The Locked Ward Sarah Pekkanen. Unique premise. The author masterfully weaves a captivating story, blending emotional depth with spine-chilling suspense, delivering an exciting psychological thriller. The ending was quite clever.
Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This was a quick and easy to read thriller that will appeal to a lot of fans of the genre. The ward setting was a creepy element that really lent itself to the story as well!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This was a solid twisty mystery with good character development and fast paced action. The mystery element kept me guessing and turning pages. A fun read

Pretty good short read, not my favorite book by this author. Don’t want to go into to much detail to spoil the book. But I give it 3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publsiher for an ARC of this book in exchange for feedback.

Like most books by Pekkanen this one is hard to put down. The book grabs you on the first page and doesn’t let go. Short chapters make this book one that can easily be read in an afternoon if you have nothing better to do.

So why 3 stars? The book was super predictable and there were characters/events introduced to throw you off that weren’t even resolved by the end of book (Colby?). I still enjoyed the book but there wasn’t anything that set it apart from the other books by the author that made it stand out. Again, that’s not a bad thing if you’re looking to deliver reliable stories year after year but this one just wasn’t a favorite.

I like Pekkanen’s books. Her writing keeps me engaged and she always has some good twists and turns!

I am always excited to read a new Sarah Pekkanen book! I spent the entire book trying to figure out what the twist would be and naturally I was wrong!!

I was so excited for this book since I’ve read others by the author and really liked them… the golden couple and gone tonight were both really good. This book started out really strong for me… The premise was great… Twin girls separated at birth, raised by different families and also so many secrets. The book starts with Georgia ( a twin) waking up in a mental institution, accused of killing her sister Annabelle. Mandy (a twin) comes to visit… The first time she’s ever met her twin. Georgia lets Mandy know there are people out to get her… People in high places. Mandy starts to try and unravel the truth behind Annabel‘s murder. The book goes back-and-forth from the perspective of both sisters and is Entertaining, but as the story progressed, I found myself shaking my head… A lot of of the situations just seemed really far-fetched to me. There is one scene where they’re talking about a private investigator who is most likely murdered by politicians aid. The reaction by the sisters is so Blasé -like who talks about a murder like that? I just found myself amused by the situations and how they were portrayed. There was a lot of character exploration that gets into how the girls feel about having a sister they missed growing up with., but that didn’t feel very emotional but fell kind of flat. Then there was the “big reveal” plot twist at the very end that had me thinking “that’s it?”. Overall, the book kept me entertained, but it wasn’t my favorite Pekkanen novel. Thank you NetGalley for the advance digital copy. All opinions are my own.

While this wasn't a 5 star read for me, it did hold my attention and was fast paced throughout. I did guess the ending pretty early on, but it didn't take away from the journey. I liked both the main characters.

I enjoyed this but not as much as her other books I’ve read. It was not as fast-paced as I’d have liked. The characters were a bit flat and the ending was just okay.

Georgia is sent to the locked ward after she is found standing over her sisters dead body. She reaches out to her adopted twin Mandy (who didn’t know she existed) to help clear her name of murder but all the rumors about Georgia as a child make her question whether or not she should be trusted.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

While The Locked Ward was a fast read and keeps you wondering just enough about where it’s going and what’s going to happen next, I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a thriller, as it didn’t have that sense of tension I’d typically associate with a thriller. The book centers around long lost sisters, a murder, and hardly a truly likable character.

Some of my issues were - There was a side storyline that popped up occasionally that just didn’t really add anything to the main story and felt very out of place and unnecessary. The way people interacted with each other felt forced, unnatural, and/or cringey through the entire book. And I found the descriptions of the phenomenon of being a twin excessive and overdone.

I’m a big fan of some of Pekkanen’s other books, but this one just didn’t hit for me, unfortunately. It is definitely worth a read though, for someone that wants an easy-read mystery.

