This book is a masterpiece in suspense and mystery. The story revolves around the death of a pregnant nanny, Tina, and the four suspects: the dad (who got her pregnant), the wife (who is understandably furious), their daughter Rose (who's had some concerning behavior), and the grandmother. How did Tina die? Was she pushed out the window, or did she trip?

Enter Stella, a court-appointed lawyer assigned to determine the best place for Rose as her parents are divorcing. Stella, who experienced a childhood trauma that left her mute, is thought to be the perfect advocate for Rose, who is also now mute and not talking at all.

Sarah Pekkanen weaves a story that takes you down numerous paths. She's a genius when it comes to thrillers, keeping you guessing about each character's involvement. Just when you think you've figured it out, another twist throws you off. There's even a side mystery involving Stella's childhood trauma that adds another layer to the intrigue.

I couldn't stop listening to this enthralling and suspenseful story. The narrator was great at bringing this story to life. Sarah Pekkanen has delivered another 5-star read that kept me on the edge of my seat. Highly recommend!

Another thrilling family drama by Sarah Pekkanen. This book is primarily centered around the custody battle of Rose, a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny. While the best interest attorney, Stella, works to determine who should have primary custody, she starts to unravel the truths around the nanny's death and the secrets the family tries so hard to hide.

Sarah has done an incredible job with this story, but I expected nothing less after enjoying many of her other books. The way that she crafted the twists and turns had me on edge throughout the entirety of the book and the ending did not leave me disappointed.

The narrator, Laura Benanti, did an absolutely incredible job and I never had to wonder what character was speaking. Will be keeping an eye out for further books narrated by her.

Definitely will recommend any of Sarah Pekkanen's books!

Sarah Pekannen is one of my auto-read thriller authors and after reading House of Glass, she will continue to be. Typically writing alongside Greer Hendricks, this novel is the second book Pekannen has penned solo. Similar to her first book, I flew through this novel on audio, finding excuses to listen to it whenever I could.

House of Glass is a page turner that follows Stella, a lawyer who primarily works with youth in a custody and access capacity. When an old friend of Stella's asks her to represent Rosie, a 9 year old child with traumatic mutism, she agrees albeit reluctantly. Stella is drawn to Rosie both because of her own traumatic past and the feeling that things are not what they seem in Rosie's home. The story follows Stella as she attempts to bond with Rosie in order to make an appropriate custody decision, but the novel also has mystery and murder woven into it, as Rosie's nanny tragically died at the home quite recently.

Pekannen's writing creates a story that is very hard to put down and constantly leaves the reader (or me at least) guessing as to what is going on. The audiobook was well-narrated and well-paced...I had a great time!

This book comes out August 6th and runs at 10 hours and 43 minutes on audio. 4.25 stars.

Thank you so much to the publisher for supplying me with an arc of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a well-wound tale. A mysterious tumble, a mute daughter, and a case worker trying to sus out the guilty party. This book kept me curious until the end, and it was hard to put down. The pacing was perfect and easy to follow. With some thrillers, it seems like the end of each chapter has to be a cliffhanger, but House of Glass did a great job of blending the storylines, character drive, and the mystery of it all.
Additionally, the narration was smooth and didn’t detract from me getting into the flow of the plot.

I really enjoyed this title. I’ve read other books by this author, and this was a nice addition. McMillan Audio chooses titles and narrators well, Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC copy. I enjoyed it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Add this to your TBR list. Publishing date is August 5.

You know it’s going to be a good one when @friedamcfadden4933 says she didn’t want it to end. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around this book and how deep it was. I was so thrown each chapter how it kept changing! I was so not expecting the ending. I loved the main character and the adventure this story took me on. I couldn’t stop talking about it to my husband.

A perfect looking family on the outside, but behind the plexiglass, that was all but true. They created the perfect lie. The police are looking into a nanny who fell to her death from the second story. Was it an accident, or was she pushed? And if she was pushed, then who did it? The nine year old daughter collects sharp objects. A lawyer whose job is to uncover who is the victim and who is the murderer, and essentially work for the daughter….she starts to see these hidden sides. And hidden notes. And hidden sharp objects. And hidden books a little girl should not be reading. She won’t speak though and they say it is from the trauma. They believe she witnessed the death of the nanny. As the lawyer starts to uncover secrets into the parents, her past begins to catch up with her. She too did not talk due to trauma. She also witnessed a death. Her mothers. Get ready to be thrilled…this was a great book!

