Fast pace and full of twists and turns that kept me glued to the story. The premise was intriguing and the setting, one that I am familiar with, had me invested from the start. Stella’s story was a little odd and I can see why it was added but I felt that throwing in the whole thing, not just the parts that were relevant, bogged the story down a little and could have been a novella on its own so it could be fully explored. Otherwise, I am once again enthralled by Pekkanen’s storytelling skills and look forward to the next.

Stella is a great female main character. She is trying to keep it together after her divorce all while trying to help her clients however she can. When she gets assigned to make a custody recommendation for Rose, who watched her Nanny fall to her death, Stella gets entwined in the Barclay family’s drama. I was never really able to decide on where I thought the story was going but when the climax hit I was gobsmacked. I enjoyed the side plot of Stella trying to figure out what happened to her Mum and the discovery of her real history with Charles.

The narrator was great and drew me into the story.

Thank to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook.

I’ve seen this book everywhere for months and I couldn’t wait to listen to it! If you enjoy domestic thrillers with family dysfunction, creepy, sinister vibes, and where EVERYONE is a suspect, this one is for you! I would definitely go in blind. I felt that it was fast paced and kept me hooked the whole way through.

I have listened to Laura Benanti before and she is incredibly talented, I loved her narration of this one! I always look forward to her performances.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

House of Glass had a lot going on. There are relationships and connections between characters that indicate a deep connection. The kinds of connections between people who will do anything for each other. While reading, our job is to discover who is trying to protect whom. Characters may have overstepped their rights and responsibilities but there are a few twists and turns that make me curious about the characters outside of this particular story.

Nine year old Rose witnesses her nanny fall to her death. Her death remains a mystery—was it a tragic accident, did she jump or was she pushed? Her parents are embroiled in a nasty divorce and an attorney is appointed as a special council for Rose. Ever since the accident Rose has not been able to say a word which makes it challenging for her attorney, Stella. In an effort to determine what is best for Rose, Stella finds herself investigating the events up to and including the nanny’s death. There are a lot of secrets and odd behavior from everyone involved, including Rose. Stella has no idea who to trust and finds herself in various dangerous situations.

This was a fast paced thriller that was filled with unreliable characters, I wasn’t sure who to believe!! This was well paced and delivered a solid ending that I wasn’t expecting. Stella’s backstory was another facet that delivered more tension that I found a little distracting at times, not a deal breaker though. I enjoyed the story,

The narration was done well and added the perfect amount of drama!!

3.5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stella Hudson is an attorney who works for the best interest of children. She usually works with teenagers, but her mentor has recommended she work on behalf of Rose Barclay, who may or may not be safe in her own home.

Rose is 9 and lives with her parents and her father’s mother. After an incident at school, she’s been homeschooled. Her grandmother teaches her, and she has a language tutor and a piano teacher. Her parents have filed for divorce, and the family court thought that Rose needed someone to step in and protect her interests, especially since her nanny died.

Tina was Rose’s nanny. Then she had an affair with Rose’s father, Ian, and got pregnant. She lived in their house, on the third floor attic, where she had a lovely room with large windows. It was one of those windows that she fell (or was pushed?) and did not survive the fall. Rose was in the garden with her grandmother when it happened, and she hasn’t spoken a single word since. And now Stella is coming in to try to figure out what’s best for Rose moving forward.

Stella’s mentor hand-picked her for this assignment because he knows her background. Her father was killed in a car accident when she was very young. Her mother turned to drinking to face her grief, and then to drugs. One night, she put Stella in the closet to keep her safe, and Stella stayed in that closet all night waiting for her mother to come and get her. Finally, Stella opened the door and found her mother on the floor, dead from an overdose. She was sent to live with an aunt who didn’t want her, and she didn’t speak for a long time.

But from the first time she shows up at the Barclay house, Stella feels that there are secrets being hidden by the family. Ian and his wife Beth are reluctant to let Stella have access to Rose, and Rose can’t speak for herself. When Stella tries to talk to Rose’s grandmother, she feels blocked by her too. There is clearly something going on in the house, but Stella can’t get through.

