House of Glass

by Sophie Littlefield

Bestselling author Sophie Littlefield delivers a riveting, ripped-from-the-headlines story about a family put to the ultimate test when two men take them hostage inside their home. Jen Glass has worked hard to achieve the ideal life: a successful career, a beautiful home in an affluent suburb of Minneapolis, a seemingly perfect family. But inside the Glass house, everything is spinning out of Jen's control. Her marriage to her husband, Ted, is on the brink of collapse; her fifteen-year-old daughter grows more distant each day; and her five-year-old son barely speaks a word. Jen is on the verge of breaking, but nothing could have prepared her for what is to come. On an evening that was supposed to be like any other, two men force their way into the Glasses' home, but what begins as a common robbery takes an even more terrifying turn. Held hostage in the basement for more than forty-eight hours, Jen and Ted must put aside their differences if they have any hope of survival. They will stop at nothing to keep their family safe;even if it means risking their own lives. A taut and emotional tale of a family brought together by extraordinary forces, House of Glass is a harrowing exploration of the lengths a mother will go to protect her children, and the power of tragedy to teach us what truly matters. Sophie Littlefield shows considerable skills for delving into the depths of her characters and complex plotting. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Genres: Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Family, Thriller, Contemporary

304 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2014

About the author

Called a “writing machine” by the New York Times and a “master storyteller” by the Midwest Book Review, Sophie Littlefield has written dozens of novels for adults and teens. She has won Anthony and RT Book Awards and been shortlisted for Edgar, Barry, Crimespree, Macavity, and Goodreads Choice Awards.

Sophie also writes under the pen name Sofia Grant.

Reviews

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced, gripping novel, House of Glass is the story of a family taken hostage in their own home. Locked in the basement by two gun wielding thugs, Jen Glass, her husband, Ted, teenage daughter, Livvy, and young son, Teddy, can only hope the men will take the money they want and leave but when things begin to go wrong for the hostage takers, the terrifying situation begins to spiral out of control.

Despite outward appearances the Glass family is already a fractured reflection of perfection. Ted is unemployed and Jen suspects him of indulging in an affair, Livvy has become a surly teenager and five year old Teddy is a selective mute, refusing to speak to anyone outside of the immediate family. These stressors, added to the recent death of her estranged father, has Jen feeling particularly vulnerable at the moment when 'Dan' and 'Ryan' storm into their home. She can't help but wonder exactly why, and how, these strange men came to target her family and are privy to personal details. Though determined to keep her family safe, she feels powerless as the crisis worsens and she has to consider they may not survive.

The pace is compelling and the tension is high from the first moment the men appear in the doorway of Jen and Ted's bedroom. It continues to increase as things begin to go wrong and the Glass's grow ever more desperate to escape the clutches of their hostage-takers. While I admired the intensity of the story I didn't feel that the characters were developed as they could have been. The family dynamics were a little superficial and in particular I felt I didn't know Jen well enough to understand her thoughts and actions, aside from her base motivation to protect her family.

House of Glass is a story of betrayal, of desperation and ultimately of survival. Inspired by a reported home invasion that took place in Connecticut in 2007, Littlefield dramatises a horrifying event that every family fears, creating a page turning thriller.

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sammi · Rating 2 out of 5]

don't really know what to say about this one, I didnt love it and I didnt hate it. quite an easy read but just felt it didnt go anywhere.

[Kathy Cunningham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophie Littlefield’s HOUSE OF GLASS is a readable but predictable thriller about a home invasion in suburban Calumet Minnesota. All of the usual characters are present – Jen Glass and husband Ted are happily married, but he’s been out of work for a while and keeping secrets; teenage daughter Livvy has been hanging around with an unsavory boyfriend; and four-year-old Teddy suffers from “selective mutism,” meaning he can’t speak to anyone but his immediate family. When two armed strangers walk into their home on an otherwise ordinary Thursday, the Glass family is forced to confront not only the horrors of the home invasion, but also than their own demons. Why did the intruders target the Glass family in the first place – could it have anything to do with Livvy’s boyfriend? Or is Ted to blame for decisions he made which have come back to haunt her? Or does it have something to do with buried secrets in Jen’s past, secrets that won’t stay buried for long?

Much of this novel seemed very familiar – there have been a number of TV movies over the years about home invasions, including a few that followed this same formula. The bad guys keep the family imprisoned in their home while they force Jen to go to the bank and withdraw funds from her money market account. You can pretty much guess that things don’t go as planned. You can also guess that the younger of the two intruders will have the hots for teenage Livvy, that Ted will be unable to stop himself from fighting back against the gunman who’s threatening his daughter, and that little Teddy’s inability to speak will come into play big time. And as expected, Jen will rise to the occasion and prove that she’s stronger than she ever thought she was (think Jodie Foster in “Panic Room”).

