4.75 Stars

This was such an AMAZING thriller! I know I have a gold star thriller on my hands when I sail through and I cannot put it down. I loved the main character Stella, which is a crucial factor needed in order for me to enjoy a thriller (liking the main character), and I felt just as tense and creeped out whenever she went to the Barcley’s house. If you love thrillers, then I definitely recommend picking this book up when it comes out in August.

I finished House of Glass last night and I can't stop thinking about it.

This is has everything I love in a psychological thriller- slow-burn that builds up to an explosive twist, an underlying sense of creepiness and dread, a spooky gothic mansion, lies and secrets, etc etc. Seriously, I ate this up.

The Barclay's look like the perfect family but are just projecting a facade out to the world. They're in the middle of a very messy divorce, their nanny died under suspicious circumstances, and their daughter is suffering from traumatic mutism. And Stella has to uncover the truth when everyone is lying and she doesn't know who trust. Everyone has the potential to be dangerous.

One of my favorite reads this far!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of an ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

Sarah Penkkanens "House of Glass" is a well crafted, have you on the edge of your seat psychological thriller that is based around the main character Stella. Stella is a 'best interest' attorney that given her own past traumas is asked to take on a case with the Barclay family. The Barclay family has a young child named Rose and admist a divorce, Stella must determine who the child is better off living with once it is finalized. The book is a page turner from the very beginning and it had me on the edge of my seat. As we dive more into the story we learn that the Barclay family is not at all what that appear to be on the inside. When a nanny 'suddenly' dies inside the Barclay home, to what lengths will the family go to protect their own? When everyone in the home becomes a suspect, who will you turn to? At the end, it is who you least expect.

House of Glass is full of secrets, lies, deceptions, hidden motives, tension and danger. Honestly, just reading the book itself had me a little creeped out at night. The author did a wonderful job in developing and excecuting the plot. The character development was also solid. As you read through the book you will learn that Stella experienced similar traumas allowing her to become so involved in not only determining what is in the childs best interest, but also, discovering the truth that lurks within the House of Glass.


It is my first Sarah Pekkanen thriller and I honestly enjoyed how suspensful it was. If you enjoy twist thrillers, this one is for you.


Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and author, Sarah Pekkanen for an opportunity at receiving this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An easy and fast paced thriller from Sarah Pekkanen and definitely won’t be my last!

After the nanny is found dead to an affluent family in Maryland, the husband and wife decide to divorce. Leaving their young daughter, Rose, stuck in the middle of a messy custody battle. Stella Hudson is called to help with the decision of who gets primary custody as Guardian ad Litem. Her job is to assess the home life and gather enough information in the best interest of child. Stella is reluctant to help but finds out she has something in common with Rose and her determination to help wins out.

Stella soon discovers that this family is not at all what she thought they would be and the death of the nanny could be more than just an “accident”. She must look for clues to solve the death of the nanny before someone else gets hurt.

I especially enjoyed the short chapters and how the author could make me suspect every single character. No one was off limits! It’s exactly the fast paced thrillers I enjoy reading and would highly recommend this to anyone!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy.

This was a good whodunit type of domestic thriller where almost everyone you meet is a suspect. A suspicious accidental death (who killed Tina?!), a second subplot cold case accidental death(!!) mystery, a cast of wonderfully flawed characters who feel so real, AND a creepy kiddo who’s wrestling with traumatic mutism…SOLD!

This was very interesting read. I was super confused with where this was going. I didn’t exactly understand what the main plot point was. I definitely like the twist at the end. However the side story with the FMC was a bit left field.

8-year-old Rose Barclay refuses to talk after the shocking death of her nanny in the midst of her parents' acrimonious divorce. Attorney Stella Hudson is determined to help Rose speak, and discover what really happened. As Stella unravels the secrets of the Barclay family, the past and present collide with shocking consequences. Everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder. Even Rose. Is the person Stella's supposed to protect the one she may need protection from.

