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𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗞
Glamorous Georgia Cartwright - adopted into a wealthy Southern family - is locked up in a psychiatric ward, accused of murdering her sister. With everyone turning their back, she reaches out to her estranged twin, Mandy, hoping she’ll believe - and save her.

𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡
This starts off with a bang! It’s told in alternating short chapters from Georgia and Mandy’s perspectives. Georgia’s chapters are in second-person POV, creating an unsettling, dissociative vibe that mirrors her situation - such a clever touch.

The sisters made an engaging duo, but I wasn’t convinced by their twin telepathy thing, mostly because they’re fraternal.

Audiobook narrator January LaVoy did a great job voicing both sisters. They were such strong women and LaVoy did them proud - seriously, can this woman do no wrong?!!

Not gonna lie, I glazed over a little during the senator/conspiracy storyline, but I’m glad I stuck with it as the payoff was epic! I guessed one twist, but there were plenty to enjoy some surprises - even if they bordered on soap-operaish.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗?
This was a fast paced, highly entertaining, and intriguing read. Just be ready to look past the occasional improbability and go with the vibe.

🎧 Narrated by January LaVoy
📖 Publishes 08•05•25 | 432 pages | 9h 3m

Thank you MacMillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for these #gifted ARCs.

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I absolutely flew through this one! This is a very fast-paced thriller - readers who have liked Pekkanen's previous works are sure to enjoy this one. I was definitely intrigued with the mystery and enjoyed the twists at the end.

The narrator was superb, I am really glad I listened to the audio because I think it really enhanced the story. January LaVoy's performance is fantastic.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC!

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I really enjoy how Pekkanen writes, Anonymous girl Is still a favorite book of mine! I knew right away that I had to check this one out.

I am a sucker for a good mystery and who doesn't love dark family secrets? I found the story to be fascinating and it did a great job holding my attention.

I think the narrator did an excellent job bringing these women to life.

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🔒 The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen 🔒

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Accused of murder, adopted heiress Georgia Cartwright is locked in a psychiatric ward. Her twin Amanda doesn't trust her—but when Georgia pleads for help, Amanda must decide: uncover a family’s dark secrets or fall into her sister’s deadly trap.

I was so excited for a new Sarah Pekkanen, and was grateful to receive an ALC of The Locked Ward. really enjoyed the concept of this book and I was curious about what was going to happen in each part, however, this wasn’t my favourite by her. I found it took me a while to get into the story and at times it felt slow, though it did pick up around the last third of the book. I felt some of the red herrings confused a bit of the story (not the suspense), and some of the characters and pieces didn’t seem fully flushed out and didn’t offer much in the story. Overall, this had some suspense and drama and I enjoyed the plot and the writing, but think there were some details and pacing challenges that didn’t suit my taste.

Read this if you like:
- questionable narrator
- complex dynamics (family, political)
- uncovering the truth

Vibes: 🏥💉🩸👯‍♀️💸❓🤫

Song that matches the vibe: Game of Survival by Ruelle

Full review including content warnings on my StoryGraph.

The Locked Ward is out August 5th, 2025! Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. This ALC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

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This book pulled me in from the start. Different POV"s with great twists! Story is about twin sisters who have never met. One is accused of murder and the other tries to unlock the secrets on how her sister ended up in the psychiatric institution. Definitely recommend you get a copy. I binged this one! Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advanced eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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"The Locked Ward" is an exciting and fast-paced thriller that I could not put down. This story involves wealthy Southern families, sibling rivalries, and secret twins. Need I say more? I was hooked from the first chapter and binged the entire thing in about a day. The story is told from the POVs of Mandy and her long-lost twin sister, Georgia, who is in a psych ward after being accused of murdering her younger sister. I loved the dual POVs because I had no idea who to trust or who to believe. There weren't a lot of huge twists, but the plot was just so fun and unique that I couldn't stop reading. Loved it!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by January LaVoy. As always, she was amazing. I could seriously listen to her read the dictionary. She expertly voiced the many characters and was able to make them easily distinguishable. Her performance was full of emotion, and she was able to build so much tension and suspense with her narration. She did such a great job bringing the story and characters to life.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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Sarah Pekkanen did it again! Thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan audio for the advanced copy of this audiobook.

