This is a great book to add to your summer reading list. I was hooked from the very first chapter and the plot just kept getting more and more interesting with each chapter. I really liked how there were multiple layers to the mystery; it made for a fast and interesting read!

House of Glass was amazing! When a young nanny is pushed to her death, the police begin to investigate. But her young charge, Rose won't speak. She has been diagnosed with traumatic speech loss. A child behaviorist is hired to come interview the family and get some insight into the events and also who Rose should be living with since her parents are divorcing. But everything in the house is made of plexiglass, and all sharp objects are hidden from Rose. Is Rose the one who pushed her nanny or is something more sinister at play?

An eerie and bone-chilling novel about Stella, the best interest lawyer, taking on a new client, The Barclay, in regards to who would be best to take care of Rose, a gifted and exceptionally bright 8-year-old who is suffering from “trauma mutism” after witnessing her nanny’s death. Was Tina, the nanny pushed, or had she committed suicide? The parents and everyone in that family are not as transparent as they want everyone to believe. They are covering up something. A strong possibility is that Rose isn’t as sweet and innocent as she would like you to believe.

In each chapter, we are led to a different conclusion of who would make the better parent, and all the while, we see how Stella and Rose are similar and yet very different. We start to wonder if Sweet Rose is the devil incarnate.

An absolute must for those who love a good thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book!

I have always loved Sarah Pekkanen’s books and started reading them when she first wrote Rom-Com. Her ability to write on another genre is fluid and incredible!! I loved House of Glass and did not see all the twists and turns. I highly recommend this novel and that you go in blind!!

5 STAR QUICK READ

The first half of this book was good with wind up moments and moments of de ja vu that kept me interested and guessing

I had good expectations from the book but there were parts of the sub plot about Stella and her trauma that took away from the mystery of who killed Tina De La Cruz that slowed down the book a little bit. Ultimately the end cleaned up too nicely and I wish there was some more ambiguity about the ending and who did it. I think it would have been better as a cliffhanger ending leaving the reader with some suspense and doubt in their mind.

Thanks to NetGalley for my early copy! OUT on August 6, 2024

I flew through this one, reading and listening late into the night. House of Glass hooked me from the beginning: who killed Rose's nanny? Was it the family Tina worked for, or is her young charge, Rose, the culprit? This was such a unique psychological thriller because the protagonist/investigator is a child advocacy lawyer working for Rose's interests. Stella, Rose's lawyer, had a traumatic childhood herself, which makes her uniquely suited for helping Rose. There were so many secrets in Rose's and Stella's families, and the unraveling of them makes for some exciting reading. This is a wonderful, quick read with an early autumn setting--highly recommended as a book or on audio! Thank you to Netgalley, Libro.fm, St. Martin's, and the author for the librarian preview copies.

I have an unpopular opinion about this book. It just wasn't for me. I have enjoyed other books by this author however, this one just didn't hold my interest. I didn't like the characters and I felt the book was too long. I thought the storyline of Stella and Charles could've been left out.

Stella is working with the Barclays, a rich DC family, on their custody battle that is following their nanny dying from falling from the top floor of their home. Their daughter, Rose, has gone mute and that is similar to what happened to Stella as a kid. Stella has an uneasy feeling every time she is at their home and the grandmother that lives there as well gives her the creeps. Something else she finds strange is that anything that is glass has been replaced with with thick plastic. Although they look like the perfect family from the outside, they are farm from it.

This book had me guessing the entire time! As soon as I thought I figured out who did it, something would happen that made me second guess myself. There are a good core group of potential suspects to keep up with and I did not think that there were too many, just the typical suspects. The mom, the dad, the boyfriend, the kid, and the grandmother who also lived in the house. I did think the relationship between the dad and his mom was weird with how much she was going to bat for the mom to have sole custody instead of her own son. Overall, it was a great read!

WOW! This page turner grabbed me from the beginning and would not let me go! Sarah Pekkanen has written another great thriller and she dials up the creepy factor on this one. Creepy kid, creepy parents, creepy grandmother, creepy house! House of Glass was fast paced, full of twists, had captivating characters and was simply a great read. I'm still thinking about it! Highly recommend!

This book is amazing! I finished it days ago and I cannot stop thinking about it. Our girl works as a guardian ad litem for teens (basically an attorney for teens, a very important and complicated job. When her "godfather" asks her to take on a case with a 8/9 year old girl who has gone mute she reluctantly agrees. On her first observation she sees the little girl pick up a sharp piece of glass and hide it in her pocket.
Oh and the girl's pregnant nanny was recently murdered or fell at their house. So she's got to look into that as well.
It starts to look like the child might be evil but she keeps at it. Love that for her.
Our protagonist is unpacking her own traume throughout the book as well. This was very compelling. I was hooked all the way through.
The ending was amazing!

✦ House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen ✦
★★★★★ 5/5 stars!
Pub Date : Aug 6, 2024

✦ Read if you like :
-nail biting suspense
-creepy houses
-creepier kids
-traumatic mutism/weird phobias
-DC setting
-everyone is a suspect- literally EVERYONE
-short, bingeable chapters
-Books that would make great bookclub or buddy reads
-The Turn of the Key but 100x better!

✦ My Thoughts
Sarah Pekkanen was one of my first favorite thriller authors. Am I her biggest fan? Probably😍 I have read everything she's written (both solo + co-authored) & her 2023 title Gone Tonight was one of my top reads last year. Excited is an understatement when I got this new release!

Eerie, unsettling, & so so good. I couldn't put this book down. I DEVOURED IT.

With short, binge worthy chapters that kept me on the edge of my seat, palpable suspense & writing that gets you completely invested- this is the recipe for a perfect page turner.

