I really enjoyed this one a lot! It was the type of book that kept you wanting to read more and more. I am so thankful to have been able to read this!

4 stars

I love Sarah Pekkanen’s writing. And from the beginning of House of Glass, I was sucked in. Her writing is so good and her stories are just as good too!

From the beginning I was questioning Rose’s involvement in this story. I knew there was something off and questioned her involvement. But to find out the ending, wow, it blew my mind! Stella is the kind of woman you want on your side in an investigation of this magnitude. She is the kind of lawyer everyone should have.

I listened to the audio of this book and the narrator did an excellent job!

***Thank you Netgalley and MacMillin audio for an ARC copy***

Sarah Pekkanen is known for her well-crafted, suspense-filled reads, and House of Glass is no exception. Filled with oodles of twists and turns, it kept me on the edge of my seat, guessing which way things might go, right up til the very end. A great option if you’re in the mood for a delightfully tense beach read this summer.

Laura Benanti did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Sarah Pekkanen, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Synopsis: Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, and her new client Rose is complex. Not only does Rose have some sort of mutism and is younger than her typical clientele, but she also witnessed the murder of her nanny amid her parent’s divorce. As Stella gets to know Rose and her parents, she realizes this case is a lot more complex than she initially imagined.

Thoughts:The plot for this seems pretty straightforward when you first start reading, and it is definitely an easy book to follow along with (perfect for an audiobook errands day), but there is a lot of complexity layered in, which speaks to Pekkanen’s talent as an author. Laura Benanti’s narration was the perfect compliment to the story. She created a creepy and atmospheric setting and was great with all the dialogue. There were so many times I did not know who to trust, and I truly loved all the twists. I also enjoyed the interplay between Stella's past trauma and her current case with Rose.

Thank you SMP and Macmillan Audio for the ARC/ALC!

A thrilling read surrounding a lawyer on the hunt for the truth. Her client is a young girl who has developed mutism following the death of the family’s nanny. It’s quickly revealed that this death appears to have been murder and not an accident. This read can get a bit long winded and slightly predictable, but it has many twists and turns that overall maintains your interest.

ALC via NetGalley

ve read many of Ms. Pekkanen books and enjoyed them. This one I too enjoyed for the most part but there was just something that I can’t put my finger on it that keeps me from “loving it”. I think I felt some plot twists were far fetched but again, I can’t really put my finger on it. I enjoyed the first 50% and then just started to get tired of it. Ms. Pekkanen will continue to be a must read author for me. Thank you for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

A thriller with a family hiding lots of secrets by one of my auto-buy authors…say less!

Pekkanen has crafted an addictive and entertaining story surrounding the Barclay family. Their nanny was possibly murdered at their home and now the family is being investigated to see what they know. To make matters more complicated, their nine-year-old has stopped speaking and is busying herself collecting sharp objects 😲

The Barclay family was captivating. They all very clearly had secrets and I loved getting to unravel them alongside our main character, Stella, who by the way has quite a few things she needs to work out as well. Stella’s past and the Barclay’s have interesting overlaps that really tie everything together and make the story and character motivations flow seamlessly together.

The pacing of House of Glass is quick and keeps readers on their feet as Pekkanen reveals new twists and turns in the story.

🎧: I snagged a copy of the audio from Netgalley thinking this would be a perfect companion to my commute and I can definitely confirm that’s true!

As a lover of the domestic thriller genre, I was very excited to pick up House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen, particularly after enjoying the overly intricate twists and turns of The Wife Between Us from 2017.

House of Glass follows Stella Hudson, a “best interests” attorney, assigned to nine-year-old Rose Barclay who is suffering from traumatic mutism, something Stella herself dealt with as a child. Moreover, Rose’s condition, which does not stem from her parents’ messy divorce, began after she witnessed her previous nanny’s unexplained death. Was Tina, Rose’s young nanny, the victim of a freak accident? Could her death be connected to the Barclays' imminent divorce? And why is Rose, who grows increasingly distant toward Stella with each interaction, now obsessively collecting every sharp object she can find?

