House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: ebook and audiobook

- Creepy kid
- Creepy house
- Traumatic mutism
- Suspenseful - you won’t want to put it down
- DC setting
- Quick read

This book was creepy in the best way! I was reading it at night while my husband was out of town and got sufficiently SPOOKED.

I think this would make a good book club pick! So much to discuss.

I’ve heard mixed reviews about the audio, but I personally really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy of House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one and finished it in one sitting. Laura Benanti did a fantastic job with the audio and I was sucked in right away.

I had no idea what was going on in the thriller and I kept making guesses and wasn’t sure how it was going to end. I did like the twist and how everything came together.

I found the connection between Stella and Rose interesting and couldn’t help but looking into the theme of traumatic muteness.

The backstory on the Stella and a few other secondary characters helped move the story along and I was really connected to many of the characters because of their past.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this one especially if you are into thrillers that keep you on your toes.

This was a great suspense thriller. Sarah Pekkanen weaves a lot into this story. A nanny dies. The couple who live at the house are divorcing and a lawyer is sent over to help decide who should get custody. Oh, and dad's mom lives with them as well and it's the wife's money that supports their living style. On top of all this, the nine year old is no longer speaking after the trauma with her nanny. And, is it possible that the assigned lawyer was assigned because of the trauma she witnessed in her own life? There's lots to unravel is this story and I enjoyed every bit of it. Aug 2024

“Do you think children can be born evil?”

3.5 stars! This is a solid murder mystery with a creepy house devoid of any and all glass, a strange child, concerning family dynamics, and a nanny that plunged to her death in the family home.

The character development was great! I really enjoyed the peek into court appointed special interest attorney Stella’s childhood trauma and how that helped her help Rose Barclay, the poor nine-year-old caught in the middle of the chaos.

The audiobook was fantastic! The narrator did a great job bringing unique tones to each character and also harnessing the angst of the story as the mystery deepened. By the end she had me at the edge of my seat!

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, I think.”

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the ALC and ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Format: ALC from MacMillan Audio

I think few things are better than a book that is impossible for the reader to put down! Sarah Pekkanen knocked it out of the park with this one. Well known for her books she co-authored with Greer Hendricks, Pekkanen wrote House of Glass solo, and while last years Gone Tonight was more of a slow-burn mystery, House of Glass crosses over into suspense/psychological thriller territory- one of my personal favorite genres!

With creepy kids, rich people behaving badly, and clever twists and red herrings, this book was fun to read, and I ate it up in under 24 hours! I hope it will be a smashing success. (Forgive me for the pun, I can’t help myself) Thank you thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ALC of House of Glass, which is available now.

This is my first book by just Sarah only. It seems that something that follows her writing is the very unique premises of her stories.

This thriller was fed to us in just the right pace. Each new decision the MC made, we discovered things with her. I think the ending could have used more edge. But over all I truly appreciated this story.

Stella Hudson works as a best interest attorney, where her job is to recommend custody in divorce cases. Her new case is the Barclay family, where their 9 year old daughter Rose stopped speaking after her nanny died falling from the attic. Rose reminds Stella of her own traumatic past, making her want to help determine what is best for Rose. As Stella begins to dig into the relationships and past of the Barclay family, she discovers many secrets it seems the Barclays may kill to cover up. Stella has to solve the mystery of the nanny's death at the Barclay home while finally facing the secrets of her own past.

House of Glass is another stand-out thriller from Sarah Pekkanen. The book slowly peels bank new mysteries and confusing facts that Stella uncovers in her investigation. As Stella believes more and more that Rose or another member of the Barclay family had something to do with the death of their nanny, the book ramps up in intensity. Pekkanen balances this story with Stella's own investigation into her parents death and draws nice parallels that keep Stella and the narrative motivated. I enjoyed this book a lot and its unique perspective of a best interest attorney (taking up a role that is normally a detective). Rose Barclay was a complex character for Stella to examine and the book keeps tossing new twists at the reader throughout the book. Highly recommend this to thriller fans and anyone who has enjoyed Pekkanen's past works.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy of House of Glass in exchange for an honest review.

