where the story is heading, However, surprising twists near the end keep it interesting and unpredictable.

Stella is a quite likable character. Anyone who has ever had to make a life-changing decision for a child can relate to the seriousness and the difficulty of her task, Rose is an extremely compelling character. She seems like the personification of evil one minute and the next like an innocent young girl caught up in the machinations of the adults in her life. Her grandmother is definitely the most clearly drawn of Rose's family members. She is a force to be reckoned with. Rose's parents, on the other hand, are mostly bland and boring although their fierce loyalty to their daughter is admirable.

The story moves along quickly. The plot remains intriguing throughout. All in all, It's an exciting thriller.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I've wanted to try this author and I'm glad I was able to read House of Glass. Stella is an engaging main character with good intentions and knowledgeable about her work in being a representative for children. Rose is a bit younger than her normal cases but has a condition she once had herself.

The parents are divorcing. The paternal grandmother is living there and now teaching the child. Stella sees problems with all of them. I felt very tense with worry over Stella in the house since the nanny was most likely murdered. These are not safe people. Stella comes up with a plan to draw out the killer. So I was even more worried.

Stella is also just starting to be able to look at what happened to her parents and why they died. She has had Charles as a mentor since her mother died. He hired her and assisted her to get through law school. But now there are some hard truths she will learn about her parents.

Stella is sharp and capable. I enjoyed the ending because she handled things well and protected the child. It was suspenseful getting there!

This is the first time I recall a mystery/thriller coming from the POV of a GAL (Guardian ad Litem), or apparently as they call them in DC: BIA (Best Interest Attorney). Having done quite a bit of work as a paralegal for a GAL this was a fun angle for me.

Stella, BIA, is assigned to help decide custody for 9 yr old Rose who is suffering traumatic mutism (oddly the 2nd book in a row that I've read with this component) following the suspicious death of her nanny. The players being Mom and Dad, who both are accusing the other of the murder and Grandma who lives in the home as well.

This book is a page turner!! A true psychological thriller that will definitely mess with your head. The big reveal at the end wasn't a big shock since I had an inkling beforehand, but the author had me questioning my decision multiple times. This was a really fun read that I flew through.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this one! I'm here for all the tea when it comes to the perfect presenting yet not so perfect family and this one didn't disappoint. The fact Rose refuses to talk was both heartbreaking and intriguing, selective mutism is just interesting. So many events/characters gave me the creeps at different points in the story and I couldn't decide who had done it for a while! Our MC, Stella, has a traumatic past and while she had a side story of her own, I was definitely more invested in the plot surrounding the Barclays. I do love Stella's role in this story though, as an advocate for Rose, that is a POV I feel we don't see often in books.

I went back and forth between the ebook and audio for this one but in the end the audio was so good I finished the book that way! The narration was great!

CW: Death of a parent, murder, infidelity, addiction, child abuse.

A big thank you to St-Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC/ALC. All opinions are my own.

This was hands down one of the best books I've read this year.
So well written, love a dual storyline thriller.
The main character was amazing.
I finished the last half in one sitting. Definitely will be reading mire books by this author.
Solid 5 star read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Thanks to NetGalley for another great ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed this one and thought it was very well written. I had no idea what was going to happen and I'm so glad that I wasn't able to predict the twists and turns. I need to read more from this author as this was my first of hers!

This was a great example of what a domestic thriller is and should be.
It was easy to get into, enjoyable throughout and super entertaining.
The mystery was very easy to figure out but the pace and writing kept me hooked. I feel like it needed a better title though.
Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy.

This book didn't start out that great for me. I wasn't that enthused with the premise of the Guardian Ad Litem identifying too strongly with her young client and the book felt like it had a slow start. The first quarter didn't really sing to me and I wasn't a fan of the bad seed storyline. But at around the 40% mark, the book really picked up speed and the pacing improved. While the finale wasn't awesome, I didn't figure out the killer right away, and Pekkanen did drop enough clues that it all made sense at the end.

I really had trouble connecting with Stella as a character. Her lack of personal relationships and her overall lack of identity bothered me. I found it hard to believe that she had formed any sort of personal connection with anyone because her character just overall felt like she was stuck in the past. She didn't seem competent at her job and I just didn't really believe that anyone would give her charge over any decision making. She just felt "off" to me through the entire book. Her personal background hit too close to her client and I find it hard to believe that a judge would assign her to that case given her own traumatic past. It just felt too pat.

Overall, the book was fine and I think those that like thrillers will enjoy it. It just made me go hmmm for all the wrong reasons.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc for review purposes.

