A twisty, suspenseful domestic thriller, I could not figure out who to trust in Sarah Pekkanen's latest, House of Glass. The Barclays live a life of privilege, but dad Ian and mom Beth are at the start of a tense divorce - both want full custody of their nine-year old daughter Rose. When their nanny falls out a house window to her death, the police suspect it was not an accident. The incident left Rose traumatized and unable to advocate for herself, so Stella, our protagonist and court-appointed lawyer, must step in and determine the best custody arrangement for her. But Rose collects sharp objects, all glass is removed from the house, and no one wants Stella to be alone with Rose for too long. Stella knows something else is amiss, and she struggles with her own past as she risks everything to find the truth. The ending was so satisfying!

Stella is in charge of determining the best interests of children in nasty divorce proceedings where a decision cannot be made amicably. Her newest client is Rose, a girl who recently witnessed the death of her nanny in her home. The nanny somehow fell through an upstairs window to her death. The circumstances surrounding it are very suspicious and the case is not settled yet. Because of the horrific incident, Rose has become mute and will not speak to anyone. Since she cannot advocate for herself, Stella needs to get to the bottom of what happened and who is responsible for the nanny's mysterious death. She needs to spend time with each family member and determine the relationships that are beneficial for Rose, while Stella is also doing her own covert investigation.

This book was absolutely amazing!!! I have loved the books that Sarah Pekkanen has co-written and I am a huge fan of hers individually too. This story gripped my soul from the very beginning and did not let go until the book was finished. The story is phenomenal and well-thought-out. There are so many suspicious characters that it is hard to know if anyone is being genuine. The writing is perfection and a complete thrill. I highly recommend this book!

2.75 ⭐️

The premise sounded so intriguing…

Nine-year old Rose stops speaking after her nanny (who is also her father’s pregnant affair partner) plunged to her death through a window. Attorney Stella Hudson is hand-picked by her legal mentor to represent Rose’s best interest in her parents’ custody battle because she herself suffered from traumatic mutism following the death of her mother.

Is her creepy but bright voiceless client a traumatized witness, or did she push the nanny herself? If only Rose could communicate!!

Except… she can. She could WRITE the words she cannot say. Whether she’s a secret psychopath or a girl in need of help, surely she would want to write down her own version of what happened. But nope. And wouldn’t a child prodigy at least carry around a notebook so that at family dinners, she can ask someone to pass the salt? Instead, Rose’s communication in all forms is minimal, terse or vague. In reading other glowing reviews, I seem to be the only nitpicker that this bothered. But one of my biggest pet peeves in the thriller/mystery genre is when a character’s inaction serves to draw out the plot.

Overall, the writing and plot seemed a bit scattered, like throwing darts at multiple dartboards at once. While a particular plot twist hit the bullseye, many of the other storyline tosses bounced off the wall.

I received an ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Entertaining

When Stella, a child advocate, is assigned the job of deciding custody and visitation rights for divorcing parents, there are a lot of factors to consider. In this case, there is a father who had admittedly had an affair with the nanny, a wealthy mother who spends most of her time doing volunteer work, and Rose, a disturbed child. Oh, and the pregnant nanny died, either by being pushed or falling out of her bedroom window.

When Stella first sees Rose, Rose picked up a shard of glass on the street. When she goes to Rose's house, all of the glass - mirrors, picture frames, etc. is gone. The parents and the grandmother that lives with them seem to be concerned about Rose, but appear to be covering something up.

I listened to the audio book of this and thoroughly enjoyed it. There are a few sub-plots that keep everything interesting and even a little romance that was a surprise.

I definitely recommend this.

The Barclay’s nanny fell out of the attic window and is now dead. But was she pushed, or did she fall of her own accord? Meanwhile, nine-year-old Rose Barclay has stopped talking because of the traumatic experience and everyone is worried about her. At the same time, Rose’s parents are getting divorced, and her grandmother is living with them, recovering from knee surgery. Now Stella, a best interest attorney, swoops in to determine the best placement for Rose when her parents divorce. Stella quickly learns that things are not what they seem in the Barclay household. To start with, the house has no glass anywhere within it. Stella is determined to find out what is happening in the Barclay household and the best placement for Rose.

