Overall an enjoyable book. An easy read but with an obvious plot twist. I’d call it a perfect beach read. Nothing more nothing less ..
………….

The Locked Ward kicks off with a gripping premise: Georgia Cartwright, adopted into a rich Southern family, is found standing over her sister’s bloody body, holding the murder weapon. She’s sent to a psych ward to await trial and insists to her long-lost twin sister Mandy, who she just met, that she didn’t do it. Wild, right?

The story jumps between Georgia, stuck in the eerie hospital, and Mandy, who’s suddenly thrust into a world of secrets, wealth, and powerful people who may be covering up something darker. One of the strongest moments comes early on, when Georgia hands Mandy a chunk of her own hair and urges her to get a DNA test. It’s a strange and intimate moment that sets the tone for their unsettling connection. Another standout is when Mandy starts digging into the Cartwright family and realizes just how much power and manipulation might be in play.

That said, some of the twists felt easy to guess, and the twin-bonding happened a little too fast to fully believe. The pacing is quick (thanks to short chapters), but I was left wanting more emotional depth. A fun ride, just not one that fully stuck the landing.

Good for a weekend binge, but not a favorite.

very good and suspenseful. it was crazy to see what the sisters would do and I would reread this one! I love the medical atmosphere

I read this book in just a few sittings and I have to say it kept me guessing throughout. Every-time I thought I had the plot figured out I was finding out that I was going in the wrong direction. Great book!

This was a really unputdownable read by Sarah Pekkanen. As a thriller lover it encompassed a lot elements I think make a book interesting: long lost twins separated at birth, a psychiatric ward, and a girl accused of a murder.

We follow Georgia, our protagonist who speaks in the second person, about her time in the locked ward after being accused of murdering her adopted sister. She reaches out to Mandy, the twin she didn't know she had, as a last ditch effort to try to get out and prove her innocence. We hear from Mandy's perspective also, and it becomes SUCH a page turner with a twisty and satisfying ending.

I would recommend this book to fans of Ward D by Freida McFadden and people fascinated by twins. If you like short chapters, cliff hangers, and thrillers, this book is for you!

I liked all this authors works with Greer Hendricks but have been hit or miss on her individual titles. This one I enjoyed! The setting was the best part and definitely added to the eerie factor.

Georgia and Amanda’s Story was intricately woven and had me guessing until the very end. Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC. It was my first of her standalone books that I read, but have read some of her co-author works with Greer Hendricks, but was immensely suspenseful and well written. I was hooked on the story and binged it within a couple of days - which is high praise coming from me as I homeschool two little ones and have a young baby, so life is wonderful and also busy! Absolutely loved it.

I’m a big fan of this author. She knows how to write a compelling thriller.

The Locked Ward isn't a bad book by any means. I particularly liked the location/old money themes and how it impacts the characters actions and behaviors.

Ultimately, my three star review reflects the fact that The Locked Ward is good, not great.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review.

Oh my gosh!!! This book was so good! It was a little slow in the beginning and then it took right off and I was absolutely hooked! It is about Georgia who was adopted at birth and was raised by a wealthy family who did not think they were able to have children but then the mom ends up getting pregnant with her own biological child and then begins to treat Georgia badly her whole life and the father never would step in and stop it. By the time the girls were adults Georgia gets accused of killing her sister and gets sent to a psych ward and then all the truth starts to reveal!!! This book will have you hooked and not want to put it down and the twist and turns are so good you will be on the edge of your seat!

This didn't feel like it was written by Sarah Pekkanen, and it was a bit of a disappointing read.
I felt the story dragged on for more than it should have, and it focused way too much on the details that weren't relevant to the story.

Also I was really looking forward to this because of the twin dynamics, but that was such a letdown. From the moment they first met, they had this twin telepathy(or bond idk) all of a sudden, which was quite unrealistic I feel and didn't add much to the story.

I did love the short chapters though; it helped me fly through the book.

