Woah! If a child could be any creepier I think I’d pass out! Evil is a solid thing, in this twisty thriller. Solid and possibly child shaped.

Who’s to blame when the nanny turns up dead amid a divorce? Is it the cheating husband, the angry wife, the creepy kid? Everyone is a suspect in the mysterious plastic house and Sarah keeps you guessing until the end!

House of Glass was my first Sarah Pekkanen book and I will definitely be looking for more by her in the future. The suspense, deception, secrets, and family drama keeps the story moving along steadily. The characters all have their own motives and characteristics that make them untrustworthy and suspect. I couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out what secrets were unveiled next!

3.75 stars
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TW: Death, Infidelity, Violence, Child abuse, Addiction, Death of a parent, Alcoholism, Alcohol
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Stella is an attorney who gets assigned to the Barclay family, she must work closely with nine-year-old Rose to determine who should get custody of their daughter once they divorce. The reason for divorce? The husband sleeps with their nanny Tina, who finds herself pregnant - only to die a short time afterwards "falling" out of a window. This book felt like a custody battle with a side of murder, the entire family seems off and slowly their true nature starts to unravel.

Rose suffers from traumatic mutism after witnessing her nanny fall to her death. This adds a level of eerieness to the story, the plot alone gives off creepy vibes. The Barclay's live in a beautiful home - but there is no glass to be found anywhere. We find out that Rose likes to take things that can be used as weapons, but the real reason why will shock you!

I struggled with the murder part of the plot, once the killer is revealed it's nothing spectacular. If anything you should probably see it coming, as they say, you'll do anything to protect your own family. Another part of why this probably wasn't the book for me - there's a lot of character growth for Stella in the epilogue. We have her going out on a date with one of the Detectives who was assigned to Rose's case, she comes to terms with aspects surrounding her mother's suicide, and she finally goes back to therapy. Stella is a troubled character, but I would have preferred to see those plot points unfold throughout and both just at the end.

Overall, this one has really creepy vibes and will pull you in with wanting to know what happens.
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I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sarah Pekkanen for a copy of House of Glass in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, this book publishes on August 6th 2024. Make sure to grab your copy now!

I feel a bit like an outlier here but I found this book to be good but not great. I enjoyed the mystery of it all, but at times it felt a bit too much like telling and not showing. I love when we are left breadcrumbs to try and solve the mystery with the main character, and at times I felt like we were being constantly redirected by Stella, the narrator. I found that the inclusion of the very light romance to be strange at the end as well. While I sound critical of this book, I did still enjoy it. I thought the author did a fantastic job of describing the Barclays as people, definitely developing their characters. This is especially true of Rose. I did not know that this profession even existed as well, so it was interesting to read that part of the book. Overall, I felt a bit disappointed in the mystery as it didn't seem to grab ahold of me as much as I wanted it to. That being said, I know I will still read more of this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ psychological fiction
Setting ~ Washington DC
Publication date ~ August 6, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 352 (68 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 43 minutes
Narrator ~ Laura Benanti
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ dead nanny, infidelity, secrets, mentions of loss of parent, childhood trauma, drug addiction

Stella is an attorney working with 9 year old, Rose, to determine which parent she should live with after the divorce. Why a divorce you ask ~ well, shockingly, [insert eye roll], the husband was sleeping with the nanny, Tina. Tina falls to her death, Rose witnessed it and she hasn't spoken since.

All characters were unlikable, but I didn't hate that so much for this book. I thought Rose's character was well written. Let's just say it wasn't a bad idea to remove all the glass from the house.

Overall, this was just fine for me. There was a heart pounding hot minute at the end, but ultimately I found it to be pretty slow moving. Bringing so much of Stella's own childhood story gave us a whole second plot that could have been it's own book. And then her love interest at the end seemed surprising to me and even Stella herself.

I'm definitely in outlier land here as everyone is loving it 🤷

CONTENT WARNING: murder, ableism, infidelity, addiction, death of a parent, trauma, grief

I’ve been a huge fan of the books Pekkanen co-wrote with Greer Hendricks, so I couldn’t wait to read this one. Unsurprisingly, I found it to be just as engrossing and enjoyable as the co-authored books. I was lucky enough to have gotten approved for both the ebook and audiobook versions, so I switched off between both versions to get a feel for both. The audiobook is narrated by Laura Benanti, and she was a great choice for this book—she perfectly captured Stella’s character and did a wonderful job with the story.

Have you ever read those posts that go around that compare statements made by children and serial killers, then ask you to guess whether the statement was made by a child or a serial killer? Well, I have, and trust me when I say that it’s shockingly difficult to tell the difference. Although not every book featuring a suspicious death that happens in the vicinity of a child reminds me of that post, this one certainly did.

