House of Glass

 By: Sarah Pekkanen  

Location: FIC PEK

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Phycological Thriller

This is somewhat of a slow burn but HIGHLY SUSPENSEFUL in the process! Brilliant and wickedly good!

On the outside they were the golden family with the perfect life. On the inside they built the perfect lie.

A young nanny who plunged to her death, or was she pushed? A nine-year-old girl who collects sharp objects and refuses to speak. A lawyer whose job it is to uncover who in the family is a victim and who is a murderer. But how can you find out the truth when everyone here is lying?

Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny - in the midst of her parent's bitter divorce - and immediately stopped speaking. Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, appointed to serve as counsel for children in custody cases. She never accepts clients under thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood, but Stella's mentor, a revered judge, believes Stella is the only one who can help.

From the moment Stella passes through the iron security gate and steps into the gilded, historic DC home of the Barclays, she realizes the case is even more twisted, and the Barclay family far more troubled, than she feared. And there's something eerie about the house itself: It's a plastic house, with not a single bit of glass to be found.

As Stella comes closer to uncovering the secrets the Barclays are desperate to hide, danger wraps around her like a shroud, and her past and present are set on a collision course in ways she never expected. Everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder. The mother, the father, the grandmother, the nanny's boyfriend. Even Rose. Is the person Stella's supposed to protect the one she may need protection from?

Review from Rachel

I’m not going to lie- I was very hesitant to read this as the author’s previous book, “Gone Tonight” was not one of my favorites. However, Sarah Pekkanen redeemed herself with “House of Glass”, because I absolutely enjoyed everything about this book! The writing and the storyline were absolutely remarkable!

In this story we have Stella Hudson, who is appointed counsel for Rose Barclay. Rose is a nine year old girl whose parents are going through a bitter divorce, and she has also just witnessed the death of her nanny. During this traumatic time, Rose has developed traumatic mutism and she cannot speak. Stella can relate to Rose because when Stella was a young girl she witnessed the death of her mother, and then developed traumatic mutism herself.

Because Rose’s parents are divorcing, it is Stella’s job to spend time with Rose and her parents to see who would be the better parent for Rose to live with once they divorce. We have the wealthy, uptight Beth Barclay- her mother. Then there is Ian Barclay, more down to earth and not so wealthy- her father. We soon learn that Ian’s mother, Harriet has lived with the Barclay’s for several years and is witness to many events that has happened within the family.

Which brings us to the death of the nanny, Tina. Tina fell to her death through her third story bedroom window. Was she pushed? Was it an accident? Or was it suicide? And did Rose witness what really happened that night? Also why are the parents replacing all the glass in the house? Even the mirrors are being replaced…

This book had my attention from the first page all the way through until the last! I loved Stella’s character, and felt that everything and everyone else was so relatable and real. I’m so glad that I took a chance with this book, and I cannot wait to read Pekkanen’s next! I highly recommend this twisty thriller!