I love how this book was like piecing together a big puzzle - you just have to keep reading to see how the big picture comes together.

House of Glass is a 10/10! I am only sad that we have to wait until August for it to hit the shelves! Add this to your TBR RIGHT NOW! This is a must read for thriller lovers - trust me, you aren’t gonna want to miss this one!

thanks to @netgalley, @macmillan.audio , @stmartinspress, + @sarahpekkanen for the opportunity to read this arc ◡̈

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen was a really good book. I found myself staying up late to keep reading to try to figure out what was happening and where the story was going. There was plenty of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. I overall enjoyed this book and would recommend to others.

Thank you so much NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my second book by Pekkanen & I have the same thoughts I did for the first one; it was just fine. I loved the short chapters, that’s always a plus. The overall premises of the book was great. I loved getting to know Rose’s story more as the book went on. However I viewed this as more of a “locked room mystery”. Where we have 4 main people at the scene of the crime, but overall I narrowed it down to two almost immediately. I felt this book was a bit longer than it needed to be and I didn’t really find myself caring much about Stella’s background, but that’s just me. Overall it was a good read, but wasn’t fantastic.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

Rose is a young girl who has lost the ability to speak following the tragic death of her nanny. The nanny who was sleeping with her father breaking up her family. Stella is hired as her court appointed advocate to help figure out the best place for her in this tumultuous time. Immediately, Stella realizes something is wrong with this family. Everyone has motive, including young Rose.

I thought this was a solid mystery, but it didn’t feel pulse pounding to me. I thought the backstory for Stella was to try to add that paranoia and pressure, but it just didn’t work for me. I easily figured out that sub-plot. The main plot was good though, reminded me of Baby Teeth or The Push at times.

4.5 rounded to 5 stars. This is a crafty psychological thriller filled with lies & deception set in a house where everyone is suspect. A satisfying read with memorable & relatable characters and an original storyline that kept me turning the pages. It doesn’t matter if you figure out the killer because the why is what makes the story.

I highly recommend this novel & will be reading more by this author.

Favorite Line: “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. Once it homes in on a target, its malevolent arc of electricity affixes to its prey.”

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Sarah for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️
House of Glass is a psychological, twisty thriller that will keep you turning pages until the end.
Stella Hudson, a lawyer appointed to serve as a counsel for children in custody cases, is assigned a new client, Rose Barclay. Rose is a nine year old girl who is not only in the middle of a custody dispute, she also recently had her nanny tragically fall to her death from their family’s wealthy estate out of a top floor window. Rose is now experiencing traumatic mutism and cannot speak. Stella’s job is to uncover what is in Rose’s best interest, while also learning about who might be involved in the nanny’s mysterious death.
Stella’s past history of a traumatic childhood event also enters the storyline as she investigates her own mother’s mysterious death.

What I Liked: Quick read, multiple suspects, the setting of the family’s mansion was definitely creepy, intriguing & sometimes sinister characters, a couple of twists, and a well wrapped up ending

What I didn’t like: everyone is a suspect, even the child

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s press, and the author for an ARC of this book set to release August 2024.

Thank you Netgalley for an early reading of this book. I have enjoyed this authors previous books and this one was no different. I was intrigued from the start and enjoyed the dual story lines, both a mystery. I figured out this one but that didn’t keep me from enjoying reading how it all played out. Pekkanen did a great job achieving a creepy vibe. I recommend this one.

This is a interesting slow burn psychological thriller for fans of mystery and creepy kids. I liked it. Although I don't know if it is one I'll remember or reread, it kept me engaged throughout. If you're looking for a solid thriller, this is worth a read.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
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After reading and loving Gone Tonight, I was super stoked to get an early copy of House of Glass! I was able to listen to this one while simultaneously read it on my kindle which is a huge favorite of mine.
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Stella a best interest attorney is working with Rose Barclay during her parents' divorce after the death of Rose’s nanny. Here’s the catch, Rose is now mute, and this has “creepy kid” vibes written all over it and I really enjoyed following this story. Throughout the entire book I didn’t know who to trust and I was constantly shifting suspicion as to what I thought really happened.
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Told in a dual timeline, the reader gets a glimpse into Stella’s past and in the present day with Stella and Rose. I really loved how much I couldn't figure out what was going on with the Barclay family. They were all so strange and shady. The entire thought proves behind the "glass" was a great little touch. House of Glass is more of a slow - steady paced book. It held my attention throughout. The ending is more fast paced and thrilling. I really did not see that coming, not one bit though once I thought about it, it wasn't overly shocking either.
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I listened to this one via audiobook. It was narrated by Laura Benanti. I though she did a phenomenal job at driving home the eeriness of the house and really nailed those suspenseful moments out of the park. I am highly recommending listening to this one!
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House of Glass will release on 8/6, be sure to get this one - it is very very good! Mystery / thriller fans will be loving this one. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, MacMillan Audio and St. Martins Press for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent story, well developed cast of family members and law enforcement figures of all types.

When a child is determined to need an outsider to determine the best placement for the child, who better than an attorney who has been that child in need herself? In this story, the parents are getting divorced and it's a nasty one. The grandmother lives with them and the live in nanny has just died a sudden death; accidental or intentional? Was it a parent/grandparent or maybe even the child who witnessed or caused the death? Add in the fact that the child has not spoken since it happened.

The attorney who has to investigate has her own traumas to deal with such as wondering how and why her mom died leaving her in need of a caretaker and the fact that this aunt caretaker certainly had no nurturing skills to work with.

Very well done and once again I thoroughly enjoyed a book by this author. Well worth reading. Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.