Sarah Pekkanen has done it again! Just when I thought I knew what happened, the twist came, and I was shocked. I really enjoyed the ending as it wrapped everything up perfectly. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys thrillers! The narration by Laura Benanti was perfect and kept me listening. I give this one 4/5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator was spot on. The story line flowed well. I was able to predict the twist, it was 1 or two theories I had going through out the book. However, I wasn’t able to settle on which one I felt was the correct one until the last few chapters, due to the writers ability to throw thinks in that would make me switch theories. I look forward to reading more books by this author!

House of Glass is a psychological thriller about an attorney called in to help determine the best living situation for Rose, a nine-year-old child caught in the middle of her well-off parent's divorce and custody battle. Unfortunately, getting close to or answers from Rose is no easy feat after she witnessed a murder in her home and is now suffering from traumatic mutism.

This is a hard one for me to review. On the one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed all the secrets, lies, and twists. And I think the author did a great job creating suspense and suspicion around a few of the characters, but I was left wanting/needing more depth from most of them. I think the author threw way too much into this book, slowing the plot's pace way down at times. However, the biggest drawback for me was the narration. I do not think the narrator did this story any favors. She either came across too flat or too dramatic. It really did not work for me. Having said this, I'm still excited to have been selected to read and review this book, and I am still a Pekkanen fan and will continue to seek out and read her work.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, Sarah Pekkanen, and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Looking for a fast paced read you won’t want to put down? I got you. House of Glass is the book you’re looking for.

Beth and Ian Barclay are getting a divorce and fighting over custody of their 9 year old daughter, Rose. Stella is a best interest attorney - it’s her job to recommend the best custody arrangement. To determine this, it’s important for her to learn all she can about the family - and as she starts to investigate the Barclays, she quickly realizes this isn’t a typical case.

Creepy and compelling, I didn’t want to put this one down! Thank you to St Martins Press, Netgalley, and Macmillan audio for the free ebook and audiobook to review!

🎧4⭐️

As I absolutely loved Gone Tonight by the same author I was keen to read/ listen to this book asap.

I had the audiobook read by Laura Benanti who does a good job.

This is the second book I’ve read about child protective services, this is court appointed best interest attorney Stella who is investigating where Rose the appointed child’s best interest lies after her Nanny died in suspicious circumstances. The previous book concentrated more on the court procedure (Between the Lies Louise Tickle for anyone curious) This one is more investigative than court based.

Of course there are plenty of secrets, lies and twists it wouldn’t be a psych thriller without. It’s got a good pace. It kept me entertained, there’s a couple of dodgy decisions (nothing new there). There’s characters to love, hate and be suspicious of, sometimes all three.

I didn’t love it as much as Gone Tonight, but I enjoyed it.

Another quick, exciting book by Sarah Pekkanen! This is a fast paced, who dunnit? read with a reliable narrator (hallelujah!). I enjoyed Stella's character, her backstory, and the affects of it in the present story. The Barclay family, particularly the nine year old daughter Rose, are a flawed and peculiar bunch. The author cleverly caused me to be invested this family who are actually quite unlikable. I saw the main twist coming but the secondary twist totally blindsided me and added understanding and value to the overall story arc. A well written suspenseful, mystery/thriller than I imagine most who gravitate toward the genre will enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Sarah Pekkanen for an audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I may never recover from this audiobook.
The narration is spot on. I really felt like Stella was talking to me. I was not expecting the ending at all. There were so many twists.

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. I enjoyed Sarah Pekkanen’s last thriller, but this fell flat for me. The plot and the conclusion were too far fetched, the characters felt flat and one dimensional, and there was a lot of unnecessary filler. I also found the narrator of the audiobook pretty grating. I do think the author is talented but this was a disappointment.

