
Member Reviews

I loved this book! Man OH MAN, did I blow through this! Stella’s character is driven and stops at nothing to find out just what happened in that creepy freaking house. As she starts discovering, something is wickedly wrong with Rose! You know how some books portray evil kids in a very annoying way? Not here! Pekkanen does a splendid job throughout the book. Her writing is excellent and is superb at sucking the reader in!

I absolutely LOVED this thriller and didn’t want to put it down! The idea of ‘who killed the nanny’ isn’t new, however I thought the approach Sarah Pekkanen took was very unique. There were no ties between our FMC and the family at the start, and I loved that the link was that our FMC, Stella, is an attorney advocating for a child who had just experienced a great trauma.
I enjoyed getting to see how all the subtle clues came together at the end. The other thing that I personally found really successful in this story, was the merging between the case Stella is working, and the personal turmoil she is facing with the uncovering of her childhood trauma. I felt like the character development and parallels were written really well!
I would definitely recommend this book, and it has made me a fan of Sarah Pekkanen!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early Audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The mystery and payoff in House of Glass weren't as enticing as similar thrillers I've read, but the plot kept me interested enough to want to finish it. There were some extraneous storylines that I thought did nothing to enhance the novel, such as Stella's divorce.
The ending was only a mild surprise, rather than fun and twisty. And then it felt like things were wrapped up quickly, when a little bit more time could have been taken to really resolve the story and give the reader closure.
That being said, the overall story was ok.
I was excited when I found out that Tony-winner Laura Benanti was the audiobook narrator. But I was disappointed by her delivery, which veered on melodramatic. She had a tendency to speed up in the middle of the sentences, then slow down and get quieter at the end of sentences, so the end of sentences would get swallowed up.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This wasn't my favorite. I liked the audio but the story was pretty predictable and a little boring. Just not the right book for me!

Stella is a best interest attorney who is appointed to decide the fate of 9-year old Rose after her nanny fell [was pushed?] from the top story window of her house. Rose's parents are getting divorced, so Stella must do her best to get to the bottom of what has been going on in their household and who would be safest for Rose to live with. The only problem is that Stella doesn't know if others are safe from Rose.
I have really had a hard time focusing on books lately but this one really got me invested, so that in itself won my 5 stars. This book had me suspecting literally everyone and doubting my own beliefs - I love a book that can do that! I seriously didn't know what to think or who to believe. The ending was honestly awesome, I was not expecting it. I did think it all wrapped up a little too easily in the end but hey, the book held my attention so that was enough for me. I also really loved the relationship between Stella and Charlie and liked that we got to explore that further.
Sarah Pekkanen's writing is so easy to follow and lose yourself in. I love that the characters were well developed while the story never stalled or slowed - it held a quick pace throughout which I always appreciate. Stella's childhood and relationships were nicely woven into the story and although they didn't have much to do with Rose's case, I appreciated the extra depth and found it all to be very interesting. I definitely recommend this one!
As for the audiobook - I am sad to say that I did not like the narrator. I requested both the ARC and ALC and hoped to listen while reading or just do audio when I couldn't sit down to physically read, but I had to stop at about 10% and ended up just reading the book from the beginning. The narrator seemed to be over-acting, she was just doing too much. Every word was emphasized and it just felt like too much, I had to stop because it was getting on my nerves! I'm sorry! This could definitely be a me problem but I just couldn't listen to it - the actual book is excellent though! I give the book itself 5 stars but the audiobook/narrator 2 stars for that reason.