This one hooked me from the start! Rose scared me so much, something about creepy kids 🫣 I really liked Stella’s character and her hearing her back story. I did get a little bored in the middle, I caught a couple of the twists early on so it was a bit predictable but still very entertaining! I like Sarah Pekkanen’s writing style a lot so she is an auto buy for me! (3 ⭐️)

Available August 6, 2024

✨ Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review ✨

I have a rule, albeit unwritten, that I never take a book to bed to finish unless I've reached at least the 90% mark (only once that I recall did I ever breach that rule, and then only by a percent or two). Until this one. So engrossed was I when it was time to head upstairs to bed that I actually ran back down to grab my e-book reader and cut short my usual bedtime routine so I could see how it turns out - with a little over 25% of the book left to go. To say I was hooked from the git-go, then, is an understatement.

Here's the skinny: An attorney who represents and advocates for children, Stella Hudson is assigned to the case of 9-year-old Rose Barclay, whose wealthy parents are in the midst of a divorce that's as amicable as divorces can get. After a thorough investigation that involves getting to know Rose's parents Ian and Beth, Rose's beloved grandmother Harriet, who lives with them, and Rose herself, Stella will make a recommendation to the court as to who will get custody of Rose. Both parents, of course, want her; and while they're seemingly agreeable to abide by a third-party decision, they're both chomping at the bit to make sure Stella is aware of all their good parental qualities.

Complicating the situation is the recent death of Rose's beautiful young nanny Tina, who somehow managed to fly through a third-story window in the family's century home, ending up quite dead. Rose, who witnessed Tina's fall, was so traumatized that she suffers from traumatic mutism; in layperson's terms, she is unable to speak. But what, exactly did she really see? The police investigation is inconclusive; no evidence was found of foul play - nor was a suicide note. The notion that Tina was pushed, though, raises the question of who did the deed? One of the parents? The grandmother? Or even (gasp!) little Rose?

Stella grapples with those questions as she tries to come to a decision that's fair, equitable and, most important of all, in Rose's best interests. Meanwhile, readers learn that Stella has some issues of her own - some eerily close to the situation she's now investigating. The pace doesn't let up till the end, when everything gets resolved. Therein, though, I have to admit to feeling a bit disappointed. That's not because it's terrible, or the writing started to fall apart; it's only because I was expecting - and really, really hoping - that a different character would be the culprit. Oh well. It still made for a riveting story - and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. Super good!

When I saw that Sarah pekkanen wrote a thriller on her own, I knew I had to pick it up.
This book was so twisty and had so many turns. It took a bit for the story to get going, but once it did I enjoyed the experience. Reminded me so much of the push.
Stella is a bia (best interest attorney), working with the Barclay family and their daughter rose. The Barclays are such a troubled family and weird things have been happening in their home. Let me tell you the twist I did not see coming. I was shook.

This was a VERY twisty murder mystery with so many good elements. I, like the FMC, suspected each of the family members and had my favorites throughout the story. I was pleasantly surprised by the twist and enjoyed the various sub-plots to the story, though I do wish we had a little more character development of the FMC related to her backstory.

In solidarity with the SMP Boycott I will be withholding my review for this title until SMP acts on the following:

1. Address and denounce the Islamophobic and racist remarks from their employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how they are going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian influencers, authors and readers, in addition to supporting their BIPOC influencers, authors, and readers.

This is not a reflection of the author personally, nor is it a call to boycott buying this particular book.

This one is a winner!! I read it in a day and a half - but I honestly would have read it in one sitting if I was able. I loved everything about this book.

I loved Stella and her backstories (from both childhood and adulthood). I think she is a fantastic character, and I’d love to read about her again (hint, hint, Sarah Pekkanen). 😁 I’d love to see her work more cases. Pretty please?

Of course, any story with a creepy kid is going to win me over - and Rose definitely ups the creep factor!

