I have read and loved all of Sarah Pekkanen's books. This one took me much longer to finish than usual due to "life" but nonetheless I finished it and enjoyed it very much. Although I usually love a twist at the end that I can never see coming, this one didn't blow me away but I did like the two smaller twists in lieu of one mind-blowing one. I enjoyed the two characters who learned late in their young lives that they were twins separated at birth, I would have liked to learn more about how that came to be although it wouldn't have changed the story. I loved the way the story was told from each sister's point of view which made the book very enjoyable and made me want to continue reading to find out what would happen next and learn each sister's secrets. Overall I did enjoy this book and can't wait for more from this author.

Georgia is being held in a locked mental ward awaiting a competency hearing to see if she can stand trial for murdering her sister, Annabelle. Georgia asks her lawyer to make a call to Amanda (Mandy) and he tells her that her sister needs to see her; Amanda says she does not have a sister, then she discovers that it’s her birth sister, as they were both given up for adoption.

Mandy out of curiosity more than anything goes to see Georgia, who whispers to her that she’s innocent and to please help her get out of there. Mandy doesn’t know this woman let alone if she’s telling the truth, but she decides that she needs to look into it on the off chance that it’s real..

The story, then proceeds back-and-forth from Mandy‘s point of view and Georgia’s point of view. Mandy realizes that there is something to Georgia’s story. As Mandy gets close to finding out, what really happened is she putting herself and Georgia in danger.

This was a great read! I was so thrilled to get an ARC copy of this book. Look forward to this author’s next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to listen to a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review, based upon my honest opinion.

The Locked Ward is a quick popcorn thriller that will be perfect for beach bags or road trip reading. The novel features rich families with deep secrets and corruption, a psych ward (which seems a little stereotypical maybe? But is still an interesting setting, like it or not), and a few twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. There are short chapters in alternating viewpoints including second-person narration. Overall, this wasn’t my favorite thriller of the year, but was still entertaining and was exactly what I expected it to be!

I have loved reading the Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks books over the years so I was excited to get the opportunity to read one of Sarah Pekkanen's stand alone books to see how it compared. I must say, it definitely didn't disappoint. While I was able to predict the twist of the ending, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book and the mystery that was weeved throughout. It was entertaining and kept a thriller mood throughout. There were some small pieces of the plot that I wish would have been fleshed out a tiny bit more, but overall I'd still highly recommend The Locked Ward to mystery readers!

😱Thriller
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒Family drama
👯‍♀️Sister relationships
🧠Psych ward
✌️Dual POV
🏃‍♀️Quick chapters

This thriller pulled me in right away, but it didn’t hold my attention as much as the book progressed. I thought the big twist was great, but getting the reader there became a bit repetitive and too much of a slow burn. Not a bad book, but there are better thrillers out there (like her last book - House of Glass).

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my eARC. The Locked Ward is out 8/5/2025!

3.5 stars

I am a huge fan of this author but sorry to say that I didn’t quite connect with this one as much as her previous books. Part of the issue here is the twin narrative which really fell flat for me. Nonetheless, I will always look forward to this author’s books and will read her in the future. On to the next…

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Oh this was a good one 👏🏻 👏🏻 This was a pretty fast paced thriller and I loved the dual POV! This had me guessing what could happen and I wasn’t expecting the ending! Read this!! Especially if you like psychological thrillers!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with this eARC. All opinions are my own honest opinions.

Georgia was adopted when she was young by a wealthy family and years later she is accused of killing the biological daughter of her adopted parents. She was sent to mental institution.

And then we came to know about Amanda who is Georgia’s twin sister. Georgia keeps saying she didn’t do it but Amanda is not so sure but she can’t leave her twin sister in that institution either.

We see so many twist and turns in this book which I loved, lots so secrets and question as to if they wealthy family is what they seem like or Georgia is a master manipulator. It’s was quite interesting read.

I find that this author is very good at throwing twists into the mix that you never saw coming, so I was excited for this one. Although I was able to predict some of the reveals, there were others that I would’ve never guessed.

The thing about me and thrillers is that if it’s entertaining enough, I’m going to enjoy it. It doesn’t need to be brilliantly written or even that believable (although that helps). This wasn’t an absolute favourite thriller of mine, but it was a fun read and kept me interested until the end.

If you want to try out this author for the first time, I recommend Gone Tonight. I would recommend this one if you’re looking for a tamer popcorn thriller.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy!

Sarah Pekkanen is back with another psychological thriller. It’s a dual POV story about estranged twins. One is locked up in a psychiatric ward and Pekannen does a great job of painting the setting for it. Mandy has to figure out if her sister is telling the truth and if so what can she do about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC of this book.

3.5/5. This was a fun and easy summer thriller. If you are looking for a quick popcorn read without too much commitment behind it, this is a great option.

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkamen

Can twins really feel the presence of each other even though they have never met? Well, Georgia Cartwright and Mandy Ravenel may have the answer to this question.

Separated at birth, these two adopted women meet years later when Georgia requests Mandy to come help her. She has been wrongfully accused of killing her younger sister Annabelle and is locked up in a psych ward. No one believes she is innocent and Georgia must gain Mandy’s trust to get her help.

Mandy is reluctant, but slowly comes around to believing Georgia is her twin and that she may be innocent. She works hard, while carrying on with her day to day life, to come to Georgia’s rescue to prove her innocence. This story is well-scripted and all parts flow together to create a believable tale in this engaging four star novel.