Fast pace and full of twists and turns that kept me glued to the story. The premise was intriguing and the setting, one that I am familiar with, had me invested from the start. Stella’s story was a little odd and I can see why it was added but I felt that throwing in the whole thing, not just the parts that were relevant, bogged the story down a little and could have been a novella on its own so it could be fully explored. Otherwise, I am once again enthralled by Pekkanen’s storytelling skills and look forward to the next.

Stella is a great female main character. She is trying to keep it together after her divorce all while trying to help her clients however she can. When she gets assigned to make a custody recommendation for Rose, who watched her Nanny fall to her death, Stella gets entwined in the Barclay family’s drama. I was never really able to decide on where I thought the story was going but when the climax hit I was gobsmacked. I enjoyed the side plot of Stella trying to figure out what happened to her Mum and the discovery of her real history with Charles.

The narrator was great and drew me into the story.

Thank to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook.

I’ve seen this book everywhere for months and I couldn’t wait to listen to it! If you enjoy domestic thrillers with family dysfunction, creepy, sinister vibes, and where EVERYONE is a suspect, this one is for you! I would definitely go in blind. I felt that it was fast paced and kept me hooked the whole way through.

I have listened to Laura Benanti before and she is incredibly talented, I loved her narration of this one! I always look forward to her performances.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

House of Glass had a lot going on. There are relationships and connections between characters that indicate a deep connection. The kinds of connections between people who will do anything for each other. While reading, our job is to discover who is trying to protect whom. Characters may have overstepped their rights and responsibilities but there are a few twists and turns that make me curious about the characters outside of this particular story.

Nine year old Rose witnesses her nanny fall to her death. Her death remains a mystery—was it a tragic accident, did she jump or was she pushed? Her parents are embroiled in a nasty divorce and an attorney is appointed as a special council for Rose. Ever since the accident Rose has not been able to say a word which makes it challenging for her attorney, Stella. In an effort to determine what is best for Rose, Stella finds herself investigating the events up to and including the nanny’s death. There are a lot of secrets and odd behavior from everyone involved, including Rose. Stella has no idea who to trust and finds herself in various dangerous situations.

This was a fast paced thriller that was filled with unreliable characters, I wasn’t sure who to believe!! This was well paced and delivered a solid ending that I wasn’t expecting. Stella’s backstory was another facet that delivered more tension that I found a little distracting at times, not a deal breaker though. I enjoyed the story,

The narration was done well and added the perfect amount of drama!!

3.5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stella Hudson is an attorney who works for the best interest of children. She usually works with teenagers, but her mentor has recommended she work on behalf of Rose Barclay, who may or may not be safe in her own home.

Rose is 9 and lives with her parents and her father’s mother. After an incident at school, she’s been homeschooled. Her grandmother teaches her, and she has a language tutor and a piano teacher. Her parents have filed for divorce, and the family court thought that Rose needed someone to step in and protect her interests, especially since her nanny died.

Tina was Rose’s nanny. Then she had an affair with Rose’s father, Ian, and got pregnant. She lived in their house, on the third floor attic, where she had a lovely room with large windows. It was one of those windows that she fell (or was pushed?) and did not survive the fall. Rose was in the garden with her grandmother when it happened, and she hasn’t spoken a single word since. And now Stella is coming in to try to figure out what’s best for Rose moving forward.

Stella’s mentor hand-picked her for this assignment because he knows her background. Her father was killed in a car accident when she was very young. Her mother turned to drinking to face her grief, and then to drugs. One night, she put Stella in the closet to keep her safe, and Stella stayed in that closet all night waiting for her mother to come and get her. Finally, Stella opened the door and found her mother on the floor, dead from an overdose. She was sent to live with an aunt who didn’t want her, and she didn’t speak for a long time.

But from the first time she shows up at the Barclay house, Stella feels that there are secrets being hidden by the family. Ian and his wife Beth are reluctant to let Stella have access to Rose, and Rose can’t speak for herself. When Stella tries to talk to Rose’s grandmother, she feels blocked by her too. There is clearly something going on in the house, but Stella can’t get through.

She notices that all there is no glass in the Barclay house. The picture frames have all had their glass removed, the drinking glasses are all plastic, and all the windows are being replaced by plexiglass. She sees Rose reading Anne of Green Gables, but when Stella looks more closely, she sees a book about a violent killer under the Anne book jacket. She talks to some of Tina’s friends and finds out that she’d had strange things happen to her in the house. Some of her things had gone missing, and she’d heard voices.