House Of Glass is a suspenseful, chilling and sinister read. The atmosphere in this book was perfect. It is somewhat of a slow burn, but never did I feel bored, it held my attention from start to finish and I absolutely needed to know the final conclusion.

The characters were all suspects pretty much and my mind kept changing throughout the whole book. I loved how the author dropped little hints here and there to steer you in multiple directions. The tension was slowly building from page to page revealing twists and information at the right time to keep the reader engaged.

I really loved the storyline and the plot. I thought it was well written and well developed. Definitely worth the read.

🎧 The narration by Laura Benanti was really good. She did amazing at setting the eerie and creepy feeling of the house. She was great with portraying the emotions as well. She truly kept me hooked.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio, @stmartinspress & @sarahpekkanen for my gifted ARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐰! 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞-𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝! 𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧! 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫!

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒮𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒽 𝒫𝑒𝓀𝓀𝒶𝓃𝑒𝓃, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃'𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Laura Benanti who does a fantastic job!

Stella is appointed as the attorney for Rose Barclay, an 8 year old girl, in her parents divorce. The Barclays are super wealthy, living in their luxurious estate in DC. Along with the divorce, there is a criminal investigation into the death of their live-in nanny who fell to her death from her attic room and so happened to be pregnant with Mr Barclay's baby. Stella sets out to get to know her client, who is struck mute by the tragedy and collects sharp objects. Who killed the nanny?

This story is a suspenseful, fast paced, page turner full of lies, secrets, and deceptions. This is a well written and well planned character driven story, and I loved how the tension quickly built throughout the story. There is an ever present feeling to the story that everyone is lying and nothing is as it seems.

Each of the characters are well developed with their own backstory and behaviors. I honestly thought each one of them was the killer at one point in time in the story and did not figure it out until the very end! Lots of red herrings, twists and turns! Another great story by this author!!!

Highly recommend

This was a 3 star solid thriller about Rose Barclay who is a nine-year old who is essentially a mute. It can be traumatic when she witnessed the "possible murder" of her nanny. A lawyer who shares a similar history of dealing with a traumatic past - is assigned to Rose to try to have a breakthrough with Rose. In the end, it had a few twists and turns but it wasn't my favorite.

Audiobook/Psychology Thriller: I liked this book until the ending. It's written in first person, my favorite. It did keep me guessing: he did, then she did it , the kid did it, all four did it.
The ending was disappointing because it could have ended with a good feeling, but instead, after the climax, it was five chapters of stuff.
The narrator was great.
I want to thank Netgalley for a copy of the audio.

I really wanted to love this audiobook because of the whole “The Orphan” vibe. BUT not only was the narrator irritating, the story was so long and drawn out. the way the two plots combine and overlap seemed like a large, unrelated stretch to me as well. The parts I liked though, I really liked.

House of glass
I really enjoyed this book!
4.5 stars

Stella is an attorney who decides which parent a child should live with. The client she has been placed with is Rose, a beautiful little girl who became mute after watching her nanny die. As Stella gets to know the family, the more questions she has about each member. The mom seems uptight and private, the dad openly admits to cheating on her multiple times, the grandma is overly involved, and Rose. Well, Rose seems to be collecting shards of glass for a hobby.

This was a fun domestic thriller with a side of creepy vibes. The narrator of the audiobook did a stellar job as well. I highly suggest adding this to your TBR pile for sure!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and MacMillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5⭐️ rounded down

I enjoyed Sarah Pekkanen’s previous book, Gone Tonight. So when I saw she had a new book coming out I was excited to read it. This is definitely a twisty book that had me reading late into the night. I really wanted to find out what the heck was going on.

I was really invested in finding out what was going on with Rose and her parents. If she was really as evil as she was portrayed or if it was one of the parents. The subplot involving Stella’s past wasn’t my favorite. I felt like it detracted a bit from the main story with Rose. Charles was also a strange side character. I still can’t decide how I feel about his part of the story.

Overall, this was a good thriller that kept me guessing. I didn’t enjoy it as much as Gone Tonight, but still a solid read.