House of Glass started off as what felt like a standard mystery/thriller. After reading a lot of books in the genre I felt pretty confident that I knew where this one was going. The farther I got into it the more I appreciated some of the layers that were added. They might not have necessarily felt important to the main mystery, but they added some interesting heft to the story that made the world feel richer. There were definitely times I felt frustrated reading this if only because the main character made a lot of choices I wouldn't have made and jumped to a lot of conclusions I wouldn't have, but it fit the story nicely. In the end I wasn't totally surprised by the turn of events but it was still pleasant to find the story went in a direction I hadn't originally expected it to go.

I did listen to this as an audiobook and I thought the narrator was great.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. The narration was excellent, and the storyline was full of twists and turns. Sarah Pekkanen never disappoints.

Thank you, #Netgalley and #MacMillanAudio, for this ARC

This is my 9th book by Sarah Pekkanen, and, since she's only written about a dozen, I guess you can call me a fan. House of Glass, like all her others, is a great read full of interesting twists and well developed characters.

A mystery with a murder, a mute child, wealth, privilege and a determined, yet reluctant, lawyer assigned to determine the best interest of the child, this one has enough thinking to require the reader (or listener) to pay attention. It felt similar in story to remind me of Barbara Michaels and Lisa Scottoline, which is never a bad thing. Smart and well paced, I can easily recommend this one. And, while we're at it, please check out all of Pekkanen's writing, including those with partner Greer Hendricks.

Stella is a lawyer who is assigned by the court in custody cases to represent the child. She decides who should get custody of the child based upon her assessments. She is assigned to analyze Rose, a nine year old who has recently experienced trauma after her nanny fell from a window at her house and suspiciously died. Stella realizes this won’t be a typical case, after visiting the home and discovering that Rose has gone mute and that there is no glass in the house to be found. Who are the Barclays protecting?

Ouuuuuu Pekkanen does it again! I loved the creepy elements of this thriller, with Rose becoming a suspect in the nanny’s murder. Her being mute and the suspense surrounding her fascination with weapons added to the intrigue right from the start. You didn’t know who to trust and I also found the dive into Stella’s own past quite interesting. The ending was a bit far fetched in my opinion, but action packed!

I enjoyed this psychological thriller! There’s murder, family drama, trauma, and suspense! What’s not to love? The main characters, a custody lawyer and a nine-year old girl, have connected trauma that is explored through both past and present experiences. The plot is somewhat predictable, but that doesn’t necessarily turn me off to the story. I was hooked from the start and appreciated the extra twist thrown in towards the end.

Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen, MacMillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

꧁𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖꧂

𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒

𝐁𝐘

𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐇 𝐏𝐄𝐊𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐍

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio

Pub Date: 08/06/2024

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Song: Things That Break by Miranda Lambert

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my ARC of this novel by one of my fav authors.

Well well well…Sarah, you’ve knocked it out the park with this one. 🏟️. I stayed up all night finishing it.

This book has a ton of characters that all had a suspicious vibe about them, yet I liked all of them, a rarity for me. I was intrigued by everyone, because they all had their own story…and motives. Plus you’ll want to find out why Beth doesn’t allow glass in the house (I never knew a fear of glass was a thing).

There was a surprising amount of character depth packed into these 352 pages.

Love that Stella is a Miranda Lambert fan too! I don’t really like country music that much but I love her music.

The twists were fun and easy to follow too which I loved. I hate when authors write something so twisty that it becomes convoluted and ruins the book. You won’t have any of that in this book.

Added bonus - I live in Maryland and love taking day trips to DC and since SP lives in my neck of the woods it’s always a treat to have places I’ve been referenced in her books.

Read this if you like mysterious books with odd/creepy kids. It’s got a similar atmospheric vibe to Baby Teeth.

I'm a bit conflicted about this one. The tension and the idea behind the story, that of a young girl who isn't talking after her nanny dies under mysterious circumstances, was entertaining. I also thought Stella, the main character, was interesting. But some elements didn't add up for me (I can't say much because they're spoilers), which caused me to round the story down about a star. It was interesting and well-written, as Pekkanen's novels always are.

Overall, this one was a good read!

Stella is an attorney who represents and protects children in divorce cases. She is presented with the case involving 9-year-old Rose, a peculiar girl who has gone mute. Rose's parents are in the process of a divorce after her father had an affair and impregnated their nanny. To add to the already weird situation, the baby unexpectedly dies. Things continue to get weird for Stella requiring her to investigate further. The closer Stella gets to the truth the more danger she gets herself into.

This really started fast paced and had me hooked. Towards the middle things slowed down and the focus changes to Stella and her history/traumas. Some parts felt predictable while others left me guessing. Overall, the storyline kept me on my toes.

I listened to the audiobook of "House of Glass" and felt the narrator did an outstanding job expressing emotions and making the listener feel how the characters were feeling. She was able to keep my attention and keep me listening.

Thank you, Sarah Pekkanen, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A nine-year-old girl witnesses her nanny plunge to her death.

Did the nanny commit suicide or was she pushed?

After witnessing this horrific event, the 9-year-old girl is now mute.

The book unfolds from the POV of the child's best interest attorney, who also experienced mutism from childhood trauma.

Although the book's premise was intriguing, its pacing was slow and lacked the thrill factor I was seeking.

Only one of the book's many, many characters were well-developed.

I prefer fewer in-depth characterizations.

I listened to the 11-hour audiobook that easily could have been a 9-hour book.

The book was narrated by Laura Benanti.

Although Laura Benanti's narration was crisp and clear, her voice had a YA vibe.

I am a Sarah Pekkanen fan so perhaps my expectations were too high.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 ⭐️
I want to thank NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for the audio ARC of this thrilling book in exchange for my honest review.

