<b>House of Glass</b> is a highly addictive, spine tingling suspense where everyone is in question.

The Barclays are a seemingly perfect, wealthy family. But when their nanny falls to her death and a divorce is imminent with an ugly custody battle on the horizon, a best interest attorney is put on the case to represent the young child, Rose. Stella usually doesn't take cases with kids that are not in their teens, but the judge on this particular case knows Stella is the perfect person for the job. Stella is the type of attorney that is beyond driven and will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of everything.

But when Stella steps into the Barclays home, she knows that this case will be unlike anything she has experienced before. She not only is acting in the best interest of the child, but now is drawn in by the creepy "plastic" home and its inhabitants. Everyone is <I>off</I> and seems to be keeping her from the truth that lies within the walls. Stella feels that she must now find out what happened to the nanny in order to come to her resolution concerning Rose. Who is guilty and who is telling the truth? The mother, the father, the nanny's boyfriend, the grandmother and even Rose herself are all suspects.

Sarah Pekkanen did a great job of creating a setting that was both suspenseful and characters that all seemed like they were hiding something. Even when it came to Stella's personal life, you had to wonder how that all fit in with the case of the Barclays and the nanny's death. I liked that everyone was a suspect and seemed to be lying or at least withholding truths. There was always an underlying tenseness within the characters. Their actions intrigued me. While I didn't feel this was a thriller that was full of twists and turns, it felt more like a psychological study on the characters and their actions. And I love a good "who dun it" with a bunch of questionable characters.

Overall, this was a good suspenseful thriller with some interesting characters that all seemed guilty at one point or another. I was led to believe that all were a little bit sinister. WIth the short chapters and interesting characters, Pekkanen brought a sense of urgency to the story and made it that much more exciting. A good overall read.

This is the kind of book that made me love thrillers! Five stars for the twists, the chaos, and the subplot mystery!!!

While this has an interesting premise, I didn't connect with the plot or any of the characters.

House of Glass is the story of Stella Hudson, a best interest attorney, who has been tasked to see where Rose Barclay should go once her parent's divorce is final. Complicating the matter is that Rose's former nanny plunged to her death inside of the house. Beth, the mother, has removed all glass - of ANY kind, from the house. Ian, the father, did cheat on Beth, with the nanny, but insists it was just twice.

I felt that while Stella had an interesting backstory, I needed more from Rose. I wanted more of Stella-Rose only conversations/interactions. The story itself is fairly straightforward, with no major twists or turns.

I think that while this is an interesting concept, it just overall was not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I did something I rarely do and listened to this partly on audiobook while driving/working and then reading on my kindle when I had down time. I really enjoyed the narration on the audiobook as it added to the suspense and creepiness of the book.
Lawyer Stella had several traumatic things happen to her in her childhood, and now she helps older children (13 and older) as a best interest attorney during divorce cases. This time she has gone out of her comfort zone and agreed to take on 9 year old Rose who is suffering from a case of traumatic mutism. Add in a creepy house with no glass inside, a mom and dad who both seem suspicious and a highly involved granny and you have a very slow burn suspenseful read.
I received an ARC of this title from the NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

What a wild ride! Sarah Pekkanen continues to write thrillers like no other. Can't wait for her next one.

Rose is a nine year old, Ian and Beth Barclay are her parents, and they are currently navigating a divorce, and Harriet, her grandmother. When tragedy strikes the nanny, Stella is brought in to protect Rose and determine which person should have custody of her. The story takes off from there as we are led through several different scenarios that put all parties, Rose, Ian, Beth, and Harriet, as potentially responsible for the death of the nanny. Did she fall or was she pushed out the third floor window? The challenge for Stella is that Rose isn't currently speaking, so she can't hear from her.

Meanwhile, we learn more about Stella's back story, including her own brush with mutism when she was a child after the death of her mother. Stella is fresh off her own divorce and learning to live alone. Her work with the Barclay family brings up memories of her past, and while she is hired to determine which person should have custody of Rose, she is more tempted by the nanny's death investigation. She becomes more embroiled into the investigation and the family and questions everything she witnesses and learns, including about her own past.

I highly recommend this if you are looking for a quick bingeable thriller that will have you reviewing all the suspects until you put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.

Sarah Pekkanen's House of Glass is a solid thriller that will keep you guessing and second-guessing yourself all the way until its heart-stopping conclusion. Tina, the young nanny to the wealthy Barclay family, is dead, and questions abound. The family's nine-year-old daughter, Rose, has stopped speaking. Parents Beth and Ian are embroiled in divorce proceedings. Grandmother Harriet (Ian's mother) is trying to keep the family together. Enter Stella, an attorney who is appointed on Rose's behalf to determine what is in the best interest of the young girl. Stella's own traumatic past makes her uniquely situated to take on Rose's case - but is Stella putting herself at risk? While I did find parts of House of Glass to be a bit slow and unnecessarily drawn out, overall the novel is a solid thriller that had me questioning every character, and I was pleasantly surprised by the final twists.

