📚ARC Review 📚

The Locked Ward⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family. Now locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial, the only people she will talk to her is lawyer and her twin, Mandy, who she recently found out about.
Amanda doesn't trust Georgia, but she can't abandon her in that place. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that's so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator?


This southern, psychological thriller had me hooked within the first few chapters. I loved how the chapters were short, fast-paced and each left you wanting more. The twist and suspense in this made it easy to binge. I grew up near Charlotte, NC and really enjoyed the narrator. Her accent was really good and just added the extra layer for the southern feel. I didn’t expect that twist at the end either. Overall, this was such an easy, binge-worthy read.

This book will publish on August 5, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced readers copy and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

This was not my favorite thriller from sarah penman pekkanen. I felt it was a little flat. I liked the ending but felt it was so far fetched. I was glad the sister didn't her own sister because that seemed dumb.

I really enjoyed The Glass House and Gone Tonight AND I usually love twin books but The Locked Ward was just not my vibe.

Georgia and Mandy are fraternal twins who were raised separately for reasons that weren't clear to me.. Now Georgia is in a locked psychiatric ward for reasons that also aren't clear.

There was a lot of murkiness about The Locked Ward, which I KNOW is part of psychological suspense, but it was just too much withholding of information for me to become invested. Why do the twins have telepathic powers if they are not identical? Why is Mandy wearing Georgia's clothes? What happened to Georgia's sister Annabelle?

I remain a fan of the author but this was not the book for me! Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

Giving this 3.5 stars and rounding up!

I received an advanced copy of this from Netgalley, I was excited about the description and was thrilled I was approved for the arc. I wasn’t disappointed, big family drama in this one with super short chapters and alternating points of view. There were something’s I didn’t see coming and there wasn’t a whole lot of fluff or unnecessary information. I’m now going to go back to this authors previous books and check em out. This entertained me, I looked forward to picking it up when I had reading time everyday.

Fast paced and twisted. I loved the dual perspectives in this one and all the steamy family secrets. Georgia is accused of murdering her sister and sent away to a locked psychiatric ward. Mandy js a bar owner who is living a simple life. That js until she gets a call stating that Georgia is her twin and requested to see her. What follows is a thrilling story of family, betrayal and deceit. A binge worth read that I couldn’t put down.

This one started a little slow for me and I didn't warm to the characters right away. Once I got further in it became engaging and I found the overall story interesting.

I was disappointed with the lack of basic medical research. There were a couple of times in the story where something occurred and it drew me out of the story because it just wouldn't happen. This would have been very easy to research and one part is definitely common knowledge. Plus, there wasn't even any reason to add those details. They did not progress the story at all.

Second, there was too much discussion about the twin-mind connection for my taste. It came up multiple times and again wasn't necessary for the story to progress. I think the story would have been better without it.

Otherwise, I found the story kept my attention and I looked forward to reading it. I wanted to know what happened the night Annabelle was killed and what would happen to the characters in the story. I was curious how it would play out and for the most part the story was well told. I was satisfied with the reveal at the end, though there was a small bit tagged on after the story that wasn't needed.

I was fortunate to have both the audiobook and ebook. The audio was narrated by January LaVoy and very well done.

I think this was closer to 3.5 stars due to the reasons I mentioned above, but I'm going to round up because it kept my interest and the majority of the book was 4 stars for me. Plus, the narration was excellent.

Before I say a word, @sarahpekkanen is one of the best thriller authors out there. I also had the pleasure of meeting her last year. If she has a book coming out, I’M DEFINITELY READING IT and so should you! 😍

Georgia Cartwright is being accused of murdering her sister, Annabelle, at a party. She’s been locked up in the looney bin. She refuses to talk to anyone other than her lawyer and one other person, her newly found twin, Amanda. Only thing is, Amanda didn’t even know she existed, only that Amanda herself was adopted.

Did Georgia k.ill Annabelle in a fit of rage? Is she really insane? And where exactly does Mandy fit in???

That’s all you need to know. I went into this one blind as a bat with no expectations. I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK! The constant changing of their POV combined with the psychological suspense was amazing!

🎧 Our narrator, @januarylavoy does an outstanding job with the story! I was gripped the whole way through! I think whether you do the physical or the audiobook, you can’t go wrong!!! I alternated between the ARC/ ALC.

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ——

This was the first of her books i read, it sure was good to read, I couldn't put it down ,I never seen the ending coming.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published August 5, 2025.

This is the 7th book I’ve read by this popular author and her books are consistently good.

“I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.” I was immediate drawn into this psychological thriller. Told in alternating chapters between Georgia and Amanda, we slowly uncover the truths from their past.

It was a quick read and quite the page turner!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Sarah Pekkanen, and NetGalley for the early advanced reading copy of this ebook!

Sarah Pekkanen, you’ve done it again—I loved this book.

It was so atmospheric and wonderfully eerie, with the creepiest, most vivid asylum setting. This would make a perfect October read! The dual POVs kept the story moving at a fast pace, and I couldn’t stop flipping pages—I had to see how everything unfolded.

