Thank you for an arc of this title by an author I have previously enjoyed. Stella is a lawyer assigned to a complicated custody case of a young girl Rose, who witnessed the death of her nanny by falling out a glass window. Was it an accident or murder? Stella while trying to figure out who should get custody of Rose is involved in piecing together what happened to the nanny...and also dealing with trauma from her Mom's death that this all brings to the surface. Stella is a strong, smart female character and while there are some red herrings thrown in there I was able to predict the murderer, but it was still a well written, page turner I enjoyed.

After reading a few books Sarah Pekkanen has coauthored, I was so excited to have the chance to read her upcoming thriller. I went into this book without reading the synopsis so I really had no clue what to expect and was sucked in from the very beginning. House of Glass is a domestic thriller that is full of suspense and I found it hard to put down.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of House of Glass in exchange for an honest review.

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!

Another Sarah Pekkanen book I spent a day reading! I can’t wait for the next one. This one is a great thriller—it keeps you guessing at every turn and I’m sure it will keep me up at night!

I may be a bit biased because I’ve been a best interest attorney, but I loved Stella’s character!

Thanks NetGalley for the chance to read an advanced copy!

The first 25% and last 25% were really strong (last 2 chapters didn’t seem necessary), but the middle seemed repetitive and boring in my opinion. I had a lot of trouble wanting to pick it up and keep going.
I really enjoyed learning about Rose and the way the author wanted her perceived was creepy! The mystery was fun to figure out too! Everything was wrapped up nicely at the end.
I think others would like this story, but know it is very slow in the middle.

Nothing is ever as it seems! If you’re looking for tidy answers, you won’t find it in this book. Stella Hudson is a guardian ad litem representing 9 year old, Rose Barclay, as her parents are working out the details of their impending divorce. But Rose has become mute after the tragic and traumatic death of her nanny. Stella has her work cut out for her trying to figure out if the nanny was actually murdered by someone in the family while attempting to make the right decisions for Rose’s future. And to complicate things even further, Stella’s ghosts from the past come back to haunt her, demanding she find the answers she has avoided her whole life. This was a great story! It was creepy and mysterious and even nail biting at times. And I did NOT guess the ending, it was a shocking surprise! Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on August 6, 2024

When the nanny ends up plunging to her death through a third floor window, everyone in the house is a suspect, including the divorcing couple and even 9 year old Rose. Stella is the family attorney responsible for determining the best custody arrangement for Rose while also dealing with her own traumatic past.

This is a dark mystery that reminded me of the Push by Ashley Audrain. I loved the surrogate father-daughter relationship between Stella and Charles. Overall this was an enjoyable psychological suspense and I would read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

House of Glass is the newest mystery/thriller by Sarah Pekkanen. In this book, Stella is a best interest attorney whose newest client is Rose, a nine year old who has just witnessed her nanny’s death. Stella’s job is to make a recommendation as to which parent Rose should live with after their divorce. As Stella begins to talk to the family, she realizes many aspects in the family are not as they first appear!

I enjoyed this book! It was a fast read and while I suspected one of the twists that did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. Will continue to read Sarah Pekkanen books!

Wow, this book was really amazing! I was lucky to read an arc and it did not disappoint, it was so good. I couldn’t put it down and read it within two days. It had all the elements I love in a psychological thriller. It truly kept me guessing until the very end. The death of the nanny starts off the story off with so many questions. Was she murdered? Did she accidentally fall out the attic window to her death on the patio below? From the moment that Stella, a best interest attorney, first steps through the door of the Barclay family home she feels an overwhelming uneasiness. The house is creepy, all the windows have been replaced with plexiglass and there isn’t a single piece of glass in the entire home. When she meets 9 year old Rose, suffering from traumatic mutism since her nanny’s death, she knows the case is going to be difficult. However, Stella herself suffered from traumatic mutism as a young girl after her mother’s death, so if anyone can help Rose its her. When she sees Stella pick up a sharp piece of glass and quickly hide it in her pocket on the way to her therapist appointment she begins to wonder what is really happening inside the dark and mysterious home.

Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartenspress for the advanced reading copy and opportunity to review this book!

