Wow just wow I was hooked from the start. But I won’t lie I almost DNFed cause it was going a little slow. But I now understand why. Cause it takes off like lightening. I was shocking when my answer to who did it was wrong. Also did I see a hint of romance there towards the end? Now I need more of them to in a romance novel lol. I highly recommend this book to everyone. When it releases please go get yourself a copy you won’t regret it I promise.

I liked this one more than I thought I would. I’m not sure I’m really a thriller person, but every once in a while I read a good one. The author really leads you down this one line of thinking, and the ending is just really perfect and makes so much sense. I could have done with a little less from Stella’s personal life—I felt some of it took away from the main story. But overall, this was a good thriller.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

House of Glass, by Sarah Pekkanen, is an engrossing, addictive thriller. Attorney Stella Hudson is an advocate for children, assessing and ultimately determining who to award custody to in contentious divorce cases. She normally focuses on cases that involve teenagers and avoids working with young children since she was traumatized by a tragic childhood event. But when her mentor and longtime friend asks her to make an exception and take on a young girl’s case, Stella reluctantly agrees. She soon learns that it is a very unusual situation and Stella sees far too much of herself in this child. The House of Glass, which has a very interesting title tie-in, is intense, intriguing, captivating and cleverly plotted.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC!

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-book ARC version of this book in exchange for my review.

I do enjoy books by this author, but this one missed the mark for me. I felt like there were too many unnecessary details listed rather than character development. And overall, it did feel like a 90's era Lifetime movie. Not bad, exactly, but not the psychological thriller I was expecting.

2.5 stars rounded up.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen is a captivating psychological thriller that explores the complexities of family dynamics, secrets, and the fragility of trust. With its intricate plot and well-developed characters, Pekkanen delivers a gripping narrative that keeps readers engaged from beginning to end. At its core, "House of Glass" delves into themes of betrayal, loyalty, and the impact of past choices on present realities. The novel raises questions about the nature of family bonds and how secrets can shape relationships. Additionally, it explores the idea of perception versus reality, prompting readers to consider how appearances can be deceiving. This story has a ton of unreliable characters, making it a book full of twists and turns. I enjoyed this book. At times I felt a little bored in the middle, but overall I love Sarah Pekkanen's work and this was no different. Whether you're looking for a gripping page-turner or a story that explores the complexities of family relationships, this novel delivers on both fronts. Sarah Pekkanen has crafted a riveting tale that will linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page.

House of Glass is one of the best thrillers I've read in a while. Stella is a Best Interest Attorney assigned to Rose Barclay, a nine year-old girl who potentially witnessed her nanny's death at her own house, and is facing her parents going through a divorce. It is Stella's job to get to know the family, including the mother-in-law who lives with them. The police closed the case of the death as a cold case/accident, but Stella starts to get the idea that it wasn't an accident. Rose is suffering from traumatic mutism, so she cannot express her feelings, and Stella has a mystery to solve and determine where Rose is best fit to live.

Every character in this novel is suspicious. Sara Pekkanen does an excellent job of offering enough clues to make you suspect any one of them could be the killer, even the young girl whose fate is in Stella's hands. Stella is also dealing with her own childhood trauma and the case of how her mother actually died. Weaving in these elements offers many parallels to Rose's situation, and confuses the reader further!

There are several twists that will keep you guessing to who is guilty, and you will not want to put this title down!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

This was a good one! Twisty in a way I didn't figure out. The grandma was definitely a creepy character and I loved her involvement. I think I enjoy this author's joint books more, but this was a good read for me.

4.5⭐️
I really enjoyed this story! The main character had a good head on her shoulders and wanted to do the right thing throughout and never really wavered. The relationship she had with a long-time “friend” in the story brought me all the feels and even caused me to tear up at one point. I was left guessing up until the end and I appreciate that so much. I will definitely recommend this to friends looking for a mystery/thriller that keeps them intrigued!