Georgia Cartwright wakes up in a locked psychiatric ward on the fifth floor of a hospital. She is be held for to see if she is competent to stand trial for killing her sister Annabelle. Amanda Ravenel receives a call from Georgia's public defender, Milt Daniels asking her to meet with his client. Amanda has no clue as to why she would even be remotely connected to his client. He then drops the bombshell that Georgia is her twin sister. Imagine Amanda's surprise when she thought she was an only child. Georgia tells Amanda that she needs her help because she did not kill her sister. Did Georgia kill Annabelle or is she a master manipulator?

This was a quick read with short chapters and alternating POV's from Georgia and Mandy. Sarah Pekkanen delivered another solid psychological thriller. Thank you so much for the ARC!

This was my first Sarah Pekkanen book and let's just say, I'm a fan! This book was fast paced, twisty and kept you hooked, wanting to know more! I loved how the chapters alternated between the two main character's point of view, giving a more in depth perspective which helped the story build up to the big twist that I didn't see coming. The story was great but if I'm being completely honest I was drawn to this book based off the title and book cover. I'm a sucker for psychiatric thrillers and was hoping for more of a REAL psychiatric patient in the storyline, not someone who was pretending in hopes to avoid jail time and/or the death penalty. I was a little bummed out about that but otherwise it was still a great read and I would recommend it.

This was a fun thriller/mystery to read. I loved the twist and turns throughout the book. I did feel it was a bit slow in the middle. It was kind of predicable. I will say, I didn't see the ending happen the way it did. Overall, I did enjoy my time reading this book and would for sure recommend to others. I loved the short chapters and the different points of view.

Sarah does it again! I felt invested in the characters from the beginning of the book watching the sisters tumultuous relationship then left me sad at the end that they never got to truly reconnect. Such a great book!

This book! I could not put it down! Suspenseful, sad, and surprising. An amazing read! I will definitely be suggesting this book to many readers!

I read a lot of thrillers and I know the basic tropes. This was a different style of book with an unknown trope. I didn't see the plot twists coming. Some of it dragged a bit in the middle and there were too many characters to keep track of but these were small issues.

Giving this 4 stars even though I think it’s more of a 3.5 star read.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was intriguing and different enough from other books to keep me entertained. I liked Mandy’s chapters more than Georgia’s. I found the writing repetitive at times though and I didn’t like the way Georgia’s chapters were presented in an out-of-body way when it was quickly established she was fully with it. I also thought it was weird that the author did not give Colby any sort of conclusion and I thought the addition of a bad nurse was a weird and unnecessary piece of the book. Overall, I liked the book, but there were some details that were unnecessary to the story and other details that were lacking.

Wow this book will hook you in from the first page and you will find yourself having a hard time putting it down! It is a fast-paced thrilling ride and I highly recommend this book!

This cover and description had me excited for a psychological thriller. However, the book ended up being more of a family drama/ political thriller which is not my cup of tea. I enjoyed the short chapters and the change of POV, but the pacing of the novel was very slow. There were a lot of characters to remember and things got confusing at times. Overall, the twists weren’t super shocking or earth shattering and I was able to guess some of the ending. Overall, not a winner for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

The Locked Ward is the story of twin sisters separated at birth that are reunited when one is locked up in a psychiatric ward on suspicion of having a psychotic episode after supposedly murdering the sister she was raised with. Georgia, without ever having met Mandy in person, decides she’s the one person she can trust to find a way to get her out. Against advice, Mandy goes to see Georgia, has an immediate connection to her, and then decides to help Georgia out. The reader could suspect that Georgia really is crazy, but she never comes across that way. It’s more about the threats she thinks she’s facing from powerful people and her limited control and power inside. Mandy meanwhile starts creepily wearing her sister’s clothes and sleeping in her bed, and justifying it as getting in to character while trying to find the real culprit. The book has a lot of tangents that feel like they may have been put in as potential red herrings, but go nowhere and are left unresolved. The reason the sisters make a connection and maintain it feels implausible and each has a relationship that at the end of the book left me completely befuddled. The guilty party is certainly plausible by the way the story played out, but still feels like a confusing twist in a book that is full of them. And the way the book ended just didn’t work for me. I still think the best books I’ve read by Pekkanen are the ones she’s cowritten with Greer Hendricks. I liked her last standalone book, but this one just left me baffled with the whodunnit and so many aspects of the story unresolved. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.