House of Glass is available now as an early release through the Book of The Month club. @sarahpekkanen loved the shout out to BOTM in the book! ♥︎

Sarah Pekkanen never disappoints and "House of Glass" was no exception. I knew that once I started the book I was not going to be able to put it down until I finished it and I was not wrong. This book had enough mystery to keep you hooked as well as a great backstory that the reader is trying to figure out how it fits all in. Let me tell you I was not prepared to find out how it all fit in and was pleasantly surprised. The twist at the end was also worth the wait. Great thriller over all!

Woah! If a child could be any creepier I think I’d pass out! Evil is a solid thing, in this twisty thriller. Solid and possibly child shaped.

Who’s to blame when the nanny turns up dead amid a divorce? Is it the cheating husband, the angry wife, the creepy kid? Everyone is a suspect in the mysterious plastic house and Sarah keeps you guessing until the end!

House of Glass was my first Sarah Pekkanen book and I will definitely be looking for more by her in the future. The suspense, deception, secrets, and family drama keeps the story moving along steadily. The characters all have their own motives and characteristics that make them untrustworthy and suspect. I couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out what secrets were unveiled next!

3.75 stars
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TW: Death, Infidelity, Violence, Child abuse, Addiction, Death of a parent, Alcoholism, Alcohol
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Stella is an attorney who gets assigned to the Barclay family, she must work closely with nine-year-old Rose to determine who should get custody of their daughter once they divorce. The reason for divorce? The husband sleeps with their nanny Tina, who finds herself pregnant - only to die a short time afterwards "falling" out of a window. This book felt like a custody battle with a side of murder, the entire family seems off and slowly their true nature starts to unravel.

Rose suffers from traumatic mutism after witnessing her nanny fall to her death. This adds a level of eerieness to the story, the plot alone gives off creepy vibes. The Barclay's live in a beautiful home - but there is no glass to be found anywhere. We find out that Rose likes to take things that can be used as weapons, but the real reason why will shock you!

I struggled with the murder part of the plot, once the killer is revealed it's nothing spectacular. If anything you should probably see it coming, as they say, you'll do anything to protect your own family. Another part of why this probably wasn't the book for me - there's a lot of character growth for Stella in the epilogue. We have her going out on a date with one of the Detectives who was assigned to Rose's case, she comes to terms with aspects surrounding her mother's suicide, and she finally goes back to therapy. Stella is a troubled character, but I would have preferred to see those plot points unfold throughout and both just at the end.

Overall, this one has really creepy vibes and will pull you in with wanting to know what happens.
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I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sarah Pekkanen for a copy of House of Glass in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, this book publishes on August 6th 2024. Make sure to grab your copy now!

I feel a bit like an outlier here but I found this book to be good but not great. I enjoyed the mystery of it all, but at times it felt a bit too much like telling and not showing. I love when we are left breadcrumbs to try and solve the mystery with the main character, and at times I felt like we were being constantly redirected by Stella, the narrator. I found that the inclusion of the very light romance to be strange at the end as well. While I sound critical of this book, I did still enjoy it. I thought the author did a fantastic job of describing the Barclays as people, definitely developing their characters. This is especially true of Rose. I did not know that this profession even existed as well, so it was interesting to read that part of the book. Overall, I felt a bit disappointed in the mystery as it didn't seem to grab ahold of me as much as I wanted it to. That being said, I know I will still read more of this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ psychological fiction
Setting ~ Washington DC
Publication date ~ August 6, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 352 (68 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 43 minutes
Narrator ~ Laura Benanti
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ dead nanny, infidelity, secrets, mentions of loss of parent, childhood trauma, drug addiction

Stella is an attorney working with 9 year old, Rose, to determine which parent she should live with after the divorce. Why a divorce you ask ~ well, shockingly, [insert eye roll], the husband was sleeping with the nanny, Tina. Tina falls to her death, Rose witnessed it and she hasn't spoken since.

All characters were unlikable, but I didn't hate that so much for this book. I thought Rose's character was well written. Let's just say it wasn't a bad idea to remove all the glass from the house.

Overall, this was just fine for me. There was a heart pounding hot minute at the end, but ultimately I found it to be pretty slow moving. Bringing so much of Stella's own childhood story gave us a whole second plot that could have been it's own book. And then her love interest at the end seemed surprising to me and even Stella herself.