Let me start with Rose, the young girl at the heart of this story. Following the traumatic death of her nanny, which she witnessed, on top of the ugly divorce that her parents are in the middle of, Rose has developed traumatic mutism. She’s nine years old, and a best interest attorney has been appointed on her behalf, to determine what actually happened and make a custody recommendation that will be most beneficial for Rose.

Stella, the best interest attorney, has taken Rose on at the special request of her mentor, a judge who took Stella under his wing. She normally doesn’t take clients under the age of thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood and experience with traumatic mutism, but in this case she agreed to bend her self-imposed rule to work with Rose. This gave Stella a lot of insight into what Rose was experiencing and how to work with her most sensitively, but it also created a lot of interference from her own experiences that could create blind spots. We saw a lot of Stella’s backstory in flashbacks of her own experiences as some of them mirror Rose’s in certain ways.

Pekkanen is a master at amping up the tension and the creeptastic factor of this story. Yeah, I don’t think creeptastic is a real word, but I just made it into one, because it’s the best one I can think of to explain this. One of the first things we learn about Rose is that she collects sharp objects, but Stella immediately notices that there is no glass to be found in the family home—not a window, a cup, a wineglass, a mirror, picture frames, nothing. The house, the tension between the members of the Barclay family (the parents, grandmother, and Rose), the nanny’s actions in the family home, and Stella’s own past and realizations about herself all work together so beautifully to slowly crank the tension up until I was flipping pages and couldn’t go to sleep until I finished reading and found out what actually happened.

I found myself wondering if it could be possible for a nine-year-old kid to be as manipulative as Rose, or if Pekkanen was just making it sound that way, and Rose's words and behavior were just that of a strange and mildly creepy little girl under extreme amounts of stress and not getting enough socialization with other children her own age.

There were a few suspects in the story, and it almost felt like the author was pushing one or two of them a bit too hard, which made me think it probably wasn’t them. I predicted the outcome of the book way earlier than the reveal, but I really liked how the author got us to the end of the story—the twists and the reveal were done beautifully, and the tension was the best part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, with the whole vibe keeping me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Overall, I was impressed with this story, and am looking forward to checking out more of Pekkanen’s solo work. I recommend this one if you like mystery/thrillers that are tense, involve an investigator/attorney with personal history that reflects the case, and stories involving complex family dynamics.

I thought this was really solid! Well-paced and engaging, I found myself having trouble putting this book down.

I liked the premise and following the MC as she went about her job (though ultimately her skill at her profession is questionable lol). I appreciated the unique set-up, and really thought the whole “no-glass” house added a sense of eeriness.

This had a few flaws, namely I found myself uninterested at times in the secondary mystery related to our MC’s past, and ultimately didn’t feel vested in its outcome.

Still, overall an interesting mystery with enough unique elements to stand out among the other mysteries while still scratching that thriller itch!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this!

A family’s nanny turns up dead, presumably she fell… or was pushed.. out of the attic window. Now there is a custody battle between the family’s parents, and the million dollar question is, who should Rose live with. Our main character is tasked with figuring this out, by meeting with the girls parents, her, and her grandmother, to get a feel for their dynamic and where she would be happiest, the only problem is, Rose has not uttered a word since the Nanny’s accident. Is Rose holding back secrets? Is she dangerous? Is her family protecting her? Or is something deeper going on in the mansion without a piece of glass inside of it, except for the shards hidden in Rose’s room of course.


This book was okay, it wasn’t very thrilling, but more like a long family drama / mystery as to who could’ve been responsive for the Nanny’s death.

Stay tuned for my upcoming #AuthorElevatorSeries Q&A with Sarah on pub day (Aug 6), where we will go behind the scenes of the book and this powerhouse author!

#1 NYT Bestselling author (a long-time favorite) returns following Gone Tonight with her latest riveting thriller, HOUSE OF GLASS. A perfect family with an ideal life turns sinister when a young nanny is suspected of being murdered in this twisty whodunit. (or was it an accident)?

HOUSE OF GLASS is a mesmerizing domestic suspense that combines a whodunit crime thriller with an in-depth psychological study. Its gripping suspense and tantalizing clues will keep you on the edge of your seat.

About...

Set in the Washington DC area, Rose Barclay (age 9) witnesses the possible murder of her nanny, Tina de la Cruz, amid her parents (Beth and Ian) bitter divorce. They are fighting for sole physical and legal custody of their daughter.