This novel definitely has some fun, thriller-y aspects to it, with a cast of unreliable adults, a scary mansion where voices carry (and surprisingly enough, nothing is made of glass), and a progressively creepier child. This should have all added up to quite an enjoyable experience for me, however, there was a general flatness to the storytelling, where no big reveal or twist truly managed to elevate the mystery. While Laura Benanti’s narration was layered and exciting, the text itself fell short many times, particularly with the characters being a little too one note, never really leaving their designated trope lane, and merely moving from scene to scene in a “and then” fashion. The ending also wrapped up way too neatly and lacked any real depth that would have made the final reveals feel earned. There were some particular threads involving Stella’s mentor and her own traumatic past that I was expecting more from as well.

While House of Glass did not match the hype I’d built around it, it remains an engaging, read-in-one-sitting mystery that’ll thrill most fans of the genre, and I’ll likely pick up Pekkanen's future releases.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and McMillan Audio for the ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Gripped me from the very beginning! I loved the mystery behind the story, but the ending fell a little flat for me. I feel like I wasn't all that surprised by the twist. Great on audio.

3.5 rounded up.

Our main character Stella is a best interest lawyer who represents children in custody cases. Stella decides to help Rose, a 9 year old whose parents are getting divorced. Rose witnessed the possible murder of her nanny and is now suffering from traumatic mutism. This stirs up some memories from Stella's past because she also suffered from traumatic mutism as a child.

I liked this book a lot. It gave me a little bit of Silent Patient vibes because the person who could tell us what happened isn't speaking/can't speak. It has super short Cheeto chapters. Really fast read. I had to know what really happened and how everything was going to resolve. I will say it might have given me nightmares 😆 this or Gladiator.

The audiobook is very well done. Laura Benanti's voice is perfect for Stella.

I've always been a fan of Sarah Pekkanen's writing, but this will be my first venture into her solo works. I heard amazing things about her 2023 release, Gone Tonight, so I was very excited to dive into her 2024 thriller, HOUSE OF GLASS. This story is centered around the death of a nanny, witnessed by nine year old Rose Barclay. Rose is dealing with the trauma of her nanny's death, but also with her parents going through a divorce. When attorney Stella Hudson is assigned to this case, she realizes that the Barclay family is hiding secrets of their own. Stella is in over her head and quickly believes that this family is more sinister than she ever suspected.

I don't want to dive too much into the story, but I got such old school BA Paris vibes from this book, in the best way possible. The story of Elizabeth and Ian Barclay's divorce plays a big role into this story and it's a bit longer than it needed to be, but the mystery is front and center. While Stella tries to determine which parent would be the ideal fit for sole custody of Rose, the reader quickly sees her dive further into the chaos of this family. This whodunnit is pretty fun and the book is very atmospheric. It's hard not to root for Stella and see her battle the Barclay family. The title comes from the fact that this family does not own any glass within the house, which was a unique and oddly satisfying aspect to the mystery. The ending really was a perfect bow to the story. I will gladly pick up the next Sarah Pekkanen novel!

Very compelling and hard to put down. I've always enjoyed the author duo but Pekkanen is a force on her own as well! This was a read in one day thriller that keeps you on your toes.

Tragedy strikes a family after their nanny falls to her death, resulting in the young daughter Rose developing selective mutism. Amidst the turmoil, the parents move to divorce bringing children’s advocate, Stella, into their lives. Stella must observe the family,:mom, dad, daughter, and grandmother, and determine how Rose’s custody should be arranged. Without Rose’s voice, Stella must piece together the clues she can get from the verbal and nonverbal members of the household. But as Stella gets closer to her decision, some people start to feel threatened and Stella may need to be put in her place. An edge of your seat thriller that while you may think you know, still manages to surprise you.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I flew through this book. I loved the psychological piece of the book. There wasn't a single character that could be trusted. I mainly listened to the book on audio and the narrator, Laura, did a great job with the inflections in her tone. It helped create tension within the story. I think the short chapters made it easier to fly through the book and the ending caught me by surprise.

For any psychological thriller lover, I would highly recommend this read.

"Everyone holds a bit of darkness inside." This quote from Sarah Pekkanen's House of Glass perfectly encapsulates the chilling tension that runs through this novel. From the first page, I was hooked, and the story kept me guessing until the very end. The plot twists were masterfully executed, leaving me on the edge of my seat. I found it nearly impossible to put down and now, having finished, I'm already craving more. Pekkanen has once again proven her skill in crafting psychological thrillers that linger long after the last page.