I'm definitely in outlier land here as everyone is loving it 🤷

CONTENT WARNING: murder, ableism, infidelity, addiction, death of a parent, trauma, grief

I’ve been a huge fan of the books Pekkanen co-wrote with Greer Hendricks, so I couldn’t wait to read this one. Unsurprisingly, I found it to be just as engrossing and enjoyable as the co-authored books. I was lucky enough to have gotten approved for both the ebook and audiobook versions, so I switched off between both versions to get a feel for both. The audiobook is narrated by Laura Benanti, and she was a great choice for this book—she perfectly captured Stella’s character and did a wonderful job with the story.

Have you ever read those posts that go around that compare statements made by children and serial killers, then ask you to guess whether the statement was made by a child or a serial killer? Well, I have, and trust me when I say that it’s shockingly difficult to tell the difference. Although not every book featuring a suspicious death that happens in the vicinity of a child reminds me of that post, this one certainly did.

Let me start with Rose, the young girl at the heart of this story. Following the traumatic death of her nanny, which she witnessed, on top of the ugly divorce that her parents are in the middle of, Rose has developed traumatic mutism. She’s nine years old, and a best interest attorney has been appointed on her behalf, to determine what actually happened and make a custody recommendation that will be most beneficial for Rose.

Stella, the best interest attorney, has taken Rose on at the special request of her mentor, a judge who took Stella under his wing. She normally doesn’t take clients under the age of thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood and experience with traumatic mutism, but in this case she agreed to bend her self-imposed rule to work with Rose. This gave Stella a lot of insight into what Rose was experiencing and how to work with her most sensitively, but it also created a lot of interference from her own experiences that could create blind spots. We saw a lot of Stella’s backstory in flashbacks of her own experiences as some of them mirror Rose’s in certain ways.

Pekkanen is a master at amping up the tension and the creeptastic factor of this story. Yeah, I don’t think creeptastic is a real word, but I just made it into one, because it’s the best one I can think of to explain this. One of the first things we learn about Rose is that she collects sharp objects, but Stella immediately notices that there is no glass to be found in the family home—not a window, a cup, a wineglass, a mirror, picture frames, nothing. The house, the tension between the members of the Barclay family (the parents, grandmother, and Rose), the nanny’s actions in the family home, and Stella’s own past and realizations about herself all work together so beautifully to slowly crank the tension up until I was flipping pages and couldn’t go to sleep until I finished reading and found out what actually happened.

I found myself wondering if it could be possible for a nine-year-old kid to be as manipulative as Rose, or if Pekkanen was just making it sound that way, and Rose's words and behavior were just that of a strange and mildly creepy little girl under extreme amounts of stress and not getting enough socialization with other children her own age.

There were a few suspects in the story, and it almost felt like the author was pushing one or two of them a bit too hard, which made me think it probably wasn’t them. I predicted the outcome of the book way earlier than the reveal, but I really liked how the author got us to the end of the story—the twists and the reveal were done beautifully, and the tension was the best part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, with the whole vibe keeping me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Overall, I was impressed with this story, and am looking forward to checking out more of Pekkanen’s solo work. I recommend this one if you like mystery/thrillers that are tense, involve an investigator/attorney with personal history that reflects the case, and stories involving complex family dynamics.

I thought this was really solid! Well-paced and engaging, I found myself having trouble putting this book down.

I liked the premise and following the MC as she went about her job (though ultimately her skill at her profession is questionable lol). I appreciated the unique set-up, and really thought the whole “no-glass” house added a sense of eeriness.

This had a few flaws, namely I found myself uninterested at times in the secondary mystery related to our MC’s past, and ultimately didn’t feel vested in its outcome.

Still, overall an interesting mystery with enough unique elements to stand out among the other mysteries while still scratching that thriller itch!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this!

A family’s nanny turns up dead, presumably she fell… or was pushed.. out of the attic window. Now there is a custody battle between the family’s parents, and the million dollar question is, who should Rose live with. Our main character is tasked with figuring this out, by meeting with the girls parents, her, and her grandmother, to get a feel for their dynamic and where she would be happiest, the only problem is, Rose has not uttered a word since the Nanny’s accident. Is Rose holding back secrets? Is she dangerous? Is her family protecting her? Or is something deeper going on in the mansion without a piece of glass inside of it, except for the shards hidden in Rose’s room of course.


This book was okay, it wasn’t very thrilling, but more like a long family drama / mystery as to who could’ve been responsive for the Nanny’s death.

Stay tuned for my upcoming #AuthorElevatorSeries Q&A with Sarah on pub day (Aug 6), where we will go behind the scenes of the book and this powerhouse author!

