8/6/24; 352 pages
St. Martin's Press
House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen is a highly recommended novel of psychological suspense.
Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney (BIA) in Washington D.C. who is appointed to serve as counsel for children in custody cases. Normally she doesn't accept clients under thirteen, but it is believed that Stella is the best choice to help nine-year-old Rose Barclay. After witnessing the death or murder of her nanny Tina de la Cruz, Rose immediately stopped talking. Stella also experienced traumatic mutism as a child after the death of her mother. The police are investigating the case, the parents are in the midst of divorcing, and Stella's job is to interview the family and observe how they interact with each other to determine what would be best for Rose.
The Barclay family seems far more troubled and secretive than Stella expected. They all have motives and are suspects in Tina's death. Ian, Rose’s dad, was having an affair with Tina, who was pregnant with his child when she died. Beth, Rose’s mom, is very guarded and claims to have a glass phobia now so all glass in the house has been replaced with plastic. Harriett, Rose’s grandmother and Ian's mother, has been staying with them while recovering from knee surgery. Even Rose herself is a suspect as she is secretly collecting sharp objects that could be used as weapons.
House of Glass is very well written. The suspense, tension,
and sense of dread slowly build as characters are introduced. I
appreciated following Stella's actual investigation which further
increased the tension as no one is trustworthy, everyone is a suspect. It really is an unpredictable, excellent plot that held my complete attention.
This was a five star rating until the end when a totally unnecessary relationship that added nothing to the plot was introduced. It felt completely out of place, like it was added after the novel was already written to fulfill some requirement. I'll be looking forward to Pekkanen's next novel. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
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