Sarah Pekkanen never disappoints in her ability to write a story with complex, messy character relationships and twists that leave your jaw on the floor. I was hooked from the first chapter and furiously flipped the pages to keep finding out the who, what where and why. I was thoroughly entertained and enjoyed this book from start to finish.

Sarah Pekkanen never disappoints. This latest psychological thriller grabbed me in the first chapter and never let go. Told from two perspectives, with great characters, an intriguing premise and multiple unexpected twists, this one was unputdownable. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy

3.5*

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! This was an enjoyable read but I didn't *love* it. Unfortunately a few things left me with further questions, or pulled me out of the story (e.g., someone who attempts to die by suicide would not be kept on the same ward as individuals found not criminally responsible), which lowered my rating.

I enjoyed having both Mandy and Georgia's point of view, though the switching from first to second person between chapters made it difficult to feel fully immersed.

Overall, this was a fun, quick read with an interesting premise, and still enjoyable if you like thriller/mystery books about wealth, privilege, twin connections, and family dynamics.

Just WOW! Another fantastic read from Sarah Pekkanen! She is a go to author that never disappoints. I totally loved this book. I felt like I was a part of this story. Incredible storytelling. Don’t miss this one.
Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Georgia is accused of murdering her sister and she’s pretending to be insane so she avoids jail and is in the psych ward. What others don’t know is she recently found out she has a twin, Mandy. Georgia was adopted and her sister Annabelle was born shortly after (a surprise) so Georgia was never treated equally by her adoptive mom. Georgia contacts Mandy, exposes their twins and asks her to help.

I thought this was a great thriller and kept me on my toes! It was a unique concept and I liked the dual POV, including Georgia talking in third person. You were never sure which direction it was going, if Georgia was guilty and I definitely didn’t predict the twists!

Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. I’ll always pick up a Sarah Pekkanen book, she’s an auto-read author of mine, and the premise was interesting, I just couldn’t connect with the story.

While I did like this book, I unfortunately didn’t love it. It took me almost a month to finish and there was no wow factor there for me.

I did like that it was told in 2 POVs and the chapters were pretty short!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press!

Sarah Pekkanen's latest psychological thriller grabs you from the first pages.. The Locked Ward is my favorite of her solo-written novels. It features her trademark masterful plotting and believable characters. Her descriptions bring the terrifying atmosphere of the psychiatric ward to life.

Imagine discovering that everything you knew about yourself and your parents were not true. They were always short on their family backstory, but provided you with a loving home, set you up in the family business and life wasn't lush but you accepted it and then you get a note.

You have a twin and not any twin. She's locked in a mental institution accused of killing her sister and needs your help: and so the story begins.

As expected there are the "connections" that are exposed in the storyline. The comparisons of their lives: rich and rejected vs middle class and loved.
The feelings of being lied to, of thinking you have no one and then discover you have another half that has similarities that can't be ignored.

How all this transpired 30+ years ago proves to be a tale of politics, status, lust and unrequited love. The discoveries of their parallel journeys kept the reader engaged. Those short chapters certainly kept it all moving.

An enjoyable book of unexpected revelations.

Mandy's parents have died and she finds out she has a twin sister, Georgia, adopted the same time as her she never knew about, and that twin has been accused of murdering her sister. Mandy begins to look into the mystery of her adoption and weather or not her newly found sister could be a murderer. I liked the dual points of view between Mandy and Georgia there were a few good twists definitely kept me entertained and would recommend. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book absolutely caught my attention hence why I requested so fast. I am glad to say I really enjoyed it. The mystery, the suspense everything just kept me hooked. The short, fast paced and action packed chapters really kept me on the edge of my seat. Some twists were predictable and I did expect a little more from the conclusion but I still really enjoyed it.

This is a unique story about two twins seperated and finding their way back to eachother amidst a murder & insanity trial. I think what was strange is that Mandy's POV is in first person but Georgia's POV is in third person which really took you out of the story it came off strange. I did like the short stories and the pace of the novel. The mysteries kept mystering.. thats a word now. This book would have a been a 5 star read if there was more time spent on any of the three sisters to really connect to the audience and really sell this domestic thriller. The last paragraph of this book was jaw dropping and good but the rest of the book just didnt hit the mark.

I will say the audio was done very well.

Georgia is accused of murder and locked away in a psychiatric facility. When her twin Amanda comes to visit, she whispers that she didn't do it, spurring Amanda on a wild good chase as to what really happened.

Righto guys, I'm not telling you any more than that but listen to me when I say - YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK! My heart was pounding from start to finish as there were just so many twists I didn't see coming. Cleverly written, this fast paced thriller will have you reeling at the end with the big twist. All the stars for this beauty.

I've come to realize Sarah Pekkanen should be an auto read for me at this point because I've yet to be disappointed from one of her books and this one was no exception! I was super excited to get an advance copy of this one and read this quite quickly!

This story is told through dual POVs of twin sisters (separated at birth) and one is on the locked ward due to insanity after being accused of murdering her other sister. So much family drama!

Lots of twists and turns and suspense right up to the very end. This comes out in August and I would most definitely recommend it

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

So good! Georgia Cartwright is accused of killing her sister. Georgia is adopted, her sister was not.
Georgia gets put in psychiatric institution while she awaits trial. Georgia had recently found out that she has another sister, a twin named Amanda. She reaches out to Amanda and begs for her help. Georgia is playing the role of being almost catatonic but drops the mask for long enough to tell Amanda, “I didn’t do it. This is bigger than you can imagine.”
Amanda begins to investigate a world of powerful families, private investigators, wealth, lies, deception and gets in more danger as she gets closer to the truth.

The Locked Ward
2 women, finding themselves in very different circumstances. Are they really sisters? Are they twins and never knew it? What would life have been like if they had been switched and stayed with different parents?
As the mystery unravels Mandy tries to find out why her sister is in the locked ward and why her parents lied to her for her whole life.
I really enjoyed this book, I like books that are told from multiple characters perspectives. And the storyline depends when you try to figure out if Georgia has really done what she’s accused of. Mandy may slip into her sister’s life a little too easily imo but the book was fast paced and kept me wanting to read just one more chapter!
This is my first read by this author as a sole author (have read previous book co-authored) and I loved this one as much as the others. I give it 5 stars

This one fit the mood perfectly! I was in the mood for a fast paced thriller and that's exactly what I got here. Short, action packed chapters made this very quick and easy to read. A few of the twists were mildly predictable, but they were clever and well placed. I loved the eerie locked ward chapters and the sometimes creepy bond between twin sisters. This was a story full of lies and deceit and as a fan of the author already, I really enjoyed this one. I would recommend picking it up!

Wow! This book did not disappoint- the double character storyline bringing the 2 characters together was very interesting. I was able to put my thoughts together and thought I had the end figured out but the twist threw me for a loop

First of all thank you so much Net Galley for my very first ARC book!! I was so excited!

Now for the book…I honestly did not enjoy this one. I love Sarah Pekkanen when she writes with Greer Hendricks but I could not make myself love this one.

Mandy lives her whole life never knowing she has a twin sister in a nearby city until she receives a call from a lawyer saying she has a twin sister who is locked in a psychiatric ward and is asking for her specifically. The story follows Mandy trying to figure out who committed the crime her twin is accused of.

There were multiple little side stories that I just didn’t feel like went with the story. There were no twists and turns that shocked me and that’s how I like my thrillers. So I guess this isn’t a thriller?

I didn't love this book as much as I was expecting. I do like this author though. The characters were likable.