She notices that all there is no glass in the Barclay house. The picture frames have all had their glass removed, the drinking glasses are all plastic, and all the windows are being replaced by plexiglass. She sees Rose reading Anne of Green Gables, but when Stella looks more closely, she sees a book about a violent killer under the Anne book jacket. She talks to some of Tina’s friends and finds out that she’d had strange things happen to her in the house. Some of her things had gone missing, and she’d heard voices.

Stella tries to put together everything she learns about the Barclays and their house, but she can’t quite figure out what’s going on. Did Ian kill the nanny when he found out she was pregnant? Did Beth kill her because she slept with Beth’s husband? Was it an accident? Or could Rose have gotten angry with her nanny and hurt her? It is up to Stella to figure out what happened, so she can tell the court what will keep Rose safe.

But as Stella gets closer and closer to the truth, she also gets closer and closer to a killer. Will she survive long enough to protect Rose, or will Stella not be able to keep anyone safe?

House of Glass is a domestic thriller from bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen, and it is filled with twists. There are secrets layered with secrets, many of them hidden behind Rose’s mutism. The plotting is first-rate, with all the ups and downs you would expect from a author of this caliber. I raced through this book to find out just what was happening in that house, and I was not disappointed in that ending.

I listened to the audio book for House of Glass, narrated by Laura Benanti. I thought she did a beautiful job. One thing I noticed with the audio is how Stella sounded so young and naïve at times. It makes sense with her childhood, and I thought it served the story well, but I was impressed with how Benanti could bring that forward so smoothly without making Stella sound incompetent or unprofessional. I thought she did an excellent job with Stella’s voice, and listening to this book was a joy. If you’re a fan of a domestic thriller, you will not want to miss this one. It’s fantastic.

Egalleys for House of Glass were provided by St. Martin’s Press and an early copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

From the beginning I was hooked and loved the ride this book took me on. It is a mystery where I feel like I was questioning everyone in the story. There are multiple layers to the story but Rose a 9 year old is at the center of it and decisions need to be made about her safety and who she should live with as her parents go through a divorce. She recently witnessed the murder of her nanny but she won't talk to Stella (hired to decide what is best for Rose). Things in the house may not be as they seem and Stella brings a bit of baggage too!
The narrator for this book was fantastic, and I love this author and will continue to read future books!

3.5/5✨ rounded up

This was a refreshing "creepy kid" story in that the ending was both what I expected and didn't expect. I say that meaning that about halfway through I figured out "whodunit" expecting a twist that didn't come and that in itself was refreshing.

If you are looking for a quick-paced thriller this is it!

Nine year old Rose Barclay immediately stopped speaking when she possibly witnessed the murder of her nanny, amidst her parents bitter divorce.
Children's lawyer Stella Hudson is appointed to serve as counsel in Rose's custody case.
From the moment Stella enters the Barclay home she fears the family is far more troubled than she originally thought and the house has a creepiness that chills her to the bone. As Stella begins to uncover secrets, the Barclay's are desperate to hide, she realizes everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder including the one she is hired to protect.
Fast-paced, compelling and easy to follow this novel is a well-written page turner.
Narrator Laura Benanti did a superb job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Not my favorite by this author but it was still an entertaining, fast-paced domestic thriller with many layers, dark family secrets and some shocking twists I wasn't expecting. Good on audio and worth a read for thriller lovers. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was really fun! This is about our main character, Stella, who is a lawyer looking out for the needs of a 9 year old girl named Rose who saw her nanny get pushed/fall out of a window. Rose is now mute and the judge, Charles, knew Stella needed to be the lawyer on the case because she experienced trauma and went mute as a child too. She normally doesn't take clients that young because of said trauma, but Charles is a father figure for her so she does. She gets to know Rose, her mother and father, as well as her paternal grandma who lives with them. Rose is a super creepy kid and we try to figure out who killed the nanny. Overall, this was really intriguing. I didn't guess the who dunnit's motivation, but it wasn't completely out of left field. Overall, a good read!

