Review: House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both a print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

The narrator did a great job voicing the different characters and kept the pacing moving along wonderfully.  She did a good job adding emotion and tension in the right places.  

This was a really interesting phycological thriller.  It follows attorney Stella as she works a case to figure out the best custody arrangement for young client Rose.  Rose's parents have filed for divorce after their live in nanny fell out a window and it came to light that she was having an affair with Rose's father.  Rose has stopped speaking after the horrible events in her home, so it is Stella's job to put together the facts and determine what the most suitable and safe environment for Rose will be after the divorce.  As she gets to know the family, it is clear that they are hiding something and they know more about the nanny's death than they are letting on.  The closer she gets to the truth, the more likely it is that anyone of them could have murdered the nanny including nine year old Rose.  As Stella investigates the case, trauma from her own past surfaces, and she struggles to keep her own feelings out of the case she is investigating as her past overlaps her present.

This kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.  One second I was convinced it was the daughter, the next it was one of the parents, then it was the grandmother, then in the next chapters I changed my mind again.  The author does a good job providing the reader with a good amount of red herrings to keep you guessing but does leave enough clues lead you to the right answer.  I also enjoyed learning about Stella's background story, it had you wondering if it was a distraction from the main plot, if she was projecting her own trauma onto the case or if she was doing a better job because of her past.  I do think the addition of the romantic subplot was a bit unnecessary, it was a small part of the book so it wasn't that distracting.

Overall I enjoyed this, I thought I had great pacing, and while I normally don't like books with small children in them when it comes to thrillers this one was worth the read.

View all my reviews