The Locked Ward was exactly the kind of easy Thriller I gravitate toward. A quick and compelling read with believable characters, high stakes drama, and an ending I didn't guess. I'll be adding Sarah Pekkanen to my auto-buy list from now on

This was the first book I read by Sarah Pekkanen and I enjoyed it. I will be looking for more books by this author.
This was an excellent psychological thriller and family drama. My only complaint was many times it because political and too preachy.
I received this galley from NetGalley.

The book club I host picked this for our September read! I was excited to read another by Pekkanen as I enjoyed House of Glass last year. I loved that this book was about a murder mystery involving twins that were separated as infants. I read this in a weekend as it was really fast paced and tense. I couldn't put it down!

Thank you to Netgalley, Sarah Pekkanen and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars - I love Pekkanen’s writing, as her co-authored book The Wife Between Us is one of my favorites ever, but this book was bland and anticlimactic for me. The most interesting part was that one of the dual povs was in second person, so it placed me as the reader in a different context to the story which kept it engaging. However, everything seemed predictable, and even the big twist didn’t feel very big. I kept waiting for there to be something more, especially when a lot of groundwork was laid for other paths. Overall, it was just fine.

I'm a huge fan of The Wife Between Us and House of Glass so I was elated at the opportunity to read this new story. Add to the fact that this story was about sisters/twins?? Sign me up!

The pacing was slow but it comes to a boiling point that's so captivating and when twists were revealed I literally gasped. This story was masterfully crafted and further cemented my auto-buy tendencies for this author.

I also loved the short chapters as it always helps me to want to keep turning the page. Another great thriller that I'm more than happy to recommend!

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen is a gripping psychological thriller that twists and turns in just the right way, keeping readers guessing until the very end. The dual perspectives—one sister locked inside a psychiatric ward, the other navigating the outside world—add intriguing tension and emotional depth, especially with the use of second-person narration for Georgia, which heightens the disorientation and suspense. Family secrets, unreliable memories, and a powerful adoptive/twin sibling dynamic feel both visceral and intimate in her writing. Pekkanen’s pacing is mostly tight and brisk, with short chapters that propel the mystery forward while still giving room for character to breathe. Overall, it’s a compelling read for anyone who loves dark, elegant twists wrapped up in domestic tension and uncertainty.

Georgia is locked in a psychiatric hospital after being accused of killing her sister. Her estranged twin sister, Amanda, is wondering how to or if she should help. Amanda doesn't feel that she can abandon her sister, but she doesn't trust her. What can they both discover? Or will all of this make them both descend into madness?

This is the first book I've read by this author and after reading this book, it will NOT be my last......It took me a few chapters to get into the writing of one of the sister's chapters but I enjoyed this book so much.....I could not believe the twists and didn't expect it to end the way it did!!!! I'm thankful that I was able to get this arc from netgalley!!! I've already recommended it to my mother who also loves psychological thrillers and I've talked about it with my husband because the twists were mouth dropping and I had to discuss it with someone!!!!!

I love this author and wanted to like this book, but found it a little too triggering for me personally. I had to skip such big sections that I couldn’t keep up with the plot. I’m a scaredy cat but it was too intense to read for fun.

3.5 stars!
Georgia was adopted as a newborn by a wealthy Southern family who already had one bio daughter. When she is accused of murdering her sister, she reaches out to Amanda, claiming that she is her sister as well. Amanda doesn’t know what to believe. She visits Georgia in the psych facility she’s being held in, where Georgia tells her she is depending on her to help her get free.

The concept of this one was what initially drew me to it, but I ended up finding it a bit predictable and far fetched. There were a few tropes that felt overdone to me. However, I did like some of the writing and the suspenseful parts with Amanda trying to figure out Georgia

I really don't have much to say about this book. I guessed the killer and the plot twist super early on and I never felt attached to any of the characters. But despite this, I was still pretty invested and had a hard time putting this book down. This was just a very quick popcorn thriller, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to people who are well seasoned in the genre, but it seems great for someone trying to get into thrillers! There's not too much gore and the plot pretty much tells you exactly what's going to happen from the very beginning. I think I might've grown out of Sarah Pekkanen's writing, but since I didn't hate this, I'll keep reading them!

Wow, what a ride! Twists, dark family secrets, and nonstop suspense kept me hooked until the last page. If you love thrillers, this one’s a must read!

This story is full of moody suspense and mystery. I’m a fan of this author and have read several of her works. Georgia is in a locked unit in a psychiatric hospital, accused of killing the biological daughter of the parents who adopted her. She has an estranged twin sister named Amanda, and she is desperate for Amanda’s help, professing her innocence of the murder.