I stayed interested throughout! I loved that Stella as an attorney of best interest; I'm not sure if that's a real thing but I thought it was a neat plot angle. Rose was a well written character, and there were some parts where I was a bit freaked out!

This was a great book! The premise of a child not being able to speak after experiencing a traumatic event was fascinating. The story pulled me in and held my interest, I couldn’t put it down, And the end! The twist! I didn’t see it coming! So well written. A must read!
The Audio was well made and easy to listen to.

Sarah Pekkanen is a great thriller writer. Her thrillers are always smart, well-plotted, and suck the reader into the story quickly. House of Glass is no exception. A story of a seemingly perfect family whose nanny dies — was it a terrible accident or murder? Their nine-year old daughter, Rose, might’ve witnessed the incident and is no longer speaking. The parents are now divorcing and battling for custody of Rose. Enter Stella, the attorney tasked with deciding who should have custody. As part of her analysis, the question of the nanny’s fate becomes increasingly fraught. It’s a wild ride and I was enthralled from beginning to end. I didn’t see the twist coming!

I will say — while I really enjoyed this, it wasn’t my favorite Pekkanen. Do I recommend it? Yes. But, I think The Golden Couple, Gone Tonight, or The Wife Between Us are stronger. Still, if you’re looking for a fun thriller, add this one to your list.

4.5 stars
This book was so intriguing. It's about our main character Stella who is a best interest attorney focusing on children in custody cases. Her newest case is a custody battle between the Barclays. Their nanny has just fallen out a window and died. The 9 year old daughter Rose saw her body and is now mute due to the trauma. It had just been discovered that the nanny (Tina) had become pregnant with the father's (Ian) child. Both parents want full custody of Rose after the divorce.
Stella is such a strong character. She had an extremely traumatic thing happen in her past causing her to go mute as well which is why she was referred to the case. She was so patient with Rose, even when she found out some extremely strange things about her. Both Rose's parents do some sketchy things, as does her grandmother who lives with them because of a knee injury. It could be seen as trying to protect Rose, or trying to cover something up.
I was 100% locked into this book the entire time. We got so many clues and kept finding out new information. It really felt like everyone that was hinted at that may have been a suspect, there was such a large possibility that it could have easily been any of them...or even an accident!
The audiobook narrator was fantastic. The way she read the book kept me so interested. She totally brought it to life and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I've wanted to try this author and I'm glad I was able to read House of Glass. Stella is an engaging main character with good intentions and knowledgeable about her work in being a representative for children. Rose is a bit younger than her normal cases but has a condition she once had herself.

The parents are divorcing. The paternal grandmother is living there and now teaching the child. Stella sees problems with all of them. I felt very tense with worry over Stella in the house since the nanny was most likely murdered. These are not safe people. Stella comes up with a plan to draw out the killer. So I was even more worried.

Stella is also just starting to be able to look at what happened to her parents and why they died. She has had Charles as a mentor since her mother died. He hired her and assisted her to get through law school. But now there are some hard truths she will learn about her parents.

Stella is sharp and capable. I enjoyed the ending because she handled things well and protected the child. It was suspenseful getting there!

Narration:
Laura Benanti is relatively new to me as I've listened to her work just once before. I enjoyed her narration and it kept me comfortably in the story. Her voices for the character felt appropriate. I listened at my normal 1.5x speed.

I enjoyed this one! I'm here for all the tea when it comes to the perfect presenting yet not so perfect family and this one didn't disappoint. The fact Rose refuses to talk was both heartbreaking and intriguing, selective mutism is just interesting. So many events/characters gave me the creeps at different points in the story and I couldn't decide who had done it for a while! Our MC, Stella, has a traumatic past and while she had a side story of her own, I was definitely more invested in the plot surrounding the Barclays. I do love Stella's role in this story though, as an advocate for Rose, that is a POV I feel we don't see often in books.

I went back and forth between the ebook and audio for this one but in the end the audio was so good I finished the book that way! The narration was great!