I thought Marco, Natalia, and Charles were just amazing. They were secondary characters, but gave the story so much more than that. Stella has such a great supporting cast here.

I loved the eerie descriptions of the Barclay house and its residents. I didn’t know what to think, believe, or expect the whole time. My mind was working overtime on this one. This was truly a great psychological thriller!!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

This book is hard to review. It started good, then very early on, it leads us to believe the little girl is behind it. To the point where I figured it wasn't her just by how much it was pushing the reader in that direction. I have to admit that I could not put the book down during the unraveling of everything. It didn't not grab my attention to the fullest and I just wanted to be done with this book. I also thought the last couple of chapters were completely unnecessary.

Thanks for the ARC! sorry my review is not more positive but it's honest...I would give it 3 1/2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! This story centers around Stella. Stella is a best interest attorney in charge of deciding which adult a nine year old child, Rose Barclay, should be with during a nasty custody battle. Rose’s nanny Tina died from falling out of a third story window at the Barclay home… or was she pushed? Rose has been mute since Tina’s death and Rose may be the key to discovering how Tina’s death happened.
The longer Stella spends with this family, the less she trusts them. Everyone is hiding something.
I loved this book. I give it 5 stars. It was unique, compelling, and disturbing at times. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I hereby name this the best psychological thriller of 2024! The characters are well-drawn, both likeable and detestable, the plot is multi-faceted and kept me on my toes, The main twist was not jaw-dropping, but its implications were; plus, there were many smaller twists throughout to keep me riveted. I am so impressed by this book, by far the author’s best. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A solid book! I enjoyed every aspect of this book. The nanny, Tina, mysteriously falls through a window, Rose, a little girl is traumatized and lost her voice. Her parents are going through a divorce. Stella is assigned to make sure Rose has the optimal custody decision since no one knows how Tina fell to her death. Was she pushed? Did she trip? Everyone is a suspect. Stella is battling her own demons, she experienced a similar situation where she could not speak after she found her mother dead when she was a little girl. She sees herself in Rose and wants to give her the best outcome possible.

I truly had no idea where this story was going. It is your classic whodunnit. I liked the aspect of the muteness related to trauma and how that all played in. I loved how all the characters had their own suspicious aspect. I liked trying to piece everything together with Stella and come up with my own solution. After the ending I see now why certain characters were portrayed the way there were. Key part of the story is you never know who you are living with, trauma does different things to everyone

A special thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Sarah Pekkanen book and it definitely won't be my last.
I enjoyed how fleshed out her characters were, the short chapters, the fast pace and the creepy-ish vibes a lot!
If you enjoy a well crafted psychological thriller, definitely pick this one up!

Stella Hudson, a best interest attorney, takes on Rose Barclay as a new client. Rose’s parents are in the midst of a tense divorce and Stella must make a custody decision. To make the situation more complicated, the family’s nanny, Tina, died recently after falling out of a window on the property and Rose is now experiencing traumatic mutism. Stella quickly realizes that each family member could be responsible for Tina’s death. She must wade through each individual’s story to arrive at the truth.

Wow, this was a great read! The writing style, pacing, and the details of the story were addictive. I binged the audio and enjoyed the story’s twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and MacMillan Audio for both the ALC and ARC copies of this title.

This book was really difficult to get into, and to finish. This book was honestly super slow, and way longer than it needed to be. A little too many twists and turns that maybe I just missed but made us deter a little too much from the main storyline and made it more confusing than it needed to be. A mysterious death, a troubled child, and a divorce that seems amicable? So many suspects and potential reasons for the nanny to be killed. But can the person assigned to be the evaluator for the court figure it out and protect the child correctly? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I love everything about this novel -- the characters, the storyline, the exquisite, evocative writing. It's a very welcoming change from so many of today's suspense novels that all seem to have the same plot with only the names changed. This author never disappoints, and this book is a standout.