While there’s nothing new here, it’s not a bad read. Jen is a likable heroine, and her own family background – her abusive and destructive father, who she hasn’t seen in 30 years, has just died, and she’s been having trouble re-connecting with her sister – forms an interesting counterpoint to the immediacy of the home invasion. Livvy is a strong character, too, willing to risk everything to help her little brother. But I honestly anticipated just about every plot development before it happened, and I found myself flashing back to any number of Lifetime movies as I was reading.

I was also a bit bothered by the suggestion here that someone (other than the gunmen) was to blame for what happens to the Glass family. For much of the book, Livvy, Ted, and Jen all worry that something they did may have brought these men to their home. By the final pages, it becomes clear that one them is to blame, even if not intentionally. And that seems unfair. The only ones to blame for the horror that descends on the Glass family are the two men who kidnap them at gunpoint.

If you like Lifetime thrillers with predictable characters, HOUSE OF GLASS will not disappoint. There’s plenty of action, and the good guys win out in the end. But don’t expect anything original, different, or challenging in either the story or the characters. This is a predictable thriller that will seem comfortably familiar.

[Please note: I was provided a copy of this book for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]

[Gloria · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot was predictable.

The characters were not moving. I really disliked Jen. All that money but how did they get it, with a single income family. It was overdone but at the same time not interesting. The author really failed to write a story that all ties together. It is blah, blah, blah... boring.

The writing lacked originality. It almost read like a young adult book in its simple writing style.

It is a fast read.

[Cindy Condliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The middle really dragged for me, but the ending redeemed it.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very dark, sinister story about what can happen when evil enters your home – the one place where you are supposed to be safe. Jen Glass and her family, at the beginning of the book, seem to be pulling in different directions. Husband Ted is definitely hiding something from her, daughter Livvy is behaving like a typical sullen teenager and young son Teddy has problems with his speech. When their house is suddenly invaded and they are held prisoner in their own basement, they are going to need to pull together if they are to survive.

It is a very gripping story, one which kept me turning the pages and one of the biggest questions I had was “Why did they get targeted?” . When I did finally learn how it happened it sent quite a chill down my spine, as it all seemed so plausible and normal.

I was disappointed though with some of the inconsistencies in the book, particularly those to do with events surrounding Jen’s father Sid. There is a back story which goes back to when Jen and her sister Tanya were young. We are told most of it fairly near the start of the book and then return to it at the end, but there are too many inconsistencies, as if the author forgot what she had written earlier, and this really brought the book down a notch or two. Apart from that, I really enjoyed the read.

[Baleigh Menuey · Rating 5 out of 5]

House of Glass is about a family with two kids that get their house broken into. The four of them are held hostage in their basement. After the first day the 15 year old daughter manages to get her 5 year old brother out of the house and he runs. There are two men who broke into the house, the younger one shot the father after the kid ran away. After a long time the dad ends up dead. The brave 15 year old also manages to find a way to call her aunts son and tell him to have his mom call the police. He does but his mom doesn't listen and she just comes to the house. She is then also held hostage with them. The two men come downstairs and the trip them and somehow get one of the guns. The mom shoots the younger man and the aunt stabs the older one. The younger man dies right away and the older man is just injured. After awhile the mom takes the knife and stabs the older man, and he dies. The three of them escape and policeman found the little boy and came to the house. They 4 of them lived happy and safe after that. I loved this book, certainly a book I could get myself into. I would highly recommend this book.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I read the synopsis for this book, I made the mistake of forming an idea about what this story would be about. Unfortunately, for me, the actual story was totally different than my imagined one.
For that reason, it isn't entirely the fault of the author that I found this to be rather lackluster.
My idea was just better ;-)

This is the what-could-have-been harrowing story of a family, The Glasses, that is held hostage in their own house for a few days by a couple of thugs intent on getting their hands on as much of the money in the Glass's considerable savings as they can. While they pursue this criminal goal, they make many rookie mistakes and manage to become at odds with each other over how to treat and hold their hostages. Kid gets lost, shots are fired, desperation ensues on both sides and tragedy is inevitable.
Of course, there is a back story, though I was never really satisfied that the explanation for who these random thugs were was made clear.

Quick read but can't say I was ever invested.

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that was disappointing. First book I've read in months due to university commitments, and it had to be this one.

In my eyes, this had the potential to be a 5-star book, but it was let down by a very mismatched story line. I feel like the author was trying to falsify a sense of connection with the characters by adding little clips about the characters. Seriously, what is the relevance of the flash-backs Jen experiences about her father?

I also feel like the author was so quick to finish the book, that she never really answered the question that she posed to the readers: why choose the Glass's for a home invasion? Every character had a theory, and although one made more sense than the others - it didn't really piece together at the end. Perhaps I missed it; I was fairly eager to finish. Though, you'd think if you made the connection such a vital part of the story, you'd spell it out a bit more obviously.

