A once picture-perfect family is going through a messy divorce. Both parents are fighting for sole custody. Their nanny plunged out a window to her death, but was it an accident? The nine-year-old girl caught in the middle who witnessed the event has traumatic mutism and collects sharp objects. Could one of the parents be a killer? Best Interest Attorney Stella never accepts clients under thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood, but her childhood mentor, a revered judge, thinks Stella is the only one who can help.

This grabbed me from the start and did not let go! It's super compelling and well-written, tense, suspenseful, and creepy. I loved the author's writing style and how she drew me ever deeper into the puzzle filled with revelations that constantly shifted my suspicions. And the subplot regarding Stella's childhood is also intriguing. I was so invested that I stayed up reading way past bedtime. The book's second half is unputdownable!

All of the characters were so vividly depicted, especially Stella and Rose. Both are complex and layered, and the story examines some facets of childhood trauma through them. This was my first book by this author, but it will not be my last. I loved this!


Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the free book!

It has been awhile since I have read something beside a romcom, and this was a nice break! I love a good whodunnit, and this one is so well written! We have the Barclay family…who was all home at the time of the nanny’s murder…and it could have been any of them. But Stella is there for the best interest of the daughter, Rose. Who is mute, and a little creepy. As Stella gets to know the family to determine the best interest of Rose’s custody arrangement, she starts to investigate who actually murdered Tina as well. It is a slow burn to the finish line, leaving many chapters ending on cliffhangers to force you to keep going! I loved that about the book. And I switched my thoughts on who did it many times. And while I loved that whole storyline….there was something that really bothered me towards the end of the book.

While I like to get to know the characters and their backstories….you have Stella who is going through a divorce herself from Marco. And there are scenes where she is feeling lonely and stuff. But out of no where towards the end of the book, Stella finds herself attracted to the female detective. Like what???? There was no implication anywhere in the book that she was going through some change or self discovery. I feel like almost every book now has some sort of LGBTQ+ character in it and it’s fine if it makes sense in the book. But for our lead character to all of a sudden switch? Felt like a cash grab to me, or the author trying to find a way to weave it into our story to be listed as a LGBTQ+ novel for social points or something. It really took the book from a 5 star to like a 3.5. It was out of no where and forced rushed in at the end. We already had enough side stories with Stella and her divorce, her father-like relationship with her mentor Charles, Marcos mom, the neighbor, etc….it just didn’t make sense.

Bottom Line: Read it! Overall, despite my gripes, I really enjoyed this one.

**I received an ARC copy of House of Glass. All opinions are my own.**

this is one of the more popular arcs i’ve seen going around and i really didn’t know what to expect since i wasn’t reading other reviews but i can wholeheartedly say that this is a solid thriller.

there is a complicated FMC which i always love no matter the genre, there was backstory and points in time where the details were so small that i thought nothing of it until it came up later.

by the end of the story i feel like there were no loose strings to be tied and the story ended in a way that made the most sense for the direction we were going in.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC. 5 stars.
This book had me hooked from the beginning. We are first introduced to Stella who has been assigned as the best interest attorney for 9 year old Rose Barclay. Stella will decide who will receive custody of Rose after the divorce of her parents Beth and Ian. As Stella gets to know the family, including Rose’s grandmother Harriet who lives in their basement, and Rose herself who has become mute after the sudden death of her nanny, many secrets are revealed and she starts seeing a darker side to the family. Was her nanny murdered, was it an accident, was someone in the family involved? And on top of that, Stella notices every piece of glass in the house has been removed and the house has a creepy, dark vibe.
This thriller has many twists and turns that are sure to keep the reader on the edge of their seat! A definite must read!

4.5 stars rounded up. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. As soon as I started this book I knew it would be one I wouldn’t want to put down. I flew through it because I was so invested in the plot and curious about the overall outcome.

This book is the epitome of the ideal suspense/thriller for me — creepy, but not too much so. Twisty yet occasionally predictable. The setting was eerie, with many characters suspects in a murder.

I found the story itself to be enthralling, unique, and full of surprises. The characters were interesting, and the deep dive into various forms of trauma was well executed. I liked how everything was tied up nicely and explained at the end as well.

There’s a lot more I could say, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Definitely read this when it comes out!

Pub date: August 6, 2024

I had been in a horrible reading slump, so I was a little worried when I picked this book. I typically love everything by Sarah Pekkanen, but I was in a funk, and I was worried I wasn't going to be able to get into it. Despite being in a reading slump, I was instantly hooked the moment I picked it up! There's something about a creepy kid story that really gets your heart pounding, right?

The twists and turns in this book were unexpected but entirely believable. The pacing was spectacular, giving me just the right amount of information to keep me invested at every moment. That's always the mark of a good thriller for me.