#1 NYT Bestselling author (a long-time favorite) returns following Gone Tonight with her latest riveting thriller, HOUSE OF GLASS. A perfect family with an ideal life turns sinister when a young nanny is suspected of being murdered in this twisty whodunit. (or was it an accident)?

HOUSE OF GLASS is a mesmerizing domestic suspense that combines a whodunit crime thriller with an in-depth psychological study. Its gripping suspense and tantalizing clues will keep you on the edge of your seat.

About...

Set in the Washington DC area, Rose Barclay (age 9) witnesses the possible murder of her nanny, Tina de la Cruz, amid her parents (Beth and Ian) bitter divorce. They are fighting for sole physical and legal custody of their daughter.

Stella Hudson, recently divorced, is Rose Barclay's best interest attorney. She is appointed to counsel the child in custody cases. Due to her own traumatic childhood, she never accepts clients under thirteen. However, the judge believes she may be the only one to help due to her own background and trauma.

Rose has refused to speak and collects sharp objects. There are different kinds of mutism that afflict children. Some in certain environments are called selective mutism. Sometimes, it can occur after brain trauma or surgery. Rose seems to be suffering from traumatic mutism. (After a severe trauma).

Could Rose have violent tendencies?

Stella knew all too well about mutism when she discovered the body of her mother when she was younger than Rose. She could not speak for months.

The grand Potomac, Maryland historical estate with twenty acres purchased for $12 million before the renovation, the added barn, and the two-story shed are home to the Barclays behind its stately iron gates. The property is in both Ian's (dad) and Beth's (mom) names, but ultimately, it was Beth's family's money that made the purchase.

Stella soon realizes the case with this wealthy family is much more twisted, dark, and sinister than she can imagine. Everyone seems to be hiding something and lying.

Who is the victim, and who is the murderer?

Everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder:

Beth: Mom
Ian: Dad
Harriett: Grandmother
Rose
Pete: Nanny's boyfriend.

Everyone seems to have a motive.

In light of the latest discovery, Barclays has removed all of the glass in the home after Rose started collecting sharp objects. The removal of the glass symbolizes the family's attempt to protect Rose from potential harm, but it also hints at the fragile nature of their seemingly perfect life.

Stella sees Rose as an intelligent little girl, but she is hiding "The Stranger Beside Me," a book about the serial killer, Ted Bundy, within the covers of "Anne of Green Gables!"

We learn about Stella's complex past when her father died after swerving off the road to avoid a deer and smashed into a tree at the age of 36, and her mother turned to alcohol and drugs.

Why does Barclays seem hesitant to allow Stella to spend time alone with Rose?

My thoughts...

HOUSE OF GLASS is a thrilling, addictive domestic suspense about marriage, betrayal, family, and the secrets that push us to the edge.

Sarah Pekkanen has been a favorite author of mine since the early days of her contemporary titles, co-authored books, novellas, and latest thrillers. I have read them all and am a huge fan. No matter what genre she writes in, you can expect superb storytelling and well-developed characters that will keep you captivated from the first page to the last.

Atmospheric with Gothic vibes—the creepy mansion behind the iron gates and the sense of darkness lurking with every page turn create a chilling atmosphere that adds to the suspense and intrigue of the story combined with the suspecting characters and their hidden motives.

Everyone in the house is a suspect, even Rose, and the parallel story with Stella adds to the intrigue. Stella's own traumatic past and her growing concern for Rose's well-being create a multi-layered narrative that keeps readers guessing. Everyone seems to have a motive. Even Stella is in danger. Rose is a wild card, and you do not know what to expect from her and the silence.

Audiobook...

Drum roll, the audiobook is a must-listen performed by the fabulous award-winning actress, Laura Benanti: Tony® Award-winner and five-time Tony® Award nominee, a highly celebrated stage and screen actress. An outstanding performance! The characters come alive—Unputdownable! Highly recommend the audio.

Recs...

HOUSE OF GLASS is a clever cat-and-mouse whodunit thriller for fans of the author, and those of authors Mary Kubica, Sally Hepworth, B.A. Paris, and Kimberly Belle.

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, #MacAudio2024, and NetGalley for a gifted ARC and ALC for an honest opinion.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Aug 6, 2024
Aug 2024 Must-Read Books

This book was so fun, I absolutely loved it. I loved the characters, I loved the atmosphere, it was written so well. I think I read it in 24 hours.