2/5⭐️

I listened to The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen as an audiobook, and overall, I’d say it was just okay. The story itself had an interesting premise, but the narration choices made it hard to stay connected and engaged.

The book alternates between two main perspectives: Georgia, who’s in the locked ward, and Mandy, who is on the outside trying to figure out what happened. The problem was that the same narrator voiced both of them, and their tones weren’t distinct enough to make it easy to tell who was speaking. Since the perspective only changed at the beginning of each chapter, I often found myself confused about which character I was listening to. I really wish they had used two different narrators to make that distinction clearer. Strangely, when a male character was introduced, he had a completely different voice—so it’s not like multiple voice actors weren’t possible.

On top of that, Georgia’s chapters were written in second person, which felt disorienting. Instead of saying “I,” she’d say “you,” even when clearly talking about herself—lines like “you wouldn’t recognize the person sitting in the room” or “you’d think this or that.” That narrative style felt emotionally distant and pulled me out of the experience. It also made me super confused!

I think this audiobook might work better for readers who enjoy experimental storytelling or who are reading the text rather than listening. For me, the combination of unclear narration and the second-person perspective made it hard to connect and honestly gave me the ick.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and alc.

This was a really good thriller, but not my favorite of Sarah Pekkanen's books. Still, I would stick with this book till the end, as the ending was amazing. I would say that this book picks up around the 60% mark for sure. Furthermore, January LaVoy does an excellent job with the audiobook narration, and she definitely keeps the reader/listener entertained through the very end. Overall, even though this book has some "hard" moments, it is definitely a worthwhile read, and one you should stick with till the very end!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
4.5 stars

I have been a fan of Sarah Pekkanen since “The Wife Between Us.” I find her books have the perfect balance of character development and pacing while the mystery unfolds. “The Locked Ward” does not disappoint.

[I listened to the ALC on NetGalley.]

I liked getting to know the main characters. I feel like their similarities and differences were explored throughout. I understood their motives well.

I think the psych ward experience was well done without stigmatizing. I liked the eeriness of being in Georgia’s head while she tries to stay sane while also giving the impression she is not sane. The “you” POV threw me off and confused me sometimes as an audio listener.

I don’t feel like the “twist” was a dramatic reveal. I felt like the breadcrumbs lead me to the ending in a satisfying way.

I love the narration! I don’t pick up books for a narrator, but I do feel relieved when I hear this narrator start the story. I know it’ll be a good listen.

{SPOILER ALERT !!}

The only place where I wanted a bit more development was on Cole’s place in the story. Maybe his purpose was as a red herring, but I wanted to delve more into his motives.
{MAJOR SPOILER}
I’m subtracting a half star because Patty was a little ~too~ convenient of a “fixer.” It seemed a step too far to put finger prints somewhere just to frame someone. I feel like it would’ve been perfect without that being mentioned.

I really enjoyed Sarah Pekkanen’s thrillers when she teamed up with Greer Hendricks. House of Glass was my first solo book from the author and I very much enjoyed it. Gone Tonight was a bit of a disappointment for me, so I tampered my expectations for The Locked Ward.

The book was better than Gone Tonight, but not quite as good as House of Glass. In the Locked Ward, wealthy socialite Georgia Cartwright is locked in a psychiatric hospital while she awaits trial for murder. Her twin sister, Amanda, will stop at nothing to prove that Georgia is innocent.

While The Locked Ward has lots of good twists and turns, it’s a bit of a bland read. I actually was surprised by the ending, but the journey to get there wasn’t so thrilling. The story is told from two POVs - Amanda in the first person and Georgia from the second person. I am not sure why the author decided to share a POV told in the second person. It was a bold choice, but one that doesn’t make any sense in the grand scheme of the book.

The audiobook author, January LaVoy, did a great job of narrating both POVs with distinctive voices.

Overall, this was a three-star read for me up until the ending. And because the ending was a satisfying surprise, I am bumping the book up to 3-½ stars.

My Sarah Pekkanen Reads:

House of Glass - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gone Tonight - ⭐⭐⭐
The Locked Ward ⭐⭐⭐1/2

First, thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and the publisher for this advanced reader (listener) copy of The Locked Ward! The book is set to be released on August 5th.

I was really excited to get an advanced listen to this book. House of Glass has been on my TBR for a minute, so I have been wanting to read her stuff. And this was an enjoyable read. It grabs you from the beginning it doesn’t really let you go. The story moves at a decent enough pace and gives you enough crumbles to stay interested and have some working theories, but still keep going to fully figure out what happens. There were some good plot twists, that I did not see coming. I think it was semi predictable in some ways. But in others, the plot twists hit really nice. Overall, it was a solid thriller and a nice story. (And OH BOY, THAT EPILOGUE!)

I do think there were some things I did not like as much. For one I thought it was weird that within the dual POV Georgia’s was told as second person. I found it a little more difficult to connect to her character because of that. I also think things wrap up a little fast and could’ve been explained to a little better.

A decent thriller with some wholesome storylines!

3.5 ⭐️

The Locked Ward was a total disappointment for me. I couldn't connect with either of the main characters at all, which was a real bummer because I was so excited about the book's premise. Sadly, it just didn't come together, and by the end, I was completely checked out.

Another author who never fails for me. I really loved this one and hope it's a book of the month pick to match my other ones of hers

Two women's lives suddenly become entwined as one is accused of murdering her sister. Together they must work to find the killer, but it is difficult not knowing who to trust.

