In “House of Glass” by Sarah Pekkanen, we follow Stella, a court-appointed best interest attorney, whose job is to determine whether Rose Barclay, a nine-year-old, is better suited to live with her father or mother after their upcoming divorce. The only problem is that Stella doesn’t normally take on clients as young as Rose due to her own trauma at a young age, and the Barclay case is high-profile. See, Rose’s previous nanny died under suspicious circumstances after falling out of a window at the home.
I was thrown into this novel, and it did take some time to figure out what was going on in the plot, but once I did, it was unputdownable. There are so many unlikeable characters, and the setting at the Glass House is so creepy. It’s hard to understand how the family lives in such a dark and dreary home. The dark energy is palpable as soon as Stella arrives, not to mention the secrets that the family is clearly hiding.
So, you might be asking if this is just another creepy kid thriller. Well, considering the suspicious death could be linked to Rose, yes. Due to the recent trauma surrounding Rose’s life, she is nonverbal. That element really does add to the “creepiness” surrounding Rose. It can be hard to judge someone’s true character when they are nonverbal, especially when any sign of the possibility of Rose’s previous nanny’s strange death leads back to Rose.
Overall, this novel is downright creepy and entertaining. Not to mention, it will make you constantly analyze who has Rose’s best interests in mind. The adults in Rose’s life all seem to be putting on a strange act. You’ll have to read it to find out who actually killed the nanny. Could it possibly have been Rose, and why?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Page Turning Thrills 