The story begins with Stella, a passionate advocate, delving into the case of Rose, a mute nine-year-old girl embroiled in a custody battle. Uncovering the secrets necessary to protect Rose from being placed with the wrong parent becomes Stella's mission.

The eerie mansion setting adds a spooky atmosphere, even though it isn't exactly haunted. Sarah, the author, skillfully leads readers down one path only to surprise them with clever twists. The plot is full of suspense, and I couldn't stop listening to the audiobook. The narration was exceptional, making the story even more captivating.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars-I love Sarah Pekkanen’s books. The blurb on this one was so interesting, a 9 year old girl witnesses her nanny falling to her death. The suspects: mom and dad, going through a fairly amicable divorce (but the nanny was pregnant with daddy o’s baby, so there’s that little hiccup.) The mother in law (lives in the basement- uses cane-chief homeschooler of the child.) Last but not least, Rose the 9 year old who has traumatic mutism after the incident. Enter Stella, the BAI (best attorney interest) whose job is to determine who should have custody. This is one of those everyone is a suspect novels with some childhood trauma for Stella as well. I liked this book, but it was not as good as others I have read by the main character. The ending was just a bit too over the top in my opinion. However, I did like the explanation of the book title. Thank you to three publisher and NetGalley for the arc. I will be looking forward to the author’s next book.

I really enjoyed this who dunnit type mystery with muc me guessing!! Characters were likeable. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the ARC!

This sucked me in from the first page. I like the characters and how relatable they were. I did kind of guess the twists but overall it was still a great read.

I did enjoy reading this and recommend it to others.

Soooooo good! I flew through this. The well written chapters are short and the suspense builds quickly. The twists had me questioning everything. This is a summer must read! I really liked it.
Thank You to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to enjoy a widget of House of Glass.

Wow. What a great psychological thriller!! I love a good whodunnit murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. I went into this completely blind & wanted to read it solely because I love the author. I had a few theories on who did it but I was still surprised at the end. I loved every second of it & couldn’t put it down

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I'm glad to see Sarah Pekkanen is writing solo again, nothing against Hendricks. I found in the duo writing team that the main characters were purposely written as unlikeable. In House of Glass, the narrator is a sympathetic character, Stella Hudson. Stella was orphaned at a young age and found her mother dead, which led to a period of traumatic mutism. Stella's mother died of a suspected drug overdose, but there was an unidentified man in the apartment that night. Stella was hiding in a small closet for hours, which later explains her claustrophobia.

Stella graduated and went to law school with help from a benefactor, a lawyer named Charles. Their initial encounter was somewhat suspicious to me, but we understand why later in the book. Stella's job is to observe families going through divorce and custody negotiations and make determinations to recommend custody to the judge. She usually represents teenagers, but Charles asks her for a favor to help the Barclay's. Rose is 9 years old and afflicted with mutism after witnessing her nanny Tina dying, falling out a window. Rose's mother, Beth, is wealthy beyond imagination. The father was having an affair with the nanny. It was revealed that Tina was pregnant. Then there's Ian's mother, Harriet, who lives in the home and homeschools Rose. Harriet has a knee injury, so she lives with her son's family.

The oddest thing is that after Tina died going through the window, all the glass was removed from the home and replaced with plastic & plexiglass. Stella doesn't exactly buy into the explanation that Beth has developed a phobia. Stella witnesses Rose taking a piece of broken glass and putting it in her pocket. Why is Rose hoarding potential weapons? Is she a child sociopath or is something else going on? It's Stella's job to figure it out. She's very clever but can she outwit whomever may have killed Tina? I was somewhat pleasantly surprised at the identity of the person who was behind creepy things happening in the house.

Meanwhile, Stella is going through a divorce herself because her ex wants kids and she doesn't. She finds herself looking into her mother's death. She also meets Detective Garcia, who offers to help her. There was a little quid pro quo going on that I didn't quite like. But Stella finds herself attracted to her when she's never been into women before. While I was a little skeptical, I liked the idea of Stella moving on with another partner. Stella has to do her job to protect Rose and face danger. The ending was good but a little hard to believe the way it happened. I had my suspicions about the person, but the believability factor was a bit much.

4/5☆ trigger warning for drugs, addiction, and harm to children. (Nothing too violent but the implied threat) book is out August 6, 2024.

Stella’s job as a Best Interest Attorney has her fighting for the best interests of children. But when her latest case is a child whose trauma causes her to go mute, the case hits so close to home that she wants to make sure she gets to the bottom of what happened. She finds that when Roses nanny Tina turns up dead, Rose refuses to speak about the manner. Stella plans on uncovering the best interests of Rose, all while digging into her own experiences. The secrets that she finds, however, are unexpected.