House of Glass follows a lawyer, Stella, who is deciding the future custody of a child after her nanny dies mysteriously. With a unique connection to the child, Stella battles her own past as she decides Rose's future. If you enjoy thrillers where everyone is a suspect, you are bound to enjoy House of Glass!

I received an ALC from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Narration performed by Laura Benanti was well done and definitely enhanced my reading experience.

House of Glass is a highly addictive, spine tingling suspense where everyone is in question.

The Barclays are a seemingly perfect, wealthy family. But when their nanny falls to her death and a divorce is imminent with an ugly custody battle on the horizon, a best interest attorney is put on the case to represent the young child, Rose. Stella usually doesn't take cases with kids that are not in their teens, but the judge on this particular case knows Stella is the perfect person for the job. Stella is the type of attorney that is beyond driven and will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of everything.

But when Stella steps into the Barclays home, she knows that this case will be unlike anything she has experienced before. She not only is acting in the best interest of the child, but now is drawn in by the creepy "plastic" home and its inhabitants. Everyone is off and seems to be keeping her from the truth that lies within the walls. Stella feels that she must now find out what happened to the nanny in order to come to her resolution concerning Rose. Who is guilty and who is telling the truth? The mother, the father, the nanny's boyfriend, the grandmother and even Rose herself are all suspects.

Sarah Pekkanen did a great job of creating a setting that was both suspenseful and characters that all seemed like they were hiding something. Even when it came to Stella's personal life, you had to wonder how that all fit in with the case of the Barclays and the nanny's death. I liked that everyone was a suspect and seemed to be lying or at least withholding truths. There was always an underlying tenseness within the characters. Their actions intrigued me. While I didn't feel this was a thriller that was full of twists and turns, it felt more like a psychological study on the characters and their actions. And I love a good "who dun it" with a bunch of questionable characters.

Overall, this was a good suspenseful thriller with some interesting characters that all seemed guilty at one point or another. I was led to believe that all were a little bit sinister. WIth the short chapters and interesting characters, Pekkanen brought a sense of urgency to the story and made it that much more exciting. A good overall read.

From the very first page of “House of Glass”, I was completely hooked and found it nearly impossible to put down. Sarah Pekkanen has delivered another gripping story with her signature style of storytelling that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

The book stands out not only for its intriguing plot but also for its exceptional character development. Pekkanen's ability to breathe life into her characters and make them relatable is my favorite. Each character feels multi-dimensional, real, and relatable which adds depth to the story and makes it all the more intriguing. The book's structure is my favorite format…...short, fast-paced chapters that create a highly engaging reading experience.

The audiobook format enhances this experience wonderfully. The narrator’s performance was excellent, capturing the essence of the characters and the tension of the plot with great skill. The pacing of the narration was spot-on, which amplified the already fast-paced nature of the story and kept me fully engaged.

“House of Glass”, Is a quick read due to its fast pace and engaging story, and it kept me eagerly turning the pages until the very end. I can’t recommend it highly enough—this one definitely earns a full 5 stars!

The characters were well written and the narrator did a good job. At the beginning the book was fast past but from halfway through I started to find the book was too long.

Stella, a best interest attorney for children, takes a case with a new client who is younger than the clients she usually takes. Her name is Rose, and as a nine-year-old caught in the middle of her parents' divorce, she needs the best and most neutral advocate she can get because of recent circumstances that led her to witness the accidental death of her nanny. Or was it an accident? Stella sets out to be the best she can for Rose because she too remembers being in a vulnerable position as a child.

Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions shared here are solely mine.

This was definitely an edge-of-the-seat thriller that kept me hooked the whole time. Every time I had to set down the book, I was eager to pick it up again. That is one of the main things I look for in a thriller. I also liked the ending and how the story was wrapped up neatly. Although the main twist was not as gripping as some other thrillers are, I really liked how it all turned out.

The audiobook version of this book added to my enjoyment of the story. The narrator was excellent at putting fear, joy, sadness, and all the other emotions into each of the characters' voices. I definitely recommend getting ahold of an audiobook version of this book. What a wonderful read for the end of summer!

My only critique of this book was the random element of attraction between Stella and that detective. It was added in so out-of-the-blue near the end of the book and I do not think it added anything to the story. It felt clunky and irrelevant. The detective was not even an important character in the book. This will not deter me from rating this book five stars, but it almost did.