Not since the nanny’s creepy death in 1976’s The Omen has a nanny’s death been surrounded with such weird and menacing family dynamics!

Meet the Barclays: Ian, his wife Beth, mom Harriet and nine-year-old Rose. Ian was naughty with nanny Tina, who on the cusp of telling him she was pregnant, mysteriously fell through her attic bedroom window to her death. The case has gone cold, but now Ian and Beth are divorcing, Rose who witnessed the event has traumatic mutism, and Best Interest Attorney Stella Hudson has been assigned to determine which parent should have primary custody.

As Stella tries to do her job, she’s getting subtle and not-so-subtle pushback from the family, including Rose, whose behavior is getting creepier by the day! Stella’s past childhood traumatic mutism resulting from her own mother’s death has made her keenly sympathetic to Rose’s suffering. So why does the girl seem so angry with her, and why is she pocketing those sharp objects Stella has noticed?

One thing is clear, the deeper Stella digs into this family, the more danger she’s in!

I liked this story! The Barclay home was its own cryptic character, the odd family dynamics brought a pervasive tension, Rose’s behavior was super creepy and grandma Harriet was her own enigma. The growing sense of threat to Stella was a nice undercurrent that kept me engaged, and a side story about her friend/mentor Charles added another layer of intrigue. There was a lot to like, even if I didn’t like this as much as last year’s Gone Tonight. I can’t say the ending surprised me, and it did go a little eye-rolly, but overall this was a solid, well-written psychological thriller.

I look forward to seeing what Sarah Pekkanen comes up with next!

Wow! I loved this so much more than I expected to! I had so many theories, and I still didn’t get it right. Pekkanen weaved an eerie and intricate whodunnit that I could not put down, and she wrapped everything up in a pretty bow at the end. I loved how sinister things seemed at times, and how the MFCs past was woven in to relate the little girl in the story. I bounced between the physical and the audio of this one, and the narrator did a phenomenal job. She helped set the scene to make some parts more chilling. Highly recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Macmillan Audio for my ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

I received a gifted audiobook copy of HOUSE OF GLASS by Sarah Pekkanen from Macmillan Audio!

HOUSE OF GLASS is a combination thriller and family drama. The Barclay family seems to have it made, but when their young nanny falls to her death from the third floor, many questions are raised. Nine-year-old Rose Barclay hasn't said a word since that horrible event. Her parents are the midst of a contentious divorce and custody battle, each sure that they're looking out for Rose's best interests.

Stella is the attorney hired to get to know Rose and her family to provide reports back to the court about Rose's best interests. Stella has a history of trauma as a child and went through her own period of mutism, so she's been asked to take on this case. As she does, it soon becomes clear that everyone in the Barclay house has reasons to lie and Stella can't be sure who was behind the nanny's death.

It took me a while to warm up to the characters in this story, but I eventually wound up getting to really enjoy Stella. The story begins with a lot of questions, even a suspicion that Rose herself could have had a hand in the nanny's death. Even as Stella becomes less and less certain of her young client, she still does her best to put the child's needs first and I really appreciated that.

I thought that the mystery element was really well done here and the author did a good job of layering in red herrings and questionable behaviors from many of the characters in the Barclay home. It took a few turns that I didn't expect along the way which is always a nice bonus. I would say this one was a slow burn for the first half of the book as a lot of groundwork was being set, but it really took off closer to the end and it was hard to put down!

I'd give House of Glass a solid 4.5! I really liked Stella and appreciated the parallel between her childhood and Rose's. I was hooked from the very beginning and struggled to put it down. I also didn't see the twist at the end coming. The short chapters and the fact that it was so easy to binge made it a quick read! I would definitely recommend this one if you're a thriller lover.

This psychological thriller had me holding my breath at every page-turning. Stella Hudson, a Best Interest Attorney for children who are the subject of custody battles, finds herself breaking one of her rules and taking on a young child’s case. Stella, with a deeply traumatic childhood, steers clear of clients under the age of twelve, but her mentor, a judge by the name of Charles who took her under his wing right out of high school, believes Stella is the only person who can help Rose.

The Barclay family imploded in spectacular style when their nanny Tina, pregnant with Ian Barclay’s child, fell through a window from the historic Barclay mansion to her death. Rose discovered her nanny and hasn’t spoken since.

Pekkanen weaves intriguing parallels between Stella and Rose, all while undermining all of the Barclay’s credibility. Was Tina’s death an accident? Or did someone in the house push her. Rose’s parents, Beth and Ian, and her grandmother, Harriet, were all home. All four of them had reason to want Tina, with her inconvenient pregnancy, gone.

Now Stella must help decide who will have custody of Rose. And could that person be a murderer? Or could Rose be the murderer?