I could express my disappointment in many more words, but really, I need to start searching for a book that makes up for months of not reading.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fast paced story about a family that gets abducted in their own home. While the husband and wife are on shaky ground, you see them come together for their kids. While it is sad, it's also slow and melancholy at places. Especially when the mother has a flashback to her youth. That part was unnecessary. Overall an ok book.

[Jill Madsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little disappointed in this book... It felt like there was such possibility for the plot, the events for the daughter or the drama the dad got himself into, but neither was fully developed and at the end I still didn't really know what caused the sequence of events.

[Dev · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bogus! I didn't even donate this book to charity because I did not want someone else to be bored to death! Awful!!!!!

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jen Glass is one of the most remarkable fictional women I’ll read about this year. Lots of reviewers on this site don’t like her for various reasons. But I gravitated to her from almost the first page, and by the time the book ended, I had no regrets for that attitude and no reason to change my mind.

Jen is married to Ted as the book opens. He’s an out-of-work finance guy, but it’s apparent way early in the book that it is Jen who has carefully managed their investments and parlayed financial opportunities into solid spectacular payoffs. Jen is an organizer; she keeps lists. Her teenage daughter, Livvy, would tell you she is an uptight shrew of a mother who is always on Livvy’s back about things around the house. Those who don’t know her well would argue that Jen’s a bit of a control freak. Maybe, but you learn as you read that there are good reasons for that, and once you understand her better, Jen’s control issues make enough sense as to be forgivable. She doesn’t come across as a screamer, but Jen Glass knows what she needs from life, and the shadows of her past are always with her such that she can’t let down her guard and just let things slide.

In addition to Livvy, Jen has a preschool-aged son, Teddy, whose selective mutism means he communicates only with members of the family and not with the outside world. Jen fears that her husband, Ted, is cheating on her with his former work assistant, Sarah Baker.

Jen and her sister, Tanya, have been in another town as the book opens clearing out their late father’s stuff. Both women despised the man, and for good reason, as you’ll learn if you read this. But it’s a stressful experience, and when you combine it with Ted’s joblessness and possible infidelity, Jen Glass is anything but transparent and her world is anything but smooth.

On an evening not long after she gets back from disposing of her dad’s possessions, Jen, Ted, and the two children are at home. When the doorbell rings, someone answers it, and two men force themselves into the Glass home. From that moment and for the next 48 hours, all kinds of exquisite hell breaks loose. Announcing themselves as Dan and Ryan, the men force the family of four into the basement, declaring them hostages until Jen and Ted transfer significant amounts of the money Jen has worked so hard to husband and grow.

This is a book that explores the lengths to which a mother will go to protect her children. Ted and Jen must set aside any marital differences to ensure that they and their children live. This is an exploration of the power of tragedy to teach us what ultimately matters.

If you enjoy some tension in your books, Littlefield will serve it up to you in large dollops. You will be on the edge of whatever surface you inhabit while listening to this book. There is one scene that involves teenage Livvy and one of the hostage takers, and it’s a scene that will have you genuinely worried for Livvy as if she were your daughter. Your heart will nearly break for little Teddy, too. He plays a part in this book that is memorable.

Ok, in the early pages, maybe Jen is a bit of a control freak; she may be a little uptight about stuff. If you insist on making fun of her for colorizing her lists into categories, fair enough. But she came by all that luxury and money those two men demanded in a hard way. While the hostage situation twists out of control, you learn about Jen’s past—a past that will influence decisions she makes to save her husband and children. You'll watch her change, too. She learns in that dreadful 48 hours what encumbering things she can drop from her lists, and she filters things down to only those that matter most.

[Karie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose “House of Glass” as a summer read – something to get lost in for a bit while sitting in the sun. My expectations weren’t too high given that – but this book still fell a bit short.

There are several holes in the plot – some plot points that make suspending disbelief a difficult exercise. The events in the book are loosely modeled on the horrific home invasion in Connecticut in 2007. (The mother in the book even has the same name as the main character in this book.)

Here – an “average” suburban family has their lives turned upside down when two men invade their home and hold them hostage. Things get even worse from there and several dark family secrets are revealed in the process.

The criminals seem, well, criminally stupid. They seem not to have thought at all about disguising themselves, or keeping the family from items that might help them escape. Their reactions when one of the family members does escape seems ludicrous at best. One of the men, Ryan, is supposed to be the more dangerous one – but comes across as just incredibly annoying in addition to being irritatingly stupid.

When given charge of the hostages, he loses control of the situation by letting them into the kitchen. The kitchen that is filled with tools and knives and heavy objects…

"No, I didn't let them have the run of the place," Ryan snapped, mocking Dan with a reedy falsetto. "Livvy had to take her brother to the bathroom and I was getting drinks. She threw of coffeepot at me. I'm supposed to know she's going to throw a coffeepot at me?"