CW: Death of a parent, murder, infidelity, addiction, child abuse.

A big thank you to St-Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC/ALC. All opinions are my own.

Stella is an attorney that helps the family courts determine who should be given parental custody for difficult divorces. When she is recommended for a case by her mentor, she doesn't know what she is walking into. The family has been in the press due to the unfortunate death of the nanny. Although the death is considered a cold case, there was suspicious circumstances around her death that has led to the bitter divorce of the Barclay parents each wanting sole custody of their nine-year-old daughter, Rose. On the outside, the Barclay's seem like the perfect family but inside the family home, Stella realizes the Barclay's are all hiding secrets. Did one of those secrets lead to the nanny's death?

I really enjoyed this book at the beginning. The narrator does a great job with each of these characters, and I enjoyed learning about the very unlikable characters known as the Barclay family. There were several mysteries in this book to discover such as who was responsible for Tina's death, what secrets is the Barclay family hiding and what happened to Stella's mother when she was a child. However, the story seemed to lose momentum in the middle and the story lagged. I found myself losing interest and skimming through some of the chapters to get to the conclusion. The book seemed to pick up again during the last couple of chapters and I was happy to see how the story concluded. Overall, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book but would be interested in reading other books by this author.

House of Glass is out now!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to review House of Glass. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book had a seemingly common plot but turned out to be quite a unique story. There were twists and turns throughout to keep the reader invested and the main character was one you rooted for. While the ending wasn't my favorite, the build up to it still made this a 4 star read for me!

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen
Narrated by Laura Benanti
Psychological Thriller. Standalone.
Thank-you Macmillan Audio and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to get an advanced copy for review. All opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Now I know why I don’t read many thrillers! I was super tense and my heart rate was so high the whole time I listened to House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen . It’s the mark of a good thriller, but it’s a bit too stressful for me to listen to regularly. That being said, I inhaled the first ⅔ of this book on a long drive and didn’t want the drive to end until I finished!

Stella Hudson is a Best Interest Attorney assigned to nine-year-old Rose Barclay. A BIA is there to observe the family to help decide the best custody arrangements for a child whose parents are divorcing. But this case is unique. Rose has traumatic mutism after her nanny fell (or was pushed) out of an attic window. Rose’s father was sleeping with the nanny and she was pregnant when she died.

It could be an accident, or it could be murder by Rose’s father who didn’t want the baby, Rose’s mother who found out about the affair, the nanny’s boyfriend, the grandma, or even Rose herself. All Stella knows is that there is something creepy about the house and all the people in it.

Why is little Rose sneakily picking up sharp objects and hiding them? Why is she secretly reading about serial killers? And why has every single piece of glass in the house been removed? Even the windows were plexiglass.

I was 100% into the mystery of the plastic house. But there was a big side story about Stella’s young life that I didn’t enjoy as much, especially how it was resolved. This took away from the story a bit and made me not enjoy the second half of the story as much as the first.

Likes:
•Creepy vibe.
•Kept me tense and guessing the whole time.
•Every time I thought I figured it out I would second guess my thought.
•Thrilling climax.
•Unputdownable suspense.
•LGBTQ+ Rep
•Completely unique.

Dislikes:
•I didn’t love the FMC’s own story as much as the one she was working on and I hated the way it was resolved so easily.

The Narration:
I think Laura Bananti did a good job. She kept me tense and creeped out the whole time. She made Grandma, who is in her 60s sound like a frail 90-year-old which bugged me personally as an older reader.

The Down & Dirty:
WOW. This was one tension-filled thriller! I listened to House of Glass on a 4.5-hour drive and I didn’t even want to stop to pee. I was gripping the wheel so tight that my hands hurt! There was just enough of the creepy factor to make me uncomfy, but I couldn’t stop listening. I was so into the mystery that when there was a side story for the FMC, I just wanted to get back to the main story. If you are looking for a change of pace and a unique story with tension-filled suspense, I would absolutel recommend House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen.

Rating: 4.25 Stars, 4 Narration