This book kept me guessing the whole time. I honestly did not see the big twist coming. Pekkanen’s story is well-written and propulsive. Pekkanen amps up the chills with a setting, the House of Glass outside Washington, DC in fall that is foreboding and pitch-perfect.

Five out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

Talk about an eerie read... HOUSE OF GLASS had me feeling the creeps from the beginning as the main character Stella tries to find out both what happened to Tina (the nanny who fell to her death) and what is best for the child Rose. Rose, the little girl who won't speak after this traumatic event, was such an interesting character as Stella tries to advocate for her without being able to communicate with her. The setting of the mansion with no glass in the house at all was so creepy. I liked how Pekkanen made you question everything about the entire Barclay family throughout the book. Everyone had something to hide. It kept me on my toes until the end. I also liked the sub-plot about Stella's childhood. It was perfectly woven into the story and I never predicted all the twists and turns. This is definitely a new favorite thriller and I highly recommend grabbing a copy when it comes out on August 6th!

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 344 / Genre: Psychological Thriller
Release Date: August 6, 2024

Stella is a best interest attorney who’s sent to evaluate Rose, a nine-year-old girl whose nanny died under questionable circumstances. She lives with her parents who are in the middle of divorce proceedings (since it came out that the dead nanny was pregnant with the husband’s child) and her grandmother. Did one of these people kill the nanny (including Rose) or was it an accident?

This was a classic whodunit where everyone is a suspect. A good story with interesting characters. I especially liked the creepy kid!

Thank you @NetGalley, @StMartinsPress, and @SarahPekkanen for my gifted copy.

I loved this premise & that every character was unreliable & suspicious. The pacing was steady & kept me intrigued the entire time; I was thinking about it constantly when I wasn’t reading it. Our MC & point of view is from the lawyer covering the case, who originates suspecting the 9 y/o daughter as the murderer- the biggest hinderance is, the child hasn’t spoken since the accident. Rich family with large estate, spooky vibes, featuring a subplot that ties in well! I did hope for the ending/reveal to be a bit more wild & shocking, which kept it from being a 5 star, but I still loved it!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Stella is a best interest attorney who devotes her time to children going through divorce and determining the best custody path for them. When she is introduced to a new family, the Barclay's, Stella can instantly feel that something is off. Maybe it is her own personal trauma from her childhood, which we will slowly learn more about, but the child does not speak post a traumatic incident, making this situation hard to unwrap. Stella does her best to get time with each family member but she does not know how to believe. She picks up on little hints, such as there is no glass anywhere in the home, but why? What happened to the previous nanny? so many questions and twists up until the very end. Could not put this one down!

HOUSE OF GLASS had such an interesting and compelling plot but ultimately fell flat. The book started quickly by diving straight into a mystery containing great characters and lots of open questions. The revelations came quickly and deepened the plot until about midway through, when the pacing started lagging and the twists felt contrived. The ending didn’t feel realistic and some of the relationships came out of thin air. That said, would not hesitate to read this author again as Sarah Pekkanen has previously delivered many hits; hoping this one is an exception.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review HOUSE OF GLASS.

Thriller set in my hometown with my niece's name as the main character? I'm sold! I absolutely loved this thriller and cannot wait to recommend to anyone and everyone. I read it mostly in one sitting - just could not put this down!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stella is an attorney who has to decide who 9 year old Rose will live with after her parents', Ian and Beth's, divorce. The family lives in a big old house where their nanny, who was pregnant with Ian's baby recently fell to her death. The police can't determine if it was murder or an accident. Rose has been mute since the death and Stella has to spend a lot of time with the family to make her determinination. But everyone is acting like they have something to hide and Rose clearly doesn't want Stella around. To add to the strangeness, they have removed every bit of glass from the house and removed it with plastic.

I really liked this author's collaborations with Greer Hendricks and I enjoyed her previous novel Gone Tonight, so I was excited to read this one and I got through it pretty quickly. I enjoy her writing style and find it very easy to get immersed in. There weren't as many twists and turns and shocking reveals as I would have liked, but it was still a solid read that I enjoyed. I look forward to her next novel.

This book was so good and I couldn't put it down. I read it in one day! A juicy divorce, a suspicious fall from a window, and a young girl with a hidden world – it had all the ingredients for a captivating story.

Stella Hudson, a determined lawyer, dives headfirst into the case, determined to uncover the truth behind the nanny's death. The opulent Barclay mansion holds secrets, and Rose, the daughter at the heart of the custody battle, seems to harbor mysteries of her own.

This book was a real page-turner! The suspense builds slowly, but it keeps you guessing until the very end. Two thumbs up!

I was so excited to read this book. I took it on vacation with me and I gotta say I was up into the wee hours of the night as I got further into the story and couldn't out it down.

I found the story intriguing and engaging. The plot unfolded nicely and the characters were developed and I enjoyed every minute.