Okay so this book was good. Did I love the ending? No. I think there should have been more red herrings. There wasn’t a lot to go off of since there weren’t many characters.

However, this kept me intrigued the whole way. I loved the mystery behind the glass objects, the windows being replaced, and what the heck Rose was keeping from everyone.

The pacing was a tad slow, I could have used a bit more intensity, but overall I liked it.

The narrator was great and the audiobook was perfect!

This was okay but very slow feeling. At first, I was more interested and slightly creeped out but I felt it was way longer than it needed. I totally guessed the big twist but it was still enjoyable and I liked the audio format. But I was ready for it to wrap and wish it had been a bit more fast paced, shorter. Maybe more surprises. Overall, not my favorite but still an entertaining listen.

I am a fan of Sarah Pekkanan's writing but this one fell flat to me. Between the overdramatization of the details to the melodramatic reading in the narration, I did not finish this one.

The second storyline was a distraction and it just detracted from the story, which felt familiar overall.

I will read this author again, I am unlikely to listen to the narrator again.

Thank you to #StMartinsPress for the #ARC provided through #NetGalley.

This was SO good. Loved how the past and the present were woven together. Great twist and super satisfying ending!

Stella, who is an interest lawyer, who is assigned to a new case to 9 year old Rose whose parents are going through a divorce and her nanny recently died at her home too. Stella goes beyond looking for the best interest of Rose and digs into why the nanny died. The story is a bit creepy and leads you down to not knowing who to trust. In addition to this case, Stella finally looks into the case of her mom's death and learns so much about her past. I found the attempt at romance for Stella was a bit out of place and didn't really add to the book and didn't provide any glimpse of what's to happen. Overall, a great enjoyable psychological thriller.

Laura Benanti did a great job with the narration and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio @netgalley for a copy of the book.

3.75 stars

This is another solid and engaging thriller from Pekkanen.

Young Rose needs some help, and Stella is just the one to provide it to her. Rose has stopped speaking after the suspicious death of her nanny at the family's home. Stella, who also had a traumatic childhood event that led to her long silence, will now use her investigative skills and empirical experience to find out the truth behind this strange death and Rose's silence.

I enjoyed this overall, but I wanted a lot more Rose content throughout and fewer references to Stella's past which, at some point, felt a bit overwrought. This is a good beach read: entertaining enough with little focus required.

When and where accessible, I recommend the audio version.

Loved it! 4.5. I am a big fan of the writing duo of Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks, and this was equally satisfying. Lots of twists figuring out main mystery and the FMC character's relationships and history. The questions surrounding the young girl are handled with sophistication. And I just loved Stella--you don't always adore a character in a thriller, but I wanted all good things for her in the end. The narrator did a nice job overall and I thought a nice job slightly changing voices throughout, especially the voice of Charles which made me want him as a friend as well. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the AAC and the opportunity to share my review.

House of Glass started off as what felt like a standard mystery/thriller. After reading a lot of books in the genre I felt pretty confident that I knew where this one was going. The farther I got into it the more I appreciated some of the layers that were added. They might not have necessarily felt important to the main mystery, but they added some interesting heft to the story that made the world feel richer. There were definitely times I felt frustrated reading this if only because the main character made a lot of choices I wouldn't have made and jumped to a lot of conclusions I wouldn't have, but it fit the story nicely. In the end I wasn't totally surprised by the turn of events but it was still pleasant to find the story went in a direction I hadn't originally expected it to go.

I did listen to this as an audiobook and I thought the narrator was great.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. The narration was excellent, and the storyline was full of twists and turns. Sarah Pekkanen never disappoints.

Thank you, #Netgalley and #MacMillanAudio, for this ARC

This is my 9th book by Sarah Pekkanen, and, since she's only written about a dozen, I guess you can call me a fan. House of Glass, like all her others, is a great read full of interesting twists and well developed characters.

A mystery with a murder, a mute child, wealth, privilege and a determined, yet reluctant, lawyer assigned to determine the best interest of the child, this one has enough thinking to require the reader (or listener) to pay attention. It felt similar in story to remind me of Barbara Michaels and Lisa Scottoline, which is never a bad thing. Smart and well paced, I can easily recommend this one. And, while we're at it, please check out all of Pekkanen's writing, including those with partner Greer Hendricks.

Stella is a lawyer who is assigned by the court in custody cases to represent the child. She decides who should get custody of the child based upon her assessments. She is assigned to analyze Rose, a nine year old who has recently experienced trauma after her nanny fell from a window at her house and suspiciously died. Stella realizes this won’t be a typical case, after visiting the home and discovering that Rose has gone mute and that there is no glass in the house to be found. Who are the Barclays protecting?

Ouuuuuu Pekkanen does it again! I loved the creepy elements of this thriller, with Rose becoming a suspect in the nanny’s murder. Her being mute and the suspense surrounding her fascination with weapons added to the intrigue right from the start. You didn’t know who to trust and I also found the dive into Stella’s own past quite interesting. The ending was a bit far fetched in my opinion, but action packed!

I enjoyed this psychological thriller! There’s murder, family drama, trauma, and suspense! What’s not to love? The main characters, a custody lawyer and a nine-year old girl, have connected trauma that is explored through both past and present experiences. The plot is somewhat predictable, but that doesn’t necessarily turn me off to the story. I was hooked from the start and appreciated the extra twist thrown in towards the end.

Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen, MacMillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

꧁𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖꧂

𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒

𝐁𝐘

𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐇 𝐏𝐄𝐊𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐍

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio

Pub Date: 08/06/2024

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Song: Things That Break by Miranda Lambert

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my ARC of this novel by one of my fav authors.

