3 Stars, rounded up from 2.5.

House of Glass is about an attorney, Stella, who is appointed to represent a nine-year old girl, Ruth, in her very wealthy parents' divorce battle after Ruth's live-in nanny falls out of a third floor window at their home.

I listened to this book on audiobook and that may have impacted how I viewed the story, as hearing the words read out loud may have made them more unbelievable.

Stella is trying to form an opinion as to the custody of Ruth, who became mute following the death of her nanny, by learning about Ruth and her family, while interviewing some other characters involved in the investigation of the nanny's death. I found that throughout the book, Stella would form an opinion and seem like she was going to take action/do the logical thing, and then she would just completely 180 and go against what she was initially thinking. She disregarded a lot of behavior by all of the characters, and came to settle on decisions too easily, with some of them being shockingly bad for a lawyer representing a child. There were some twists - one being relatively expected and the other almost irrelevant/not addressed properly. I probably would not recommend this book, but it was a fast-paced, easy listen.

Thank you to Macmillian audio for the advanced copy via Net Galley for my honest review.

This is a tale of two formats.

On my Kindle, I liked this story. The Barclay home was its own cryptic character, the odd family dynamics brought a pervasive tension, Rose’s behavior was super creepy and grandma Harriet was her own enigma. The growing sense of threat to Stella was a nice undercurrent that kept me engaged, and a side story about her friend/mentor Charles added another layer of intrigue. There was a lot to like, even if I didn’t like this as much as last year’s Gone Tonight. I can’t say the ending surprised me, and it did go a little eye-rolly, but overall this was a solid, well-written psychological thriller.

This brings me to the audio. Normally, I love listening along while I read, but as anyone who likes audiobooks knows, a narrator can significantly impact your enjoyment. Unfortunately, that was the case here. If it hadn’t been an ALC, I would’ve stopped listening early on. Was it a poor performance by Laura Benanti? Not at all! It just had aspects I don’t prefer. I don’t like overly tremulous, emotional voicing when a female character is scared. I find it annoying more than engaging. Also Harriet is in her mid-sixties but she sounded like she was in her eighties, which affected believability. I didn’t hate the audio, but I didn’t love it.

So with all that said, the written story gets 4 stars, the audio gets 3 for an average of 3.5, which I’ll round up because the story kept me engaged to the end, and isn’t that what’s most important?

Wow! I loved this so much more than I expected to! I had so many theories, and I still didn’t get it right. Pekkanen weaved an eerie and intricate whodunnit that I could not put down, and she wrapped everything up in a pretty bow at the end. I loved how sinister things seemed at times, and how the MFCs past was woven in to relate the little girl in the story. I bounced between the physical and the audio of this one, and the narrator did a phenomenal job. She helped set the scene to make some parts more chilling. Highly recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Macmillan Audio for my ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

Listened to the audiobook and enjoyed every moment of it. The storyline grabbed me from the beginning and every chapter just added a little significant piece to the puzzle. I love when books are written this way so you have to remember small details but they all add up at the end.
Rose’s nanny fell to her death in the family home- did she accidentally fall or did someone push her.. if so, then who?
This is a great read that keeps your attention throughout the book. If you’re a fan of audiobooks, this was a good pick. House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen comes out on August 6, 2024. Thank you to netgalley for my audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a solid thriller and I found myself really invested in the characters. I felt the fear that the main character was feeling when she was at the family home. I was so curious what was going on in the little girl's head -- and it wasn't what I was thinking at all! The main storyline was fab, and the little bit of romance was sweet too. I didn't love the other storyline as much, and wasn't a big fan of all the coincidences that just all came together magically to wrap it up. So I knocked off one star for that. But overall a good read / listen.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC audiobook!

3.25 stars★

This was my first dive into a Sarah Pekkanen thriller, and I found the book to be quite enjoyable. It was a fun read, with moments of suspense, a fast pace, and engaging characters. The main letdown for me was how easy it was to predict. The romantic subplot at the end didn't quite click with me. IThe book would've been just fine without it, to be honest.

Sarah Pekkanen's latest thriller book, House Of Glass, painted a vivid picture of a tormented young child living in a destructive household filled with lies and secrets.

The audiobook was narrated by Laura Benanti and begins with a tragic death of the family's nanny, who fell from a second story window of the idillic home. Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney and has been appointed to oversee the welfare of her new client, nine-year-old Rose Barclay. The perfect family facade quickly begins to crumble and Stella is left trying to put the pieces of the tragedy together while struggling to get answers from her pint-size client who hasn't spoken a word since her nanny's accident.

The spooky factor comes into play in the description of the main family's house, a beautiful home on the outside, but inside is a different story. Not a single piece of glass can be found. Everything has been replaced with plastic. Stella also quickly discovers that little Rose is a collector of sharp objects and likes to sneak around the vast house and is keeping secrets of her own. Stella is left trying to decide which family member is to blame for the tragic death of the nanny and which family member is innocent, all while trying to her best to care for her young client.

