Obsessed is an understatement!

As a girlie who has read a lot of thrillers, it’s hard to impress me anymore and this one completely delivered.

I loved how easy it was to get through, I didn’t see a lot of the twists coming and the characters were really unreliable and unhinged. I recommend going into this one completely blind and seeing where it takes you!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐈𝐟…
✨you’re in a reading slump
✨you like a book with multiple twists
✨you need a book to binge in a day

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🫶🏻thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC
🚨pub date: Aug 5/25

WOW!! The Locked Ward was a fabulous twisty, fast paced thriller with an ending that I did not see coming. I just kept flipping pages and telling myself that I would just read one more chapter but just couldn’t put this book down. Sarah Pekkanen just keeps getting better and has become a favorite author, I can hardly wait for her next thriller. . Highly recommend!

Thank you to St, Martins Press, Sarah Pekkanen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of The Locked Room.

Sarah Pekkanen never disappoints and The Locked Ward is no different!

This thriller kept me on my toes the entire story with so many twist and turns. Honestly, there wasn’t a chapter that didn’t make me feel anxious - as all good thrillers should!

Five stars!

I love Sarah Pekkanen books and automatically wanted to read this one. Her psychological thrillers are great. I thought this was interesting because it has family drama, a who done it and much more. I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my review.

Thank you St. Martin’s for the ARC!

I’ve been a big fan of Sarah’s past two releases, this wasn’t my favorite of her’s but it did keep me engaged and guessing. I feel like it was missing something, and there were some loose ends that I wish there was more resolution to, not just glossed over at the end. (Patti, Opal). Some scenes could have been expanded, the picnic date, that whole story line with the son.. I have questions.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Sarah Pekkanen and St Martin’s press for the ARC and opportunity to review this book. It really was a fast paced page turner. While a few twists were predictable the author did a great job of wrapping the storyline up. I really enjoyed the way Mandy’s character grew through the story and the way she fought to protect her loved ones. Another great read from this author.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

* Tropes/themes:
* Murder
* Toxic families
* Twins (separated at birth) (twin connection)
* Secrets
* Dual POVs (one in second person POV)
* Short chapters
* Psych ward
* Corrupt healthcare workers/angel of death
* Poor institutional care
* Wealth and classism
* Another amazing book by Sarah Pekkanen.
* Suspenseful, tense, and super twisty.
* Engaging.
* Kept me on my toes and I never knew who I could trust or who the actual killer was.
* Made me wonder what I would do in that situation.
* Some small things were a bit predictable but most of it wasn’t.
* The ending was super satisfying but it did wrap things up very nicely.
* I could see this being an awesome movie.
* A little far-fetched.
* Binge-worthy
* Content warnings:
* Murder
* Death
* Death of parents
* Death of child
* Attempted suicide
* Classism
* Rape
* Stalking/obsession
* Infidelity
* Disassociation/mental illness
* Child abuse
* Confinement

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen was my first read by this author; however, it will not be my last! The Locked Ward is a fast-paced psychological thriller from a dual POV: Georgia and Mandy. I loved how the author demonstrates how twins who were separated at birth can have similar personality traits. Thank you Sarah Pekkanen, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for ARC.

I enjoyed the plot and execution of the book, I felt like it was a little long though. There was a lot of things that I feel like were just thrown in. A lot
Of characters to keep up with as well. 3.5-4 stars

I may or may not have squealed when I got the ARC email for this book. When it comes to thrillers, Sarah Pekkanen knows what she is doing, and this book was no exception. Shortly after discovering she has a twin sister, Mandy, whom different parents adopted at birth, Georgia is institutionalized after being accused of murdering her adoptive sister, Annabelle. Georgia realizes she has no one else to turn to for help, so she reaches out to Mandy with the hope of proving her innocence. Mandy is forced to choose between helping her newly discovered sister or sticking to her quiet life running her parents' bar.
This book reeled me in from the first chapter. Some aspects were a little outrageous, but what thriller isn’t? I found it to have the perfect mix of expected and unexpected twists. While I enjoyed the short chapters and alternating POV between Georgia and Mandy, I didn't love the second-person POV used for Georgia. Overall, 4.5/5 stars for me. I definitely would recommend!