I thought this was really well written and I enjoyed following the story as the two sisters work together to discover the truth. I thought this was going to go one way but I was proved wrong and I love when a story surprises me with an ending. Really enjoyed this one!

I listened to the audiobook version of this and really enjoyed the narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC for this book.

When Georgina is accused of murdering her adoptive sister, she relies on her long estranged twin Amanda as the only person who can help prove her innocence. But Amanda, who only just found out about Georgia's existence, isn't sure she can trust her.

I was very excited going into this one as the premise was quite intriguing, and I've loved all of the author's previous work. This book started off super strong and I was hooked from the first chapter, which led into such a scandalous and suspenseful read right up until the end! The multiple POV's were well done and I couldn't help trying to guess what might happen to make a great twist. The short chapters also kept me hooked and flowed well. A couple of creepy characters really added a little extra something, particularly in the audio. One thing I didn't love was one character POV told in the second person, but I could get past it. Overall this was an enjoyable read and I think fans of the author will love it.
I listened to the audio and thought the narrator was great.

A nice, quick thriller and murder mystery. Georgia has been arrested and locked in a mental facility charged with the murder of her sister Annabelle. The only way she can save herself is to fake insanity and try to solve the murder from inside the locked ward by reaching out to her long lost twin. In a game of cat and mouse, this is a story of trying to find the truth and to save herself.

I liked the book, but I had a good hunch where it was going for quite some time, hence the 3⭐️ instead of 4⭐️.

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This was a very fun and interesting thriller/mystery. The characters all felt very real and fleshed out and had interesting motivations. I thought this was an excellent use of the second person point of view - you really felt like you were in the ward with Georgia. Overall the story had enough twists and turns to be interesting and engaging without becoming unbelievable or making you feel cheated. The conclusions felt very earned but weren’t obvious.

I did think some of the twin telepathy was overdone and weird. And the narrator did not have a very good southern accent

Now this one? Whew. I read it in one sitting. From the jump, the tension had me locked in—pun intended. Sarah Pekkanen knows how to write suspense, and this psychological thriller did not disappoint. The twists kept coming, and the setting inside the psychiatric ward added a chilling, claustrophobic layer. I loved how it played with perception and trust. A gripping, emotional, and haunting read. Easily one of my top thrillers this year.

4.5⭐

I love a good whodunit kinda book. I had my guesses but I'm going to admit that I'm not too great at guessing. 😂🙈

The psych ward that Georgia was locked in was eerie enough that I was creeped out.

January Lavoy is the narrator. I enjoyed it. There wasn't a ton of theatrics and her enunciation of words made it easy to listen at 1.5-2x speed.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick, easy read with short chapters that made it super bingeable. I actually listened to the audiobook and thought the narration was really well done—it pulled me right into the story and kept the suspense going.

The plot follows Mandy, who suddenly finds out she has a twin sister, Georgia, after being contacted by a lawyer. Georgia’s in a psych ward after being accused of killing the biological daughter of her adoptive family. She tells Mandy, “You have to get me out of here or they’ll kill me,” and that’s where the real mystery kicks in. Is Georgia telling the truth, or is she manipulating her?

Even though I figured out the twist early on, I still had a great time with it. It’s a fast, twisty thriller that keeps you hooked.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook. I love many things about this book but I love books about twins and I love books with some kind of insanity and this book had both. I inhaled this book in a day and was so entertained. This book had me hooked from the beginning all the way to the end.

have enjoyed several of Sarah Pekkanen's other books. So when I saw she had a new book coming out I was excited to read it. This is definitely a twisty book that had me reading late into the night. I really wanted to find out what the heck was going on. The audiobook narrator really brought the story to life and I was sucked in right from the start!

This story has so many layers. All of the characters are so intertwined with each other, that it makes for an interesting read. I liked how the story was told from Georgia’s POV in the psych ward and Mandy’s POV trying to free her new found sister. I loved the character development. It was so hard to know which characters were good and which were bad. I was so impressed with how the author was able to weave it all together! The psych ward setting was so unsettling. I found myself so worried for Georgia while she was there!

If you are looking for an engaging, twisty domestic thriller, then this is the book for you! I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook! The narrator really does a wonderful job voicing the characters.

This one started out strong for me and I lost interest as it progressed...so much so that I realized I no longer knew what was happening at about 60-70% through. It had SUCH a strong hook in the beginning that I decided to just start it over (I was listening to the audio, and loved the accents for the different characters).

On the second listen, I was once again captivated at the beginning, and then lost interest later (but did keep listening and paying attention this time). The twists and family drama just weren't satisfying for me for some reason, and I never felt that connected to any of the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

The locked toward is a suspenseful and engaging story of two long lost sisters that meet after one is accused of murder. There are enough twists to keep you interested without being over the top. This is a domestic thriller that involves families and what it means to be in a family With a murder as a background. Highly recommend the audiobook as the narrator does a great job of differentiating between each character and keeping you engaged.

This was super fast paced. Imagine kept wanting to keep going to find out what was going to happen.

The best part was in the psych ward. Super eerie and creepy scene was set in there. Lots of little twists in this one. I also really enjoyed the main character.

If you like thrillers of any kind I definitely recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Sarah Prkkanen knows how to give this mom of four a way to escape the mundane things and be transformed to another place. This book kept me on edge for days! Absolutely loved it!