House of Glass is narrated by a Guardian ad Litem (Stella) who either goes way above and beyond OR crosses professional boundaries and perhaps breaks the law, for the sake a of a little girl that reminds her of herself (Rose). In a household that banishes all things glass (plexiglass windows, boat-safe non-shattering mirrors, plastic glassware) after a fatal accident involving Rose's nanny, the little girl is either a target for or a perpetrator of violence. It's not immediately clear and the lives of several people will be forever changed no matter what Stella discovers as truth. She works tirelessly to uncover Rose's family's secrets...also, surprisingly, finding the time and energy to dig into her own distant past trauma.

This was a quick read for me, and it was able to keep my interest even though I had trouble connecting with Stella, mostly due to her unprofessionalism and her backstory being less compelling than the current mystery.

The narrator in the audiobook version wasn't my favorite...mostly because her soothing voice coupled with some of the longer, descriptive writing passages made it hard for me to keep focused. Also, the grandmother character was supposedly only in her 60's but she was voiced like someone in her 90's. It changed the character for me and made the elements with grandma less believable in the end.

Overall, a worthwhile thriller. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

A big thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I first discovered Sarah Pekkanen through her collaborations with Greer Hendricks and have been a fan ever since. This book did not disappoint. I loved the slow burn and the eerie sense of questioning human capabilities. Exploring what a child might be capable of and the lengths parents will go to protect their family kept me on edge, and Pekkanen truly delivered on this front! While the narration wasn’t my favorite, the writing was top-notch and kept me thoroughly engaged and listening

4.5 stars rounded up.

This is the first novel I've read by Sarah Pekkanen and it won't be the last. I love a good thriller that keeps me guessing all the way to the end. The book focuses Stella, an amicus attorney, who is tasked to determine the best interest of a young girl (Rose) in the contentious case of her wealthy parents' divorce. Rose's parents are divorcing after her father had an affair with the nanny, who subsequently fell to her death from the family's home in a suspected murder. The novel features childhood selective mutism, as Rose has refused to speak since her nanny's death. Stella relates to Rose on a personal level, as she also had selective mutism following a childhood trauma.

Stella's childhood trauma, which clouds her judgement and leads to internal conflict about Rose's case, was a great way to make her an unreliable narrator. Along with Stella, we are second guessing who could be the killer all the way to the end, even suspecting Rose! My favorite types of thrillers are those that weave elements of psychology in a nuanced and believable way, and this book definitely delivers!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an audiobook in exchange for my review.

I listened to the audio of this book and I really enjoyed it! It's got great suspense and keeps you intrigued to the end. I was a little disappointed there wasn't a bigger plot twist, but all in all it's a solid thriller! Highly recommend.

On the surface, the Barclays appear to lead the perfect existence in their palatial home tucked away in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Beth, an heiress to millions, is married to Ian, a handsome and doting father to their prodigious young daughter, Rose, who is full of academic and artistic promise. But when their nanny, Tina, mysteriously plunges to her death at the Barclay estate, the murder investigation and exposed secret affair between Ian and Tina threatens to shatter the family’s golden image for good.

Stella Hudson is the best interest attorney appointed to represent 9-year-old Rose after Beth and Ian file for divorce and fight for sole custody. Stella, who sees much of her own traumatic past in her new young client, quickly discovers not everything that glitters is gold. As Stella spends more time with young Rose, who can no longer speak due to trauma-induced mutism, she becomes obsessed with finding out who killed Tina in this gripping psychological thriller that was hard for me to put down.

This story is fast-paced with cliffhanger chapter endings and twists I never saw coming. I’m used to mystery thrillers starting off strong and slowing down halfway through, but this kept me racing through. The narration by Laura Benanti was the icing on the cake for me.

CW: child abuse, drug abuse

Thank you to NetGalley for this ALC!

House of Glass
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sarah Pekkanen did it again. This book was so good. I couldn't put it down. I read it all in one sitting. It was a great Thriller that you won't have it figured out till the end. This was a complete story with lots of twist & turns. Be sure to add this book to your Beach bag. I read the book & the Audio. The narrator was really good.
Thank you NetGalley!

This was an interesting little thriller. I don't read very many thrillers because I find myself irritated or bored, This one held my interest the entire time and overall, I enjoyed it. The premise sounds straight off any AI description of what a thriller is. The ending was basically what I expected it to be yet it kept me hooked the entire time.

