I could not put this book down!

Sarah Pekkanen is the queen of thrillers and she has done it again!

The Wife Between Us is an all-time hit and while the Locked Ward isn't as good, it is still great!

I loved all of the twists- they keep coming until the very end. This book had me guessing and then second guessing myself. What I love about this book (and all of Sarah Pekkanen's) is that with most psychological thrillers you can see the twist from a mile away- not so with this author.

Also not that this is important, but just something I appreciated- this book is set in the south. I don't know if Sarah Pekkanen is from the south or has family in the south but she definitely captured southern culture.....and this is coming from a fellow southerner who also doesn't eat grits :)

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC copy of this book.

Mandy & Georgia separated-at-birth twins.
One accused of murdering her sister while the other dives into the shoes her sister has left for her. The roller coaster this book sent you on. Corrupt politicians, rich southern folk and quite the whodunnit. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced and suspenseful book.

This was an amazingly twisty thriller that had me gripped from the very first page and didn't let go!

Highly recommend this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ read!

At the end of the first chapter, the fear felt palpable and I knew I was in for a good ride. True to form, Pekkanen delivered the goods.

It all begins with the talk of the town—Marjorie, a 32-year-old successful wedding planner and adopted daughter of a wealthy family, is accused of murdering her younger sister. The accusations are as shocking as they are scandalous, and soon Marjorie finds herself confined to a locked psychiatric ward while awaiting trial. But the plot thickens when she discovers she has a twin sister,Amanda, she never knew about, separated at birth. Now, this unexpected sibling may be her only hope of proving her innocence and escaping her dire situation.

Told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of the two sisters, Pekkanen masterfully weaves a psychological thriller that probes deep into identity, betrayal, and long-buried secrets. Each chapter peels back another layer of the past, expertly revealing the emotional and psychological landscapes that shaped these women—and ultimately, the murder accusation itself.

The pacing is relentless—in the best way possible. I read through it at breakneck speed, unable to put it down. Every chapter brought new revelations, and just when I thought I had it figured out, Pekkanen pulled the rug out from under me. No stone was left unturned; every subplot tied together neatly, every clue served a purpose, and every dangling participle was succinctly addressed.

The Locked Ward is a fast-paced, emotionally charged thriller, perfect for an absorbing beach read or a long plane ride. If you enjoy layered mysteries with compelling characters and plenty of twists, this one’s for you.

Book Title: The Locked Ward
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: August 5, 2025
My Rating: 3.2 Stars
Pages: 320

The story is told from the POV of twin sisters Georgia and Amanda (Mandy).
Georgia was adopted by the Cartwright‘s a wealthy Southern Family when she was a newborn, and unaware she was a twin.

Story starts with Thirty-two years Georgia Cartwright, a much sought after wedding planner in Charlotte, NC who lives in the city in an apartment with a wall of windows however she is now the newest resident of the ‘locked ward.
She is accused of killing her sister Annabelle (the biological daughter of the Cartwright’s) a situation of sibling rivalry Georgia was found near her sister’s body with blood on her hands and clothes. The police office requests a psych evaluation. She is sent to Mehran a mental hospital where she awaits on whether or not she'll be found competent to stand trial. A jury finds Georgia not guilty by reason of insanity.

Amanda (Mandy) Ravened manages “Sweetbay’s’ her parents’ bar that she inherited following their deaths. She works nights so everyone knows not to call her early. She gets a call from a public defender asking if she would be willing to talk to his client Georgia Cartwright. She is confused as she doesn’t know her. He tells her she is her sister – in fact her twin and she is asking for her.
Mandy knows she was adopted but her birth mother wanted the records to be sealed. Neither she nor her parents were aware she was a twin.

Amanda, visits Georgia' and her first words are, "You've got to get me out of here. I didn't do it."

As the two get closer we find out more about the f

This is my eighth: Sarah Pekkanen story; I loved "The Glass House" additionally I read and loved the four thrillers she coauthored with Greer Hendricks -""An Anonymous Girl" was my first and I became a fan; then " The Wife Between us, You are not alone, and The Golden Couple]". - All were Great!
I was so excited when I found out about a new novel and was looking forward to reading it! Perhaps my expectations were too high as it was not as great as I hoped. I did like the characters and was sure Mandy and Georgia would end up close.
There were a few surprises and although I didn’t love this – I am looking forward to the next Sarah Pekkanen story!

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 5, 2025.

This book was a good mystery read with a sound storyline. There was enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader interested. A few twists and turns near the end enhanced the story. This is a book which I would recommend to those who enjoy a good mystery.

I have read several books by this author. This one was just as great as the others. I was pulled into the story immediately and could not put it down. The plot had multiple twists and turns and kept me guessing until the end. Lots of drama. Definitely recommend it.

3.75 stars

I love Sarah's writing and Glass House was one of my favorite reads last year. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the story between 2 sisters that find out they are separated at birth. One sister is on a psych ward pending trial for the murder of her other sister and her twin is trying to find out how to help her. This was beautifully written and had me from the very beginning. There were a few storylines that I wish we got closure on and for that reason it was rated 3.75 stars. Would definitely recommend this book.

Mandy is busy running the bar she inherited from her parents when she gets a call from a defense attorney - her twin sister has been accused of murder and is being held in a psychiatric institution. This is the first Mandy has heard of a twin, Georgia, but she's instantly curious about this woman and she crime she claims she didn't commit. Mandy is quickly sucked into a world of the rich and powerful where nothing is quite as it seems. The closer she gets to her twin's secrets, the more danger she is in. Meanwhile, Georgia is fighting to stay sane and safe inside the locked ward where no one is ever really safe.