I was dying to get my hands on this book as Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favorites! But I’m a little disappointed. It felt slapped together with a lot of over describing of silly things like what Stella ate that day. Sarah did a great job at making everyone but the FMC and her boss unlikeable. I wish there were more character development throughout. Definitely not one of my favorites but look forward to what Sarah puts out next!

I just finished reading "House of Glass" by Sarah Pekkanen. Many thanks to Net Galley and St. Martins' Press for the Advanced Copy in return for an honest review.

This story is all about lies and deception and how far people go to keep secrets, no matter what the cost. It revolves around a seemingly perfect family so are torn apart when the Nanny is murdered in their homw. She had an affair with the husband and now there is a fight for custody, but thet all life under the same home. Enter Stella, whose job it is to find out which parent will be better for for the child, Rose to stay with. The thing is that Rose is a trauma iduced mute who refuses to speak. Being a victim of trauma herself, Stella really wants to make sure she makes the right choice and decides what is best for Rose. But who killed the Nanny? it seems everyone is a suspect included Rose herself. As it turns out...someone killed tha Nanny, and all the lies and secrets are exposed when the truth explosively reveals itself.

I did like this book. I read it quickly. The characters were likeable and the author did an excellent job of freating mysery and suspence with every chapter. It truly was hard to figure out who the bad guy was. Rose was the most ineresting character because she was a small child caught in the middle of a custody battle and not able to speak because of the trauma surrounding her Nanny's death.

It is called House of Glass for a reason. There is both a literal and figurative House of Glass which evokes the idea of a fragile house that could shatter under pressure of lies and deception.

There were some parts that I felt were unecessary, but I did like the background story of the main character, Stella. She too had secrets of her own that shaped her actions and responses.

I would recommend this book for those who enjoy a good family or psychological thrller. Not my favourite but definately worth the read.

Happy Reading

Stella, a child custody advocate, has been called upon to observe and evaluate 9 yr old Rose who suffers from mutism following the tragic (and questionable) death of her nanny. Her family appear to be perfect: her happy perfect parents, a doting and involved grandmother and the perfect house. Except that the house has no glass in it. Everything is plastic. As Stella conducts her interviews with Rose and with her family, she senses not only how weird things are in this family’s home but also that things may not be as perfect as they appear.

This is a slow burn thriller where the author takes great care to set up the characters and slowly reveal their backstories, their intentions and their lies. Everyone is a suspect in the death of the nanny, maybe even little Rose. Nobody is being truthful to Stella and she might just pay the ultimate price while writing her evaluation.

I found this one to be a little slow. It was ok, but she’s written better ones, in my opinion. The narration was good and I think that kept me invested.

Thank you to @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio @netgalley for gifting me both a digital and audio version of this thriller

If you’re looking for a chilling mystery that takes you in one hell of a ride, House of Glass is it. Pekkanen’s storytelling is masterful in this multifaceted tale and will have you reading long into the night. With differing suspects, a child even, and extenuating circumstances, this one will have you sure that something isn’t quite right, but not being able to pinpoint it until the last possible moment. Add this to your TBR pile!

4.5 ⭐️

“Evil isn’t merely a word. It’s a tangible, dimensional thing. It slithers through the air, shifting molecules and displacing energy as it considers various hunting grounds”

I really loved this book. It took me a moment to start it but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. If you enjoy a good psychological thriller, I highly recommend it!

Plot: Tina de la Cruz, a young nanny, tragically plunges to her death from a third story window—landing and splattering on the backyard pavers, not far from where 9-year-old Rose Barclay was picking vegetables in the garden with her grandmother. While the case of Tina’s death is beginning to go cold, Rose’s parents are now divorcing. Enter Stella Hudson, a best interest attorney who represents children in custody battles, appointed to evaluate multiple aspects of a child’s life and determine which parent is best suited for full custody. This case is different, though. Rose suffers from traumatic mutism and hasn’t spoken a single word since the incident, something that Stella herself is all too familiar with. As Stella tries to do her job and investigates further, it becomes clear that danger lurks in this home and questions begin to pile up. Is it Rose who is at risk? Or is she the risk? Why is there no glass in the home and why does Rose collect sharp objects? Everyone in this house is hiding something.

“Do the others not feel the darkness wafting through this house, snaking into the corners and curling around us like smoke?”

Things I liked: The plot is pretty unique and the writing is stunning. Sarah Pekkanen knows how to masterfully write a story, build tension, and keep the reader guessing and frantically turning the pages. Loved the eeriness and the attention to detail. Pacing was on point. The characters were complex and I appreciated the overlapping storylines of the current case and Stella’s past.