The Locked Ward is set to be published on August 5, 2025. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Sarah Pekkanen for my ARC!

The first couple chapters of this book almost lost me. I didn't find the backstory very believable with two adult twins that have never met each other or know that the other exist in the context of one being placed on a psychiatric ward for killing the sister she grew up with. The writing in the first couple of chapters was also choppy and had poor flow, but it did pick up. I did get hooked on the story with the quick chapters and the never ending twists/new info coming about. I didn't figure out the major twist at the end but did catch onto a few of the others.

3/5

TRIGGER WARNING: Rape

First off- I am a huge Sarah Pekkanen fan! Thank you for my digital copy for an honest review! This was a solid read, as always. I love the dual POV between the two sisters: Georgia, who is accused of murder and Mandy, who tries to find out who’s responsible while also learning secrets from her past. With high society players involved and the stakes being even higher, can Mandy figure out what really happened or is Georgia spinning a twisty tale of deceit? I was hooked from page one.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Georgia was adopted as a baby by a rich couple in Charlotte, but then her parents had a biological daughter, Annabelle, shortly after. Annabelle was clearly the favorite and Georgia was the outcast. Annabelle is killed at her own birthday party and Georgia is the main suspect. She ends up in a psychiatric ward rather than prison. From the psych ward, she calls Amanda, who she informs at the first visit is her twin. Amanda, is shocked because she knew she was adopted into a great and loving family, but they never said anything about her having a twin. Now that her parents are dead, she can't ask any questions about her background, but she believes she and Georgia are twins and she agrees to help Georgia clear her name.

I knocked this book out pretty quickly on a long day of travel. I was engaged in the story and wanting to know what had really gone on both with Annabelle's murder and all those years ago to split up Georgia and Amanda. There wasn't that total shock moment in this one that you get in some of this author's other novels, but overall it was a good read and everything was explained and wrapped up nicely. I like this author and will definitely read more from her.

How would you feel if you found out you had a long-lost twin? How would you feel if you found she’s been charged with murdering her adoptive sister? And now she wants to meet…

Told in a duel POV from the twin sisters, Mandy tries to help Georgia prove her innocence before someone figures out how to kill Georgia.

I love to read thrillers. I have not read one of Pekkanen’s books before but I’ve heard good things. I enjoyed the characters in this book but I was not wowed by the ending and the suspense was lackluster. The short chapters and author’s writing did, however, keep me engaged enough until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Sarah Pekkanen for the ARC. All opinions and comments are my own.

This was an interesting book with lots of twists that kept me engaged. Neither of the characters were very likeable but the story was worth reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. The writing was great and the characters were well developed. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen was certainly an interesting read. While the plot itself did not blow me away, I found that I wanted to keep reading due to the short, fast-paced chapters. The chapters alternate between the perspective of the two sisters, each offering a unique point of view. One point of view was more focused in the present, trying to uncover the mystery while the other point of view was often telling the story from the past to help the reader understand why she was in the position she was in. The chapters were short and fast paced, often ending in unexpected cliffhangers making it impossible to put down. Although some of the twists were predictable, the quick pace and constant cliffhangers made the reading experience engaging enough for me to push through to the end. Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoys thrillers or fast-paced narratives with plenty of twists.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sarah Pekkanen for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book was an interesting read! You wake up one day in a psychiatric hold because your sister was murder. However, you will be next if you can’t prove your innocence.

this was an amazing book. i couldn’t put it down. all of Sarah’s books are suspenseful, but this was even more than usual. i loved the characters and the mysteries involved. i read the book in one day. the story was about family, sisters, and the hazards of having money and power. it was very dark for periods of time, as it largely takes places in a mental ward of a hospital. it was very interesting. i absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to everyone.

The Locked Ward flip flops between Georgia and Mandy, twins who were separated at birth. Mandy and Georgia were raised in very different homes but discover they have a lot in common when they meet in their thirties.
Georgia is being accused of murdering her sister, Annabelle, and reaches out to Georgia for help.
I will read any thriller Sarah
Pekkanen writes. Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. The Locked Ward will be available
August 5!