House of Glass gave me all the creeps, in all the best ways a true thriller can. I gave this audiobook 4.5 stars and highly recommend this as a fantastic summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Sarah Pekkanen for the advanced audiobook copy of House Of Glass.

This was my first Sarah Pekkanen thriller and I thought the book was good. The books was fun, suspenseful at times, fast paced, and had great characters.

My favorite character was actually the child, Rose. She is mute due to trauma after seeing her nanny dead, so she doesn't speak, but she definitely communicates through out the book, and I loved the scary, mysterious aspect she brought to the story.

The main downside for me was that the book was predictable. Predictability isn't always a deal breaker for me, but with thrillers, it's very important.

I also didn't believe the love interest at the end of the book. It didn't feel organic. It felt like the book was written without it, then just thrown in to check the 'love interest' box. I don't think the book needed it, and the ending would have been smoother without it.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 344 / Genre: Psychological Thriller
Audiobook Narrator: Laura Benanti
Duration: 10 hours 43 minutes
Release Date: August 6, 2024

Stella is a best interest attorney who’s sent to evaluate Rose, a nine-year-old girl whose nanny died under questionable circumstances. She lives with her parents who are in the middle of divorce proceedings (since it came out that the dead nanny was pregnant with the husband’s child) and her grandmother. Did one of these people kill the nanny (including Rose) or was it an accident?

This was a classic whodunit where everyone is a suspect. A good story with interesting characters. I especially liked the creepy kid! And Laura Benanti did a great job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you @NetGalley, @Macmillan.Audio, @StMartinsPress, and @SarahPekkanen for my gifted copies.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen and narrated by Laura Benanti was a great mystery-suspense about Stella, a best interest attorney, who is appointed to determine who Rose Barclay should live with after her parents divorce. Rose's nanny, Tina, was recently found dead after falling through a window of the family's third floor house and Rose saw the body. She is now refusing to speak. Stella is trying to determine how Tina died, was she pushed or did she trip? And why does the house make Stella feel like someone is always watching her? And what is up with the plastic windows and glasses? What is really wrong with little Rose?

Laura did a wonderful job narrating the book. She had perfect speed and pitch and kept me on edge and waiting for the next piece to figure out who done it. Sarah kept me guessing to the end, as I did not see it unfolding the way it did, and I loved every second of this story. I will definitely be on the look out for Sarah's next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I genuinely really enjoy this one! I don’t think it was particularly groundbreaking but the twists and writing kept me interested

I absolutely loved this book. I think the Grandma is wrong for the things she did and trying to pin it all on Rose.

The lawyer was in wayyy over her head but saved a little girl from a lifetime of suffering.

Such a well written book and the narration for the audio made this read 10x better. I felt like the narration fit the book perfectly and really made each character pop.

🪟 House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen 🪟

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

💭 Thoughts:
This was great on audio, and I was captivated by this story. I had several theories for the “whodunnit” portion of the book, and most of them were wrong 😂 that makes it a good thriller to me, though! The characters were well done and the suspense had me invested! Read this one next time you need a spooky, mysterious, fast-paced thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I throughly enjoyed this episode thriller. It felt like a classic Hitchcock film with some well needed modern twists. I could see the characters and the house that they lived in. The doubts and confusion of the main character made sense and I struggled to see where the twist would be. My only small complaint is that there was a touch too much after the climax but I understand why all of it was there.

I liked this one ok, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite of Pekkanen's novels. Overall, I didn't like our MC, but I can't quite identify why. The red herrings almost got me but weren't quite convincing enough that I couldn't see through them. It wasn't entirely clear to me why Rose's parents were treating someone, whose recommendations about who would have custody of their child would hold a lot of a sway, with quite so much hostility. The ending, while not disappointing, was a bit messy and dramatic for me. Not a bad thriller, but I've read much better from Pekkanen.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you for this ARC.

Audiobook was good, but something seemed off. It’s not necessarily a slow burner. It was more story showing rather than story telling. A lot of it. Understanding that the attorney’s backstory played a role, yet I think it could have been more sinister and dramatic.

Ending was too neat and over the top. Audiobook narrator was good.

I absolutely loved this book and this author. Highly recommended to anyone who loves a good thriller. I love a good whodunit and this did not disappoint.

A suspenseful and well-narrated thriller with a good plot and many unexpected twists and turns. As always with Pekkanen, the characterizations are top notch. A fun listen that is the audio equivalent of a page-turner!

I already read the house of glass after receiving an advanced copy in the mail. I absolutely loved the story. I was excited for the audiobook to come out and listen to the narrator bring the story to live! Well done!

The uneasiness Stella was experiencing in that house was well portrayed in this novel. Looking over my shoulder occasionally gave me a spooky and unsettling feeling. Early on, I had my doubts about a certain character, but I was duped into thinking precisely what that character wanted everyone to think. This thriller had excellent writing.