A wealthy wife/mother, a cheating husband/father, a doting grandmother, a traumatized child, and a dead nanny – all ingredients of a suspense-filled mystery.
After nine-year-old Rose witnesses the death of her nanny, she stops speaking. This tragedy occurs in the midst of her parents’ messy divorce, and best interest attorney Stella Hudson is called in to investigate and determine Rose’s custody arrangement. Rose’s family is overly protective of her and begrudgingly allow Stella to see her because of the court order. As Stella delves into the circumstances surrounding the nanny’s death and learns more about the family, she uncovers some disturbing and unsettling facts. Just a couple – Rose is stashing weapons without her family’s knowledge, and there are no windows or anything else made of glass in the house. Before long Stella questions if a child can be born bad.
As with most mysteries, nothing is exactly what it seems from the initial chapters, and the author tosses in plenty of red herrings to throw the reader off track. Several people had motives to murder the nanny, and I suspected nearly all of them.
After experiencing a tragedy of her own as a child and being nonverbal for a time as a result, Stella understands what Rose is going through and attempts to bond with the child and gain her trust. While her backstory is interesting, I felt like it slowed the pacing and distracted me from the mystery. It could really have been a separate book.
Recommended for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers, messy family dynamics, and plenty of red herrings.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“Who killed the nanny? That question lies at the heart of this story of a family coming undone in a creepy DC mansion.”
It wasn't the best of her books l've read. I enjoyed it but feel like it was slow & at times predictable although the actual motive was a surprise. The house is described as creepy but I didn’t feel that throughout the book. I also feel like Stella’s new found sexuality was through in as an afterthought. She was previously married to a man & there’s 2 small sections about her interaction & kiss with the female detective. I get this is part of herself suppressed because of a troubled childhood but I would have loved more integration of this in the overall story. It seems misplaced as is.
I’m definitely a fan of her writing & will continue to read everything I can from her, this just wasn’t my favorite.

House of Glass is a great mystery/thriller that will keep you reading/listening to find out what happens next. This novel makes a great audiobook and the narrator helped add to the experience.

I enjoyed this so much more than I expected! Thrillers can be so predictable and so unique to each reader that it’s difficult to tell if you’ll enjoy it based on reviews. This one did not disappoint!! The narrator was fantastic and kept the story going. She didn’t add any cringiness between characters and I was able to stay invested.
Through the whole book you’ll stay guessing. I thought I had figured it out. I felt like I could and would figure it out and it was a little predictable, but the ride there was frustrating and quick paced. Rose was such a unique character and you can’t help but invest in her. Her story will keep you on the edge of your seat.
My first by Sarah Pekkanen alone and I loved it! The story was 4 ⭐️. The narration was 4.5 ⭐️. Overall 4!!
Thanks so much NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was amazing! I was hooked from the beginning and listened to the book all day, finishing it in less than 24 hours. I loved it all the way through and especially the ending. This is an author that I always enjoy and they never disappoint. Highly recommend!

A solid thriller with an added-in mysterious backstory for the main character. I didn't love it as much as the author's last novel (Gone Tonight) but it was pretty good. I was satisfied with the reveal and ending.

As a fan of Sarah Pekkanen I was very excited to very excited to receive “House of Glass” on audiobook.
This book as expected pulled me in with a crumble trail then the twists and turn to shack my world.
We meet Stella Hudson a court appointed lawyer and child advocate. The book is from her POV and flips between her childhood and what’s is currently going on with Rose Barclay. Rose is a child who stopped talking after witnessing the death of her nanny, Tina. We meet Rose’s parents, grandmother and Rose’s boyfriend Pete.
Minor note which is very much a personal thing, I did not like the narrators voice. There was something about which annoyed me.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book had me second guessing myself all the way through. Who pushed Tina? Did anyone push Tina? Why is there no glass in the house? The second half of this book brought everything together seamlessly.
The characters created a lot of tension in the book with their hostility and lies. Rose, specifically, brought so much creepiness to the story. The way she communicated with Stella to leave her alone was straight out of a horror movie for me!

I have been a huge fan of Sarah Pekkanen since I read her and her co-author years ago. House Of Glass is the perfect quick read thriller! I have been in a reading slump for a few months and this one brought me right back. The parallels between the main character and the little girl are too good. I love that even when I finally put the pieces together it came as a surprise. I enjoyed this thriller. Perfect for beach reading!

House of Glass was my first book by Sarah Pakkanen. While I really enjoyed the ending, it seemed like pulling teeth getting to there. Just seemed like it dragged and wasn’t much going on throughout the book. The ending really did make up for it though if you can make it there.

