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House of Glass

By: Sarah Pekkanen
Narrated by: Laura Benanti
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Publisher's summary

“Wow, I loved this one so much! I didn’t want it to be over because I was enjoying it so much, but I couldn’t stop turning pages! House of Glass is a gripping thriller that was packed with surprises and compelling characters.”—Freida McFadden

The next thrilling novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen, House of Glass.

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?

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2024 Sarah Pekkanen (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Wow, I loved this one so much! I didn’t want it to be over because I was enjoying it so much, but I couldn’t stop turning pages! HOUSE OF GLASS is a gripping thriller that is packed with surprises and compelling characters.”—FREIDA MCFADDEN

"Brimming with tension and full of surprises, HOUSE OF GLASS may be my favorite Sarah Pekkanen thriller yet. Eerie, unsettling, and so very, very good. I couldn't put this book down!"—MEGAN MIRANDA

Editorial Review

Did they all do it?
Sarah Pekkanen novels have been an auto-download for me since These Girls. Her latest drops listeners into the eerie story of Stella Hudson, a best interest attorney who reluctantly begins to observe the mysterious Barclay family. In the middle of the drama is young Rose Barclay, who has been left mute from the trauma of her parents’ bitter divorce and witnessing the death of her nanny. As Stella observes further, she begins to see that the Barclay family is cloaked in secrecy, raising questions about their true motives. Was the nanny’s death truly an accident? And why has the family removed all glass from their home? Performed by Laura Benanti (whose hilarious Audible Original, Nobody Cares,recently had me in stitches), House of Glass takes listeners on a rollercoaster of twists and turns that had me changing my whodunit guess every other chapter until its satisfying conclusion. — Patty R., Audible Editor

What listeners say about House of Glass

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Wow!

Twists and turns and for good measure throw in a round a bout. That is the best way to describe this book. You will absolutely get mad at all the characters and secretly guess they are the murder.

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Gripping & Unpredictable

Sarah Pekkanen’s vivid descriptions bring the Barclay family and their creepy mansion to life. From the moment Rose is introduced, her alarming behavior hints that something is deeply wrong. As we meet each member of the family, it becomes increasingly clear that Rose is a product of her environment—everyone has something to hide, or at the very least, a desire to improve their chances of gaining full custody of Rose.

I was fully engrossed in observing this untrustworthy cast of characters and waiting for the big reveal—which, I am happy to report, took me by surprise (a good thing, in my opinion). Definitely a great read with a memorable plot!

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The narration ruins the story.

I listen to about 70 books a year, and this is far and away the worst narration I've ever heard. The reader emphasizes every single word. She reads this book like she's reading a really boring book to a group of third graders and trying to make it exciting through the inflections in her voice. I can't even say anything about the story itself since I'm not sure if my feelings about the story are influenced by the bad narration.

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Love it

Love the twists and turns this book has. Just when you think you figured something out, something else happens and just proves you wrong. Definitely kept me wanting more.

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Storyline

Thriller it is not and was easily figured. However, it kept my interest enough to completion.

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C rating - if you don’t mind long winded & repetition, the stories great!

Loved the storyline BUT she went off on 5 diff storylines that really were just confusing & not needed. Had this book been 1/2 the length I’d have given it an A. It was just so redundant, & that made the narrator annoying as well. Just very wordy, lots of long sentences that felt like filler.

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I liked it!

It wasn’t a surprising twist, exactly. I guessed some of what was happening but I still thought the story was good. I prefer when the author co-writes with Greer Hendrix. This book felt a little more ‘procedural’ but I also felt that it had more character development than a Pekkanen/Hendrix book. I agree that the narrator could’ve been better but I didn’t find it as distracting as others.

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The storyline was amazing. I love Sarah’s books!

I enjoyed it all I was listening to an audiobook and was unable to do anything else but listen. It was remarkable!!

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UNPUTDOWNABLE!!!

Noting I planned to do today was accomplished after I started reading this book, and for good reason, too. It's just that good! Stella has her work cut out for her as she works to determine which patent should have custody of little Rose, but there are other factors at play that work to undermine her efforts. It doesn't help that this particular case is hitting so close to home for her and is awakening painful memories of her past. I clung to every word and was baffled when the truth of everything came out. Great book!

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The best psychological thriller I’ve ever read


HOUSE OF GLASS is hands down one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve ever read. Full stop.

Stella, a recently divorced attorney, becomes guardian ad litem to a mute young girl Rose, who witnessed the death of her nanny. Accident or murder, the cause has yet to be determined. Tasked with representing the nine-year-old’s best custodial interest, the choice between philandering father and ice queen mother, one of whom may have killed the nanny Stella’s work reminds her of her own mother’s death and the traumatic mutism she suffered.

Sarah Pekkanen drew me in from the first page and I don’t think I exhaled until I finished. I wrongly thought I knew the culprit. Tension continued to build from the beginning to the thrilling conclusion. Just when I thought THE HOUSE OF GLASS came to a satisfactory conclusion, the last chapter made me ugly cry.

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