Thank you @netgalley @macmillan.audio @sarahpekkanen for this advanced copy! #sarahpekkanen #houseofglass #campnetgalley

To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in this book, even though I liked it overall.

HOUSE OF GLASS is mainly centered around a custody battle of two parents and their little girl. It's stressful, a little bit crazy...especially with a mom-in-law always adding her two cents...and, a bit unusual. The unusualness (had to make sure that's a real word!) of some of the couple's dynamics is intriguing and probably not unusual for folks with substantial funds; it's something I haven't encountered in previous novels and I like how Pekkanen uses these odd things to add to the story. The characters are likable and unlikable, relatable and unrelatable, amiable and maddening - just what you need in a thriller.

The first half of the book kept me engaged. I didn't want to take reading breaks because I knew something was about to happen and I didn't want to wait for the next twist. The whole book has unnecessary metaphors but they aren't glaring until the second half of the book. The secondary plot is almost as intense as the main plot and, in a way, takes away from the main plot. The book also has a few other minor things going on at the same time but those aren't as distracting. The ending was a big disappointment. It felt rushed, as if a deadline was looming or someone else wrote it. It didn't fit. Or, it fit too well - depending on who you were rooting for. I was hoping for a different, more shocking conclusion.

I didn't notice any scenes that might be triggering for someone or any obscene language. But I wasn't watching out for either so I'm unsure if any exists within the book.

The story line is good. It has some twists and turns that keeps a reader engaged. I purposely did not read any blurbs before diving into the story and maybe if I had, the secondary story wouldn't have distracted me as much. I wanted to read this book because of the author; I generally like her writing, both as a solo author and as a coauthor. This book didn't change that for me.

The narrator, Laura Benanti, did a good job throughout the audiobook. She was the only narrator. It was easy to differentiate the characters and she didn't go overboard to accentuate voices outside of her tonal range, i.e., the mystery man with a deep voice. I didn't find that her voice took away or added to the story; it felt like a natural part of the book.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars = I liked it, may or may not recommend it to others. If I did recommend it, I'd probably recommend the audiobook over the print version so that the reader could speed up the narration.

#NetGalley #HouseofGlass #SarahPekkanen #Macmillanaudio #Goodreads

AN INTRIGUING AND GUT-WRENCHING THRILLER READERS WILL LOVE

SUMMARY
Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the murder of her nanny. The trauma has left Rose unable to speak. Stella Hudson is an attorney assigned to assist Rose during her parents' bitter divorce and custody battle. Stella typically doesn't accept cases as young as Rose due to her traumatic childhood, but Stella's mentor convinced her to take the case. Stella struggles to decide whether it’s in Rose’s best interest to stay with her mom or her dad since Rose can’t or won't communicate with her.

As Stella gets to know the wealthy Barclays family, she realizes that the circumstances are even more complicated than she imagined. Why has all the glass been removed from the Barclays' mansion? Why is everyone in the family a suspect in the nanny's murder? Who pushed Beth, the nanny, out the second-floor window? Why is the family acting so strangely and keeping secrets about the glass? Could Rose be the killer? Is Stella in danger?

REVIEW

HOUSE OF GLASS is an intriguing mystery thriller. Readers will love the challenge of trying to identify the nanny’s killer.

Author Sarah Pekkanen's writing is suspenseful and gut-wrenching. She keeps you engaged for the entirety of the book, skillfully transporting us into the gorgeous home of a very rich but very troubled family.

Stella’s character is delightfully well-developed and serves as the pillar of the story. I appreciated her willingness and determination to stick with this frustrating case despite all the obstacles she faces and her own past trauma. Rose, because of her lack of communication and suspicious behavior, is a little hard to appreciate, and you can't help but think she just might have pushed the nanny through the window. The rest of the family was also acting cagey, and it was not hard to believe that they also could have done it. Everyone in the family had a strong motive and opportunity.