I did something I rarely do and listened to this partly on audiobook while driving/working and then reading on my kindle when I had down time. I really enjoyed the narration on the audiobook as it added to the suspense and creepiness of the book.
Lawyer Stella had several traumatic things happen to her in her childhood, and now she helps older children (13 and older) as a best interest attorney during divorce cases. This time she has gone out of her comfort zone and agreed to take on 9 year old Rose who is suffering from a case of traumatic mutism. Add in a creepy house with no glass inside, a mom and dad who both seem suspicious and a highly involved granny and you have a very slow burn suspenseful read.
I received an ARC of this title from the NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

3 Stars, rounded up from 2.5.
House of Glass is about an attorney, Stella, who is appointed to represent a nine-year old girl, Ruth, in her very wealthy parents' divorce battle after Ruth's live-in nanny falls out of a third floor window at their home.
I listened to this book on audiobook and that may have impacted how I viewed the story, as hearing the words read out loud may have made them more unbelievable.
Stella is trying to form an opinion as to the custody of Ruth, who became mute following the death of her nanny, by learning about Ruth and her family, while interviewing some other characters involved in the investigation of the nanny's death. I found that throughout the book, Stella would form an opinion and seem like she was going to take action/do the logical thing, and then she would just completely 180 and go against what she was initially thinking. She disregarded a lot of behavior by all of the characters, and came to settle on decisions too easily, with some of them being shockingly bad for a lawyer representing a child. There were some twists - one being relatively expected and the other almost irrelevant/not addressed properly. I probably would not recommend this book, but it was a fast-paced, easy listen.
Thank you to Macmillian audio for the advanced copy via Net Galley for my honest review.

This is a tale of two formats.
On my Kindle, I liked this story. The Barclay home was its own cryptic character, the odd family dynamics brought a pervasive tension, Rose’s behavior was super creepy and grandma Harriet was her own enigma. The growing sense of threat to Stella was a nice undercurrent that kept me engaged, and a side story about her friend/mentor Charles added another layer of intrigue. There was a lot to like, even if I didn’t like this as much as last year’s Gone Tonight. I can’t say the ending surprised me, and it did go a little eye-rolly, but overall this was a solid, well-written psychological thriller.
This brings me to the audio. Normally, I love listening along while I read, but as anyone who likes audiobooks knows, a narrator can significantly impact your enjoyment. Unfortunately, that was the case here. If it hadn’t been an ALC, I would’ve stopped listening early on. Was it a poor performance by Laura Benanti? Not at all! It just had aspects I don’t prefer. I don’t like overly tremulous, emotional voicing when a female character is scared. I find it annoying more than engaging. Also Harriet is in her mid-sixties but she sounded like she was in her eighties, which affected believability. I didn’t hate the audio, but I didn’t love it.
So with all that said, the written story gets 4 stars, the audio gets 3 for an average of 3.5, which I’ll round up because the story kept me engaged to the end, and isn’t that what’s most important?

Wow! I loved this so much more than I expected to! I had so many theories, and I still didn’t get it right. Pekkanen weaved an eerie and intricate whodunnit that I could not put down, and she wrapped everything up in a pretty bow at the end. I loved how sinister things seemed at times, and how the MFCs past was woven in to relate the little girl in the story. I bounced between the physical and the audio of this one, and the narrator did a phenomenal job. She helped set the scene to make some parts more chilling. Highly recommend this one!
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Macmillan Audio for my ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

Listened to the audiobook and enjoyed every moment of it. The storyline grabbed me from the beginning and every chapter just added a little significant piece to the puzzle. I love when books are written this way so you have to remember small details but they all add up at the end.
Rose’s nanny fell to her death in the family home- did she accidentally fall or did someone push her.. if so, then who?
This is a great read that keeps your attention throughout the book. If you’re a fan of audiobooks, this was a good pick. House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen comes out on August 6, 2024. Thank you to netgalley for my audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.