Sarah Pekkanen is a master storyteller. The Locked Ward is a must read. The characters have many layers. Five stars is not enough.

Like many others have said, I appreciated the short chapters - it made the story move at a decent pace. I wasn't super surprised by the big reveal but I'm also somewhat jaded when it comes to thrillers. Overall, I enjoyed the story.
Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and the author for a chance to read and review this early.

The Locked Ward is another super twisty thriller from Sarah Pekkanen, who is an auto read author for me. Her books never disappoint. This one was a wild ride.
The story was fast paced and kept me guessing until the end. The twists were surprising, and the ending was satisfying.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed House of Glass by this author so was excited to pick this one up.

Georgia has just been arrested for the death of her sister after being found standing over her sister's dead body. She's currently being held in a pysch ward after seeming to be in a dissociative state, but is she? And is she really the killer? Enter Mandy, who has never met Georgia or any of the Cartwright family, but has been asked by Georgia's attorney to come and visit his client. What unfolds is a mystery with several revelations indicating the Cartwright family has many secrets and the identity of the real killer is one of them!

I must be in the minority here, but I found the pacing very slow. After the reveal of how Mandy is involved, the book moved at a snails pace with Georgia constantly worrying about being found out or being left alone with a particular patient, and Mandy trying on Georgia's life, literally. Here's Mandy cleaning Georgia's apartment, or wearing her clothes, or eating her food and generally acting like she's wealthy trying to piece together the mystery of what happened that night. It was dull, boring for a good chunk of the book.

The attempts at misdirection fell flat for me and even the twists did not pack the punch I was hoping for. I happened to guess the murderer within the first few chapters so even the ending was a let down. Overall, I was ready to be done reading this. I'm not giving up on this author yet, but not comparable to her last book, IMO.

I was hooked on this story from page 1!
A murder, long-lost twins, many characters who I thought were the killer, surprises at every turn.
Georgia is accused of murdering her sister Annabelle. Georgia is put in a psych ward on a hold and awaits her fate. Mandy is her long-long twin and Georgia gets in touch with her and Mandy starts to help Georgia unravel what really happened.
This was a really good thriller!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

I really enjoyed reading this one! It was a fast-paced thriller that was easy to read, and had lots of twists and turns, some of which I never saw coming.

I liked the dual perspectives of both of the narrators, though I do question the varying points of view (using second person for one of the narrators and first person for the other narrator). I think maybe it is to help easily differentiate which character is narrating at the time, though their different settings make that pretty easy to discern anyway.

I definitely recommend this book to lovers of thrillers! I look forward to reading more of Pekkanen’s work.

The first chapter of this book had me hooked, and as the story progressed I kept trying to figure out which character was the most guilty, because everyone was guilty of SOMETHING by the end! Read if you like psychological thrillers and family dramas, because this is a good combination of both.

Immediately sucked me in. Was the best book I’ve read in awhile. I wanted to savor it so I had to force myself to stop reading. Very faced paced and I didn’t know what to expect next. A great summer thriller. Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen, Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a great southern gothic family murder mystery with plenty of unexpected twists. A perfect summer read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I was in kind of a slump and this pulled me right out. The dual pov kept it interesting and fast paced. There were twists I wasn’t expecting and I didn’t figure it out on my own! Win-win.

The story follows Georgia, a wealthy woman from a prominent family who finds herself in the locked ward of a mental hospital, charged with murdering her sister, Annabelle. She reaches out to the only person who she thinks can help her- Mandy, the twin sister she never knew about and only recently discovered. Can Mandy help clear her name?

Thank you NetGalley and St. Marten’s Press for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was quite excited when I was approved for an advance copy of The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen, unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations.

The Locked Ward is written from the points of view of Georgia and Mandy, twin sisters who were separated at birth and adopted by different families. Georgia’s chapters are written in second person present tense, and Mandy’s in first person present tense.

I’ll be honest, if this had not been an advance copy I would have stopped reading on the first page because of the points of view and tenses used. I can sometimes get past the first person present tense if a story really captures my attention, but every time I read one of Georgia’s chapters in second person present tense, it grated on my nerves.

For this reason alone it was very difficult for me to enjoy the rest of the book, but I also wasn’t the greatest fan of the story over all.

Just a little warning that the remainder of this review may contain some spoilers. I generally try to avoid them, but it’s hard not to be specific about a couple of issues I had with the story

To start with, there were a few things that didn’t make sense to me, most notably, about how the twins came to be separated in the first place. Like, how did Georgia’s family explain that one of the two babies they adopted just disappeared, and no one questioned it?

I didn’t find the story very suspenseful. It felt like some of the threats to Georgia, especially while she was in the hospital ward, were forced. I also find it hard to believe that she was able to fake a mental illness to the point that more people weren’t suspicious of her.

And finally, Mandy being shown to be the real threat was not really a surprise. It had been hinted at throughout the novel so was not much of a twist.

Overall, I felt this book was just an okay read. I’m sure some people will love it, but it wasn’t for me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.25 stars

Short chapters and a quick pace make this really easy to binge read. I started reading, blinked, and was suddenly halfway through.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much as <i>House of Glass</i>. While this story is told from both Georgia's and Mandy's PoVs, Georgia's is written in second person. I have a very hard time reading second person PoV fiction. It doesn't pull me in the same way first or third person does. So naturally, I cared more about Mandy's storyline than I did Georgia's.

Also, the plot twists were a lot easier to guess here. I knew the big secret from practically the beginning. I was reasonably confident in who killed Annabelle. Surprises from other characters didn't surprise me. The thrilling and mysterious elements were flatter here. And that epilogue was unnecessary! It didn't add anything to the story.