Well well well…Sarah, you’ve knocked it out the park with this one. 🏟️. I stayed up all night finishing it.

This book has a ton of characters that all had a suspicious vibe about them, yet I liked all of them, a rarity for me. I was intrigued by everyone, because they all had their own story…and motives. Plus you’ll want to find out why Beth doesn’t allow glass in the house (I never knew a fear of glass was a thing).

There was a surprising amount of character depth packed into these 352 pages.

Love that Stella is a Miranda Lambert fan too! I don’t really like country music that much but I love her music.

The twists were fun and easy to follow too which I loved. I hate when authors write something so twisty that it becomes convoluted and ruins the book. You won’t have any of that in this book.

Added bonus - I live in Maryland and love taking day trips to DC and since SP lives in my neck of the woods it’s always a treat to have places I’ve been referenced in her books.

Read this if you like mysterious books with odd/creepy kids. It’s got a similar atmospheric vibe to Baby Teeth.

I'm a bit conflicted about this one. The tension and the idea behind the story, that of a young girl who isn't talking after her nanny dies under mysterious circumstances, was entertaining. I also thought Stella, the main character, was interesting. But some elements didn't add up for me (I can't say much because they're spoilers), which caused me to round the story down about a star. It was interesting and well-written, as Pekkanen's novels always are.

Overall, this one was a good read!

Stella is an attorney who represents and protects children in divorce cases. She is presented with the case involving 9-year-old Rose, a peculiar girl who has gone mute. Rose's parents are in the process of a divorce after her father had an affair and impregnated their nanny. To add to the already weird situation, the baby unexpectedly dies. Things continue to get weird for Stella requiring her to investigate further. The closer Stella gets to the truth the more danger she gets herself into.

This really started fast paced and had me hooked. Towards the middle things slowed down and the focus changes to Stella and her history/traumas. Some parts felt predictable while others left me guessing. Overall, the storyline kept me on my toes.

I listened to the audiobook of "House of Glass" and felt the narrator did an outstanding job expressing emotions and making the listener feel how the characters were feeling. She was able to keep my attention and keep me listening.

Thank you, Sarah Pekkanen, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A nine-year-old girl witnesses her nanny plunge to her death.

Did the nanny commit suicide or was she pushed?

After witnessing this horrific event, the 9-year-old girl is now mute.

The book unfolds from the POV of the child's best interest attorney, who also experienced mutism from childhood trauma.

Although the book's premise was intriguing, its pacing was slow and lacked the thrill factor I was seeking.

Only one of the book's many, many characters were well-developed.

I prefer fewer in-depth characterizations.

I listened to the 11-hour audiobook that easily could have been a 9-hour book.

The book was narrated by Laura Benanti.

Although Laura Benanti's narration was crisp and clear, her voice had a YA vibe.

I am a Sarah Pekkanen fan so perhaps my expectations were too high.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 ⭐️
I want to thank NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for the audio ARC of this thrilling book in exchange for my honest review.

I have never read this author before so it was a treat to get introduced to her. I picked the book because Laura Bananti narrated it and I wanted to hear how she was as an audio reader.

She did not disappoint. Many times when working actors do an audio book it becomes over done with voices and dramatic effect. That was not the case here. Laura gave just enough energy to the characters while still leaving room for the listener to create a world in their head. Her male voices was some of the better I have heard. She didn’t make them sound like a cartoon character like many do.

For the prose itself, it was full of suspense and twists and turns. If and when you figure out the culprit, you don’t mind knowing as it still is an engaging story even when the author is laying out the how and why. It was refreshing that the end did not seem rushed like I have. Even experiencing with many other books.

If you like thrillers give this one a go when it comes out Aug 6, 2024

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I saw the name Sarah Pekkanan and decided I wanted to read this book based on some vague recognition of her name and thinking I liked her books. Totally didn’t remember that everything I’ve read of hers was co-authored with Greer Hendricks. That being said, I don’t think it made a huge difference, but I hadn’t read her solo stuff before and this book was missing something, for sure. (My mistake could have been in listening to the audio instead of reading it myself. The narrator is going to return to me in my nightmares, especially in the last third of the books when she became shrill and waaay too over-dramatic.)

I will not rehash the plot of this book, you can read that for yourself, but I will say that it doesn’t tell you there is a second storyline in this book, and that it’s actually quite uninteresting and unnecessary and contributes to this book being longer than it needed to be. Our MC was also a bit flat for me, but I did enjoy the creepy atmosphere of the house and the strange little girl, who was experiencing traumatic mutism and has a weird fixation on sharp objects.

I’d read this author again, I would NOT listen to the narrator again.

House of Glass is a binge-worthy thrilling family drama, with a touch of “spooky” thrown in. I easily devoured this audio in one day.

Rose, 9 years old, has been mute since the day her nanny died. The question has always been: what truly happened? Was the nanny pushed, or did she fall out of the window? And if pushed, who is responsible? Not only is Rose not saying anything, but she now seems to collect sharp objects in the pockets of her dresses.

Stella is a lawyer who’s assigned to deciding which parent will get Rose in a custody battle. Throw in the fact that a very overbearing grandma lives in the house, and this will have you on the edge of your seat!

I listen to lots of audiobooks and this one was very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this early audio in return for my honest opinion.

Pub Date: 06 August 2024

An exciting thriller where every member of the Barclay family is a suspect. Sarah Pekkanen keeps you guessing, which made this one hard to put down!! I loved the parallels between the protagonist, Stella and the little girl, Rose who Stella is tasked with providing custody recommendations for. If you’re looking for a quick thriller read, this one is it!