Sarah Pekkanen's HOUSE OF GLASS is a captivating psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. The story centers around Stella Hudson, a lawyer appointed to represent a young girl caught in a bitter custody battle. The situation takes a dark turn when it is revealed the girl's nanny recently fell from a window to her death, leaving a cloud of suspicion hanging over the entire household. The author skillfully weaves together elements of mystery and psychological drama. The reader is constantly questioning who to trust and what truly happened the night the nanny fell.

Pekkanen excels at building suspense. The story unfolds at a steady pace, slowly revealing cracks in the seemingly perfect facade of the Barclay family. Each character harbors secrets, and the lack of windows in their house adds a constant sense of unease. The narrative cleverly shifts between Stella's investigation and the perspective of young Rose, the traumatized girl at the center of the case. This dual perspective allows the reader to delve deeper into the emotional toll of the situation and the complexities of Rose's trauma. It also adds intrigue, as the reader is not sure who might be an unreliable narrator.

One of the novel's greatest strengths is its characters. Each member of the Barclay family is flawed and complex, grappling with their own demons and motivations. Pekkanen expertly explores the dynamics of family relationships. The atmosphere of the house itself is also a character in its own right. Pekkanen creates a sense of unease and foreboding that permeates every page, making the mansion feel like a living, breathing entity with its own dark secrets waiting to be uncovered. The setting is vividly described, evoking a sense of isolation and claustrophobia that adds to the novel's tension.

Summary:
• Intriguing Premise: The combination of a child custody case and a suspicious death creates a layered mystery with high stakes. The lack of windows in the Barclay household adds a creepy atmosphere, making the reader wonder what the family is trying to hide.
• Compelling Characters: Stella is a well-developed protagonist. She's empathetic yet determined, making her a character you root for as she navigates the complexities of the case. The other characters, including the Barclay family members, are shrouded in secrecy, keeping the reader guessing about their true motives.
• Suspenseful Plot: Pekkanen masterfully builds tension throughout the novel. The story unfolds with a slow burn, dropping subtle clues that leave you piecing together the puzzle. However,some readers might find the initial chapters a bit slow.
• Focus on Trauma: The book deals with themes of child trauma and loss, which can be emotionally heavy for some readers.

HOUSE OF GLASS is a gripping and thought-provoking thriller. Pekkanen's sharp writing and exploration of family dynamics make this a page-turner. If you enjoy character-driven mysteries with a touch of psychological suspense, then this book is definitely worth checking out. The exploration of family secrets and the unreliable nature of memory make for an entertaining story. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Tana French and Gillian Flynn, or for anyone who enjoys a good domestic mystery with a twist. Readers who enjoy piecing together clues and analyzing characters will find themselves engrossed in the story. The mystery itself is well-crafted, with enough red herrings to keep you guessing until the satisfying – and perhaps surprising – conclusion.

This was such a refreshing type of thriller. Stella is a lawyer who acts as an advocate in the wake of her own difficult childhood. Her charge? 9 year-old Rose, whose parents are going through a nasty divorce. Stella goes to see Rose at their giant mausoleum of a mansion, where things feel creepy and off and simply not quite right. Not to mention Rose, herself, is also not quite right--she stopped talking suddenly when her previous nanny died in a horrific accident. Or was it an accident? Pekkanen offers plenty of twists, turns, and maneuvers in this book. It was a satisfying read from beginning to end, if honestly, a bit predictable. I enjoyed it, regardless, and look forward to her next!

4.5⭐️ I couldn't put this one down! Pekkanen's writing and storyline drew me right in and I didn't exactly guess the outcome. I definitely recommend adding this to your TBR (it comes out 8/6/24). Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Pekkanen's latest thriller follows court-appointed best-interest attorney Stella Hudson as she investigates the family dynamics of the Barclays in order to recommend which parent Rose should live with once their divorce is finalized. Rose's nanny recently died under suspicious circumstances and Rose appears to be deeply traumatized as a result; Rose suffers from traumatic mutism, rendering the nine-year-old unable to speak, which impacts Stella's ability to bond with her client. To complicate matters further, what if the nanny's death was no accident? What if one of Rose's parents pushed the young woman to her death? Stella's recommendation could very well sentence Rose to living with a murderer, but Rose is unable to tell Stella what happened or who she wants to live with.

House of Glass earned every star it received. I'm normally hesitant to read books written in a first-person perspective, but I truly loved Stella as a character and I think the first-person point of view lended tremendously to the character's overall development and sense of growth. I truly appreciated the way trauma was depicted throughout the novel, especially it's impact on behavior and perception, and loved how the concept of nature v. nurture was explored in relation to a person's affinity for good and evil.