Stella tries to put together everything she learns about the Barclays and their house, but she can’t quite figure out what’s going on. Did Ian kill the nanny when he found out she was pregnant? Did Beth kill her because she slept with Beth’s husband? Was it an accident? Or could Rose have gotten angry with her nanny and hurt her? It is up to Stella to figure out what happened, so she can tell the court what will keep Rose safe.

But as Stella gets closer and closer to the truth, she also gets closer and closer to a killer. Will she survive long enough to protect Rose, or will Stella not be able to keep anyone safe?

House of Glass is a domestic thriller from bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen, and it is filled with twists. There are secrets layered with secrets, many of them hidden behind Rose’s mutism. The plotting is first-rate, with all the ups and downs you would expect from a author of this caliber. I raced through this book to find out just what was happening in that house, and I was not disappointed in that ending.

I listened to the audio book for House of Glass, narrated by Laura Benanti. I thought she did a beautiful job. One thing I noticed with the audio is how Stella sounded so young and naïve at times. It makes sense with her childhood, and I thought it served the story well, but I was impressed with how Benanti could bring that forward so smoothly without making Stella sound incompetent or unprofessional. I thought she did an excellent job with Stella’s voice, and listening to this book was a joy. If you’re a fan of a domestic thriller, you will not want to miss this one. It’s fantastic.

Egalleys for House of Glass were provided by St. Martin’s Press and an early copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

From the beginning I was hooked and loved the ride this book took me on. It is a mystery where I feel like I was questioning everyone in the story. There are multiple layers to the story but Rose a 9 year old is at the center of it and decisions need to be made about her safety and who she should live with as her parents go through a divorce. She recently witnessed the murder of her nanny but she won't talk to Stella (hired to decide what is best for Rose). Things in the house may not be as they seem and Stella brings a bit of baggage too!
The narrator for this book was fantastic, and I love this author and will continue to read future books!

3.5/5✨ rounded up

This was a refreshing "creepy kid" story in that the ending was both what I expected and didn't expect. I say that meaning that about halfway through I figured out "whodunit" expecting a twist that didn't come and that in itself was refreshing.

If you are looking for a quick-paced thriller this is it!

Nine year old Rose Barclay immediately stopped speaking when she possibly witnessed the murder of her nanny, amidst her parents bitter divorce.
Children's lawyer Stella Hudson is appointed to serve as counsel in Rose's custody case.
From the moment Stella enters the Barclay home she fears the family is far more troubled than she originally thought and the house has a creepiness that chills her to the bone. As Stella begins to uncover secrets, the Barclay's are desperate to hide, she realizes everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder including the one she is hired to protect.
Fast-paced, compelling and easy to follow this novel is a well-written page turner.
Narrator Laura Benanti did a superb job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Not my favorite by this author but it was still an entertaining, fast-paced domestic thriller with many layers, dark family secrets and some shocking twists I wasn't expecting. Good on audio and worth a read for thriller lovers. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was really fun! This is about our main character, Stella, who is a lawyer looking out for the needs of a 9 year old girl named Rose who saw her nanny get pushed/fall out of a window. Rose is now mute and the judge, Charles, knew Stella needed to be the lawyer on the case because she experienced trauma and went mute as a child too. She normally doesn't take clients that young because of said trauma, but Charles is a father figure for her so she does. She gets to know Rose, her mother and father, as well as her paternal grandma who lives with them. Rose is a super creepy kid and we try to figure out who killed the nanny. Overall, this was really intriguing. I didn't guess the who dunnit's motivation, but it wasn't completely out of left field. Overall, a good read!

I stayed interested throughout! I loved that Stella as an attorney of best interest; I'm not sure if that's a real thing but I thought it was a neat plot angle. Rose was a well written character, and there were some parts where I was a bit freaked out!

This was a great book! The premise of a child not being able to speak after experiencing a traumatic event was fascinating. The story pulled me in and held my interest, I couldn’t put it down, And the end! The twist! I didn’t see it coming! So well written. A must read!
The Audio was well made and easy to listen to.