I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I was so excited to be approved for this book but was so very disappointed. I normally love this author but I actually stopped at 30 percent. It's told in parts by two women who recently found out they are twins. They barely know each other but can feel things about each other that happen with twins. I didn't like the way Georgia's part was written in second person. Really strange. I didn't care for either character.

📱 The Locked Ward 📱⁣
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⁣The Locked Ward is a fast paced, psychological thriller about twin sisters separated as infants. Georgia has been arrested and accused of the murder of her adopted sister, Annabel. Suffering from shock or a psychological break, Georgia is locked into a psych ward for a mental evaluation. ⁣
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⁣The Locked Ward was made up of super short chapters that alternated POVs. This combo makes it an easy, entertaining read about lost and found families, psych wards, and the power of the wealthy. ⁣
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⁣This one was super entertaining and fun, but I doubt I’ll remember it in a few months. I have this problem a lot with thrillers and would still recommend this one! Four stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Locked Ward in return for my review!

Sarah Pekkanen’s The Locked Ward is a chilling psychological thriller that plunges readers into the dark, claustrophobic world of a psychiatric hospital where nothing is quite what it seems. Known for her emotionally driven and suspenseful storytelling, Pekkanen raises the stakes in this gripping tale of secrets, manipulation, and survival.

The story centers on Dr. Lucy Miller, a brilliant but troubled psychiatrist who takes a new position at a prestigious mental health facility. When she begins to suspect that a string of patient deaths may not be accidental, Lucy is thrust into a dangerous web of deception—one where the line between doctor and patient, sanity and madness, begins to blur. As she races to uncover the truth, Lucy must also confront the trauma of her own past, which may be more connected to the hospital than she ever imagined.

Pekkanen masterfully ratchets up the tension, delivering short, punchy chapters that keep the pages turning. The setting of the locked ward is unsettling and immersive, and the cast of characters—both staff and patients—are complex, unpredictable, and sometimes downright sinister. The plot twists come fast and hard, but never feel forced; instead, they serve to deepen the psychological unease that permeates the novel.

What sets The Locked Ward apart from more formulaic thrillers is its exploration of mental health—not just as a backdrop, but as an integral part of the characters’ motivations and inner lives. Pekkanen handles these themes with sensitivity, while still maintaining the edge-of-your-seat suspense that fans of the genre crave.

Final Verdict:
A dark, compelling, and deeply atmospheric thriller, The Locked Ward is Sarah Pekkanen at her best. Equal parts character study and page-turning mystery, it’s a must-read for fans of Gillian Flynn, Greer Hendricks, and Lisa Jewell.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this read. Sarah....you are doing good all by yourself!! 😂😂😂😂 This book kept my attention and I was interested to keep picking it up. The book was easy to read and was quite thrilling.

Sarah Pekkanen has done it again: another unputdownable thriller! The Locked Ward definitely kept me intrigued and engaged the entire time. The narrative style for Georgia was so interesting and unique, making the reader feel like they were in her head. I also liked Mandy a lot and felt so worried for her. A lot unfolded and it was hard to decide who to trust.

I never would have been able to guess what really happened and I love that about a thriller. I kept wondering what the real story was and Georgia felt like an unreliable narrator at times, so that added to the intrigue. Most of the characters were unlikable, so it could have been any one of them! It was also creepy what was going on at the psychiatric hospital and I felt really bad for Georgia having to deal with that.

My only concern is that the story ended a bit abruptly. There was a somewhat new situation that was unrelated to the mystery and more information was given right before the end of the book without tying it to anything that happened with Georgia, leaving us to ponder some completely new information. I felt this could have been left out and I would have been fine with how it ended otherwise.

Side note: Mandy mentions two best friends from the past named Melissa and Beth. My sister's name is Beth. What are the odds?!? (Another fun fact: my sister's birthday is today!)

Be sure to pick this one up for a suspenseful night in, as you won't want to stop reading!

Movie casting suggestions:
Georgia: Elizabeth Gillies
Mandy: Georgia Flood
Scott: Josh Hutcherson
Colby: Austin Butler
Honey: Connie Britton
Senator Dawson: Dermot Mulroney

(Trigger warnings below.)

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TW: Death of parents, death of sibling, stalking, predatory behavior, child abuse (emotional)

I have to say that half the chapters in first person and the other half in third person drove me nuts for a while but for the chapters I listened, it made it so easy to determine who the narrator was.

Twin sisters separated at birth. One kills her other sister and ends up on a psych hold pending trial.

