Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favourite authors and I loved her last release House of Glass.

The Locked Ward, however, ended up being a pretty average read for me. It was enjoyable enough, but it won't be a new favourite from the author for me.

I wasn't invested in any of the characters and and the mystery fell a bit flat for me. However, there was one twist at the end that got me, even though it may have been a bit far fetched.

I love this author's writing and will continue to read their new releases.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Pekkanen first grabbed my attention when she co-authored several books with Greer Hendricks. Since, I have read several of her solo novels and am never disappointed.

Georgia is accused of murdering her younger sister and is imprisoned in a locked ward. Her long lost twin sister, Mandy, is made aware of the familial connection, and subsequently the alleged murder, and steps in to uncover the truth. There are countless twists and turns that left me unsure what would happen next. This was a fast-paced, enjoyable thriller that can be easily binged in one sitting. Thanks NetGalley!

A new Sarah Pekkanen book, say less! Her books are top tier in the psychological thriller genre. This one catches your attention rather quickly and I love that the references to the psychiatric unit are accurate.
Highly recommend this read to everyone that loves a good thriller! Thank you so much NetGalley for the chance to read this before it hit the market!

💭: Did she do it? Would she kill her sister? Socialite Georgia Cartwright is arrested for the murder of her sister and put into the locked ward of a psychiatric hospital. The only words she mumbles are “I didn’t do it” to her estranged twin sister (who had no idea Georgia existed.)

You will enjoy this if you like:
✔️stories where nothing is as it seems
✔️manipulative characters
✔️unhinged storylines
✔️short chapters
✔️great character development

This was a wild ride!!! Great plot, great buildup to the finale I was NOT expecting!!! I empathized with Georgia and Mandy. I detested Honey and Stephen.

Sarah Pekkanen has done it again! I never miss a new release by this author, and The Locked Ward did not disappoint.

The story unfolds in the voices of twin sisters who were separated at birth - Georgia and Mandy. Georgia has been accused of murdering her adopted sister, Annabelle, is in a locked hospital ward awaiting next steps in the case against her. She reaches out to Mandy, who has no idea she has a twin. From there, it’s a race to answers as Mandy tries to find answers from her past and to understand whether she should trust Georgia. Meanwhile, Georgia navigates the threats both in the locked ward and those that await her on the outside.

The book unfolds at a gripping pace and I could not wait to figure out the answers to the mysteries within. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery!

I love Sarah’s writing style! She did a great job with the flow between the two POV’s. I absolutely loved the ending and didn’t see the twist!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝
𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐤𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧
𝐒𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰
𝟒⭐️

Today is ✨pub day✨ for 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝 by author @sarahpekkanen. This was a solid thriller filled with unreliable characters, creepy asylum vibes (probably my favorite part of this book), and short, fast paced chapters.

I loved how each chapter alternated between both main characters, this really made the story flow well. I love twin stories and the author did a great job executing this theme. I will say that I found alot of the plot and twists predictable but it was still a solid read and the setting made up for this.

This book is available today! Thank you so much to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the early copy!

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒: “Whatever the cause—and everyone has a theory—it’s the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family.

Georgia is locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial. The only words she whispers when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits are, “I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.”

Amanda doesn’t trust Georgia, but she can’t abandon her in a place so eerie and menacing that it seems to exist in another dimension. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that’s so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator?“
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#thelockedward#sarahpekkanen
#stmartinspress#netgalley
#bookstagram#bookreviews

Mandy finds out she has a twin…who is locked up in a mental ward for murdering her other sister. Not the best grounds for meeting your own flesh and blood you didn’t even know existed! In trying to help Georgia, Mandy begins learning a lot of things about her own life, as well as Georgia’s and the murder. A twisty tale that kept me hooked!

Mandy is living a seemingly ordinary life when she is unexpectedly contacted and asked to visit someone in a behavioral health ward who claims to be her sister. To her shock, Mandy learns not only that she has a sister, but that she is actually a twin. As she grapples with this revelation, her twin, Georgia, reveals an even darker truth: she is accused of murdering the sister Mandy grew up with.

From that moment, Mandy is thrust into a whirlwind of secrets, lies, and shocking discoveries. Georgia pleads for Mandy’s help to prove her innocence before she is either sentenced to death or confined indefinitely to the ward.

This novel was a captivating and suspenseful read. The plot was layered with unexpected twists, and the sense of uncertainty kept me turning pages. Just when I thought I had the mystery solved, the story proved me wrong. The combination of the hidden twin, the murder accusation, and the locked-ward setting created a chilling and tense atmosphere that elevated the suspense.

Well-written and thoroughly engaging, this is a thriller I would highly recommend to readers who enjoy psychological twists and edge-of-your-seat storytelling.

Long lost twins, one locked in a psychiatric facility for murdering her sister, the other just discovering her existence. This story dives into mystery as Georgia and Amanda’s POVs switch back and forth, giving us a peek inside both their minds. While it doesn’t hit super hard on the thriller side, the mystery was strong enough to keep me hooked.

