REVIEW: HOUSE OF GLASS, BY SOPHIE LITTLEFIELD

 

 

Jen Glass keeps control of her world with lists written in neat handwriting in pretty notebooks. Her sister Tanya makes fun of her obsession, but Jen knows that her list making is a way of organizing her thoughts, so when the time comes to act, you don’t waste precious moments on false starts and dead ends. She fears a loss of control, and would do anything to avoid it.

Now Jen and Tanya are in Murdoch, clearing out their deceased father’s apartment. Jen is appalled by the detritus of their father’s life. He had left them years ago, and their mother had died shortly afterwards. There are no sentimental memories for Jen.

Her own life, back in Calumet, is arranged the way she likes, with a beautiful home, handsome husband Ted, and two beautiful children, Livvy, a teenager, and Teddy, a preschooler.

But there are niggling doubts about how perfect her life really is. Ted has lost his job, Livvy has become more and more belligerent, and Teddy has stopped speaking.

So when Jen returns home, after dealing with her father’s things, she is hoping to start putting her world right again. Suddenly, out of the blue, Jen and Ted’s world crashes down around them when intruders break into their home and hold them captive. For 48 hours, nothing at all is under their control, and the author shows in excruciating detail how wrong their world has become. Frightening and heart-pounding, House of Glass reveals the inner thoughts of the characters as they suffer through the horrendous experiences.

But then, from some hidden place inside, where memories of the past were locked, Jen found the strength to take action.

How did their world turn upside down? Who or what brought the evil into their home? How did the events of those two days bring the past back into Jen’s memory, helping her reconcile the past with the present? And how would she begin again? The characters were flawed, but relatable, except for the perpetrators, who were pure evil. I would definitely recommend the book for those who love thrillers, and I enjoyed how the past informed the present. 4.0 stars.