As a fan of Sarah Pekkanen's books, "The Locked Ward" did not disappoint. Discovering you have a twin who murdered her sister and is now locked in a psychiatric ward—what more could you ask for? Mandy, adopted and an only child, has her world turned upside down when contacted by a lawyer. Not only does she learn she has a twin sister, but that her twin, Georgia Cartwright, a socialite, is locked in a psych ward after murdering her younger sister Annabelle. Georgia reaches out to Mandy, asking for help to prove her innocence. Though hesitant, Mandy is intrigued by the chance to learn more about herself and whether her twin is truly deranged. The storyline is fascinating, filled with dark family secrets and the extreme lengths people go to hide them. While some areas could have been expanded, especially the psych ward details, it was a solid read.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a gripping and fast-paced psychological thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish! The story follows Georgia, accused of killing her sister, locked away in a psychiatric hospital. She reaches out to Amanda, her long-lost twin sister, who had no idea Georgia even existed. From there, the mystery deepens as Amanda tries to figure out if Georgia is innocent—or a dangerous manipulator.
I loved the dual POV and especially the use of second person for Georgia’s chapters—it made her story feel even more intense and personal. The suspense was strong throughout, with plenty of twists I didn’t see coming. Some reveals were a bit over-the-top, but overall, I was entertained the whole way through.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers with dark family secrets, unexpected turns, and complicated sister dynamics, The Locked Ward is a great pick. Definitely worth reading for thriller fans!

Full of twists and turns throughout the entire book! I really enjoyed how believable this story is. Even with all the plot twists nothing was so far fetched that it couldn’t happen. I look forward to reading more by this author.

4 🌟

... wait, what?!

Um... so I liked this book and didn't like this book and am confused by this book. 🤣😅 This book started out as a very quick read. I loved the multiple POVs and I was kept guessing. While I didn't guess the "ending", the shock value was good but maybe not great. And honestly, I'm still a little confused by the ending (I'm going to need to discuss with someone!)

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

This book was so good… until a couple of things ruined the vibe. It was free from bad language until 72 percent. What was the point of adding it then? It didn’t add anything but frustration for me. The shower bit of nudity was gross, and the shock-and-awe nudity-at-the-fountain scene at the very end was disgusting—grow up!

I loved how twisty this story was! There were several moments I didn’t see coming, and I was tugged closer and closer to the brink of insanity right along with the characters as the story progressed. The first- and second-person POVs enhanced that aspect exquisitely—and second-person is incredibly hard to pull off! This author did a spectacular job of selecting and delivering it for the asylum-dwelling character. Excellent work! This novel definitely lived up to the deliciously creepy cover.

I’m still waiting on a psychological thriller that does NOT revolve around marital affairs. Someone, please invest in writing one—and keep it clean!

Content: alcohol (excessive), bars, nudity, Tinder app mentioned, expletives, profanity, tongue kissing described, premarital sex, drunkenness

I am a big Sarah Pekkanen fan and I was excited for this book. Georgia is locked in a psych ward accused of murdering her younger sister. Georgia has been brought up in a rich southern family but her parents always preferred their “real” daughter who was the younger of the two sisters. Georgia knows that in order not to stand trial, she must feign a total dissociation with reality. She does, however, contact her twin sister, Amanda, from whom she was separated at birth who knows nothing of Georgia’s existence. With so much evidence pointing at Georgia, Amanda doesn’t know what to believe. Pekkanen has written a solid psychological thriller which kept me turning the pages long into the night. This book lived up to my expectations. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

★★★☆ 3.5/5 stars
Release date : August 5th

•𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 :
~dual POV'S
~short, suspenseful chapters
~claustrophobic, eerie, immersive reads
~twin connections
~old money family drama
~political scandals
~bingeable books
~second person POV

•𝘔𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 :
The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen delivers exactly what I've come to expect from her: a fast-paced, well-written thriller with just the right amount of creep factor & slowly exposed secrets.