Ah this was such a suspenseful read!

The nanny for a very wealthy family falls to her death from a window. Was it an accident, or was she pushed?

A true who done it book with plenty of twists and turns. Stella is one ballsy woman!

Highly suspenseful and brilliantly wicked.

Add this one to your TBR, but actually read this one soon!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press Publishing and Sarah Pekkanen for my E-ARC.

Sarah Pekkanen has done it again by creating another must read psychological thriller that captures the reader from the start! Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney for children in divorce cases where she investigates and counsels to determine best placement for the child. With the urging of her judge mentor, she reluctantly agrees to take on the case of the affluent seemingly, picture perfect Barclays. However, appearances are deceiving and Stella must contend with their troubled daughter Rose who witnessed the death of her nanny and now suffers from traumatic mutism. As soon as Stella enters the house she senses an unsettling and sinister environment, one where she questions if Rose is the one who is dangerous.

What I liked about the book:
- well plotted with rich character development
-likeable and complex protagonist Stella who’s traumatic past paralleled Rose’s
-traumatic mutism plot which was fascinating
-creepy, evil child trope
-toxic, dysfunctional families
-the fear of glass and the subsequent replacement with plastic
-secrets and lies where the reader doesn’t know who to believe
-gaslighting
-red herrings with twists and turns leading to a satisfying ending
-eerie gothic like mansion setting in DC/Maryland

My rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC that will be released. August 6 2024.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen is my kind of domestic thriller with oodles of suspense and tension beckoning around every corner. The story is enticingly unsettling and unnerving with all the chills and goosebumps. What thriller reader can resist a sinister child who is extraordinarily clever and talented, a shivery mansion setting, weird family dynamic and perplexing staff goings on? Add a best interest attorney with a traumatic past (which prompted her career choice), mutism, glass phobia and suspicious death and voilà, a perfect storm.

Rose is a nine-year-old piano prodigy who refuses to speak as she has just witnessed her nanny fall to her death from a window. Her parents are in the process of divorcing so a best interest attorney is hired to determine which parent is more suitable and provides a safe environment for Rose. The job consumes Stella who can relate to Rose. She must spend time with each household member to gain perspective and quickly discovers layer after layer of deception as she traverses her own life with the help of her mentor. Everyone is a plausible suspect which had me scrutinizing possible motives the entire time.

I loved and loved and loved this book with minor exceptions, including the romance at the end that felt like an irrelevant add on. I also wish Stella focused more on Rose's character than her own. But the twists are turny and my enjoyment was sky high.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this compelling novel.

🎧 Macmillan Audio Review 🎧

Stella Hudson doesn’t know what she’s getting into when she decides to take on her current case of a young nanny’s suspicious death at the well-off, Barclay residence. Did she jump or was she pushed? And either way, what was her motivation?

Part of Stella’s investigation heavily involves around Rose Barclay, the sullen nine year old who has become a selective mute since the horrific incident. Everyone assumes Rose is the key witness-and the key to finding out the truth. Even if this is true though, Rose remains tight lipped. Stella is their last hope, her own troubled childhood both drawing her to and away from the mystery.

But the deeper Stella digs into the Barclay family, the more she uncovers information that makes the harrowing case even more complicated. Then there’s the case of the house itself- encased in plastic wear glass used to be. As Stella’s past memories intermingle with the present, the facts grow murkier. Now it’s up to Stella to find out the truth before anyone else’s world is shattered.

House of Glass is a fast paced thriller with only so many suspects. Because of this, I was able to suss out the perpetrator with a fair amount of precision. I also found the commonalities between Stella and Rose to be a bit far fetched. That said, it was still well narrated suspense that held my interest, even if I was able to put together the pieces.

