Giving this 4 stars even though I think it’s more of a 3.5 star read.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was intriguing and different enough from other books to keep me entertained. I liked Mandy’s chapters more than Georgia’s. I found the writing repetitive at times though and I didn’t like the way Georgia’s chapters were presented in an out-of-body way when it was quickly established she was fully with it. I also thought it was weird that the author did not give Colby any sort of conclusion and I thought the addition of a bad nurse was a weird and unnecessary piece of the book. Overall, I liked the book, but there were some details that were unnecessary to the story and other details that were lacking.

Wow this book will hook you in from the first page and you will find yourself having a hard time putting it down! It is a fast-paced thrilling ride and I highly recommend this book!

This cover and description had me excited for a psychological thriller. However, the book ended up being more of a family drama/ political thriller which is not my cup of tea. I enjoyed the short chapters and the change of POV, but the pacing of the novel was very slow. There were a lot of characters to remember and things got confusing at times. Overall, the twists weren’t super shocking or earth shattering and I was able to guess some of the ending. Overall, not a winner for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

The Locked Ward is the story of twin sisters separated at birth that are reunited when one is locked up in a psychiatric ward on suspicion of having a psychotic episode after supposedly murdering the sister she was raised with. Georgia, without ever having met Mandy in person, decides she’s the one person she can trust to find a way to get her out. Against advice, Mandy goes to see Georgia, has an immediate connection to her, and then decides to help Georgia out. The reader could suspect that Georgia really is crazy, but she never comes across that way. It’s more about the threats she thinks she’s facing from powerful people and her limited control and power inside. Mandy meanwhile starts creepily wearing her sister’s clothes and sleeping in her bed, and justifying it as getting in to character while trying to find the real culprit. The book has a lot of tangents that feel like they may have been put in as potential red herrings, but go nowhere and are left unresolved. The reason the sisters make a connection and maintain it feels implausible and each has a relationship that at the end of the book left me completely befuddled. The guilty party is certainly plausible by the way the story played out, but still feels like a confusing twist in a book that is full of them. And the way the book ended just didn’t work for me. I still think the best books I’ve read by Pekkanen are the ones she’s cowritten with Greer Hendricks. I liked her last standalone book, but this one just left me baffled with the whodunnit and so many aspects of the story unresolved. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my first thriller in a while and I loved the change in pace from what I’ve been reading lately. This book was written in such a bingeable way. It hooked from the very beginning and had me wanting to read more.

I really enjoyed the pacing of the book and the dual POV’s that had me trying to piece together what was happening. It was such a different storyline that I really didn’t put any of it together until it got revealed.

The ending shocked me. I think I audibly gasped at the ending reveal. 😂

Overall I really enjoyed the book and the experience! I took one star away because I didn’t love the way one of the POV’s was written in second person. I felt like there should have been a reason for it and it kind of drove me crazy.

But I loved the story overall and definitely recommend it when it comes out in August!

I really enjoyed this book. It really made you think of family ties and how much where you come from impacts your life. I didn’t see the twist at the end and really liked it!

This was such a fun, fast-paced read. It jumps straight into the action and never slows down. With so many twists and turns, you’ll be second-guessing everything until the very end.

Twin sisters, Georgia and Mandy, were separated at birth and are suddenly reunited when Georgia—now locked up in a psychiatric ward—is accused of killing her little sister. She claims she’s innocent and begs Mandy to help her avoid jail time. But as Mandy starts digging into the case, she uncovers a web of lies and deception that leaves her wondering if helping Georgia is really the right choice.

I was surprised at how much I really didn't like this newest offering from Sarah Pekkanen. I think that the dual POVs was the reason why it didn't work. And the ending was just kind of unfinished in my opinion. But this one was a hard one to get into and I just didn't really find some parts of it realistic.

Trying to not spoil anything outside of what the synopsis told us, but I think a lot of things that got revealed were very soap operaish. I just didn't buy into them, very unrealistic at times.

The flow was not really good in this one. You jump around a lot within POVs to things that occurred in the past so I had a lot of issues here & there tracking things. I get why Pekkanen did it that way to do more reveals/twists. But it just didn't work for me. It's not because I guessed at things (which I did) but it just slowed the story down so much & I struggled with whose POV I was reading.

I thought this book would never end. Then to add insult to injury the ending didn't really work for me.

The writing lacked any kind of depth or nuance. If you like stories of wealthy powerful people behaving badly then you may have better success than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy, very appreciative!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Georgia Cartwright is from a wealthy family so it's shocking when she's accused of murdering her sister. Georgia finds herself in a psych ward awaiting trial.

Amanda is adopted but she's surprised when she is contacted by Georgia's lawyer who states the two are sisters.

What will Amanda uncover as she gets to know Georgia?

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read for and kept me guessing.

I would like to start off by thanking netgalley for the arc of this book.

Sarah Pekkanen is an automatic author for me. Everything she writes I love. The locked ward is a perfect mystery if you enjoy unreliable narrators, family drama, and questioning what you think you know. Once again Pekkanen makes you question who is at fault and what is really going on.