I both read and listened to the book. The audio narrator, Laura Benanti, is a Tony award-winning singer/actress. She does a fabulous job on the narration, keeping listeners engaged with a steady voice and nice inflection.

Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillian Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Publisher St. Martin’s Press/ Macmillian Audio
Published August 6, 2024
Narrated Laura Benanti
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Ohhhh I did not predict this one! I had so many theories as this one forged ahead, and there were just so many possible suspects. I loved the slow, steady building suspense- and the climax was so action-packed and scary that I found myself holding my breath! LOVED it! If you like suspenseful thrillers, try this one :)

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced copy to listen to!

Stella is appointed as Guardian Ad Litem, when 9 y/o Rose’s parents file for divorce. Her nanny was found dead, and the courts don’t know which parent should get sole custody

Stella is a strong woman, with a troubled past which gives her the empathy to help traumatized children

She realizes quickly that Rose and her family are not quite right - for a start, their manor house contains no glass!

I was really intrigued and excited for this read, but somehow it didn’t click with me. Rose and her family are all pretty unlikable and although we got to know Stella really well, I didn’t feel empathy for her

The writing flows and it was an easy read, and although I liked the resolution, I wasn’t wowed

The narrator did a great job with the audiobook, giving a distinctive tone to all the characters

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review

This one was just ok for me. I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. The beginning was really good. The story just dragged too much in the middle, that I lost interest. The ending was shocking, but I wanted it to go another direction. I have a review post on this audiobook on my Bookstagram that I have linked down below.

House of Glass 4⭐

There are not a lot of books that shock or surprise me anymore. I'm not saying that to be a douche, it's just true. I knew we were looking at a "bad seed" storyline from the beginning, but I WAS NOT PREPARED. This book absolutely lulled me into a false sense of superiority, while sneaking the real clues right by me. I kept saying to myself, "If this turns out how I think it will, this will be such a cliche story." Whelp, I could not have been more wrong.

The cast of characters is almost Gothic - a beautiful little girl with an "old soul," her beloved mother with a fear of glass, her absent father who suddenly wants custody when divorce is on the table, her doting live-in grandma, and a traumatized lawyer trying to bring children of divorce some peace. When the FMC first arrives at the house and finds out the nanny was MURDERED in the first chapter, I was already intrigued. Everything is a rumor. You never know who is listening. Check your biases!

The one thing I will say without any spoilers, is that I thought the wrap up was pretty rushed. I was ready for gore, but didn't get it and that was disappointing. I wouldn't call this the best thriller I've ever read, but it sure as hell was fun! Perfect summer read, I think.

Wow! I blew through this 10+ hour recording in less than two days. The House of Glass, narrated by Laura Benanti, is a slow burn domestic thriller that kept my interest from the very beginning with outstanding narration of the gripping story.

Nine year old Rose Barkley’s nanny plunges from a window to her death, or was she pushed? Was it one of Rose’s divorcing parents? The grandmother? The nanny’s boyfriend? Or even Rose herself?

Stella Hudson, a special interest attorney, is assigned to the custody case. Can she protect Rose or do they all need protection from Rose?

A big thank you to Netgalley and McMillan audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. It’s a good one!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I actually liked this book more than I thought I would. The mystery itself isn't terribly difficult to figure out, and I wanted it to be a little more surprising, but overall it was an entertaining read.

Rose is a nine-year old girl who might have witnessed the horrible death of her nanny. This has caused her suffer from traumatic mutism, a relatively rare disorder. Her parents are going through a divorce and fighting over custody. Stella, a best interest attorney (kind of like a guardian ad litem, she makes a determination what is best for the child) is familiar with traumatic mutism because she herself had it when she was a child. She wants only what is best for Rose. But what if Rose is responsible for what happened to the nanny?

I listened to the audiobook and Laura Benanti does a fantastic job creating a creepy, dread-filled atmosphere. I liked Stella, although I thought she was a little naïve in certain situations because I saw the writing on the wall from the start with her past. In fact, I thought the past storyline was the weakest in the book and took away a bit from the main mystery.

