Good story line but too many details covering things that don’t matter, drowning out the main story. The descriptions about food or a room were too much and took away from the story, at times I started to wander. Are there really scenarios in real life where a person decides custody in this much detail, it didn’t feel like a real situation? There were also parts of the story line that I felt could be omitted. Stella finding possible love seemed like it was thrown in. Really don’t like any of the main suspects but I suppose that did make me wonder even more which person it was. Average read for me with a different story line than I’ve read before.

This review has been posted to Goodreads.

This read can get a bit long winded and slightly predictable, but it has many twists and turns that overall maintains your interest.

This was most definitely a page turner thriller that was very hard to put down. It had such an interesting premise that kept me guessing. A glassless creepy mansion, a murder and a strangely mute child will definitely hold your attention. Also, the audio book has a fantastic narration that is hard to stop listening to. Highly recommended!

Woah! I did not see that ending coming and it blew me away. I really enjoy a dangerous kid storyline but that wait made it so good! It was a little slow to go at times but the end was just hit after hit. The narration was a bit boring/hard to keep my attention focused too at times.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen had me hooked from the first few chapters! The narrator did a great job at bringing this story to life. Would recommend this book to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers.

This book follows lawyer Stella who is to determine which parent gets custody over their daughter in an extremely messy divorce. There were a few surprising twists at the end including both the present case and Stellas past.

This is my first stand alone Sarah Pekkanen (I have only read the books she has co-authored) and I really enjoyed this thriller. The writing and narration style was easy to read and made for a good binge. Ultimately, the storyline and reveals didn't really wow me or do anything really amazing, but it was a solid thriller/mystery that I would recommend to people looking for an easy and engaging story.

The audiobook was really good and worked well with the story.

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like this audiobook because the explanations about the guardian ad litem main character were a little too earnest. Overall, I really enjoyed the story, but could have done without so much explanation throughout the book about her job.

I really enjoyed this one a lot! It was the type of book that kept you wanting to read more and more. I am so thankful to have been able to read this!

4 stars

I love Sarah Pekkanen’s writing. And from the beginning of House of Glass, I was sucked in. Her writing is so good and her stories are just as good too!

From the beginning I was questioning Rose’s involvement in this story. I knew there was something off and questioned her involvement. But to find out the ending, wow, it blew my mind! Stella is the kind of woman you want on your side in an investigation of this magnitude. She is the kind of lawyer everyone should have.

I listened to the audio of this book and the narrator did an excellent job!

***Thank you Netgalley and MacMillin audio for an ARC copy***

Sarah Pekkanen is known for her well-crafted, suspense-filled reads, and House of Glass is no exception. Filled with oodles of twists and turns, it kept me on the edge of my seat, guessing which way things might go, right up til the very end. A great option if you’re in the mood for a delightfully tense beach read this summer.

Laura Benanti did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Sarah Pekkanen, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Synopsis: Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, and her new client Rose is complex. Not only does Rose have some sort of mutism and is younger than her typical clientele, but she also witnessed the murder of her nanny amid her parent’s divorce. As Stella gets to know Rose and her parents, she realizes this case is a lot more complex than she initially imagined.

Thoughts:The plot for this seems pretty straightforward when you first start reading, and it is definitely an easy book to follow along with (perfect for an audiobook errands day), but there is a lot of complexity layered in, which speaks to Pekkanen’s talent as an author. Laura Benanti’s narration was the perfect compliment to the story. She created a creepy and atmospheric setting and was great with all the dialogue. There were so many times I did not know who to trust, and I truly loved all the twists. I also enjoyed the interplay between Stella's past trauma and her current case with Rose.

Thank you SMP and Macmillan Audio for the ARC/ALC!

A thrilling read surrounding a lawyer on the hunt for the truth. Her client is a young girl who has developed mutism following the death of the family’s nanny. It’s quickly revealed that this death appears to have been murder and not an accident. This read can get a bit long winded and slightly predictable, but it has many twists and turns that overall maintains your interest.

ALC via NetGalley

ve read many of Ms. Pekkanen books and enjoyed them. This one I too enjoyed for the most part but there was just something that I can’t put my finger on it that keeps me from “loving it”. I think I felt some plot twists were far fetched but again, I can’t really put my finger on it. I enjoyed the first 50% and then just started to get tired of it. Ms. Pekkanen will continue to be a must read author for me. Thank you for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

A thriller with a family hiding lots of secrets by one of my auto-buy authors…say less!

Pekkanen has crafted an addictive and entertaining story surrounding the Barclay family. Their nanny was possibly murdered at their home and now the family is being investigated to see what they know. To make matters more complicated, their nine-year-old has stopped speaking and is busying herself collecting sharp objects 😲

The Barclay family was captivating. They all very clearly had secrets and I loved getting to unravel them alongside our main character, Stella, who by the way has quite a few things she needs to work out as well. Stella’s past and the Barclay’s have interesting overlaps that really tie everything together and make the story and character motivations flow seamlessly together.