I found myself flying through the short, suspenseful chapters. The story unfolds through two perspectives twins separated at birth: Mandy, told in first person, and Georgia, whose sections are written in second person-a bold & unique choice that really dropped me into the unsettling atmosphere of the psych ward. It was immersive & claustrophobic in all the right ways.

Although I did find parts a bit predictable (granted, I read a lot of thrillers), the suspense & pacing made up for it. Plus the ending satisfying & well-executed. For readers newer to the genre, this could easily be a 5-star read. For me, it was a solid, entertaining 3.5 stars— reminding me why Pekkanen remains a go-to author.

Thanks to @netgalley + @stmartinspress for the arc & to @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook!

Thank you for the ARC. This was fine... but I was never super engaged in it. And I didn't love the ending that did a big reveal in the last paragraph but then went kind of no where.... I have enjoyed Pekkanen's other books way more than this one. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

“Test them.” 💇🏼‍♀️

“Protect me always. You. Did.”

In short this one was 𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞 & 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲. The paranoid, family drama, doubt and mistrust was real with this book. Trust no one.

I think my fav scenes were the conversations and clues between the sisters while Georgia was in the ward and Mandy came to visit her. The narrator did an excellent job of changing her voice during those visits which added to the creepy vibes.

In the end we get a nice dose of karmatic revenge and I’m here for it.

The sisterly bond is strong in this one.

2.5/5

Meh, this one sadly didn’t do it for me.

While I loved Pekkanen’s Gone Tonight (5⭐️) and her releases with Greer Hendricks, her last two solo books haven’t been my cup of tea. 😔

I feel like I’ve read this story before? I was craving a wild twist or some unique spin, something to actually get my heart racing.

What I’ll give it: I’ve had a lot going on this week with a family emergency, and it was at least a very easy, fast read. Short chapters and certainly not dense.

Of the two POVs, one is told in the second person. I know many of you struggle with this, so just giving the heads up! 👀

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen is an intriguing psychological thriller that kept me interested throughout much of the book. The storyline is compelling, with a strong emotional core and well-drawn characters facing complex situations. Pekkanen’s writing style is engaging and accessible, making for a quick, immersive read.

That said, some parts of the plot felt a little predictable, and a few character motivations could have been explored more deeply. The pacing occasionally slowed down, which made the middle section less gripping than the beginning and end.

Overall, it’s a solid thriller with enough twists and emotional depth to satisfy fans of the genre, though it didn’t quite reach the level of unforgettable.

Thank you, NetGalley, and to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for the eARC copy for review purposes. All opinions expressed are mine alone. "The Locked Ward" by Sarah Pekkanen will be widely available on August 5th.

I enjoyed this book! The two sisters' POV was interesting and also got me thinking: what if the accused sister is lying? Is she to be trusted? I also really enjoyed the setting in the psych ward. The two sisters, raised from childhood in two very different homes, were both interesting and sad. I thought I had the whole story figured out, but boy, was I wrong. What a twist!

Overall, I would recommend adding this to your reading list, especially if you enjoy psychological thrillers. Happy reading!

I absolutely LOVE her writing style! The flow between the two POV was great and easy to follow. I also loved the short chapters! It made it an easy read and I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the ending and didn’t see the twist coming. I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I enjoyed this! Unexpected twists, unreliable narrators. All the makings of a good thriller. We start with Georgia finding herself in a locked psychiatric ward bc she has been accused of killing her sister. She finds help in an unlikely person. Someone she knows but doesn’t know her. And it turns her world upside down.

Another great one from this author. I will read everything she writes and love it all! Loved the twists in this one.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This author is an auto buy for me, so when I was approved for the arc I was so excited! It’s a great psychological thriller that dives into themes of family, secrets, and jealousy.

