House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen

House of Glass is another thriller by Sarah Pekkanen, author of The Golden Couple. It will grab the reader from the very first page and take them on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, and just when you think you know where the story is going, you realize you had absolutely no idea where the story was going! The main plot is about a little girl who witnesses a terrible accident at her family home and the psychologist who is assigned to her case to determine which parent she should live with. You may ask, why can’t the little girl tell her? Well…since the accident she has not spoken. And our psychologist can not only sympathize with our little girl but empathize as she too was mute after her own mother was discovered dead at their home many years ago. The story, complex in nature, is fascinating and the ending extraordinary!

Rose Barclay is a mute nine-year-old child who witnessed her nanny plunging from a bedroom window and falling to her death at their home. Now, the parents are in the middle of a terrible divorce as it was discovered that Rose’s father, Ian was having an affair with the nanny. The Barclays, Ian and Beth live in a beautiful house with Ian’s mother who had surgery and has not been able to live on her own.

Now Stella Hudson is approached to figure out who Rose would be better suited to live with as she cannot speak for herself. Stella understands. When Stella was a young girl, her own mother was found dead in their house and Stella fearful, stayed in her closet until help arrived. She too became mute after the trauma, and it took years of therapy to help her understand what had happened. Or so she thought. Because this case has brought up Stella’s horrible memories of year’s past.

Stella begins to try and win Rose over, but Rose seems to not be able to make any kind of connection, no matter how hard she tries. Then Rose discovers all the glass has been removed from the house and replaced with plastic. Why? And Rose seems to have unhealthy fascinations, which disturb Stella. She begins to believe Rose may have a hidden side to her. Could this tragedy have actually been a murder? It seems Rose is keeping many secrets.

Stella soon begins to believe Rose’s parent and grandmother may be covering up for her. And Rose seems to not be so happy with Stella. As Stella delves deeper into Rose’s psyche, she can’t help but remember her own pain. And she takes an unhealthy walk down her own memory lane. But when strange things begin to happen to Stella, she can’t help but feel something else is going on. Something evil. Stella discovers the nanny had been afraid of Rose and wanted to leave.

She understands she must get to the bottom of what really happened in that house the day the nanny died, and she will use any trick she knows to find out. But unfortunately for Stella, that may be her undoing.

House of Glass has so many layers to it and is so fascinating you won’t be able to put the book down. The story is certainly suspenseful, but it’s also a gripping story of a lost child, and an adult who realizes she is still lost.

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #HouseofGlass #SarahPekkanen for the advanced copy.