"The most dangerous place to be in the world is between my father and something he wants."

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen is a thriller that may at once seem simple, but is complex in the fact that we have a lot of history to unravel to understand each character and how they got to where they are.

Told from 2 POVs (Georgia and Mandy), two previously unknowing twins are brought together by a murder. The murder of Georgia's sister Annabelle. A murder that Georgia has been convicted of. She has plead insanity and is locked up in an insane asylum, but needs help if she wants to ever see the light of day. And with a bit of investigating, she has found that she had a twin when she was adopted and all she can hope for is that her sister, her twin, a virtual stranger will come to her aid and uncover what truly happened to Annabelle.

Mandy's parents have passed away and she has taken over the family bar. When Georgia requests to see her, she flips Mandy's world upside down. Mandy doesn't know what to believe so she does a little investigating herself and finds that Georgia was telling the truth that they are twins separated at birth. Feeling an obligation by blood, Mandy sets out to help Georgia and hopefully get her released. Because she couldn't have really killed her own sister, could she??

With alternating chapters between Mandy on the outside and inside the asylum from Georgia and shorter chapters, we get a sense of urgency with the pacing. You need to follow each breadcrumb to figure out the truth in order to save a life. I liked how Pekkanen also had the added element of twin connections between the 2 characters while still having Mandy question Georgia and her motives. But it was the piecing together of the past and how everyone was connected that truly brought me in. There was some unnecessary characters/side stories thrown in to lead us off the trail, but at the end of the day, it was all about family and the relationships that connected them.

Overall, an entertaining read with characters that you want to believe, but also have an inkling that you shouldn't. Enjoyed the storytelling and the twist at the end. I missed the mark with my guess this time, and for that, it gets an extra half star. ;)

3.5 rounded up to 4
I found this book interesting and fast-paced but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as House of Glass. At times I felt the alternating viewpoints between the sisters confusing.

All in all, not a bad read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

This book gripped my heart with a quiet ferocity I wasn’t expecting. It’s not just a psychological thriller, it’s a deeply emotional unraveling of trust, trauma, and the fragile bond between sisters. One moment I was biting my nails, the next blinking back tears, and then immediately suspicious of everyone. Pekkanen pulls you in with that eerie, off kilter atmosphere, and I found myself sneaking in pages every chance I could get, even just a few lines in between errands or calls. It was that compulsive.

I will say the shifting POVs between first and second persons, although clearly labeled, were still a bit jarring. It set up a sense of deeper narrative payoff that never quite landed, which left me wishing for more cohesion there. Still, it didn’t dull the emotional impact or suspense.

This book is haunting, heartbreaking, and hard to put down. And honestly, some of the doors it opened might stick with me longer than I’d like. But, then again, that’s what makes it great.

loved this book! This is my second book by her and I loved them both!

This is a thriller based mainly in a psychiatric hospital. Amanda and Georgia are long lost twins, and Amanda was adopted out at birth.

Georgia is accused of killing her younger sister but swears she didn’t do it and is locked in a psychiatric hospital. That’s where Amanda comes in. Amanda is on a mission to find out what really happened. But as she starts to find out who’s involved, and when people start turning up dead, she begins to get nervous.

What a wild ride! This one had me gripping the edge of my seat from the start!!

Would you rather go to prison or a psychiatric ward? In The Locked Ward, we follow twin sisters Mandy and Georgia. Georgia is in the ward for a serious crime while Mandy is just learning of Georgia and agrees to help find out what really happened to her.

While I really appreciated the super short chapters, this book started to lose me about halfway through. The pacing was very slow and I found a lot of the elements of the plot kind of cliche. I wasn’t excited to continue reading but at the same time, it wasn’t bad enough to DNF. I just found this to be an average thriller.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts are 100% my honest opinion.

Georgia Cartwright is locked in a psychiatric institution for the murder of her sister Annabelle. Georgia was adopted as a newborn and was long pegged as the bad sister. Enter Mandy Ravenel - Georgia's other sister, her TWIN sister - also adopted as a newborn to a different family. Mandy is the only one who can help Georgia now, especially once Georgia whispers that she is innocent.

This had short chapters and alternated between Georgia and Mandy, which kept the story moving quickly. Sarah Pekkanen is an author I like quite a bit and this book lived up to my expectations. I liked the twists and secrets that came out during the story and wanted to keep reading to find out how everything tied together.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available August 5, 2025

This was a fast-paced, thrilling read. I liked the premise, and finished this one over a weekend.

Definitely recommend! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is murder mystery and a family reunion all in one. Georgia is accused of brutally killing her younger sister, and everyone claims she’s hated her all her life and has psychotic tendencies. Georgia is sent to a psych ward and recruits her long lost twin sister to help claim her innocence. Readers watch their family ties come to fruition and their connection grow.

I really enjoyed the swap between POVs of Mandy and Georgia, I had an eerie feeling the entire time that these twins had secrets…

There are twists I didn’t see coming, the end is not at all what I expected. However, I think the end could have went out with more of a bang, both sisters seemed crazy throughout the book, but in the end they really aren’t? Georgias POV threw me off as it was told like a reflection back on the storyline, I was expecting more to come of the choice of writing style, but it seems it’s just the way Georgia talks?

Overall I enjoyed the book, but it was missing the wow mind-blowing factor.