Woah. This is the best thriller I've read in a while!!!! Told from the POV of two twin sisters, Mandy and Georgia, who only just learned of each other's existence...after Georgia was accused of committing a heinous crime. I loved that each chapter oscillated between each sister because it kept me incredibly invested in the story. Each chapter seemed to end on a cliffhanger which left me wanting, no NEEDING to know more! The layers were peeling back and I was blown away by how twisty and clever the story was!!! I admit that I didn't see any of the twists coming which is RARE and that the author wove in just the right amount of "side stories" to keep me engaged and guessing. Fantastic read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. 4.5 stars!!!!

As a long time fan of Pekkanen, this book was a bit of a let down compared to her other work. I liked the dynamic between Mandy and Georgia, and appreciated the misdirects about Georgia’s behavior towards Annabelle. There was a requirement to suspend a lot of disbelief, which was just a bit hard to do with this book. It was fast paced and entertaining, and I would recommend to my friends who enjoy thrillers. Sad to say this one may be a but more forgettable than her other books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🖐️ dual POV
🖐️ 1st person/2nd person POV
🖐️ single timeline
🖐️ shocking ending

I love already Sarah Pekannan so as expected, I also loved this one 🤪🤪 Sarah is very good at creating a very exciting, thrilling story that you can’t put down.
The flipping back-and-forth between points of view made the story very exciting and suspenseful!! One chapter would drop a bomb and then it would quickly switch to the next POV, making it impossible not to tear through the next chapter to find out what happens next.
I was hooked from the very beginning of this story because it started out with my absolute favourite way for a thriller to start: with the height of action right at the very beginning, and then the story works backwards from there. This book was impossible to put down right from the start!
The 2nd person narration of one of the POVs in this book was very cool and a fantastic choice, because it really made me feel like I was in the place of Georgia. I could actually see myself in this story because the author was telling me exactly what “I” was doing. It was also very easy to remember whose POV you were reading because of the 1st person/2nd person narration.
The ending was CRAZY and I did not see it coming!! I love when all the pieces finally drop into place at the end and you’re just like 😮😮😮😮😮😲
Thank you so much to Sarah Pekkanen and St Martin’s Press for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review 💕

Sarah Pekkanen is know for her psychological thrillers. Every one I have read has been really good - every last one of them. I couldn't wait to dive into this newest one.

Description:
Some doors should never be opened.

Was it bitter, all-consuming jealousy? Pathological sibling rivalry? Pure insanity?

Whatever the cause―and everyone has a theory―it's the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family.

Georgia is locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial. The only words she whispers when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits are, “I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.”

Amanda doesn't trust Georgia, but she can't abandon her in a place so eerie and menacing that it seems to exist in another dimension. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that's so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator?

My Thoughts:
The feel of the psychiatric institution is oppressive and scary. I can't even imagine Amanda's feelings when she finds out Georgia is her twin. How in the world will she get her sister out of there and prove someone else murdered Georgia's biological sister? Or did Georgia kill her? The evidence is definitely against Georgia. The way she has treated her biological sister from the time she was small is just scary. This book is full of twists and turns and shockers. I couldn't put it down. Anyone who enjoys a good thriller will enjoy this one.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I enjoyed this twisty thriller about two twins (Georgia and Mandy). They grew up not knowing about each other, and one is accused of murder and is in a ward. I thought this was an enjoyable read, and it kept me guessing the entire time.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

This book is featured in an upcoming ARC reading vlog and my August wrap up on YouTube.

Some doors should never be opened.

Was it bitter, all-consuming jealousy? Pathological sibling rivalry? Pure insanity?

Whatever the cause―and everyone has a theory―it's the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family.

Georgia is locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial. The only words she whispers when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits are, “I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.”

Amanda doesn't trust Georgia, but she can't abandon her in a place so eerie and menacing that it seems to exist in another dimension. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that's so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator?

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I Love her other books. Like LOVE. She is an auto buy author for me.
IDK what it was about this one tho It just didn't hit for me personal like her others have.
Still a good read and I enjoyed it. But of the books I have read by her and her Co Writer. This is probably the one I liked the least.

Can't like every book an author writes right?

Georgia’s chapters being in second person was extremely irritating. I couldn’t even enjoy this book because of that. You do this. You do that. Your heart did this. Your pulse dis this. Oh I couldn’t stand it. The details of the plot also didn’t align right.

A salacious murder of a wealthy southern socialite on the night of her birthday lands her sister Georgia in a locked psychiatric ward. She must appear ill in order to avoid a potentially deadly fate in prison. There’s only one person who can help her now, Mandy, Georgia’s twin sister.. except Mandy has no idea she exists.

Thanks as always NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my honest review. This book had promise and started off great. Writing Georgia in third person and Mandy in 1st person was a clever way to differentiate the stories while also demonstrating their current mental states. The book lost it for me though in the last third and just never hit the climactic peak I hope for in a thriller. It felt a little like the author wasn’t sure how to actually make it come together and just made an easy choice. I will say it was a quick read but not a top one for me.

So I meant to post this yesterday for pub day but I had 9 conference calls. So after that 13 hour work day, I couldn’t muster up the strength to post. But I flew through the Locked Ward earlier this week. It is a psychological thriller about twins separated at birth and reunited when one is accused of murder and put into a psych ward. It is full of unreliable narrators, red herrings and so many twists and turns. No one is trustworthy, everyone is a subject and just that abject feeling that something isn’t adding up. What a wild ride.