3.5 rounded to 4. I like the plot twists. The secrets the characters all were interesting and kept me entertainer I prior recommend!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC of The Locked Ward! As a longtime fan of Sarah Pekkanen, I was thrilled to receive this advanced copy. I devoured the entire book in just 7½ hours and trust me, it was impossible to put down.

Synopsis:
When Georgia Cartwright the glamorous adopted daughter of a wealthy Southern family is found standing over the body of her biological younger sister, Annabelle, it becomes the Crime of the Decade. Deemed not guilty by reason of insanity, Georgia is confined to a high-security psychiatric ward. Enter Mandy (short for Amanda), a bartender raised by loving adoptive parents with no idea she had a twin. Out of nowhere, she’s contacted by Georgia’s lawyer, and a DNA test confirms what neither sister imagined they’re twins separated at birth.

Told through alternating POVs, we watch Mandy navigate the shocking revelation of her twinhood while racing to uncover if Georgia truly murdered Annabelle or if she’s been framed. Meanwhile, Georgia endures the chilling, claustrophobic atmosphere of the locked ward and insists, over and over, “I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out.” Mandy becomes obsessed with uncovering the tangled secrets of family, wealth, and betrayal.

Edge‑of‑your‑seat tension filled every page. The story twists and turns so frequently I found myself second‑guessing everything. Just when I thought I had it figured out, Pekkanen blindsided me again. I was literally checking the time, thinking, “I’ll just read another chapter” and before I knew it, 7½ hours had passed and I was done.

Pekkanen masterfully peers into the dark side of family legacy, mental health, and identity. The locked ward setting is eerie and oppressive, grounding the psychological suspense in vivid reality. And that sibling bond? Twisted, complicated, compelling I felt for both Mandy and Georgia, torn between empathy and suspicion.

Final take:
One of Pekkanen’s most immersive, twisty thrillers yet. Gorgeous pacing, dynamic narrators, and so many unpredictable choices that kept me guessing until the last page. If you enjoy dual‑narrative psychological suspense that messes with your mind this is a must‑read.

Thanks again to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. Can’t wait to see what Pekkanen delivers next!

Locked Ward was so good!! I’m still shook over that twist! This book had me second-guessing everything and everyone. Just when I thought I had it figured out… BAM. Nope. Mind blown.

One of my favorite quotes:
“The most dangerous animal on earth isn’t the great white shark or a hungry crocodile or a mama bear. It’s the human being.”
Whew. That one hit hard.

As a psychiatric nurse of over 14 years, I appreciated the setting in a forensic unit—it felt realistic and unsettlingly familiar. Small side note: at the beginning, it mentions red bands for wrists and blue for ankles. Typically, red is for ankles and blue is for wrists and while bands can be used on wrists or ankles, red bands are usually larger and more commonly placed on ankles. Just a little detail I noticed, but it didn’t take away from the story.

WOW - yet another example showing that Sarah Pekkanen really knows how to write a thriller! I always know I’m in for an exciting ride when I pick up one of her books!

Mandy grew up in a quiet town with her adoptive parents. They owned a local bar, and after they passed away, she took over running it. Despite being raised in a loving family, she always felt like something was missing.

Georgia was also adopted, but her life looked completely different. Her parents were rich and well-known, but she always felt like an outsider. Georgia’s parents had a child of their own four months after she was adopted. No matter how hard she tried, Georgia stayed in the dark, in the background while a light shone on Annabelle as she took center stage.

Even though they’ve lived just 70 miles apart for years, Mandy and Georgia don’t meet until something big happens—one of them is accused of murder. When they finally come face to face, the connection between them is instant. But as they start asking questions and digging into their pasts, they discover shocking secrets someone would do anything to keep hidden.

This FOUR STAR story had mystery, family drama, and twists I didn’t see coming. I thought for sure I knew “whodunnit” to be delightfully proven wrong!

I had the chance to both read and listen to this book—and when I saw January LaVoy was the narrator, my excitement level shot through the roof! I’ve listened to several audiobooks she’s narrated, and she never disappoints. She absolutely nails each character’s tone and does a phenomenal job building suspense until it’s downright heart-pounding!

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review before the proposed release date of August 5, 2025.

3.5 stars

I have read several of Sarah Pekkanen’s books and this won’t be my last. This wasn’t my favorite one of her book, but the twists were a great surprise.

This is told with two different POVs, once being Mandy told in the first POV and then Georgia told in a second POV. I’m not sure I liked this method. I typically can follow along with dual POVs, but this took some time to process.

The mystery elements were pretty good, but this wasn’t too much of a thriller. It was kind of slow throughout the book.