I can't really see myself recommending this book, not when I liked other ones by Sarah Pekkanen more.

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

The Locked Ward follows estrange twins POVs following the murder of one's younger sister. I loved the pacing and found some of the moments to be truly heart-pounding. I felt that you had to suspend your disbelief a little at times, but I loved the epilogue.

Narration performed by January LaVoy was fantastic as always.

I received an ARC and ALC from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for the free Netgalley.

I hate to leave this review. Pekkanen is one of my favs. BUt this one just did not do it for me.

Why would Mandy do any of this? Anything at all? To be honest, so many parts of this plot seemed ridiculous. The jump between first person and second person was not my fav either. It was also like how many more small things can we drop in-- Opal, Scott, etc.

I wanted to love this one, but I sadly did not.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC.

It is a fast paced thriller which is mostly about two long lost twins obsessing over each other. At least that's what I thought in the beginning, but the plot did pick up significantly some time into the book. In some sense the plot was predictable but I really liked the way it was written in terms of PoV switches. I especially liked the second person PoV for Georgia, it made it feel extra creepy. Some of the things that happened in the locked ward were random and never resolved which disappointed me a bit. I was not expecting the epilogue though -- that ending was really smooth. Overall, it's a thriller that can be binged in a day if you're looking for one.

3.5 sister stars

What if you were accused of murder and are now locked up in a psychiatric ward? A ward that has a dangerous stalker, violent offenders, and “helpful” nurses. Would you fake a dissociative state to avoid prison? This is the situation Georgia finds herself in -- she’s accused of murdering her sister, Annabelle, in a rage. There’s a history of sibling animosity.

Bar owner Amanda has just been summoned to meet Georgia and told that she’s her twin sister, both being adopted at birth, but raised by different families. Georgia begs her to help get her out before she’s killed. Is Georgia innocent or trying to get away with murder?

We get alternating chapters from Georgia and Amanda, and I was scrambling trying to put the pieces together. As Amanda dug into Amanda’s glamorous life and attempted to unravel the case, the secrets and deceptions started to pile up. How many lives were at stake here?

A lot of family dynamics are explored in this one, including sisters, parents, lovers, and how money and power affect everything.

This one kept me engaged and the final twists were a surprise!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Aug. 5, 2025
Georgia Cartwright finds herself in a locked psychiatric ward after being charged with murdering her sister. Was Georgia an extremely jealous sibling who finally lost it, or did she plan the gruesome attack from the start? Is Georgia mentally insane, guilty, both or neither? Everyone has a theory, including bar owner Amanda, but Amanda doesn’t expect to be personally pulled into the case when Georgia makes a request for Amanda to visit her in the institution. Georgia reveals a secret to Amanda that uproots Amanda’s entire life as she knows it, if she chooses to believe it, but Georgia needs Amanda in order to be released and have her name cleared. Amanda can just walk away but now her curiousity is piqued—is Georgia guilty after all, or did someone else get away with murder?
Sarah Pekkanen has written a plethora of suspense novels, on her own and as a co-author, and I’ve been a huge fan since the beginning. Her new novel, “The Locked Ward”, does suspense right, with dark family secrets, a gruesome crime, and a potentially mentally ill woman who may have committed a horrible act. Page after page, Pekkanen pulled me in and kept me hooked. There are some over-used and almost cringe-worthy tropes in “The Locked Ward” (twins, anyone?), but Pekkanen somehow managed to make the story engaging and unique, regardless.
The chapters are short, each one narrated in turn by Georgia (who narrates in the second person), and Amanda, as both women try to uncover the truth. Georgia is the adopted daughter of the elite Cartwright family, while Amanda is an orphan who runs her parents’ bar, so they are about as different as can be. Both Georgia and Amanda are likable and relatable, even considering Georgia’s possible murder charge.
I could not put this one down. Pekkanen delivered a gripping suspense novel that had me flipping the pages, not wanting the suspense to end. The ending hit with a massive, unexpected bang, and it wrapped up all loose ends in a cohesive and completely satisfying way.
Whether on her own or paired with another author, it is clear that Pekkanen is a creative and talented writer. Domestic suspense is her calling and I hope she continues to deliver books as addicting as “The Locked Ward”. After reading this one, there is no doubt in my mind that I will have my eyes peeled for more from Pekkanen.

I liked this one a lot! So many twists, with multiple POVs and timelines. I liked the mystery, and how Georgia and Mandy interacted. Twins always intrigue me, and the connection they have, and the author touched on this several times. I liked the ending a lot. I will definitely read this author again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read The Locked Ward in exchange for an honest review.

The Locked Ward will have you questioning everything you thought was real.

Georgia and Mandy are twin sisters—but they don’t know that. Raised in separate families, they’ve spent their entire adult lives unaware of each other’s existence.

Mandy was adopted by a sweet, nurturing family who adored her. Georgia, on the other hand, was kept by Honey and her husband, where she was always treated as an outsider. Honey fueled tension between Georgia and her other daughter, Annabelle, pitting them against each other in subtle, damaging ways. None of them realize the full truth until much later.

I won’t spoil the twists, but multiple people end up dead—and someone lands in a locked psychiatric ward. But who’s the real killer? And who’s really losing their grip on reality? You’ll have to read to find out.

This one gave me chills. I’d recommend The Locked Ward to friends who love a layered, suspenseful psychological thriller that keeps you guessing to the very end.

A slow burn mystery with lots of twists and turns. I listened to the audio as well. I'm believe if I hadn't listened to it I would have given up and not finished it due to the slow pace.