{3.75/5}

CW: remembered death of a parent, depiction of dead animal, mild gore/violence

Read via NetGalley. “House of Glass” releases August 6, 2024.

In an old house on a beautiful estate, a young girl loses her voice after her nanny dies under mysterious circumstances. In the wake of the death, the girl’s parents file for divorce, each seeking custody of their daughter. Best Interest Advocate Stella Hudson agrees to take on the case to help determine where young Rose should end up. But something dark is lurking in that house. There’s no glass to be found, and Rose keeps collecting sharp objects.

Oh I do love a good psychological thriller. It’s always such a nice, tense break from my usual fantasy reads; nothing screams ‘relaxation and palette cleansing’ like trippy mind games, am I right? Happily for me, “House of Glass” delivered

Let’s start with the setting. The main focus here is Rose’s home, though we do get to see some other locations. While most of those locations are minor and the focus at those points is predominantly on the dialogue or action, the Barclay family’s home is where we get a lot of our scene and vibe setting. It very much gives the ‘something’s deeply off’ feeling without ever really giving us a reason why. It’s uncomfortable without explanation, and it helps give us that first clue that something is weird with the family.

The characters really add to the overall feeling. The family members each have their own quirks and issues, and it becomes increasingly c\ear throughout the book that everybody has their own *something* lurking beneath that polished surface. The author does an excellent job at making everybody and nobody suspicious and manipulating the reader’s perspective to match that of our primary main character, Stella. As Stella investigates Rose’s case, she also looks back at her own traumatic childhood, and the blurring of lines between past and present, and the effect it has on Stella’s investigation, conveys exceedingly well.

The plot itself is intriguing. Stella is there to determine which parent Rose should live with, but to do so she really needs to answer the question of who killed the nanny. Clever and intuitive, Stella’s both sharp as a tack and traumatized as hell, and it plays out really, really well into the investigation. The action and creep-factor slowly ramp up until a full throttle, satisfying conclusion that made the whole read feel worth it.

This ended up being a really enjoyable read. All the questions were answered, the pacing was perfect for a slow build, and the stress and lurking evil vibes were perfectly balanced. I think it would be a good fit for someone who’s been getting into the psychological thriller/suspense genre to see if they like this sort of thing. I’d call it a mid level sort of read— definitely in the genre, but not so hardcore that you’re never going to be able to sleep again.

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