I feel like there were a few too many loose ends at the end. They are not that big of a deal, but that kind of bothers me.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was nice to listen to.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC, Macmillan Audio for the ALC, and NetGalley.

I’ve read a few Sarah Pekkanen books now, and I’ve enjoyed them. For this one, I really liked the short chapters and dual POV. I liked the narrator, and I was able to easily keep track between the two POVs, although having the digital copy of the book helped with that as well. I liked that it moved quickly.

That said, this wasn’t my favorite of her books because it almost felt as if there wasn’t enough going on. It felt more mystery than thriller, and even the mystery was not all that surprising. I wasn’t really shocked by the twist.

Overall, it was entertaining, but some of her other books are better. I’ll still continue to read her books. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I was so excited that my very first NetGalley audiobook approval was The Locked Ward by one of my favorite thriller authors, Sarah Pekkanen!

This twisty story follows twin sisters separated at birth. Georgia, a Southern socialite adopted by a wealthy family, is accused of murdering her sister and placed in a psychiatric ward. Mandy, raised in a humble home and unaware she even had a twin, gets a shocking call asking for her help. When she visits the Locked Ward, the connection between them is undeniable—and the search for the truth begins.

This audiobook hooked me from the very first chapter. Short, bingeable chapters, dual POVs, and a wild, unexpected twist kept me glued to my headphones.

If you love psychological thrillers with shocking family secrets, The Locked Ward is a must-read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen early in exchange for my honest review.

ARC Review: The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen

Twin sisters, long separated and raised in completely different worlds, find their fates colliding in this psychological drama. Georgia, adopted into a wealthy family, now finds herself in a locked psychiatric ward after being accused of murdering her sister Annabelle. With her world crumbling and her options running out, her only hope lies in Mandy—the biological twin she just discovered but has never actually met. Mandy, meanwhile, has just lost her adoptive parents and is running the family bar they left behind. The story unfolds in alternating perspectives as the two women attempt to uncover the truth and prevent Georgia from being institutionalized—or worse.

This was my first time reading Sarah Pekkanen, and while the premise hooked me—a dark, twisty story involving estranged twins and a murder mystery—the execution left me a bit UNDERwhelmed. The opening started strong but then the pace started dragging and I struggled to stay engaged. The ending did offer a bit of a pickup, but not quite enough to make up for the lull in the middle.

That said, I did appreciate the short chapters and the dual POV format, which made it easy to fly through even when my interest dwindled. Unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver the suspense or emotional depth I was hoping for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC!

This book was the perfect mix of suspense and predictability that keeps you guessing! I falsely believed since I predicted some of the twists that I could predict them all!
Georgia ends up in an asylum after being arrested for murdering her sibling. While there, she pleads insanity and you begin to question everything she says. Her biological twin sister that knows nothing about her is her one chance at freedom. I really enjoyed the questioning of whether or not they were really in this together or if Georgia was using Mandy for everything.

Imagine being locked up in a psych ward for a crime you didn't commit and your only hope of proving your innocence is a sister who doesn't know you exist. This is the situation Georgia has found herself in after the sister she grew up with in incredible wealth is found dead at her birthday party. Georgia fakes a mental break to stay out of jail but never imagined how helpless she would feel when locked up with zero control. She contacts Amanda. Amanda is instantly curious about the sister she's never heard of but doesn't know that she can trust Georgia.

I really liked the intricacies of this book that weave together sibling relationships, people with money behaving badly, and unreliable narrators. The setting of the locked psych ward brings a super creepy element to the story. I could not see how Georgia could get out of her situation with the situation truly feeling so helpless. I also wasn't super sure always of Amanda and her motives. The extended friends and family added to the mystery and suspense of the story. These were people you loved to hate.

I was super excited when the audiobook opened with January LaVoy. She has become a favorite narrator for me. She is able to handle two different narratives flawlessly. You can easily sense Amanda and Georgia as completely different people. The performance upsells the value of this book. I enjoyed it immensely.

This was entertaining but you really need to switch off your brain to believe it. The story of a woman accused of murder who relies on her long lost twin to save her had a lot of eye-rolling moments particularly all of the “twin sense” type scenes.

The narrative switched between the twin in the psych ward (in second person) which was a bit jarring and gimmicky and her twin’s voice.

I enjoyed the narration and was compelled to binge this but it’s pure popcorn!

An intense psychological mystery set within a psychiatric ward, this audiobook keeps the tension taut until the final twist. Pekkanen's storytelling thrives in the claustrophobic audio setting.

The book description of The Locked Ward intrigued me, I just love the cover(!), and January LaVoy is the narrator (!!) so when I was granted an alc (advanced listening copy) from the publisher, I was ready to listen to it; And I enjoyed it!