The Locked Ward was intensely readable and both Mandy and Georgia were so interesting. Georgia's chapters are told in second person which made them a little jarring and was perfect during her time in the locked ward. There were just enough red herrings and side mysteries to keep me guessing without weighing down the plot and I had such a good time trying to untangle everything. This is going to be the perfect summer thriller!

Once again, Sarah Pekkanen does not disappoint.

Did the wrong person get locked up or is Mandy’s newly discovered twin playing her? Told from both Georgia and Mandy’s point of view, you uncover what happened the night of Annabelle’s murder.

This book held my attention the whole time and had me guessing whodunnit until the end.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆. 𝑲𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕? 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓? 𝒀𝒆𝒔. 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔? 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓. 𝑰𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕. 𝑳𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓."

Special thanks you to @victoriahelenstone for the #gifted eARC.

➡️ swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

FIVE FREAKING STARS!!!!
Cmon peeps, this book is phenomenal!

Could you imagine being thoroughly embarrassed by something someone made you do, and you're only 5? Then realize everyone hates you for recanting 2 years later so for the rest of your life you live in mumtiple lies so no one knows the real you?!
Well that's what Elizabeth May had to endure and it's sets the tone with her being fed misinformation during the Satanic Panic that now haunts her dreams.
But can she run far enough away? Or does someone know, and want to make her pay?

This is such a suspenseful read. Following the many personas of Elizabeth as she runs from someone trying to take her down.
I remember hearing about the Satanic Panic but I was pretty young when that went down. That setting makes for such a great story which evolves into a cat and mouse chase for the truth. Not too many suspects which makes this for an even eerily great read.

The end has me gasping, biting my nails, and hoping. The last 20% is a real page-turner. I couldn't put it down.
As soon as i finished i was like oh em gee this was so good but holy shit this is so real!

I was like wait, hold on , she what?! The endingggggg omg my jaw dropped when the door opened.

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
June 1, 2025

ℚ𝕆𝕋𝔻❓️⁉️❓️ What's the last lie you told?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillersandsuspense #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #thrillerjunkie #thrillergirlie #bookbuzz #upcomingthriller #baldfacedliar #victoriahelenstone #lakeunionpublishing
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Pekkanen tells the story of Georgia, a young woman locked in a mental hospital. She is charged with the murder of her sister Annabelle. She enlists the help of her other sister, her twin, Mandy. Only problem is that Mandy doesn’t know Georgia exists.

The story is told in the POVs of Mandy and Georgia, with Georgia’s POV being second person. I’m not sure why because that didn’t really add anything for me. The chapters are short, which helps with pacing and attention span. There are some parts of the story that didn’t really add anything and left me wondering what the point was of adding them to the plot. I’ve enjoyed other books by the author, but this book wasn’t my favorite. The plot had potential, but fell short. In my opinion, the characters were flat and left me desiring more.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A fast-paced thriller filled with unreliable characters that will leave you wondering who to trust. The book flips between two POVs with have the book taking place in a psychiatric ward creating an eerie setting that will instantly grip you. I was hoping hoping for a little more from the final twists, but this was a very fun read that's incredibly hard to put down.

Just the title THE LOCKED WARD had me saying yes and then saw it was author Sarah Pekkanen and it was a hell yes!
Unreliable characters are my favorite and this book is full of them! Plus, seperated twins, murder, rich folks acting badly and a Locked Psych Ward, with it own cast of characters! What else do you need? Twisty, fast paced, a lot of moments of , "wait a minute..." did that just happen?
I read it in two sittings and the ending *chefs kiss" 💋
Excellent! 5 stars.

This is quite simply Sarah Pekkanen at her best! The fast pace, the family dynamics, and the jaw dropping ending made this book absolute perfection. Thank you Sarah Pekkanen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of The Locked Ward.

I was so excited to get my hands on this one! The story had my mind going from the beginning trying to figure out the family dynamics on both sides, the who dunnit, and Georgia and Mandy and how they fit in to everything. However I did not like Georgia's pov written in 2nd person. I found that to be really annoying and kept thinking there had to be a reason for it. I figured out the murder and everything with the family. And was somewhat disappointed with the ending. I was expecting more twists or something and didn't get that. Overall though, I still enjoyed the book and am thankful for the opportunity to read it.

I felt like this book started just a tad slow and then really picked up once you had all the info. You follow these two different girls from two different worlds as they collide and things begin to unravel. It’s a twisty tale with lots of details to consider. I liked the final twist. It wasn’t a too 10 mystery but it was still good. You get two completely different personalities and a timeline that switches from past to future and person to person. It’ll definitely keep your attention.

Wow!!!!! This book had twist and turn after twist and turn. The Locked Ward completely shattered my reading slump — I couldn’t put it down once I started! Sarah Pekkanen delivers a fast-paced, gripping thriller that hooks you from the very first chapter and never lets go.

The short chapters made it nearly impossible to stop; “just one more” quickly turned into flying through the pages deep into the night. The psychological tension, the eerie setting, and the mind-boggling reveals kept me guessing the entire time. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another twist hit me out of nowhere.

If you love thrillers that mess with your mind and keep you on the edge of your seat, this is a MUST READ. I’m still reeling from the ending — in the best way possible. Bravo, Sarah Pekkanen!

A twisty and fun story. I love when I don’t figure out the final twist and I didn’t here! It wasn’t my favorite by this author, but I enjoyed it.

There were a few problems I had with the plot. Some things just did not make sense. I think the idea was good, and I liked the twist, but I didn’t enjoy much until the last 20%. The whole “twin connection” thing being repeated so much felt frustrating. Some side characters or plot lines were unnecessary (such as Josh in the ward). Overall, wouldn’t recommend. There were also errors that hopefully get fixed before it publishes.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.