In this twisty family drama and mystery, Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney who is tasked with deciding what is best for a young girl, Rose Barclay. Rose's wealthy parents are going through a challenging divorce. There are a lot of factors for Stella to consider: a mystery behind the nanny, Tina De La Cruz's fall to her death, Rose has become mute as a result of witnessing Tina's traumatic fall, and now the entire house does not have any glass. All glass has been replaced with plastic. Why? How did Tina fall to her death? Did someone want to kill Tina? Who should be the caregiver for Rose?

As the story goes on we learn more and more about each character and Stella has to determine who may or may not be telling the truth. This book does a good job of keeping the reader guessing as Stella works through determining Rose's best interest. This is a fast read and the descriptions of the house add an eerie feeling to parts of the story.

This is the third novel I have read by Sarah Pekkanen. Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this novel. This book comes out on August 6, 2024.

4.5 stars
House of Glass, by Sarah Pekkanen, is an engrossing, addictive thriller and a favorite read of the month. It’s the kind of story that adds pieces of the puzzle, bit by bit, drawing the reader into the story with every passing page. Each element is vital to the overall plot and fascinating on its own.

Attorney Stella Hudson is an advocate for children, assessing and ultimately determining who to award custody to in contentious divorce cases. She normally focuses on cases that involve teenagers and avoids working with young children since she was traumatized by a tragic childhood event. But when her mentor and longtime friend asks her to make an exception and take on a young girl’s case, Stella reluctantly agrees. She soon learns that it is a very unusual situation and Stella sees far too much of herself in this child.

Things at the Barclay house feel off from the start and the longer Stella spends with the family, the more eerie and mystifying things become. Shortly before her arrival, Rose Barclay’s nanny fell to her death from a third story window. Rose found her nanny and is now mute from the ordeal. The police have not been able to identify a perpetrator, and with the impending divorce, and Mr. and Mrs. Barclay awaiting the verdict on who will get full custody of Rose, tensions are running high.

Stella finds herself caught between the two distinctly different, rather peculiar parents, a grandmother who has out-stayed her welcome and become deeply invested in the family, and Rose, a young girl who acts more like an old soul than a nine year old girl, and has wild mood swings that border on alarming. Stella feels compelled to determine if someone in the family was responsible for the death of the nanny in order to place Rose in the safest custodial arrangement. Simultaneously, Stella is at long last investigating her own personal history which is long overdue.

There were a few elements in the story that didn’t make a lot of sense, such as why the parents weren’t willing to share custody of their daughter, and why the police weren’t doing more to look into the death of the nanny. That said, House of Glass, which has a very interesting title tie-in, is intense, intriguing, captivating and cleverly plotted. I was highly invested in each stage and subplot of the story and found the writing to be cohesive, clear and compelling. I’m definitely a fan of Sarah Pekkanen’s stories and will autobuy anything she writes.

4.5 stars

Main Characters:
-- Stella Hudson – 38-year-old attorney who lost both of her parents at a young age, her father died swerving to miss a deer in the road, her mother died of a drug overdose, works as a best interest attorney assigned as counsel for teenage children in custody cases
-- Charles Huxley – a judge and the closest thing Stella has to a father, he gave her a job after high school and has been her support system through her adult life, he asks her to take on the case for 9-year-old Rose Barclay because of her own traumatic history
-- Rose Barclay – 9 years old, presumably saw her nanny fall to her death through a window, hasn’t spoken since, diagnosed with traumatic mutism
-- Beth Barclay – Rose’s mother, comes from an extremely wealthy family and filed for divorce when she discovered her husband was having an affair with Rose’s nanny
-- Ian Barclay – Rose’s father, a landscaper, came into his marriage to Beth with very little wealth
-- Harriet Barclay – Ian’s mother, moved in with Beth and Ian after knee surgery and stayed permanently because she has not recovered full mobility and still walks with a cane, started home schooling Rose after the nanny’s death

I will always seek out Sarah Pekkanen’s new releases. Always. I discovered Pekkanen when I received a physical ARC as a Goodreads giveaway of The Wife Between Us, co-authored with Greer Hendricks. With Hendricks or as a solo author, Pekkanen is a powerhouse.