In addition to what I already mentioned, we have dual povs (the sisters Amanda/Mandy and also Georgia), and this is a fast-paced book. I have read some Pekkanen before, when she collaborated with Greer Hendrix, but this was my first with her as the sole author.

We have murder, intrigue, a wealthy family, a psychiatric institution, and twins all in this novel! I never lost interest in the stor, I just had to make sure I paid attention to which pov each chapter was.

We go along on the journey with Mandy who is just trying to figure things out. And we have Georgia in the institution. Does she actually need to be there or not? Did she kill her sister or not? We get to experience ‘life on the inside’ of the institution through Georgia. And even though there is staff all around, things are not always safe. It is an eery setting and not one a sane person would want to be in.

The second half becomes more about family dynamics and a bit like a soap opera. But I enjoyed this novel. It shows the bond that sisters can have, let alone the twin bond which can be intriguing.

Again, I mention January LaVoy is the narrator and I adore her! She did a great job with her narration, as always. The only thing I feel could have improved the narration was to have two different narrators, one for Georgia and one for Mandy. To better differentiate the chapters other than the name of the sister at the beginning of each chapter.

Many thanks to the publisher Macmillan Audio for granting me an advanced copy to listen to and review.

Georgia Cartwright, socialite and wedding planner, is arrested for the brutal killing of her younger sister. She gets locked up in the psych ward and only wants to talk to her twin, Amanda. The only problem, Amanda doesn't realize she's even related to Georgia.

This was a fun and twisty one! Here's what I loved:

The dual POV: You get both Georgia and Amanda in here which really works for the story. Georgia is also faking a psychotic break so she can't come right out and tell Amanda things so you rely on the backstory Georgia gives you in the narrative for the mystery.

The twists: This one is loaded with them. I changed my mind a few times with this one. It was a tough one to figure out. So many of the characters had double intentions. Pekkanen does a great job with deceiving you as reader too. Bravo.

The narration: January LaVoy is great in this. She switches accents and really distinguishes the different voices of the characters!

All in all, this was a good twisty thriller!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

Sarah Pekkanen has done it again. I was hooked from the very beginning. I didn't see any of those plot twists coming at all and that ending was mind blowing. I will for sure be picking up the rest of her books. I highly highly recommend this book to everyone.

Georgia is being held in a locked mental ward awaiting a competency hearing to see if she can stand in trial for murdering her sister, Annabelle. Georgia asks her lawyer to make a call to Amanda (Mandy) and he tells her that her sister needs to see her; Amanda says she does not have a sister, then she realizes that it’s her birth sister, as they were both given up for adoption.

Mandy out of curiosity more than anything goes to see Georgia, who whispered to her that she’s innocent and to please help her get out of there. Mandy doesn’t know this woman let alone if she’s telling the truth, but she decides that she needs to look into it on the off chance that it’s real..

The story, then proceeds back-and-forth from Mandy‘s point of view and Georgia’s point of view. Mandy realizes that there is something to Georgia’s story. As Mandy gets close to finding out, what really happened is she putting herself and Georgia in danger.

This was a great listen! A perfect road trip book Hubby and I both enjoyed it. I was so thrilled to get an ARC copy of this book. Look forward to this author’s next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the audio house, the narrator and the author for the opportunity to listen to a complimentary copy of this audiobook in return for a review, based upon my honest opinion.

I have loved reading the Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks books over the years so I was excited to get the opportunity to read/listen to one of Sarah Pekkanen's stand alone books to see how it compared. I must say, it definitely didn't disappoint. The narrator was enjoyable to listen to and consistent from beginning to end on how she portrayed characters.

While I was able to predict the twist of the ending, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book and the mystery that was weeved throughout. It was entertaining and kept a thriller mood throughout. There were some small pieces of the plot that I wish would have been fleshed out a tiny bit more, but overall I'd still highly recommend The Locked Ward to mystery readers!

3.5 stars

I am a huge fan of this author but sorry to say that I didn’t quite connect with this one as much as her previous books. Part of the issue here is the twin narrative which really fell flat for me. Nonetheless, I will always look forward to this author’s books and will read her in the future.

I paired the print and audio copies of this book for an immersive reading experience, and I will say that I quite enjoyed the narration and production value of the audio. January LaVoy is always a favorite.

On to the next…

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5 stars

Enjoyable, kept my attention. I really enjoyed House of Glass so figured I’d give this one a go and it was a good ride! I could’ve done without the POV written in 2nd person, that kind of threw me for a loop. But if you can suspend some disbelief and just be along the ride I think this one is definitely worth your time!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC of this book.

3.5/5. This was a fun and easy summer thriller. If you are looking for a quick popcorn read without too much commitment behind it, this is a great option.