When I read the description for this book I knew it was one that I would have to read. I had so many questions: What did Rose see? Why can’t/won’t she talk about it? Was the nanny suicidal? Was she pushed/killed? Who did it and why? Nothing like a good who done it. Highly recommended!!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for gifting me this book in exchange for my honest review

I switched between Audio and E on this and I really enjoyed both. I loved the dynamic between the characters. I found it difficult to trust them all and did not like what they had to say (or did not have to say) through most of the book. There were creepy and chilling scenes that definitely had me on the edge of my seat. I figured out the ending pretty quickly, but it did not stop me from enjoying how the book played out. I liked the story line - a nanny falls (or is pushed) from a window and dies. The child she is watching becomes mute from the trauma. A lawyer is assigned to figure out which parent should have custody in their divorce. The Grandma was with the child when the Nanny died. The lawyer has her own traumatic past, which adds to the drama of the book. Overall, this was really well done and enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copies.

This story focuses on Rose Barclay, a nine-year-old child who has witnessed the murder of her nanny Tina. Tina is found on the ground outside of the Barclay home after being pushed out of a glass window of the house. We soon discover that Tina was pregnant and was having an affair with Rose's father Ian Barclay. Meanwhile Ian Barclay and his wife Beth Barclay are going through a divorce, and they both want custody of their daughter Rose.
Stelly Hudson, a family court attorney is requested by the court to help the court decide which parent should receive full custody of nine-year-old Rose. Stella soon discovers that Rose has not spoken since the murder of her nanny Tina. She has gone mute, and she seems to have a number of secrets she is trying to keep hidden. Stella who is a survivor of trauma, and who has also experienced not speaking for months after the death of her mother at a young age. While helping Rose and trying to get her to open up to her Stella begins to revisit her own trauma. There's a lot going on in this book, but the main objective is to figure out the mystery of who pushed the nanny out of the glass window. Who did it?
Since the murder, Beth Barclay has ordered that all the glass has be removed from the house, and the house has become plastic. Glass windows are replaced with plastic, and all glass items are replaced. As Stella gets closer to figuring out who may have pushed the nanny out of the window, she must also keep the murderer from killing her too.
If you like a good mystery thriller where you look for clues to see who killed the nanny in the Barclay house.
I want to thank Net Galley, Macmillian audio and St. Martin's press for the opportunity to listen to the audio. I highly recommend this thriller.

Sarah Pekkanen continues to deliver in a manner that solidifies her place on my list of “must read” authors. She’s earned another gold medal in ‘House of Glass’ with this 4.5 star read I’m bumping up to 5 stars.

Enthralling, thrilling, and smart I was immediately invested in the story of a young girl, Rose, who tragically witnessed the death of her nanny who fell through a window in the family home, landing on the backyard patio in front of her. Due to this life changing event, Rose is experiencing trauma based mutism. To make things even more challenging, Rose’s parents are going through a divorce in light of the news that Rose’s father had an affair with the nanny. With both parents fighting custody, outside mediation is needed.

Stella Hudson is brought on as a BIA, Best Interest Attorney, to determine what is best for the child. In order to make this determination, she needs to speak with and spend time with the entire family, including Rose, who currently isn’t speaking. Stella’s mentor, Charles, is the one who brought the case to Stella and suggested she take it due to what she experienced as a young girl, causing trauma based mutism in her as well.

The more time Stella spends with the family, the more she questions what really happened to the nanny; people don’t usually just fall through windows on the upper level of a house. If Rose’s mom or dad was involved in the death, it would greatly impact Stella’s decision of who should be granted custody of Rose.

But when Stella sees Rose picking up a shard of glass to put in her pocket, she begins to think the unthinkable. Maybe Rose grew angry with her nanny sleeping with her father, resulting in the final straw in her parents already strained marriage, leading to their divorce. Then Stella realizes all of the glass in the house, including family photos and mugs in the kitchen, have all been replaced with plastic. What has this family done? Who is guilty? And is the family protecting Rose or are they afraid of her?

Again, this was brilliantly told from start to finish! I always look forward to a thriller from Sarah Pekkanen and recommend this to all thriller lovers! This released August 6th so make sure to secure your copy!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to both read then listen to this in exchange for honest feedback. The audiobook narrator did a marvelous job bringing the story and characters to life!

I couldn't put this one down! It kept me guessing until the end. The narrator is fantastic. I will be definitely recommend this to fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley. As a long time NW DC and MD resident, it was fun to see how well the author placed her setting and I definitely recognized some places.