There is a twisty mystery about who really killed the sister, but the author always does a good job bringing in other issues to make this more than a mystery. Nature versus nurture since the twins were separated at birth. What is family and what makes them a good family. All framed within a twisty mystery.

I wasn’t quite able to figure this one out until right before the reveal but I ended up more caught up in the sisters’ story. Their dynamics and what made them tick. Which is new for me since I’m always all about the thrill.

January LaVoy narrates the audio and I’m lucky enough to listen to her twice in a row. She always does such a great job sucking me in and letting the story shine.

After loving An Anonymous Girl, I was so excited to dive into The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen. While this new psychological thriller didn't quite live up to my high hopes, it's a decent read that will definitely appeal to many thriller book fans. Ultimately, it wasn't the right fit for me, but it has some great elements worth mentioning.

First, let's talk about the parts I enjoyed. The alternating chapters between Mandy and Georgia were a smart choice. I found myself really invested in Mandy’s story and her investigation, and the short chapters kept me turning the pages. The writing itself is well done, and the truths Mandy uncovers are definitely what kept me engaged. However, despite the mystery I found the pacing to be a bit too slow for me. It didn’t start to really pick up until over 70% in.

The chapters from Georgia’s point of view on the other hand are written in the second person, which was a little distracting. I found myself rushing through her sections to get back to Mandy's chapters.

Stories including well connected politicians and their allies misusing their power is not really for me and the shock value fell flat for me because of that.

Overall, The Locked Ward is a well written story with a fascinating premise about family secrets and sibling relationships. While I didn't connect to either of the main characters and the pacing felt a little slow, it’s a solid book. If you love thrillers about family secrets sprinkled in with political power, this might be a great pick for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed Sarah Pekkanen's House of Glass and the two books she co-wrote with Greer Hendricks (The Wife Between Us and The Golden Couple) and this is another really good one. Georgia was adopted into the wealthy, influential Cartwright family when she was born. She's now in a locked psychiatric ward accused of killing her younger sister Annabelle, the biological daughter of the Cartwrights. Before the murder, Georgia had just learned that she has a biological twin sister Amanda. She has her lawyer reach out to Amanda to ask her to visit. When Amanda gets there, she tells her "I didn't do it. You've got to get me out of here." Amanda has to figure out if Georgia is truly innocent and really needs her help or if she's just a psychotic who's playing her. To get to the truth, Amanda puts her life in grave danger. There are lots of twists and turns and this was a quick, fun read. I look forward to Sarah Pekkanen's next book. Thanks to #Netgalley and #StMartinsPress for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Finally a mystery I was all in reading. The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen grabbed my attention from the beginning and never let go. The chapters are short but action packed. You keep saying one more chapter and before you know it it’s two in the morning. This is a who done it. Three sisters two twins adopted by separate families. One twin raised by a wealthy family is accused of murdering her sister and she is locked up in a psychiatric ward. She finds her twin that she never knew she had and summons her to help. Who is the real murder? One of the twins? The mother? The senator? The father? Read to find out.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book came around at the perfect time. It was just what I needed.

What I liked about this book were the short chapters and alternating POVs. I also liked how the story was told. Getting flashbacks of the past within the present timeline vs. going back and forth in time with each chapter. There wasn’t anything I disliked about this book. I just didn’t love it. I felt like something was missing but not sure what. It was easy to put down and I didn’t really care about either of the sisters. The twist at the end was great though. Never would have guessed that. A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Pekkanen delivers a chilling and intricately layered psychological thriller in The Locked Ward, a story that delves deep into identity, privilege, and buried family secrets. At the center is Georgia Cartwright, adopted at birth into a powerful Southern family, who finds herself accused of the unthinkable—the murder of her biological parents’ daughter.

As the mystery unravels, Pekkanen expertly exposes the dark undercurrents of wealth, reputation, and long-held resentments. The secrets come fast and furious, each more shocking than the last, creating a tangled web that challenges everything Georgia thought she knew about her past—and herself.

With sharp twists, emotional intensity, and a plot that keeps you questioning every character’s motive, The Locked Ward is a masterful blend of suspense and psychological depth. Pekkanen has crafted a story so twisty and compelling, it practically begs to be read with a notebook in hand. A gripping, thought-provoking thriller that lingers long after the final page.

Thank you NetGalley, St Martins Press and the author for the arc!

The Locked Ward is a dark and completely addictive psych thriller with lots of secrets & plenty of "keep you guessing" mystery! It had me hooked from the start!