However, the mystery of what happened to the nanny was twisty and intriguing. There are lots of suspects and suspicious behavior galore. I did want more from the interactions with Rose, my reasons for 3.5 and not 4 are that I just don't think the characters were quite developed enough for me to buy into all that was revealed in the end.

Overall, this was a fairly quick read with a plot that kept me interested throughout. Although I prefer the books Pekkanen writes with Greer Hendricks, I did enjoy my experience with this one.

This was an enjoyable book. HOUSE OF GLASS kept me intrigued and I didn't step away from it. I enjoyed the protagonist and was surprised by many of the twists. I would actually like to read about her dealing with another case on behalf of a juvenile client. In the twisty turny thriller world it is difficult to truly stand out, and after finishing HOUSE OF GLASS I didn't feel compelled to contemplate it further, unlike how I felt about THE GOLDEN COUPLE. However, I felt the characters were well-developed and I had never heard of this specialty in law before. Would likely make a good TV series.
Good narrator

Stella Hudson, a best interest attorney, takes on Rose Barclay as a new client. Rose’s parents are in the midst of a tense divorce and Stella must make a custody decision. To make the situation more complicated, the family’s nanny, Tina, died recently after falling out of a window on the property and Rose is now experiencing traumatic mutism. Stella quickly realizes that each family member could be responsible for Tina’s death. She must wade through each individual’s story to arrive at the truth.

Wow, this was a great read! The writing style, pacing, and the details of the story were addictive. I binged the audio and enjoyed the story’s twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and MacMillan Audio for both the ALC and ARC copies of this title.

This book was really difficult to get into, and to finish. This book was honestly super slow, and way longer than it needed to be. A little too many twists and turns that maybe I just missed but made us deter a little too much from the main storyline and made it more confusing than it needed to be. A mysterious death, a troubled child, and a divorce that seems amicable? So many suspects and potential reasons for the nanny to be killed. But can the person assigned to be the evaluator for the court figure it out and protect the child correctly? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was an engaging and propulsive plot. The mysterious aspect of who pushed (or was she?) the nanny kept me guessing. I was intrigued by the mute child and what she knew but was suppressing. My only fault was that I wasn't a fan of the flashbacks to Stella's childhood. I felt that they drew me out of the story a bit, and I wasn't as invested in her as a character except for her role at figuring out the mystery and family dynamics.

Overall a good thriller that kept me interested as i read it, but not one that I will probably remember much about in a few months.

I listened to the audio version and found the narrator to be good, no complaints with her performance.

“Lies gather force when the stakes rise.”

✨ Genre: Thriller
🖤 Steamy rating: None
⚡️ Profanity: Mild

Rose Barclay is a 9-year old girl, who suffers from traumatic mute disorder following the suspicious death of her nanny, Tina while at the Barclay’s house. Stella is a Best Interest Attorney appointed to the Barclays to represent Rose in the Barclays bitter divorce. Stella has a special interest in Rose, because Stella too suffered from traumatic mute disorder following the suspicious death of her own mother when Stella was a child. As Stella investigates the Barclay family, more sinister events start to take place. Nobody in the family gives Stella warm vibes, and anyone could have killed Tina, including Rose. Meanwhile, Stella is finally in a place in her life that she is ready to look into her own mother’s death.

This one hooked me immediately. The plot was creative and different from most thrillers. Stella was a likable lead character, who shows resiliency and strength overcoming the cards she was dealt. I enjoyed the plot into Stella’s mother’s death, too.

Triggers: Murder, death of a parent, divorce, deception, mental illness, and drug use and overdose

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the early copy of The Glass House. Reviewing it was my pleasure. I love Sarah Pekkanen’s books. This eerie binge worthy thriller was no different.