This sounds like a husband and wife spat – with Ryan as the wife irritated at the behavior of the guests. He's holding grown hostages in a kitchen - with knives/things they can fight back with and he's put out that he got hit? And later…

"Ryan noticed blood on his own shirt. "Aw, man..." He tore off the shirt, wiping his hands on it before throwing it into the corner of the room. Underneath, his chest was white and hairless." Did I get it on my pants? Jen, do I have any on my pants?" He turned around, looking over his shoulder.” Not only is this a ridiculous image - him trying to look at his own rear - he's asking the wife of the man whose blood it is and he sounds like a naggy, whiny, dainty teenage girl.

There are some moments in “House of Glass” that show some insight into the lives of the people under attack. "Ted wasn't who he used to be. But the problem was that he seems to have lost track of who he was supposed to become." And: "Jen hesitated, wishing she could keep the truth from her, that she could send her daughter back forty-eight hours into the fairy tale of Before, into the dumb luck good fortune of the life they never appreciated enough."

But those moments of insight are far and few between. This book was more irritating than engrossing…with villains that didn’t inspire much fear or suspense and main characters that seemed more ink print than flesh and blood.

[Isabelle | Nine Tale Vixen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really emphasizes the importance of home security and "stranger danger." As an older sister myself, I can totally understand Livvy telling Teddy to run even though as a reader I think it's an unnecessarily risky move considering how vulnerable he is. And wasn't it just great that it all resulted from Dad's thoughtless complaints to a stranger?

[Mary Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! What a great book. I couldn't put it down. This is the kind of book I love to read. One that grabs my attention from the beginning and holds it to the end. At first I thought Ted hired the guys to rob them, but I was wrong.
Going to read Sophie Littlefield's other book Garden of Stones next.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another example of a good plot, but lack luster execution. I didn't find the characters terribly engaging or developed. Some of the interactions between the husband and wife were almost odd. But the plot was interesting and moved quickly. The ending was satisfying.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok, I read a lot of her books and enjoyed all of them especially the Stella Hardesty book series but this is definitely not one of my favorites.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful and not predictable.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical story

[Staci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good, quick read. Enjoyed it and it really made me want to finish.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophie Littlefield

[Karen Newman · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...#

[Sandy Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced and intense! This would be a great movie!

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 to 4 …good story

[Arielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay, fast thriller to read.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a page turner and kept me reading. But it lacked details. A good read.

[Laurie • The Baking Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

** This book review, as well as many more, can also be found on my blog, The Baking Bookworm (www.thebakingbookworm.blogspot.ca).

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Harlequin MIRA and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

My Review: Over a year ago I reviewed another book by Sophie Littlefield called Garden of Stones and was quite impressed with Littlefield's writing style and ability to pull the reader into her story. Needless to say, I was eager to request the chance to review Littlefield's House of Glass.

This was definitely a suspenseful read but starting out I was a little concerned that a book which took place mainly in one small location may get stagnant but Littlefield had me on the edge of my seat in quite a few situations and didn't let the pace lull in the least. I think that having the setting based in the family's home, the one place where you'd think you'd feel safe and protected, helped take the creepy factor up a notch too.

This isn't just a suspenseful read though. Littlefield has added a layer of family dysfunction into the mix. Each member of the Glass family has their own issues that they're trying to deal with and because of these issues Livvy, Jen and Ted each have their own idea of why they've been taken hostage in their own home. I liked being able to piece this mystery together alongside the protagonists and enjoyed seeing how assumingly small incidents can morph into something so much bigger and dangerous than anyone could imagine. I, of course, had my own thoughts as to why the perpetrators were in the Glass' home but I was proven wrong as Littlefield tauntingly pieced the story together for me.

The characters felt authentic which really helped round out the read for me so it was easy to get behind these characters as we witness their world falling apart. I also liked the fact that the characters aren't angels in their own rights. Each of them has their own baggage that is brought to the forefront when their family home is invaded and the reader slowly gets to see the fractures in the Glass family.

The only criticism that I have about this book is that I just didn't quite believe the point of view of four year old, Teddy. I have a four year old nephew and I just can't imagine him going through the thought processes that Teddy had during the invasion. Teddy's maturity level seemed older than his four years at certain times and then much younger in others. For awhile his viewpoint takes precedence and it was my least favourite part of the book and I think that's because I don't think Littlefield took his situation far enough.

This was definitely an edge of your seat read for me. With diverse characters, a creepy feel this was a book that I had a hard time putting down. The fact that this story was based on a real case that occurred in Cheshire, Connecticut in 2007 was the icing on the proverbial cake for this mystery/suspense lover.

My Rating: 4/5 stars