I liked this book but didn't love it. It just didn't WOW me like her other books have. But it was still good. I did find it easy to figure out. I was spot on correct in who did what and why... But it was still very good. This author always delivers good books.

The narrator of this one was not as good as I had hoped. She did good but some words she just dragged out a bit to much. Still she did ok and I enjoyed listening.

This is a story about a little girl. In a way it's about two little girls.

Rose who lives in a big house with everything she wants. Possibly not everything she needs though. Her parents are getting a divorce. Her grandma is crippled in a way. Walks with a cane and seems to be crazy about Rose. There is a dead nanny and Rose saw her fall. Rose can't talk, she is mute due to the trauma. She actually loved her nanny.

Stella who is working with the the lawyers to determine who Rose should live with. Stella found her own mother dead when she was just a child and also became mute after. She feels a connection to Rose. She wants more than anything to save her. To protect her. But she is also a bit afraid of Rose.

The house Rose lives in has absolutely no glass anywhere in it. Not the windows, cabinets, no mirrors. Nowhere. Not even the picture frames. Seems Rose might like to collect broken shards of glass.

This story is very good. Very well written and will keep you guessing. Mostly. I did figure out who did what and why. In two parts I figured out the motives. That didn't really take away from the story though. The characters were fairly likable. After you get to know them that is. What took away from this story for me was feelings. I just had no feelings when reading it. No tears, laughter, happiness. Nothing. But again I did like it.

Thank you #NetGalley, #SarahPekkanen, #StMartinsPress, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4/5 stars.

What happened to Tina, the nanny? We have the cheating husband Ian, sus mother Beth, also sus grandmother Harriet who has a seemingly tight relationship with our young, smart, sneaky, trauma induced mute 9 year child Rose. Stella who has her past traumas as well, is tasked to assess Rose on her future wellbeing.

this mystery thriller has me guessing from the beginning, thinking I knew the who from the beginning, but that wasn’t the case in the end. I always say there’s something about thrillers with creepy little kids, and Rose was just that. I’ve read one other book by SP and she knows how to bring the creepy, suspenseful, twisty mystery thrillers! I’ll just say don’t focus on one thing because those twists will catch you off guard!

The audiobook was also amazing! New to me narrator Laura Benanti brought the thrill factor throughout the story with each character as well. She was a great narrator! She definitely left me wanting to continue to listening nonstop!

As a best interest attorney, Stella is accustomed to working with teenage clients. But her beloved mentor has asked her to take on the case of nine year old Rose Barclay because he believes Stella's own past trauma makes her the best advocate Rose could hope for. Rose's nanny recently died under suspicious circumstances, and Rose has been unable to speak since. Stella suffered from traumatic mutism as a child as well.

But as Stella begins to spend time with Rose and her family at their beautiful mansion, she begins to feel like perhaps she has more in common with the deceased nanny, Tina, than with Rose. Just like Tina experienced strange goings-on at the house, Stella is likewise having uncomfortable encounters. Encounters that make her wonder whether Rose is a victim or the perpetrator.

Pekkanen masterfully weaves a tale of suspense, skillfully manipulating tropes and reader expectations to create a labyrinth of red herrings. The isolated, imposing mansion with its absence of any glass items serves as a chilling backdrop for Stella's investigation. Perhaps a few too many extraneous characters were introduced, but overall I thought the author did a good job balancing Stella's professional and personal investigations.

The narrator's performance was exceptional, bringing the characters to life with distinct voices. While one accent might have been overemphasized, it didn't detract significantly from the overall listening experience.

If you're looking for one last beach read mystery/thriller too end the summer on, House of Glass is a great pick for your beach bag.

This review will be posted to Goodreads on August 3, 2024 and to Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on August 5, 2024.

This book was 👩🏽‍🍳💋everything I want in a thriller and more❤️ Very psychologically thrilling and had me shocked multiple times!!! The similarities/mirrors between Stella’s past and Rose’s present were done impeccably and I loved the tie in!!

Here are the vibes:
✨A wealthy multi-generational family living under one roof
✨An affair with the nanny
✨Suspicious death of said nanny
✨Divorce with a child custody battle
✨A Best Interest Lawyer with a past
✨A now mute (possibly homicidal) creepy child
✨…AND MUCH MUCH MORE

This was soooo fun to read and super exciting that I can only imagine how cool and thrilling the audiobook would be!

Definitely look out for this one when it comes out!!!