Told from the first person perspective of Stella Hudson, the story begins with Stella deciding whether to take on Rose’s case in the midst of finalizing her divorce. She considers the case mostly as a favor to Charles, who has been a father figure to her. She feels pulled to the case because of Rose’s traumatic mutism, similar to what Stella experienced as a child when her mother died of a drug overdose.

Stella’s task? She has to submit a recommendation about custody when Beth and Ian’s divorce becomes final. While she spends her time talking with Rose’s family members, she also talks with Rose’s former school teachers, a language teacher, a piano teacher, even the detective investigating the death of Rose’s nanny. Her job is made more difficult by the fact that Rose can’t (or won’t) speak and clearly doesn’t want Stella around.

In the midst of her investigation into the Barclays, Stella relives her own experience with mutism and starts thinking about her own mother’s death. She wants to know what happened, and delving into both Rose’s situation and her own starts to really mess with her emotions.

That’s all I’m going to give you in terms of the story. Pekkanen’s pacing here is perfect. She provides nuggets of information that make you want to keep reading. You will question the characters but not necessarily know why. They just feel off a little bit, which is clearly intentional. You will be suspicious, and when the reveals come, and they do come, you will think to yourself, “I knew there was something, but I was not expecting that!”

This is a great read. You will not regret picking this one up.

Overall, this is a well-written, gripping mystery about a little girl who stopped talking after a traumatic event and the Best Interest Attorney who suffered from the same affliction as a child. The author does a great job of creating a creepy, chilling atmosphere. The secondary plotline of the attorney's backstory is fairly easy to guess, but it keeps the attorney off-kilter enough to feed her anxiety regarding the child's situation.

For some unknown reason, the author chose to throw in a romance at the 11th hour with no lead up to it. It does nothing to add to the story, and in fact, distracted from the story for me.

This was a good read that turned disappointing.

Not family friendly due to subject matter.

This book was so good! If I didn't have kids I would have finished it in one sitting. I love that this is only in the pov of Stella as it keeps the Barclay's a mystery and helps keep you on the edge of your seat to know what is truly going on. I loved this one.

Stella’s job as a child advocate is to ensure children of divorce end up in the best possible custody situation. Rose Barclay, a child who went mute after the tragic death of her nanny, is one of Stella’s clients. As Stella attempts to access the situation, she realizes there’s much more to the family than she initially thought.

This thriller was really well done. So well written and full of interesting twists. I’ve enjoyed Sarah Pekkanen’s other books and this was no exception.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins for the ARC!

Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny - in the midst of her parent’s bitter divorce - and immediately stopped speaking. Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, appointed to serve as counsel for children in custody cases. She never accepts clients under thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood, but Stella’s mentor, a revered judge, believes Stella is the only one who can help.

The setting is eerie, the family is sketchy, Rose is creepy, an overall interesting story line. It’s Stella’s job to figure out who Rose should live with after her parent’s divorce. But something is suspicious, and it’s Stella’s job to find out what. She spends a lot of time at the house getting to know the family - they have a lot of drama and no one is really likable. There were several parts of this story I found to be unnecessary. This wasn’t an action packed, edge of your seat sort of read I was hoping for. I found the majority of the story to be slow moving (minus the bit of excitement in the end). Just seemed like the author was trying to cram a lot into one story. This was has its fans - just wasn’t for me.

I binge read the first probably 60% of the book. I was completely hooked and the story just pulled me right in. I love a book when everyone is unreliable. It had spooky house vibes and everyone was a suspect.

The book was engaging for me until the last third or so of the book. There was a subplot that kind of slowed everything down for me. I was invested in the main storyline, but would have enjoyed a better development there than throwing in an extra storyline that really didn’t do anything for me by adding it in. I thought the ending was wrapped up way too conveniently and I wanted some excitement and didn’t really feel that from this ending.