House of Glass is a well written with twists and turns that keeps you guessing to the end.

Stella is a court appointed lawyer for nine year old Rose who is the subject of a custody dispute.

Recently due to the traumatic death of her nanny Rose is suffering from traumatic mutisim so its up to Stella to try and come up with what she believes is to be the best interest of Rose.

Rose is a handful and lives with her Mum, Dad and Grandmother.

All are keeping secrets, all are misleading.

Questions remain about the nanny's death and I suspected everyone in the family at some point.

Sarah Pekkanen takes the reader down the path of twists and turns full of people that are more than suspicious and a tad unlikeable.

I highly recommend House of Glass, it was a book I could not put down until the final page.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a page turning read.

Stella is assigned to observe a child, Rose, and her parents and recommend who she should live with after her parents’ divorce. There is just a tiny problem. A traumatic event has caused Rose to become mute. This will be a tough case for Stella to crack. Great read!

Read if you like:
😬 Suspense
❓ Unreliable Narrator
☠️ Unsolved Murders
🔎 Everyone is a Suspect
🙊 Trauma induced Mutism

This mysterious book truly is a suspense meets family drama with the case of the mysterious death of the live in Nanny for young Rose.

We find out that truly everyone in this family is a suspect as Stella is trying to do her assessment to determine who Rose should live with on the heels of her parents filing for divorce after the death of their Nanny, who, was pregnant with the husband’s baby.

The main players aka suspects in the Nanny’s death are:
The Wife- who is a bit sketch and afraid of glass
The Cheating Husband- who is also sketchy
The Grandma- who is sketchy AF
Rose- sketchy and has some anger issues

So basically they are all sketchy and to add to it, our narrator is a bit (a lot) too involved and crosses some boundaries that are sketchy, all because of her backstory of being home when her mother died when she was a young girl under suspicious circumstances which led to her having trauma induced mutism too- so her tie to Rose is strong with this connection.

But as Rose’s behavior along with the rest of the family’s behavior gets more and more alarming and weird things begin to happen, Will Stella get to the root and come out alive?

I really enjoyed this book and I felt like the audio was well done, unfortunately it felt like other domestic/suspense/thrillers and didn’t feel like it brought something new to this plot type that hasn’t been done before so while entertaining it will be a more average read for me personally.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ARC and ALC in exchange for my review!

Stella, urged by her father-like mentor, has become legal advocate for nine year old Rose in the custody battle of her parents, Beth and Ian Barclay. Young Rose suffers from a traumatic mutism, seemingly caused by witnessing her pregnant nanny’s dead body thrown from an upstairs bedroom in her house. Stella herself had suffered trauma that had left her mute when she was young. From early moments Stella senses a dark current running throughout the house where Rose lives with her parents and paternal grandmother. Each one of the house occupants, including Rose who behaves at times in a sinister, frightening manner, are potential suspects. There are twists and turns and an overall claustrophobic atmosphere in the main plot. Unfortunately, much time is spent with Stella’s personal issues, answering old questions. I have read Sarah Pekkanen’s novels and have always enjoyed the quick-paced suspenseful storylines. This work disappointed me.

Rose Barclay, a nine year old girl, witnessed her nanny’s death and suffers from mutism due to the trauma of the incident. Stella Hudson, whom equally suffered childhood trauma that led to mutism, is the best interest attorney tasked to identify which parent should have primary custody of Rose after their divorce.

As Stella spends time assessing the family, she starts noticing odd behaviors and quickly suspects Rose had something to do with her nanny’s death. The family goes to odd lengths to protect Rose and come up with all sorts of excuses for her behavior, leading Stella to question everyone’s part in tragedy and finding herself in danger.

My thoughts:
I really liked the plot of the book — a creepy kid and a strange family is a pretty solid backbone for a book but the ending didn’t have that jaw dropping factor I was hoping for. I did, however, keep listening to find out about Rose. I was fascinated by her character and kept hoping to see more of her story.

This was the first time I listened to narrator Laura Benanti and felt she did a great job bringing the characters to life.

Pub Date: August 6, 2024

Thanks so much to @macmillan.audio & @stmartinspress for an ALC and e-ARC of this book!

Wow! What a ride! This book grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go until the end. I am still breathless and my heart is still pumping from this thriller. Must read!

This was such a crazy, tense book. Sarah did a great job of making you feel inside the MC’s head — you didn’t trust anyone and you felt a little crazy. Rather than crazy twists and turns, the power of knowledge and secrets and perception really drove this book.

I really liked the connection of the daughter and the MC (and it had me teary eyed at the end). I kept needing to know what happened and couldn’t stop reading - it felt like a time bomb was going to go off. I also appreciated the MC’s attention to detail and meticulous, smart thoughts. Loved it!