I loved the short, snappy chapters, the dual pov, the atmospheric setting, the unreliable characters, the family drama and of course the “adopted at birth, never knew I was a twin” trope!

Although there were a couple of well timed turns in this one that made me suspicious of everyone at some point … I wouldn’t say I was jaw droppingly surprised by the ending … but that didn’t stop me from gobbling up the pages to see how it all played out! And the end result was very satisfying and nicely done!

I love Sarah’s books because I know that I’m always going to get a solid thrill ride from her twisty stories … and this one did not disappoint!

This was okay, I feel like all of the twists were very predictable. The atmosphere of the book was great, it gave me that claustrophobic feeling I love from thrillers. I just wish it had been more “oh my gosh that’s what happened?!” But it’s unrealistic to expect that from every thriller. A quick read and I will definitely be diving into other books by this author!

"The Locked Ward" was pleasing as a mystery, but I was never on the edge of my seat or eagerly awaiting the ending. It may be a letdown for anyone expecting a thriller/suspense novel, but for those who love a good family-centered mystery it's an enjoyable time.

**Thank you NetGalley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**

Family secrets, locked doors… and a twin she’s never met.
The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen drops you into a tense psychological puzzle full of family secrets and shifting truths.
When Georgia Cartwright wakes up in a locked psychiatric ward accused of killing her younger sister, her only request is to see the twin she’s never met — Amanda “Mandy” Ravenel. Raised in different worlds, the two are pulled together by a shocking crime and buried family drama.
Told through Mandy’s first-person and Georgia’s second-person narration, it creates an eerie, out-of-body feel. Mandy jumps on board with Georgia’s plan a little too quickly, but the pace kept me hooked.
I tandem-read my ARC (thank you, NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press) — switching between e-book and Spotify audiobook so I never had to “put it down.” Both formats were excellent.
I didn’t see the ending coming. Juicy, over-the-top family drama meets twisty thriller. As a mom of twins, the twin angle was a bit much at times, but I still devoured it

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I made it about 15% of the way in, and felt no desire to pick it up at all. I felt like we were thrown into the story without getting to know the characters at all, which made it hard to care about them. One character has a first person point of view, and another character has a second person point of view, and the switching back and forth drove me crazy. This one was not for me.

I felt this story was very well written and suspenseful. I appreciated the depth the author gave the two main characters. The writing was quick, easy to read, yet intelligible. I enjoyed the narrator as well. I highly recommend this book.

What a ride. Twins that did not know the other existed. Fun. The mystery was good. Some killer reveals. I did laugh about siblings putting the other one in the dryer. Killer not much of a surprise. The plus of this book is about relationships

That sisterly—or sibling—bond is something I, an only child, will never know.

But wow, have I wondered about it, over the years.

What would it be like, to grow up with other people my own age?

To share secrets, and no doubt, rivalries. To bicker... but probably also (at leat sometimes), to have each other’s back.

But take that a few steps further, and imagine how it would feel if you had a sibling—a twin, no less—of whom you’d never been aware... until you’d already lived more than three decades?

And then, after learning that truth... you only reached out—to that previously-unknown person you’d once shared a womb with—after you’d been accused of murder?

Bestselling thriller author Sarah Pekkanen takes a stab at how all of that might play out with her latest, The Locked Ward.


For some reason, most of us don’t expect the uber-rich to have Big Problems. (As though obscene sums of money should be the cure for everything...)

Yet beautiful socialite Georgia—the (adopted) first daughter of a wealthy Southern family—finds herself facing an epically-huge problem, after she’s arrested for murdering her sister, Annabelle... the younger-by-mere-months natural daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright.

No one understands why Georgia would do such a thing... but given that Annabelle was the “perfect” daughter, while Georgia was the one sent away to boarding school because she was “such a problem”, there are certainly plenty of opinions.

Sibling rivalry, taken to the nth level? An evil, violent streak she was born with (courtesy of her birth parents, whoever they were)? A moment of pure insanity, perhaps caused by drugs, rage, or a deep psychological issue?

Regardless, Georgia has zero help—no family, no friends—she can call on.

So, when she lands in the “locked ward” of the hospital—the top floor, where those with serious psychiatric issues are treated (or held, in her case, pending an official determination as to whether she’s mentally fit to stand trial)—she reaches out to the only possible person she can think of to beg for assistance... the twin sister she’s only very recently learned about.