The pacing of House of Glass is quick and keeps readers on their feet as Pekkanen reveals new twists and turns in the story.

🎧: I snagged a copy of the audio from Netgalley thinking this would be a perfect companion to my commute and I can definitely confirm that’s true!

As a lover of the domestic thriller genre, I was very excited to pick up House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen, particularly after enjoying the overly intricate twists and turns of The Wife Between Us from 2017.

House of Glass follows Stella Hudson, a “best interests” attorney, assigned to nine-year-old Rose Barclay who is suffering from traumatic mutism, something Stella herself dealt with as a child. Moreover, Rose’s condition, which does not stem from her parents’ messy divorce, began after she witnessed her previous nanny’s unexplained death. Was Tina, Rose’s young nanny, the victim of a freak accident? Could her death be connected to the Barclays' imminent divorce? And why is Rose, who grows increasingly distant toward Stella with each interaction, now obsessively collecting every sharp object she can find?

This novel definitely has some fun, thriller-y aspects to it, with a cast of unreliable adults, a scary mansion where voices carry (and surprisingly enough, nothing is made of glass), and a progressively creepier child. This should have all added up to quite an enjoyable experience for me, however, there was a general flatness to the storytelling, where no big reveal or twist truly managed to elevate the mystery. While Laura Benanti’s narration was layered and exciting, the text itself fell short many times, particularly with the characters being a little too one note, never really leaving their designated trope lane, and merely moving from scene to scene in a “and then” fashion. The ending also wrapped up way too neatly and lacked any real depth that would have made the final reveals feel earned. There were some particular threads involving Stella’s mentor and her own traumatic past that I was expecting more from as well.

While House of Glass did not match the hype I’d built around it, it remains an engaging, read-in-one-sitting mystery that’ll thrill most fans of the genre, and I’ll likely pick up Pekkanen's future releases.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and McMillan Audio for the ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Gripped me from the very beginning! I loved the mystery behind the story, but the ending fell a little flat for me. I feel like I wasn't all that surprised by the twist. Great on audio.

3.5 rounded up.

Our main character Stella is a best interest lawyer who represents children in custody cases. Stella decides to help Rose, a 9 year old whose parents are getting divorced. Rose witnessed the possible murder of her nanny and is now suffering from traumatic mutism. This stirs up some memories from Stella's past because she also suffered from traumatic mutism as a child.

I liked this book a lot. It gave me a little bit of Silent Patient vibes because the person who could tell us what happened isn't speaking/can't speak. It has super short Cheeto chapters. Really fast read. I had to know what really happened and how everything was going to resolve. I will say it might have given me nightmares 😆 this or Gladiator.

The audiobook is very well done. Laura Benanti's voice is perfect for Stella.

I've always been a fan of Sarah Pekkanen's writing, but this will be my first venture into her solo works. I heard amazing things about her 2023 release, Gone Tonight, so I was very excited to dive into her 2024 thriller, HOUSE OF GLASS. This story is centered around the death of a nanny, witnessed by nine year old Rose Barclay. Rose is dealing with the trauma of her nanny's death, but also with her parents going through a divorce. When attorney Stella Hudson is assigned to this case, she realizes that the Barclay family is hiding secrets of their own. Stella is in over her head and quickly believes that this family is more sinister than she ever suspected.

I don't want to dive too much into the story, but I got such old school BA Paris vibes from this book, in the best way possible. The story of Elizabeth and Ian Barclay's divorce plays a big role into this story and it's a bit longer than it needed to be, but the mystery is front and center. While Stella tries to determine which parent would be the ideal fit for sole custody of Rose, the reader quickly sees her dive further into the chaos of this family. This whodunnit is pretty fun and the book is very atmospheric. It's hard not to root for Stella and see her battle the Barclay family. The title comes from the fact that this family does not own any glass within the house, which was a unique and oddly satisfying aspect to the mystery. The ending really was a perfect bow to the story. I will gladly pick up the next Sarah Pekkanen novel!

Very compelling and hard to put down. I've always enjoyed the author duo but Pekkanen is a force on her own as well! This was a read in one day thriller that keeps you on your toes.

Tragedy strikes a family after their nanny falls to her death, resulting in the young daughter Rose developing selective mutism. Amidst the turmoil, the parents move to divorce bringing children’s advocate, Stella, into their lives. Stella must observe the family,:mom, dad, daughter, and grandmother, and determine how Rose’s custody should be arranged. Without Rose’s voice, Stella must piece together the clues she can get from the verbal and nonverbal members of the household. But as Stella gets closer to her decision, some people start to feel threatened and Stella may need to be put in her place. An edge of your seat thriller that while you may think you know, still manages to surprise you.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.