This story given from the perspectives of estranged twins Georgia and Mandy is absolute perfection. The author takes you on a journey that twists and turns and when you think you have it figured out, you don’t. When Georgia is accused of murdering her other sister Annabelle, her world gets turned upside down. Knowing her estranged twin is the only one who can help her, she reaches out to Mandy and hopes for the best.

Super quick read- definitely a page turner and would highly recommend!

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This was a fun thriller.
This is a dual POV between twins separated at birth Georgia and Mandy. Georgia has been put into a psych ward after being accused of killing her adoptive sister Anabelle. Mandy doesn't even know she has a sister before Georgia asks to speak to her in the ward (and Georgia only found out a month prior). Georgia tells Mandy she didn't kill Anabelle. Mandy doesn't know if she should believe her newfound twin, or if she is being manipulated by this person she just met.
Mandy and Georgia both had interesting stories. Georgia's was terrifying. She is trying to stay sane with a lot of heavily medicated and dangerous people locked on the floor of a hospital with her. Mandy on the other hand, is trying to step into Georgia's world posing as Anabelle's "sorority sister" to get any information she can on her murder. Neither of these girls is perfect, and we get to learn about their good sides and their bad sides.
The plot has a lot of twists and turns as well as a lot of suspects, including Georgia. The way the clues are set into motion throughout the book are captivating and the short, fast paced chapters kept me wanting more. The whodunit wasn't super jaw-dropping, but the why was a nice touch.
The audiobook narrator was January Lavoie, one of my favorite narrators. She always does a fantastic job no matter what genre she is reading, and this was another hit for her. Her voice is very captivating and she did a great job with this one.

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Amanda finds out she has a twin sister, which her now-deceased parents never disclosed to her. If that wasn't shocking enough, said twin sister, Georgia, has been locked in an asylum after killing her other sister. Crazy, messed up stuff right!

While the plot sounds super intriguing, it just didn't land for me. The story switches between the perspectives of Amanda as she tries to piece together her ancestry and Georgia's life (and possible lies) and Georgia, who is trying to prove her innocence behind the confines of the locked ward. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators did a good job, but I just didn't find myself connecting to the characters. Nor did I find the story to be as compelling and suspenseful as expected. I figured out what was going on early on and lost interest.
This is a story with political intrigue (which isn't something that typically interests me), so if that is something you enjoy in books, you may enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This was my second book by this author and I would say I really enjoyed this book. The story is engaging, mysterious, and kept me hooked from the start. I especially loved the alternating POVs, they added depth and made the plot even more compelling. Alaso the narrator also did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

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3.5⭐️ Georgia Cartwright, adopted at birth, is locked in a psych ward accused of murdering the biological daughter of her wealthy parents. Completely silent but for the words she speaks to her newfound twin sister Amanda, “I didn’t do it”, Georgia is desperate for help in proving her innocence. But is Georgia a victim or a master manipulator?

I have come to realize that Sarah Pekkanen writes stories that cannot be placed inside just one box. While often labeled as “thrillers”, they are clearly so much more than just that. Most books deemed thrillers are not as character-driven, with such nuanced and complex family dynamics. I have really come to appreciate that her books, with the inclusion of so many additional non-thriller elements, read more like literary thrillers. Which of course means, they won’t necessarily have the fast-paced popcorn vibes of other popular books on the market— and I have come to absolutely love that about her writing.

Going into The Locked Ward, I knew given the newly discovered twin storyline, that this would most likely have a slower burn feel to it, and it indeed does. It starts off with a bang as we learn that one of the women is locked away for the murder of her sister. I absolutely loved the atmospheric setting of the ward. Oh, the creepiness factor, every single time we hit Georgia’s perspective. The writing is so evocative, there were moments I felt I myself was locked in there with her. I enjoyed our deep dive into each of the two main characters; particularly the backstory around each of their upbringings.