A dark and twisty drama featuring a wealthy family, twins separated at birth, an unreliable narrator and written by Sarah Pekkanen? Hell yes. Sign me up!

This fast-paced thriller did not disappoint! There aren't many details I can divulge without turning this into a spoiler, but trust me- you won't be able to put this one down!

In addition to being a great mystery, it also reflects on what it really means to be family and to examine relationships with relatives with a sharper eye.

I'm so thankful that #netgalley approved my request for #thelockedward, and I got my hands on this one early! You won't want to miss it!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book!! What a ride! I absolutely loved every minute of reading this one. The story was suspenseful and a bit dark and the characters were fabulous. The multiple POV storyline kept me wanting more until the crazy end. The ending?? Grab a copy mad find out for yourself. Pekkanen has not let me down once and this book was top tier.
Highly recommend

I enjoy reading Sarah Pekkanen's books and this was no exception. The short chapters make this feel like a breeze to read. Fast paced and kept me guessing. The two POV's and locations held my attention! Loved it!

Riveting!!!! This book truly held my attention from the moment I opened it until I finished! Loved it!!!! Love the family connections and the interactions in the psych facility. There’s just nothing about this book that I didn’t love! Fans of mysteries will sure enjoy this one!!!

Fans of Sarah Pekkanen will enjoy this book and for those who haven’t read her yet, this is a great one to start with. I really enjoyed the story, the mystery, the writing, and the ending. I was pulled in from the start and couldn’t put it down. Everything I want in a psychological thriller. Sarah Pekkanen is consistently great and I look forward to her next book.

Thank you St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

While I usually love just about anything this author releases, The Locked Ward was not at the same caliber as her other books. While a fast read, the twists weren’t twisty enough and the twin story line felt rushed. I’m also not a fan of the second POV narration in novels. However this will be a fun beach read. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I usually love this author, but didn’t love this work. The psych ward isn’t believable and the twin narrative read like a trope. I did not guess the twists, and I wanted to figure out the ending so it kept me engaged.

📖 ARC Review

PUB Date : Aug 4th

My Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 Insane Stars

The Locked Ward with its dual POV and short chapters was a quick edge of your seat read .

“The most dangerous animal on earth isn’t the great white shark or a hungry crocodile or a momma bear . It’s the human being.”

Everyone has secrets and The Locked Ward is full of them .

Georgina is in a psych ward and is accused of murder .

Mandy is her twin and has only just learned of this .

Georgina is trying to prove her innocence and is relying on Mandy to set her free … 👀

If Mandy isn’t careful she could be the next victim, will her twin tuition telepathy help her or bring her to her death 💀

This story was fast paced and had so many twists , some were predictable and a few were not and was interesting how all the revelations came together.

I actually thought something completely different was going to transpire so I really enjoyed the twist at the end , I love the element of surprise and this one delivered!!

Thank you Netgalley , St.Martins Press and Sarah Pekkanen for this twisty ARC!

3.5 ⭐️

Sarah Pekkanen’s latest thriller, The Locked Ward, takes us on a deep dive of two twins in wildly different scenarios. One is quite literally locked away, unable to communicate for a myriad of reasons while the other tries to metaphorically unlock all the secrets she was never privy to.

The setup alone gives a tenuous push and pull throughout that has you on the rollercoaster from the first page to the very last page. Pekkanen sets herself up in a way where she doesn’t have to even do a lot of work but just lays it all out and the pacing was conveniently consistent.

One of my favourite parts about the entire switch was the way she wrote the perspectives of the sisters. Of course there is always a header so you know which sisters perspective it’s in but Mandy is always written with “I” while Georgia is always written with “you.” It creates a unique difference between them while also highlighting the disassociative state Georgia is forcing herself into. Psychologically, this was quite clever and it had me realizing that while Pekkanen’s plots aren’t the most out of the box, her writing has true technique and grit behind it.

I ate this story up in about two days of reading before bed and it was exactly what it wanted to be in the end, thrilling.