Stella Hudson, recently divorced, is Rose Barclay's best interest attorney. She is appointed to counsel the child in custody cases. Due to her own traumatic childhood, she never accepts clients under thirteen. However, the judge believes she may be the only one to help due to her own background and trauma.

Rose has refused to speak and collects sharp objects. There are different kinds of mutism that afflict children. Some in certain environments are called selective mutism. Sometimes, it can occur after brain trauma or surgery. Rose seems to be suffering from traumatic mutism. (After a severe trauma).

Could Rose have violent tendencies?

Stella knew all too well about mutism when she discovered the body of her mother when she was younger than Rose. She could not speak for months.

The grand Potomac, Maryland historical estate with twenty acres purchased for $12 million before the renovation, the added barn, and the two-story shed are home to the Barclays behind its stately iron gates. The property is in both Ian's (dad) and Beth's (mom) names, but ultimately, it was Beth's family's money that made the purchase.

Stella soon realizes the case with this wealthy family is much more twisted, dark, and sinister than she can imagine. Everyone seems to be hiding something and lying.

Who is the victim, and who is the murderer?

Everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder:

Beth: Mom
Ian: Dad
Harriett: Grandmother
Rose
Pete: Nanny's boyfriend.

Everyone seems to have a motive.

In light of the latest discovery, Barclays has removed all of the glass in the home after Rose started collecting sharp objects. The removal of the glass symbolizes the family's attempt to protect Rose from potential harm, but it also hints at the fragile nature of their seemingly perfect life.

Stella sees Rose as an intelligent little girl, but she is hiding "The Stranger Beside Me," a book about the serial killer, Ted Bundy, within the covers of "Anne of Green Gables!"

We learn about Stella's complex past when her father died after swerving off the road to avoid a deer and smashed into a tree at the age of 36, and her mother turned to alcohol and drugs.

Why does Barclays seem hesitant to allow Stella to spend time alone with Rose?

My thoughts...

HOUSE OF GLASS is a thrilling, addictive domestic suspense about marriage, betrayal, family, and the secrets that push us to the edge.

Sarah Pekkanen has been a favorite author of mine since the early days of her contemporary titles, co-authored books, novellas, and latest thrillers. I have read them all and am a huge fan. No matter what genre she writes in, you can expect superb storytelling and well-developed characters that will keep you captivated from the first page to the last.

Atmospheric with Gothic vibes—the creepy mansion behind the iron gates and the sense of darkness lurking with every page turn create a chilling atmosphere that adds to the suspense and intrigue of the story combined with the suspecting characters and their hidden motives.

Everyone in the house is a suspect, even Rose, and the parallel story with Stella adds to the intrigue. Stella's own traumatic past and her growing concern for Rose's well-being create a multi-layered narrative that keeps readers guessing. Everyone seems to have a motive. Even Stella is in danger. Rose is a wild card, and you do not know what to expect from her and the silence.

Audiobook...

Drum roll, the audiobook is a must-listen performed by the fabulous award-winning actress, Laura Benanti: Tony® Award-winner and five-time Tony® Award nominee, a highly celebrated stage and screen actress. An outstanding performance! The characters come alive—Unputdownable! Highly recommend the audio.

Recs...

HOUSE OF GLASS is a clever cat-and-mouse whodunit thriller for fans of the author, and those of authors Mary Kubica, Sally Hepworth, B.A. Paris, and Kimberly Belle.

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, #MacAudio2024, and NetGalley for a gifted ARC and ALC for an honest opinion.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Aug 6, 2024
Aug 2024 Must-Read Books

This book was so fun, I absolutely loved it. I loved the characters, I loved the atmosphere, it was written so well. I think I read it in 24 hours.

This was an intriguing “whodunit” story! Just when I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong! I finished this in just over 24 hours. I could not get myself to put it down! The story was captivating and the chapters were short so I was definitely able to just keep turning the page. Loved this!

All the elements of a thriller from the hook on the first page, the twists and turns of the plot just when you felt safe, the satisfaction of knowing whodunit, to the surprise punch at the end that leaves you breathless. Great build of anticipation, lots of red herrings and creepiness, this is a sure book that you keep you reading page after page. How did the nanny die? Is a child capable of murder? And why isn't she talking? What does she know? It's a sure mystery to unravel, and much more than Stella Hudson bargained for when she was assigned as the attorney of interest for the child, Rose. What a great book to read this fall as the lights get low. Many thanks to #netgalley #houseofglass #sarahpekkanen #stmartinspress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

House of Glass is a binge worthy fast paced thriller! I have had this on my NetGalley TBR for so long and I am mad at myself waiting. I really enjoyed this from start to finish. The house is super creepy, the family is beyond weird and the child has a a life size “like me” doll and reads serial killer books. There are so many twist and turns in this book. I did figure out the main twist but didn’t see any of the others. I would definitely recommend to anyone who liked “Verity” and “Darling Girls”.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and St Martins Press for the gifted ARC.
“House of Glass” will be published on August 6, 2024

On the outside they were the golden family with the perfect life. On the inside they built the perfect lie.