#macaudio2024

There’s a lot of bad things going on right now, so I turned to this thriller to ease me into my self-declared day of reading Saturday. It was listened to on audio thanks to @macmillan.audio via NetGalley and I intended to fully take my mind off of the intensity of the last couple of days, by replacing it with another intense drama of a completely different nature. Andddd it did the trick, although it nearly made me cry at the end from the emotional response I wasn’t expecting to have! #HouseofGlass by @sarahpekkanen is told from the perspective of attorney Stella Hudson, who comes upon the case at the urging of her mentor, a judge who gave her her first start in law, convincing her that this case, although the client is a child younger than she normally represents, is one that she is best able to represent. A young child, Rose Barclay, of wealthy parents going through a divorce, witnessed the untimely death of her young nanny, and is now mute due to the trauma. Since Stella herself experienced trauma and muteness as a result of it in her early childhood years, she decides to take on the case to help this young girl in the best way possible. To help find out who this child should live with, she interviews each member of the family intensely, and also reaches out to friends of the nanny. The case of the nanny’s death has become a cold case, but by advocating for Rose, Stella creeps further and further into that mystery, and what she experiences and ascertains from her observations and interviews leaves her with a dreadful feeling and she becomes fearful for her own safety as she inches closer to learning the truth. This story also provides her with clues and hard truths about her own childhood story, and I have to say, I truly became a fan of Stella as a character. I am actually hoping that @sarahpekkanen considers making Stella’s character appear again one day in more thrillers or court dramas of her minor client’s cases!!! (Pleeeeeeease) because I am going to find myself missing her, the judge, and hoping for that romance to bud as well, so I loved the ending, and I’m hoping for more???! !!!!
(@stmartinspress tell her I’m onto something here!!)
5 stars for me!

This was So Bad.  This was the worst book I've read in 2024 (and will probably hold that title through the rest of the year). I got through this as fast as I could, just to get it over with. Because it was a complimentary copy from NetGalley, I felt beholden to finish it so I could properly review it.

I despised Stella.  She's one of those characters who is supposed to be professional and highly skilled, but she comes across like a nitwit.  She is absolutely terrible at her job.  She is supposed to be an advocate for Rose to help determine which parent Rose should live with, but she gets distracted by investigating a murder instead (like you do!), regularly loses her temper with Rose, and even intentionally spurs Rose to rage, merely out of pique.

Pekkanen uses SO many tired overdone expressions to create tension:
(These examples are all from the same random chapter, when Stella chats with the MIL, Harriet - it is an absolutely mundane situation, nothing creepy at all is going on here.):
<i>* My heart flutters in my chest 
* I suppress a shudder 
* My instincts are shrieking at me to leave 
* I wrap my arms around myself.
* My heart leaps into my throat 
* I feel a tingle between my shoulder blades, a  sixth sense that someone is watching me.</i>
Stella's sixth sense is constantly sensing something. Everything in this story is either "palpable" or "sends chills down my spine."   (I think I do not have enough fingers to count the number of times "palpable" was used, and imo once is one time too many.)

And this has the very annoying “repeat the same thing twice” style - a character will give preparatory comments before handing something over, and then the text will pointlessly point out “she’s preparing me for something” (NO DUH),  a character will say several angry things and then Stella will think “she’s not just blaming [X], she’s FURIOUS” (again, no fucking duh WE GET IT)
Pekkanen is attempting to amp up the tension by doling out critical information drip by drip, but all she does is slow the pace down to glacial.  Everything (EVERYTHING) is bogged down by excessive description, and repeated descriptions, and far too much chaff that has nothing to do with this story at all.

Things I needed to hear less about: 
* Stella's ex, Marco.  My god I do not care.  This added NOTHING to the reading experience.
* Stella's traumatic childhood (her father's death, her mother's death, her cruel aunt).  One mention was sufficient.  All the flashbacks were tedious. 
* The detailed back story of Stella's friendship with father-figure Charles.  Why does this matter??

Somebody give me a red editor's marker and I can excise all this chaff and maybe there will be a fun thriller hiding under there! Maybe.  

Things I liked:
* The surprising romance that developed between Stella and Detective Natalia Garcia.  Get it, girl!  

I listened to the audiobook, and I suspect Laura Benanti was partly responsible for how much I hated this book, I did not like the affect she chose for each character, it just made me hate them all more.

I was fortunate to be given a free copy of this book via NetGalley, and I'm sorry I don't have anything nicer to say.