I have never read this author before so it was a treat to get introduced to her. I picked the book because Laura Bananti narrated it and I wanted to hear how she was as an audio reader.

She did not disappoint. Many times when working actors do an audio book it becomes over done with voices and dramatic effect. That was not the case here. Laura gave just enough energy to the characters while still leaving room for the listener to create a world in their head. Her male voices was some of the better I have heard. She didn’t make them sound like a cartoon character like many do.

For the prose itself, it was full of suspense and twists and turns. If and when you figure out the culprit, you don’t mind knowing as it still is an engaging story even when the author is laying out the how and why. It was refreshing that the end did not seem rushed like I have. Even experiencing with many other books.

If you like thrillers give this one a go when it comes out Aug 6, 2024

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I saw the name Sarah Pekkanan and decided I wanted to read this book based on some vague recognition of her name and thinking I liked her books. Totally didn’t remember that everything I’ve read of hers was co-authored with Greer Hendricks. That being said, I don’t think it made a huge difference, but I hadn’t read her solo stuff before and this book was missing something, for sure. (My mistake could have been in listening to the audio instead of reading it myself. The narrator is going to return to me in my nightmares, especially in the last third of the books when she became shrill and waaay too over-dramatic.)

I will not rehash the plot of this book, you can read that for yourself, but I will say that it doesn’t tell you there is a second storyline in this book, and that it’s actually quite uninteresting and unnecessary and contributes to this book being longer than it needed to be. Our MC was also a bit flat for me, but I did enjoy the creepy atmosphere of the house and the strange little girl, who was experiencing traumatic mutism and has a weird fixation on sharp objects.

I’d read this author again, I would NOT listen to the narrator again.

House of Glass is a binge-worthy thrilling family drama, with a touch of “spooky” thrown in. I easily devoured this audio in one day.

Rose, 9 years old, has been mute since the day her nanny died. The question has always been: what truly happened? Was the nanny pushed, or did she fall out of the window? And if pushed, who is responsible? Not only is Rose not saying anything, but she now seems to collect sharp objects in the pockets of her dresses.

Stella is a lawyer who’s assigned to deciding which parent will get Rose in a custody battle. Throw in the fact that a very overbearing grandma lives in the house, and this will have you on the edge of your seat!

I listen to lots of audiobooks and this one was very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this early audio in return for my honest opinion.

Pub Date: 06 August 2024

An exciting thriller where every member of the Barclay family is a suspect. Sarah Pekkanen keeps you guessing, which made this one hard to put down!! I loved the parallels between the protagonist, Stella and the little girl, Rose who Stella is tasked with providing custody recommendations for. If you’re looking for a quick thriller read, this one is it!

House of Glass was an engaging read with very complicated characters. I thought the narrator did a great job.

When the nanny for a rich family falls (or was pushed?) to her death at their mansion, everyone from the parents, grandmother and even the young daughter are suspects. Everything about this was either painfully predictable or laughably cheesy. I’m a sucker for the creepy child trope, which is the only thing that saved this from being a complete flop for me.

Thank you! I LOVE this author and was very excited to get this ALC!

The first part of the book (to about 70%) was very gripping and interesting. I couldn't stop listening. Then it started to wobble and by the end it felt too long; I wanted it to "finish already". Ultimately, I was surprised by some of the revelations but not all. I had sorted out Stella's surrogate dad knew her mom but was surprised he was also responsible for her father's death. I'm not sure why any of this needed to be in the story. I also loathe confessionals and was irritated that grandma made one to Stella. There are better ways to present information and motives. Overall I liked this and will recommend it to my followers.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC!

This book had so many elements I loved, which is the case with so many of Sarah Pekkanen's books. This book in particular Venn diagrams those readers who enjoyed problematic parent-child relationship books like Rose Gold and Baby Teeth with the pretty common "what happened to the last ____" trope books like The Nanny, The Other Mothers. Told through the lens of a child social service worker who used to be a troubled child, working on uncovering the truth about her own past, this is an incredibly interesting book.

The fact that the audiobook was narrated by Laura Benanti, one of my favorite stage actresses, was a delightful cherry on top.

That said, I didn't find the ending particularly "twisty": if you know reading the book that the solution must be A, B, or C, it won't shock you to learn that the answer is C. (There are surprising elements in how C accomplished it, however!) I think for this book, the joy was in the journey rather than the destination.

This was a fun one! I was unsure throughout the book of who the villian was, which I appreciate since sometimes it is too obvious. Entertaining, good ending.

House of Glass was my first book by author Sarah Pekkanen. I enjoyed her writing style and the way her book kept me guessing until the very end.

What I liked about the book:
* There was a cast of unreliable characters so you were always suspicious of them and trying to figure out their role in the mystery
* Stella the best interest attorney had trauma from her past that came up that she had to deal with due to this case. I liked learning about her background.
* The layers that were revealed as the story went on.

Read if you like:
* Lies, secrets and deception
* unreliable characters
* a mystery that has you questioning everyone
* eerie house vibes
* creepy kid vibes
* suspense
* trauma

Who would enjoy this book:
If you are a fan of Sarah Pekkanen or enjoy a good mystery/suspense book, then I recommend listening to the audio of this book. It will be published on August 6, 2024.

Laura Benanti did a wonderful job narrating this book. She kept me engaged in the story and did a great job with bringing the characters to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listeners copy of this book. I voluntarily listened to it and gave an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Audible ARC! I really enjoyed this one! I listened to this straight through in one day! I could not stop listening! I loved the story and the characters. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys who enjoys who done it/family drama type books. This would be a great audio book for a long car ride. Publication date is 8/6/24.