⭐️HOUSE OF GLASS, comes out AUGUST 6TH⭐️

5.0⭐️

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review❤️

I LOVED this book so much! I was so sad when it ended. Sarah Pekkanen is a master of suspense and thrills! The characters are so well written and established in the story. I found myself changing loyalty to each character as they were explored as potential perpetrators of the nanny's death. Rose in particular drew my interest. She is so complex even in her mutism. Stella is so thorough in her investigation. I couldn't believe the twists and turns that I went on through this book. I will defiinitely be reading more from Pekkanen!

Laura Benanti is by far one of my favorite narrators. I have listened to several of her audiobooks, and this one is one of the best! I felt immersed in the story as she told it from Stella's point of view. I was trying to guess, along with Stella, what the heck was going on in the Barclay house. The parts of the story where she read the emails and reports being written got a little choppy, but I think an expected translation from print to audiobook. This is a great story and Laura did not disappoint!

House of Glass is a dark and twisty psychological thriller that centers around the mysterious death of a nanny and the impact of this death on Rose, the young child she was caring for.

The story is told from the perspective of Stella Hudson, an attorney who has been assigned to Rose’s case. Rose’s parents are getting divorced and it’s Stella’s job to determine what the custody arrangement should be. Rose has been mute since the nanny’s death, which makes the case all the more challenging, and Stella realizes just how unusual this case is when she observes Rose picking up a dagger-like shard of glass off the sidewalk and hiding it in her pocket. Stella can’t fathom why Rose would want such a thing and it really kicks her investigation up a notch as she tries to figure out what is going on in Rose’s home life. Since the nanny’s murder remains unsolved, Stella feels like it’s her job to make sure she isn’t potentially assigning custody of this child over to a murderer. The more Stella observes this family and digs into what really happened to the nanny, the more disturbing and downright chilling the story gets.

I love a good psychological thriller especially when there’s family drama as well. I was hooked from the moment Rose reached for the shard of glass and when Stella goes to Rose’s house and sees that there is no glass whatsoever in the entire house. 😱

Pekkanen’s writing is fantastic, with vivid descriptions that deliver the creepiest of vibes at times. There are also plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing what really happened all the way to the end and Stella is battling some personal demons of her own that really help to flesh out her character and add additional layers to the story.

I also thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook, which was narrated by Laura Benanti. I’ve always loved Benanti on Broadway but didn’t realize she also narrated audiobooks so that was a real treat.

Unfortunately, after making it to 50%, I have no desire to continue. I usually love Sarah's books, but this one just isn't working for me at all. I was fully invested in the beginning, but now I am dreading picking it up. The narrator did a fantastic job with what I listened to.

I do have several friends that I think will like this, so I won't hesitate to recommend it. It just didn't work for me.

Ghoul Von Horror's Reviews > House of Glass

House of Glass
by 

Sarah Pekkanen (Goodreads Author)


Ghoul Von Horror's review

Aug 02, 2024  ·  edit


did not like it

bookshelves: 1-star-hated-it, audio-book, forgettable, gay, netgalley, not-worth-the-hype, read-books-2023, started-great-ended-meh, thriller-s


TW/CW: Language, divorce, gory scenes, death of parent, drug addiction, alcoholism, toxic parent relationship, drug overdose, cheating, anxiety, depression, grieving, drunk driving

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny - in the midst of her parent's bitter divorce - and immediately stopped speaking. Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, appointed to serve as counsel for children in custody cases. She never accepts clients under thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood, but Stella's mentor, a revered judge, believes Stella is the only one who can help.

From the moment Stella passes through the iron security gate and steps into the gilded, historic DC home of the Barclays, she realizes the case is even more twisted, and the Barclay family far more troubled, than she feared. And there's something eerie about the house itself: It's a plastic house, with not a single bit of glass to be found.

As Stella comes closer to uncovering the secrets the Barclays are desperate to hide, danger wraps around her like a shroud, and her past and present are set on a collision course in ways she never expected. Everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder. The mother, the father, the grandmother, the nanny's boyfriend. Even Rose. Is the person Stella's supposed to protect the one she may need protection from?
Release Date: August 6th, 2024
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 352
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Always enjoy this writers writing style

What I Didn't Like:
1. Repetitive
2. Book feels like it lost focus
3. Too many plotlines
4. Ridiculous story

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

I love the relationship between her and her ex. So cordial and polite during the divorce.

I really thought the briefcase was going to go differently, like she stole the briefcase and there was money in it.