The book is set as a dual story following Georgia and Mandy. Georgia is in a locked ward due to killing her sister. Before she was locked up, she found out she had a twin sister-Mandy. She reaches out to Mandy and asks her for help trying to put together everything. Mandy starts to discover that Georgia’s elite family has a lot of secrets and each day the mystery gets deeper.

I loved the dual POV, even though I wish they both were in first person. The book was well written and captured my attention throughout. I loved the pacing of the book, but it actually ended rather quickly. I will say it’s missing the wow factor, I felt like it fell a little short in twists and turns. I was expecting something more jaw dropping. Despite that, I still really enjoyed the story until the end!

Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an advance copy of this book! Definitely add to your list!

Sarah Pekkanen’s books always hit for me and her latest, The Locked Ward, is no exception.

It’s the crime of the century when Georgia Cartwright, adopted at birth, is accused of killing her sister, the biological daughter of a wealthy North Carolina family. Locked in a psychiatric ward while waiting for her trial, she reaches out to her estranged sister Mandy and whispers the words “I didn’t do it. You have to get me out of here.” Amanda doesn’t trust Georgia, but something more sinister seems to be at play here. Is Georgia the victim of the wealthy family who raised her or is she a master manipulator willing do whatever she can to get out of her situation.

What ensures is a fast paced thriller that felt like race to find out the truth. As always, Pekkanen paced this novel well, told in alternating POVs to get into what each woman is thinking and experiencing. I really liked the choice to tell Georgia’s story in 2nd person. Felt unique and fresh. I think I preferred Mandy more, just as I never knew if we could trust Georgia fully, but they’re both well fleshed out characters with an interesting dynamic. I thought I knew where this was going 40% of the way in, but was genuinely surprised when it went a different way. I thought the final twist was completely unnecessary, but it was such a drop in the bucket moment that it didn’t matter much.

Definitely worth checking out if you like well paced mystery thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really good read that had an unexpected twist. My thoughts definitely did not see the twists coming. O always enjoy this authors books and look forward to the next ones. Definitely a good psyche thriller to add to your book stack.

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen
Narrated by January LaVoy

I was fortunate enough to have both the ebook and the audiobook for The Locked Ward so could read the ebook when in a waiting room but could listen to the audiobook in the car and at home. January LaVoy is such a good narrator that she's become another narrator that will be a reason I'll grab an audiobook. She handled all the voices in this book very well.

Adopted daughter, Georgia, of the wealthy and socially prominent Cartwright family, has just bashed in the head of her slightly younger sister, the biological daughter of the parents who adopted Georgia. Now Georgia is locked up in a mental ward for violent patients, waiting to see if she is ruled not guilty by reason of insanity. Georgia's only hope is her biological sister, Amanda, raised in another city by middle class parents. Amanda's world is shattered when she finds out she has a twin sister and that her parents never told her this fact. Now Amanda has to decide if she can trust Georgia, a woman with a reputation of treating the Cartwright sister with cruelty from a very young age.

Amanda had always felt as if something was missing from her life. Now she realizes it was that SOMEONE was missing from her life. But how can she help Georgia when she can barely talk to her, barely communicate with her? And what if Georgia really did kill her Cartwright sister. Amanda has her own secrets and isn't willing to trust anyone. After all, her parents lied to her all her life.

The story had me captivated although I had a good idea of a few things that were going on. What a tangled web is woven by so many. The reader will be taken on twists and turns all the way to the end.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ebook and audiobook ARC.

This one is getting mixed reviews, but I enjoyed the ride of this audiobook. There are a few plot elements that are just ridiculous (it's not giving anything significant away, but seriously she randomly picks the correct restaurant based on liking the name of it), but overall I liked the directions that Pekkanen took the plot. I think the book could have ended before the epilogue, and the epilogue did take away from the whole book for me a little bit. I enjoyed both main characters, and I was rooting for them both throughout the book. The audiobook was well done, and I would definitely recommend this one in that format!