This one has lots of tangled up threads to try to unravel. Amanda is definitely the best choice to help Georgia, but she has conflicting feelings about the whole situation, but she’s always felt that something was missing in her life and now knows it was some ONE. There’s some plot to sift through, but it’s worth it to get to the end.

I’m awarding four sparkling stars! I switched back and forth from the ebook to the audiobook. January LaVoy is one of my favorite narrators.

I received a copy of the digital ARC via the publisher and NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

It is unusual to find a book written in first and second person. I don't usually read second person POV, so that took some getting used to. The premise of the story is interesting, Georgia is accused of killing her sister, so enlists the help of her long lost twin, Mandy. Mandy didn't even know she had a twin, but is now drawn to Georgia and helping her as she is stuck in a psych ward pretending to be catatonic.

I think the story was slow paced and once I got to the end, realized it wasn't as cohesive as I would have liked. There were still some unanswered questions (Colby and his issues for example) and a little twist at the end that didn't feel as much of a shock to me as the author may have intended. I'm also not sure of the sort of romance that took place near the end with Scott - not sure that contributed to the overall story and felt just thrown in.

Overall, this book was ok, but not one I'm likely to revisit.

The Locked Ward tells the story of Georgia who has been adopted into a wealthy southern family. She has been accused of murdering her sister, and she’s now in a mental institution, pending the outcome of a psychological evaluation.

The story is told from the POV’s of Georgia and her twin sister Amanda, who were adopted into different families.

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was an entertaining read, but I wouldn’t say that I was completely captured by the story. I picked this book up and put it down several times before I actually finished it. I wouldn’t say it was because it was boring, but I did feel that I wasn’t as invested into the characters as I should’ve been.

With all that being said would still recommend this book because I do like the writing style of Sarah Pekkanen and will read anything she writes.

Sarah Pekkanen writes some great thrillers. They usually come with some different twists or super natural type of plots.
I did enjoy reading this one because it kept me guessing on what was actually happening and if the Georgia was actual a crazy killer or not. I honestly am not sure which situation would be worse prison or a Psychiatric hospital.
It would also be wild to find out you have a twin sister because she is now wanted for murder of killing her "sister"

(I received this ARC from NetGalley- this is my unbiased review)

Georgia Cartwright is a woman that has everything. Wealth, High Pedigree, a steadfast and famous wedding coordinator business and what seems to be the perfect life. However, all of this changes when she wakes up in a hospital in what is considered an area for troubled patients... otherwise known as the Locked Ward. It isn't that surprising though given she has been accused of killing her sister. Some figure it is insanity, others claim jealous over her sister Annabelle who is the biological daughter of the family Georgia was adopted into as an infant.

All the signs seem to lead to Georgia being the killer but Georgia knows the truth. In the Locked Ward she remains silent, playing the part of the silent muted convicted but inwardly her mind is racing on how to save herself and prove she was not the killer. Georgia believes she is going to be killed and the only escape she has is to find her biological twin sister.

Georgia locates her estranged twin and pleads with her on their first meeting to get her out of the locked ward as she didn't do it. While Amanda doesn't trust Georgia she falls down the rabbit hole of trying to solve the murder.

Not all is as it seems in the Cartwright family and the other wealthy families that surround them. There are whispers and accusations of infidelity but the truth is not at all what is to be expected. Annabelle's real killer is not who the reader would suspect. In typical Pekkanen fashion the ending leaves with a lingering twist. Not so much a cliffhanger but still a surprise that left me going "whaaaaa?" Needless to say I was thrilled with that little dash of hey guess what there is more then this going on. Even Amanda isn't perfect as one will see as they complete the Locked Ward.

I found the Locked Ward extremely interesting and enjoyable. The twists were intriguing and the twins were fascinating. I would have liked to see more of an interaction between Annabelle and Georgia but honestly it didn't take away from the book. If you want an interesting thriller filled with family drama, infidelity, secrets, and murder then I highly recommend The Locked Ward. Until next time, Happy Reading!

Rating: 4 ⭐️

The Locked Ward is a twisty psychological thriller where long lost twins, family secrets and a psychiatric ward collide in deliciously messy ways. Think sibling rivalry turned deadly. This one will keep you guessing until the very end.

Another gripping thriller that I couldn’t put down from Pekkanen! This one was so twisty and kept me continuously guessing what twist was going to come next.

“The Locked Ward” was an intriguing idea, but for some reason, it didn’t pull me in. I found the story a bit difficult to follow along with, which is bizarre for me since I love thrillers. This one was just okay. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy for review. 3 stars ⭐️.