Stella's mom dies in the usual way that thrillers kill off their drug addiction parents. This is the 3rd book I've read that it's happened like that.

Gosh I hope this isn't like one of those things where Rose is the one that killed Tina and the grandma is protecting her.

Do I understand the situation right that Stella took Rose to go look at these baby squirrels and then her friend calls her to tell her a box cutter is missing, but Stella doesn't go back to the house to see if Rose has the box cutter. I mean wouldn't Stella be the one responsible since she took her out of the house that she got a box cutter. I don't know dude why wouldn't you go back and make sure that she didn't have it she's only 9 years old it would be weird for her to steal one. Stella hears the news that the box cutter is missing and she dismisses it and we move on.

Typical woman in a thriller - - living on a few cookies and a half beer. I love that all women in thrillers barely eat anything but men are never mentioned about how little they eat.

There's no way it's not Harriet. Harriet mentions that her husband had cheated on her many times and then Ian had mentioned that his father had died but after Harriet mentions that women know what a man stepping out and women aren't going to put up with it anymore says "I've been there. Trust me we women don't get fooled twice" so I'm wondering if she murdered her husband because he was cheating. I think she killed Tina because she overheard her on the phone talking about being pregnant and she didn't want the family to break up since she loves Beth so much

Another mention to Stella not being hungry when she puts bread in the toaster. Why?

Okay so now Lucinda's squirrels have been killed. Stella is approached by her and decides to call the phone number but it's blocked so I'm just like why can't you start 69 it and see what happens. Like yeah your phone number is blocked but the other number won't be blocked cuz it's a private number. Or you could call back from Lucinda's number. Also Stella says that Rose is the only one that knows about Lucinda and that's not even true because she had to let Rose's parents know where she was taking her so three people know (Ian, Beth, and Harriet).

By page 280 suddenly Stella is starting an attraction to the Detective Garcia. Why? Where is this book going? It's so all over the place. Ah.

Charles was Stella's mother's lawyer and and they used to use together because he used to do heroin too but he didn't get addicted. She called him the day that she was feeling down which is the day that she died and as he was comforting her he tried to kiss her but her mother said no because she missed her husband too much. In the end of all this Stella's mother ended up dying of a drug overdose like it was rolled. No mystery! This was completely unnecessary! I am so glad that we broke from the mystery of the little girls a killer or not to jump into did Stella's mother die of some other cause. Oh and Charles was the one to take care of her financially.

Honest to God I am so confused by what's happening in this book. For almost all the book Stella was convinced that Rose was like dangerous and killing people and everything suddenly it changes after she gets a phone call from Harriet saying that they're going to cancel the divorce and they're just going to live separately but on the same property and Rose is just going to stay with them and she's going to home school her. Now Rose is this victim she has to go rescue from these villainous people try to drug her. Can't build up that Rose is this like murderous child who killed her babysitter to now she's this innocent child who's being drugged up and she's the victim.

Harriet has a bad knee and difficulty walking, but threatens Stella with a taser gun saying if she shoots her she'll pee herself or Harriet will have to drag her into the elevator after she's collapsed. I'd love to see that. If my options were that peeing myself or collapsing, I'd take the option of being shot over willingly riding an elevator upstairs to my death. How ridiculous. Like Harriet can drag a person into the elevator.

Weirdly enough though Rose does have the phone - the phone that was Tina's that disappeared the night she died.

Omg omg it's just a taser! I seriously don't know why she's scared of a taser and a woman that's almost 30 years older than her. She was just faking her leg being hurt.

Like It isn't enough to learn more and more about this book but the last few pages we now find out that Charles was the one that that caused Stella's dad's death. Any normal person would question how this person was around when two people died. Ludicrous.

So I guess Stella is now dating Garcia. So completely out of left field.

No Garcia Stella is not a puzzle. She is the most generic person to ever breathe.

Final Thoughts:
This book feels very disjointed. On one hand we have the story of this murder of Tina, the housemaid and maybe a girl who murdered her. Randomly 60% into the book we jump into now we're trying to solve what happened to Stella's mother even having flashbacks to when she was a little girl. I don't understand why. It seems all over the place. Can we just solve one thing before we jump into another mystery? I swear this is my problem with most modern thrillers is that we can't keep focus on what the book is about. Why do we have to have eight different story lines in one 300 page book?

No joke though if I wouldn't have finished this book then I wouldn't have been mad or felt like I missed anything. It was so mid and basic. I spent too many times rolling my eyes when reading.

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Thanks to Netgalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.