Why I rate it 4.5 stars instead of 5: The ending, while suspenseful, still fell a little flat. The last few chapters of epilogue just didn’t land for me and felt like a lazy way to tie up loose ends surrounding the character. The love interest at the end felt abrupt and out of place, distracting from the rest of the book. This is just nitpicking, though, and the rest of the book was brilliant.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sarah Pekkanen for the chance to read an advanced copy! Will be adding this to my shelf💛

Stella is an attorney that helps the family courts determine who should be given parental custody for difficult divorces. When she is recommended for a case by her mentor, she doesn't know what she is walking into. The family has been in the press due to the unfortunate death of the nanny. Although the death is considered a cold case, there was suspicious circumstances around her death that has led to the bitter divorce of the Barclay parents each wanting sole custody of their nine-year-old daughter, Rose. On the outside, the Barclay's seem like the perfect family but inside the family home, Stella realizes the Barclay's are all hiding secrets. Did one of those secrets lead to the nanny's death?

I really enjoyed this book at the beginning. The narrator does a great job with each of these characters, and I enjoyed learning about the very unlikable characters known as the Barclay family. There were several mysteries in this book to discover such as who was responsible for Tina's death, what secrets is the Barclay family hiding and what happened to Stella's mother when she was a child. However, the story seemed to lose momentum in the middle and the story lagged. I found myself losing interest and skimming through some of the chapters to get to the conclusion. The book seemed to pick up again during the last couple of chapters and I was happy to see how the story concluded. Overall, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book but would be interested in reading other books by this author.

House of Glass is out now!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to review House of Glass. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are looking for a creepy, suspenseful book for Fall, add this to your TBR list now! In this book we meet Rose, a little girl who has gone mute after the death of her nanny. Stella, a best interest attorney, is there to help decide who should get full custody after Rose’s parent’s divorce is finalized. Stella then becomes involved in the investigation of the death of the nanny, and she is suspicious of everyone, including Rose.

This book was fast paced, creepy, and had me on the edge of my seat once I hit the halfway mark. Once I was at 75%, it was full speed ahead, I could not stop! I sometimes struggle when books are not multiple points of view, but I didn’t even realize until I finished the book! It is very well written and so easy to consume! Highly recommend this one!

Giving this 4.5 stars but rounding up to 5 for NetGalley.

Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney who serves as counsel for children in custody cases. Recently assigned to 9-year-old Rose Barclay who suffers from traumatic mutism.



Rose's nanny Tina fell to her death at the family home and Rose may have witnessed it. In combination with the traumatic event, her parents are going through a messy and bitter divorce.



When Stella first enters the Barclay home, she realizes the case is so much more than just a custody battle amidst the divorce. As the secrets start to unravel, every single family member becomes a suspect in Tina's death. In a house full of plastic and no glass, can they keep it from crashing down?





What an awesome psychological thriller with a unique concept. Sarah Pekkanen knocked it out of the park with this one. My attention was captured instantly, the atmosphere was so eerie, I couldn't trust anyone, even my own opinion on the events that went down. With so many unreliable and untrustworthy characters, if it wasn't for Stella, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did. I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the story. Overall, it's a must read!



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

A young Nanny falls through a window and the little girl no longer is talking. Not only that but all glass is being replaced with plastic or plexiglass.Everyone seems to be guilty of who knows what happened to the nanny and did she fall or was she pushed.
The parents are getting divorced and we find out secrets about them. The grandmother also lives in the house but she walks with a cane and can't get around real well. The little girl is stealing objects that are sharp. Just what is going on this house?
Stella is sent as a child advocate and to see what is going on with her and if she can get the little girl to talk.
I enjoyed this thriller and received it from NetGalley and St. Martin's for the ARC to read.

If it’s by Sarah Pekkanen I know I’m going to enjoy it! House of Glass was no different. I was immediately hooked on the plot.

House of Glass had me guessing what was going to happen and I was surprised by the final twists!

Sarah writes thrillers in a way that you know what you’re going to get: twists and turns and an addictive plot. I will read anything Sarah writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and St, Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny - in the midst of her parent's bitter divorce - and immediately stopped speaking. Stella Hudson is the attorney appointed to assist and make sure that the best interest of children are taken into account in child custody situations. When she enters the gates of the Barclay family, she realizes that things are even weirder and more serious than she believed. The first thing she notices is that the house is made of plastic & not a bit of glass. As Stella starts to uncover the secrets of the Barclays, she uncovers more and more danger and fears for her life. Can she live long enough to help Rose?