This book was a fast-paced, captivating read with strong character development and a satisfying conclusion. The twists felt natural yet unpredictable, and while I thought I knew where the book was headed, I was pleasantly surprised in the last 15%. Overall, I loved this story. House of Glass is definitely among my favorite books of the year.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars for House Of Glass!
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Release date: Aug 6, 2024

Two parents getting divorced. A dead (potentially murdered) nanny. An overbearing grandmother. A little girl named Rose, who has an obsession with sharp objects that witnessed it all and now refuses to speak. A lawyer with a dark past of her own who is now tasked with representing the little girl. However, she can’t just decide what the custody arrangement should be, she has to dig deeper on her own and find out what happened to the nanny and why Rose won’t speak.

This story has me suspecting every single person and trying to figure out who was innocent, who was guilty, and who was deceiving the others. I picked it up and could not put it down until I was finished.

Releasing the end of this summer, House Of Glass, by Sarah Pekkanen has it all! A wild ride of murder, secrets, deception, and family. You don’t want to miss this!

I just finished reading this book about 15 minutes ago and I’m sitting here very frustrated that what I thought was a five star book took a complete downfall when I hit the 85 to 90% mark. This story was intriguing, the writing style was wonderful, and I even enjoyed Stella, our main character. All of a sudden, when you get to the end of the book, it completely falls apart and such a juvenile reveal of the “bad guy” happens that it is almost laughable. I actually wanted to throw my Kindle because I had invested time reading this and it ended up being so ridiculous. To me, it seems like the author was on a roll, writing a good story and then all of a sudden another author took her place without any writing experience and finished it. This was just very disappointing and it could’ve been so much better. If you do not want to feel frustrated and kind of cheated by a book do not read this. 2.5 stars.

An absolutely fantastic plot! I could not put the book down once I began reading it. I cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone.

This was a very different king of psychological thriller. It revolves around a young girl named Rose who saw her nanny fall through the window and die. She now suffers from traumatic mutism. Stella is a best insterest attorney who is appointed to the case and who also suffered from the same thing as a child. She usually doesn’t like to take cases of young children but the Judge she is very close to urges her to take this case. So besides the fact the her parents Beth and Ian Barclay are going through a horrible divorce Ian’s mother Harriet has been living there due do a fall and is recuperating in the house. Beth, the mother comes from a lot of money. Not Ian. This is also an important fact to know. Also it is brought to light during Stella’s investigation that Ian was having an affair with the nanny whose name was Tina. So besides needing to evaluate who Rose goes to live with there is the case of who killed the Nanny. The are many red herrings through the book but the house has no glass because Rose hides glass, all sharp objects. Also there is a back story here about Stella and the death of her father and then her mother who died when she was seven and had to live with her Aunt which was a horrific time for Stella. There are no spoilers here but it was a twist ending which I started to see coming and Stella’s back story gets resolved. It was well written and the book was a great read. I highly recommend this book. I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC for an honest review.Thanks again net galley for this ARC. Five star review!!
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I loved The Wife Between Us and The Golden Couple that Sarah Pekkanen co-wrote with Greer Hendricks. This is the first one I've read written just by Pekkanen and I enjoyed it. When the nanny of a wealthy family falls to her death from a window in their mansion, the burning question is whether this was an accident or she was pushed. There are many issues going on with this family. Ian and Beth Barclay's marriage is a mess, their 9 year-old daughter Rose has stopped talking since the nanny Tina's death, and Ian's mother is living with them since she injured her knee and couldn't stay in her walk-up apartment. Making this even more interesting is that Ian and Tina were having an affair and now Beth and Ian are headed toward divorce. Stella Hudson is appointed as the best interest attorney to help figure out Rose's custody situation. Stella's parents both died when she was young and she also stopped talking for a while as a child. Stella's mentor - respected judge Charles Huxley - thinks Stella is the perfect person for this case even though the youngest children she has represented in the past were 13 years old. Stella uncovers all kinds of secrets and lies as she gets to know the Barclay family. One of the most curious things is that all the glass has been removed from their mansion and replaced with plexiglass or plastic. As Stella tries to get to the truth about what happened to Tina and what is best for Rose, she enters very dangerous territory. Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Solidly engaging!

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney whose newest client, 9 yr old Rose Barclay, is firmly mute after the mysterious death of her nanny. Stella now has the task of determining which parent she should live with. That’s her job. But that might involve uncovering what truly happened to the nanny. Was it a mere accident? Suicide? Or is something more sinister hiding in the Barclay household?

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: oh a good mystery is always my jam. This once doesn’t disappoint. I appreciate the twist and the angle of Stella being a best interest attorney while also battling her own childhood trauma.

It’s the perfect beach-read mystery. Fast-paced. Great characters. Effective who-done-it. Can’t ask for more.

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Mystery, Domestic Thriller

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: It’s a great add to the genre so all the mystery/psychological read folks will eat this up.

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: hmm… can’t think
Of a clear red flag unless talking childhood trauma is an issue.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me scared of creepy kids. And houses.

I could not stop reading! Finished in 24 hours. The pacing was excellent and kept you in suspense without getting bored in the middle without the answers. I didn’t see the twist coming. A great summer thriller!