Georgia is locked in a ward accused of bludgeoning her sister to death. She won't speak to anyone except her estranged twin sister Amanda. She whispers to her "I didn't do it, you need to get me out of here." Now Amanda doesn't quite trust Georgia, yet she can't just let her be left in this locked ward when it is obvious she needs help. Can estranged twins still hold that twin bond? You don't know what to believe or who the more you get into this book.

I absolutely loved this book and will automatically be reading anything Pekkanen writes in the future.

This was an intriguing story of Mandy/Amanda who finds out she has a Twin Sister who is an heiress who is accused of murdering a family member and is currently in the Psychiatric ward (Georgia) . With the parents Mandy knew being deceased she sets on a journey not only to help Georgia but also to find out the truth about her past and the couple she thought of as Mom and Dad. When the Private investigator turns up dead and time running out for Georgia the suspense and danger keeps turning up and Mandy searches for answers. I really enjoyed this book but it did start slow and it took my longer to get into than the Authors other words. With that said I did not expect the many twist and turns in this book and I truly enjoyed the ending. I would highly recommend this book.

i really enjoyed this book, it was well written and kept me engaged the entire time. i always love a good thriller and this one was really good! grateful to have received an early copy and couldn’t put it down! definitely recommend if you like psychological thrillers!!

Thank you for pulling me out a reading slump. The Locked Ward is one of the best books I’ve read in months. The idea of twins separated at birth and the political scandal behind it was genius. I loved both Georgia and Mandy.

I was so happy to get an advanced copy of this new book from @sarahpekkanen! What a fun psychological thriller this book turned out to be. Georgia is a high society wedding planner that comes from a well to do family in Charleston. When she is put in a psychiatric ward after being found over her dead sister she turns to the only person she can trust, her twin sister she recently found out about Mandy. Mandy lives a quiet life running her family’s bar after the death of both of her parents when she finds out she has a twin sister she didn’t know anything about. This dual POV book goes between Georgia and Mandy’s experiences as they try to figure out who really murdered Georgia’s sister and how to exonerate Georgia’s name.

Thank you for the ARC! I really enjoyed this book. Lots of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming!

Georgia is sent to the locked ward for killing her sister. Most people who know the sisters can confirm she has always been cruel and jealous of her younger sister Annabelle but Georgia says she's innocent and the only person who can save her is her twin sister Mandy who doesn't know Georgia exists, yet. After her life gets turned upside down, Mandy is determined to find the truth even if it kills her.

After finishing my first Sarah Pekkanen book, I immediately started reading this one and it did not disappoint. The Locked Ward kept me coming back for more and I did not want to put it down. I needed to know what happened to Annabelle and I was shocked by the truth. Highly recommend this one if you love twisty thrillers!

Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC!

This book had me hooked from the start. The Locked Ward is full of dark twists, creepy vibes, and that intense psychological suspense Sarah Pekkanen does so well. The story follows Georgia, locked away in a psychiatric ward for violent offenders, after being accused of murdering her sister. Her twin, Amanda, isn't sure what to believe—but she can’t walk away, either.

The setting was super eerie (in a good way), and I loved how the story kept me guessing. The pacing was just right—never slow, but not rushed either. And that ending? Totally caught me off guard, in the best way.

If you’re into twisty thrillers with messed-up families, unreliable characters, and a setting that gives you chills, this one’s worth picking up.

I found this story of twin sisters separated at birth a mildly interesting tale. Somehow, I felt that most of the major characters were not totally believable. Unfortunately, what was completely believable was that a U.S. Senator wields a tremendous influence and has a significant amount of power in his home city and state. There is a murder at the beginning of the book and, of course, the wrong person is accused and placed in the locked ward in a psychiatric portion of a hospital. DNA and a private investigator play significant roles in the plot and this reader was curious and willing to see how everything would work out on the way to an unexpected and satisfying outcome..
I thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

Georgia Cartwright, adopted into the wealthy Cartwright family as an infant, is accused of killing their biological daughter out of jealousy.

Georgia now finds herself in "The Locked Ward" where she enlists help of her twin sister, Mandy, that never knew she existed.

Mandy, of course, agrees to help taking us on one of the most convoluted journeys imaginable.

I thought this book would never end.

These 30-something fraternal twin sisters meet for the very first time for literally 5 minutes and all of a sudden they have twin telepathy. This was the start of my eye rolling but it certainly wasn't the end of it. Georgia and Mandy were both dreadfully boring as characters. The writing lacked any kind of depth or nuance. If you like stories of wealthy powerful people behaving badly then you may have better success than I did. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy.

This book had twists and turns at every corner! The short chapters made this incredibly easy to binge and not want to put down! The sisterly bonds showed emotion, while constantly wondering where the relationships would end up. There were a few loose ends I would have liked a little more closure on upon finishing, but overall this was a quick, engaging book.