“Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. That’s her routine. I stand on a grimy square of sidewalk near the busy intersection of 16th and K Streets, scanning the approaching pedestrians. My new client will arrive in seven minutes. I don’t need to meet her today. All I have to do is visually assess her to see if I’ll be able to work with her. The thought makes my shoulder curl forward, as if I’m instinctively forming a version of the fetal position. I could refuse to take on this client. I could claim it’s impossible for me to be neutral because the media frenzy surrounding the suspicious death of her family’s nanny has already shaped my perceptions.”
That’s the opening passage to Sarah Pekkanen’s mystery House of Glass. The speaker is Stella, the attorney who has been assigned to help decide which of the divorcing parents, Ian or Beth, will be granted full custody of nine-year-old Rose. Stella has been chosen because she, like Rose, suffered from traumatic mutism. Stella’s occurred as a child when she discovered her dead mother. Rose’s started when she witnessed her nanny fall to her death from a third floor window. Rose, her parents and her father’s mother (recovering from a broken leg) are all living in the house where the death occurred.
As Stella works to gain information to help in her decision, she realizes everyone is keeping secrets surrounding the death of the nanny. She’s drawn in to solve the mystery before making a recommendation for the best home for Rose. Helping Rose causes the mystery surrounding her own mother’s death to resurface. The author keeps you guessing about both mysteries until the very end.
If you’re looking for a mystery that revolves around family relationships, then you must read House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen.