This just wasn’t for me. 25% in and nothing was happening. It seemed obvious to me that the girl was evil starting at page 1.

Stella Hudson has dedicated her life to advocating for children in unstable situations after surviving her own traumatic childhood. She is appointed to give her opinion on a custody agreement for Rose Barclay, a young girl suffering from traumatic mutism after the sudden death of her beloved nanny. The death is still being investigated, with everyone in the family as a suspect… even Rose. In order to find the best arrangement for Rose, Stella must intertwine herself with this incredibly rich, incredibly troubled family and finds herself in disturbing situations as a result. Can Stella save Rose? Or does Stella need saving herself

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Sarah Pekkanen. There’s deception, gaslighting, and sinister twists. Information was slowly revealed and connected as as the story went on which kept me invested until the very end. It was full of tension, deception, and sinister twists which kept me invested to the end. My only critique was that I feel like the ending was a little too near for such a messy story. It just felt a little TOO “wrapped up” for me.

I would highly recommend picking up a copy of this domestic thriller when it is published in August. A huge thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Sarah Pekkanen for this free ARC in exchange for my review!

Sarah Pekkanen's House of Glass is better than the book that precedes it. I can't say that I enjoyed it as much as the books she's written with Greer Hendricks, but it was definitely enjoyable. Stella is a child advocate that works with teens in various cases, often custody battles and she's asked by a judge that she considers her mentor to take on a case outside her normal parameters. Rose has trauma related mutism after watching her nanny die, and is in the middle of a custody battle between her parents. Her nanny was pregnant by her father Ian, and Rose was aware of it, which adds complications to the circumstances. Also part of the family is Ian's mother Harriet, who has been living with the family and helping take on care responsibilities after the nanny's death. Stella's decision to take on the case is driven by the trauma of her own childhood and her own trauma related mutism. She quickly finds that the situation is more complicated than she could have ever imagined, and begins to suspect everyone in the household, including Rose, of being capable of Tina, the nanny's, death. While she becomes increasingly concerned that Rose might be the culprit, she's dealing with threatening pranks that may be tied to the case and probing deeper into her mother's death to try and figure out if it truly was an accident - or someone killed her. The pacing of the story is good, and Pekkanen does a pretty good of explaining all of the things that point suspicion at different characters. It does feel like there's some secondary storylines where she delves into just enough details to make the reader interested, but glosses over them to keep the focus on the Barclay family. All in all a good, fast-paced beach read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers. A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book. Compared to the average ratings, I am in the minority on this, but I just did not enjoy this book. While the premise is interesting it just was not executed well and could have potentially been so much better. I found myself skimming through the last 30% just to get the book finished. I really enjoyed Gone Tonight by this author and was really excited to read this one also, but it was just a flop for me.

Sarah Pekkanen is on my list of favorite must read authors and this book is a good reason why. I raced through this book in 24 hours because I had to know how it ended.

This was a well thought out plot with the narrator being a reliable character. The supporting characters were all unreliable but that was a necessary aspect.

Stella, the main character is assigned to oversee a case involving a child going through a trauma. Because she herself also suffered a great trauma as a child she is the perfect choice for this case. Having had no one to protect her she vows to protect this child at all costs.

Buckle up for this wild ride. The ending was not as I expected and I love when that happens.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book

Stella is a best interest attorney who helps kids being pulled in each direction during their parents’ custody battle. She doesn’t work with young children but she has a unique tie to Rose and decides to make an exception. However as she starts to spend time with Rose and her family, Stella starts become more aware things aren’t what they seem and that no one is telling the truth.

This was my first Pekkanen book. I’ve read a few of hers that she wrote with Hendricks and have enjoyed them. I did enjoy this solo book and will pick up more of not only her solos but also her books with Hendricks.

This book had one POV and one timeline. Which can feel slow sometimes but I think it was executed well here. There was great tension building up and I stayed up very late finishing the book because I had to know the ending. I loved the creepy kid vibes and the weird and untrustworthy family dynamic. I especially enjoyed the imagery of a house of plastic only.

There was a secondary story line of Stella’s past that I felt kind of feel flat. And the additions of her current personal life didn’t seem to add much to the story. But overall I enjoyed this read and will definitely pickup any book with Sarah Pekkanen on the cover!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book!

Is this my book of the year? Time will tell. I will say it's 5 stars for me. Captured my attention from the first page and I didn't want to put it down. I read a lot of this genre and this one really had me.

House of Glass by author Sarah Pekkanen is a great book with a lot of twists and turns. Every time I thought I had things figured out, I realized moments later I was mistaken. I was given an opportunity to read an ARC of this book from netgalley, and while I didn’t read it immediately I regretted not reading it sooner. I give it 4/5 stars.

A plastic house, divorcing parents, the death of a nanny, and a complicated and traumatic child. Adding a twisty roller coaster of a thrill ride and you have a book that will grip you from page one to the last page.!