But the woman she reaches out to—Amanda—has been privy to no such discovery... and is gobsmacked when she receives a message asking her presence at a secure psychiatric ward in the city, some 1.5 hours away... from someone who claims to be her long-lost twin.

Yet after she’s had a moment (or three) to digest this understandably-shocking news, Mandy realizes she’s not nearly as surprised as she would’ve thought.

She’d always known she was adopted—and had adored her “real” parents (the ones who raised her)—yet somehow, she’d also felt there was a little something missing.

And now she knew. Provided this stranger’s claim was true—which of course, was the big question that needed answering—it might just be that she’d been missing a literal piece of herself, all this time. Her twin.

She doesn’t trust Georgia, not really. But that doesn’t stop Mandy from clinging to... hope? Blind faith? A certainty that somewhere in the story she’s being told, there’s a very real and important truth... and one way or the other, she’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

If it acquits her new-found twin? Cool.

But even if the opposite is the case, well... at least she’ll know.


The Locked Ward feels both very of-the-moment, with its reliance on modern technology, science, and the media... as well as also feeling somehow timeless, with its complicated family dynamics, and the lies so many people are willing to tell—and keep— for reasons.

Pekkanen does an excellent job depicting Georgia and Mandy—their similarities and differences, and how it would be easy for them to believe (or not) the truth of their relationship. They’re well-drawn characters, and honestly, feel a lot like people I’ve known.

The story alternates from one sister’s POV to that of the other, which gives the reader more insight into each woman’s personality, thoughts, and motivations.

Is it yet another Rich-People-Behaving-Badly story? Okay, yes, yes it is.

[I know, I know... I’m growing weary of them, too.]

But it’s also more than that, with an interesting—and visceral take—on fear. Evil. And on just plain old family stuff (which an awful lot of us, regardless of our bank accounts, can appreciate).

I didn’t see exactly where this one was going... but it all made sense, in the end.

And really, isn’t that the very best kind of suspense/thriller—when you can’t figure out the whodunit (or the whydunit) until the final pages... but then totally get it, once you’ve seen it?

Pekkanen has another swinner on her hands with The Locked Ward... making it a must-read recommendation from me.

[Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.]

Sarah Pekkanen has carved out quite the niche for herself, reliably releasing a new standalone popcorn thriller each August. I first discovered her writing through the twisty novels she co-authored with Greer Hendricks and have since enjoyed her solo efforts like Gone Tonight and House of Glass. So when her publisher offered me an early copy of her latest, The Locked Ward, I didn’t hesitate to dive in. Could it deliver the same high-stakes suspense I've come to expect from her?

Imagine going thirty years without knowing you had a twin. That’s the shocking reality Amanda (Mandy) faces when she discovers her biological sister was secretly adopted by another family shortly after birth. Even more shocking? Her twin is Georgia Cartwright, the adopted daughter of a wealthy southern family, now infamous for committing the so-called “Crime of the Decade." She's accused of murdering her adoptive sister, the Cartwrights’ only biological child. Georgia now sits catatonic in a locked psychiatric ward, awaiting trial.

Despite her doubts, Mandy visits the ward. She doesn't expect to get much from Georgia, but to her surprise, her sister manages to whisper a chilling plea, “I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.” Mandy doesn’t trust her, but she also can’t abandon someone who shares her face to a place that feels more cursed than clinical. As she digs deeper, Mandy is left with more questions than answers. Is Georgia truly innocent, or is she drawing upon her sister's goodwill to lead her down a path of betrayal?

Every thriller requires a bit of suspension of disbelief. It comes with the territory, and the best authors make you forget the logic gaps and just enjoy the ride. Sarah Pekkanen is usually one of those authors for me. Unfortunately, that isn't the case with The Locked Ward. The setup is undeniably compelling. There's a long-lost twin, a murder accusation, and a psychiatric ward shrouded in mystery. I was hooked from the start. But as the story unfolded, it veered too far into implausibility. Georgia is supposedly locked away in a catatonic state, yet she somehow manages to communicate clearly with both her lawyers and Mandy. Even if she’s faking it (spoiler: she is), it’s hard to believe the entire facility would fall for the act. That disconnect pulled me out of the story more than once.

There are still moments of gripping tension, particularly in the scenes set within the ward, but the story spends far too little time there. Instead, it leans heavily on family drama and twisty reveals that don’t quite stick the landing. For the first time, I found myself underwhelmed by a Sarah Pekkanen novel. That said, her strong track record still has me looking forward to her next release. Just enter The Locked Ward with your expectations in check and a healthy willingness to suspend your disbelief.