The twist completely caught me off guard (in the best way), and I was genuinely shocked. Honestly, I have no notes—just praise.

Highly recommend if you’re into a spooky psychiatric ward setting, complex sister dynamics, and an ending that keeps you guessing until the very last page.

Publication Day: August 5, 2025

Georgia, a rich, Southern debutante has just been accused of murdering her sister Annabelle. She is being temporarily held in a locked ward in the hospital pending further investigation. Mandy has read about this salacious crime in the news, but is shocked when Georgia’s lawyer reaches out to her specifically. What is Mandy about to discover about Georgia? And herself? As she delves into this situation where nothing is as it seems, will she live to tell the tale?

PROS and CONS:
I liked this story, told from the perspectives of Georgia in the ward, and Mandy on the outside trying to figure it all out. I thought the sudden, strong telepathy they recently both discovered was a bit far fetched, and there were a couple of characters’ plot lines left hanging - but the family drama and hidden secrets in both families, and the concise, quick chapters kept me reading until the end. Did I love it? No, but I did like it alot!!

READ IT?
If you are a fan of this author, then you’ll be a fan of this one!

4 Stars

4 ⭐️

There’s a reason Sarah is one of my auto-buy authors, and this is it! The Locked Ward had EVERYTHING I love in a thriller.

💊 Dual perspective (hello surprise twins)
💊 Short, cliffhanger chapters
💊 Psychiatric setting
💊 A smidge of romance
💊 TWIST AFTER TWIST AFTER TWIST

Y’all, I am dizzy after finishing that book! The whole time I’m wondering; did Georgia kill Annabelle? Was she evil all along? Did Annabelle deserve it? How do these other families play along?

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan for my early copies. The Locked Ward releases on 8/6 and it is *chef’s kiss* 💋

I have enjoyed all of Sarah Pekkanen’s books that I’ve read so far. So no surprise that this was a must read for me. So thankful to NetGalley for the ARC copy! I was even able to buddy read with some other friends that got it too!

This thriller will suck you in, friends! I just kept thinking, “where is this going?” I had zero theories the whole time. Everything that came to pass by the end was a total surprise!

Definitely recommend this one! Dive in on August 5, 2025! Get ready for family dysfunction, secrets, murder, & some shocks along the way!

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4 stars. This book was an interesting read. Told in the POV's of Mandy and Georgia. You find out they are twins but grew up in different households. Georgia is in a locked psychiatric center for the killing of her sister Annabelle. She says she did not do it but will not talk to anyone but Mandy. Mandy gets a call from a lawyer asking her to go meet Georgia and talk to her. She then finds out about the sister she never knew she had. She wonders if her parents lied to her right from the beginning or were they trying to keep her safe. Georgia is from a very well to do family with tons of money. Mandy on the other hands took over her parents bar when they both died. She doesn't have much. Georgia tells her she needs her help. She wants Mandy to help her try to figure out who killed Annabelle. Georgia was always the bully sister to Annabelle and her mother never really liked her. She only idolized Annabelle. So with that being said; there is sibling rivalry, jealousy and much more in this book. You get to see how the rich and powerful live and breath and just how strong is a twin connection. There are thrilling parts to this who done it and it keeps you wanting to find out just what happened. It is very intriguing.
Thanks to #netgalley, #Stmartinspress and @sarahpekkanen for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I wasn't a huge fan of the way some of the POV's were written in second person. It was confusing and just felt weird but the rest of the book was really good!

This was a great read fun fast pace mystery I was up all night because I had to see this through it was so good I will recommend

I had high hopes going into this because I had heard good things about Sarah Pekkanen books. This one just did not do it for me, I wasnt compelled to finish it as I normally am when it comes to thrillers. i felt it dragged on. I also thought the ending was ridiculous and had nothing to do with the overall plot. Not my favorite thriller. I also did listen to this more than read it.

Huge thanks to NetGalley & St Martin's Press for the ARC copy of this great new thriller!!

Coming 8/5!!!

This was a fantastic and truly captivating read. Pekkanen does an excellent job pulling you into the story with compelling characters and a tense, atmospheric setting. While there were a few pieces left unanswered that I wish had been explored more deeply, the overall experience kept me hooked from start to finish. Highly recommend for fans of psychological thrillers!

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this book. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time reading this. I missed sleep because I needed to know what happened. There was a part of the book that didn't make much sense to me, and it's been bugging me for WEEKS. But other than that, I enjoyed this one.

The Locked Ward is a gripping thriller that grabbed my attention from the very first page and didn’t let go. Packed with twists and unexpected turns, it was impossible to put down. Told through the alternating perspectives of Georgia and Mandy, the story is both tense and emotionally compelling. I’m a big fan of Sarah Pekkanen’s writing—her storytelling is consistently sharp and immersive. I’ve read several of her books, and this one definitely lives up to the high bar she’s set.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for letting me read this ARC.