✅️ great who did it mystery with tons of twists that will keep you guessing until the end. So many characters it could have been and clues for each along the way.
✅️ quick read that has you reading just one more chapter. Short chapter format that pulls you in as a reader.
✅️ parallel storylines. Story as much about the present day as it is the past.
✅️satisfying ending. This ending did not disappoint, feel rushed or leave anything vague.

Overall great quick read murder mystery thriller. Similar to: The Push, Gone Girl, or Girl on a Train.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on August 6, 2024.

A golden family, the suspicious death of a nanny, and a child whose silence holds the key...
Stella Hudson is assigned to work in the best interest of Rose Barclay, a little girl caught in between her parents divorce, but after the suspicious death of her nanny, Stella is caught in the midst of family drama and mystery as she tries to reach Rose and get her to speak.

HOUSE OF GLASS is a twisty thriller with a great pace and an interesting batch of characters. The book had a bit of a slow start, but by sticking with it through that initial start, I was drawn into a unique and twisty plot and thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the storyline.

HOUSE OF GLASS BY Sarah Pekkanen

Stella, Attorney
Charles friend of Stella

Family
Beth
Ian
Child Rose
Grandmother Harriet

Walter calls Stella one day asking her to take on a child custody case. Stella is to research the family and determine which parent would Rose be best to have full custody as they are both fighting for it. One problem exists, Rose doesn't talk. There was an "accident " where a woman (the maid) fell out of an upstairs window to her death. Ever since Rose refused to speak.
As Stella meets the family she feels a darkness in the house but she isn't clear where or with whom the darkness lies. As Stella gets to know each family member she learns more and more until all is revealed.

I loved this story as it was so exciting and kept me glued to the book till the end.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5/5 rounded up.

If you like creepy old house vibes and a family full of suspects, this book is for you!

Nine year old Rose Barclay’s nanny is dead. Was it suicide, an accident or a murder? Rose has not spoken since her Nanny’s body fell from a 3rd floor window onto the ground below. Her parents are divorcing and Stella, a lawyer appointed to children in divorce cases, is brought in to determine which parent should receive primary custody. But as Stella begins to uncover the secrets of the Barclay family, she begins to wonder if the person she is supposed to protect is the one she needs protection from.

I enjoyed this wonderfully paced thriller! It was interesting to learn about Stella’s past throughout the novel and see how everything wove together in her life aside from the main plot. I felt on the edge of my seat trying to figure out whodunnit through the whole book and felt it had a satisfying ending! It wasn’t necessarily a story with a lot of twists and turns but it didn’t need it in my opinion. The story stood on it’s own with just that perfect bit of creepy old house vibes plus enough mystery to keep you riveted and questioning all the characters! I did feel that a couple of details at the end didn’t totally make sense but they weren’t important to the over all story and can easily be overlooked if you are just in it for a ride! Excellent story telling, writing and just a lot of fun! Perfect summer thriller!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sarah Pekkanen for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sarah Pekkanen is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and I'm eagerly looking forward to any new books by her.. This latest twisty thriller did not disappoint. Stella is a best interest attorney, and while working with 8 year old Rose and her family, she relives her own childhood trauma.
Rose's young nanny recently plunged to her dead and while Stella tries to figure out how to help Rose, she also must investigate exactly what happened to the nanny. This book is keeping you on the edge of your seat.

What I liked:
This thriller had me hooked from the start. It has an interesting cast of characters and a smart FMC. The plot was linear and easier to follow. We got glimpses of the main character's past, without getting too bogged down in multiple timelines and POVs. This is an excellent early Fall read to get you in the mood for spooky season.

What I didn’t love:
The big twist at the end was foreshadowed pretty heavily and I think most readers will be able to figure it out.

For fans of:
First Lie Wins

Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martins Press for allowing me to read this EARC. All opinions contained in this review are honest, and my own.

I am a huge fan of Sarah Pekkanen, but this book for me……I struggled. It took me a good 2 weeks to get through and I only pushed through because of the author. I should have stopped at 34% when I wanted. Am I still a fan?? Absolutely and I will definitely read her next. I am in the minority with this book, it was just very boring to me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this copy.