That said, something in the execution of the story fell flat for me, particularly from the midway point through to the ending, and I am still unsure as to what exactly it was. Perhaps I had an idea in my head as to what was happening, and then not encountering nearly that type of twist left me wanting. However, if nothing else, Pekkanen does write insanely bingable books. And so while this may not have been my favorite of her thrillers, it was still a quick and entertaining read I found to be enjoyable nonetheless.

🎧 It’s no surprise, given that it’s narrated by January LaVoy, that the audiobook is terrific. She is fantastic at keeping characters distinct and really amps up the intensity of the story as a whole. And yet, because there are two twin sisters, who arguably should sound similarly, it was a little difficult to distinguish between the two, and I found myself looking to the setting of the chapter and the narrative perspective (I versus you) to decipher who was speaking.

Read if you like:
▪️genre mashups
▪️psychological suspense
▪️twin sisters separated at birth
▪️locked ward setting
▪️dual perspectives
▪️family drama

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies of this book.

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The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a super exciting and intense psychological thriller! This book is full of drama, mystery, crime and lots of twists!
Georgia is in a Psych ward after being accused of killing her sister. While locked up, Georgia finds out that she has another sister, a twin, Amanda. Georgia wants to meet Amanda and is hoping she can help uncover the truth.
Has Georgia been framed? Is she innocent?

It’s definitely a fast paced read and the excitement doesn’t let up! The book is well written and I enjoyed the storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio of this fantastic thriller!!! The narrator did a great job!

*This book comes out August 5th and I recommend grabbing it!!*

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed The Locked Ward! It hooked me from the start and kept me completely invested the whole way through. I love multiple POV books generally and I thought this author's way of doing it was interesting. It was really well done and it was a great, suspenseful mystery. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator; she made it super easy to get pulled into the story.

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I liked how twisty this mystery was, and I enjoyed watching Amanda try to put the pieces together to save her sister. The short chapters made the story move at a quick pace and kept me engaged and present.

January LaVoy did a great job narrating this story. I already complete NetGalley searches for my favorite narrators; January was already on the list and she will continue to remain on my list of favorite narrators.

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Sarah Pekkanen is a master storyteller. And the Locked Ward confirms this. The characters have so many layers. The narration was great.

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Like many others have said, I appreciated the short chapters - it made the story move at a decent pace. I wasn't super surprised by the big reveal but I'm also somewhat jaded when it comes to thrillers. Overall, I enjoyed the story.
Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and the author for a chance to read and review this early.

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This was a pretty standard thriller, but it kept me engaged enough to see it through. The short chapters helped keep the pace moving, and January LaVoy’s narration was excellent as always. She made it easy to fall into the story right away.

There are secrets, sibling rivalry, and even a surprise sibling thrown in. While all of that sounds juicy, the plot itself ended up feeling pretty typical.

Overall, it was an okay read. If you enjoy books in the Freida McFadden lane, this one fits right in. I liked it well enough—entertaining in the moment, but probably one I’ll forget the details of pretty quickly.

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The Locked Ward is another super twisty thriller from Sarah Pekkanen, who is an auto read author for me. Her books never disappoint. This one was a wild ride.
The story was fast paced and kept me guessing until the end. The twists were surprising, and the ending was satisfying.
The audiobook was well done, and the narrator did an excellent job!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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Mandy was the only child of loving parents. When they died, she inherited their bar. She quit her job and made a decent living at the bar.

Meanwhile, Georgia has lived the life of a daughter from a wealthy family, albeit not loved nor cherished. Georgia is in the locked psychological ward of the hospital, having pled not guilty to killing her sister, the favored daughter, Annabelle. When Georgia has her lawyer reach out to Mandy, Mandy is skeptical, but visits Georgia under the watchful eye of nurses and aides. Georgia insists they are sisters and provides Mandy with hair samples to have tested.

This comes as a complete shock to Mandy, but she finds that they are indeed sisters. As she tries to unlock the long-hidden secrets, she finds herself confused, knocked off her feet with shocking information. She also appears to be the target of some unknown individuals and for unknown reasons.

This is a great psychological thriller that has both sisters in danger. Both young women have strong personalities and do what they need to do for survival and to work through the mysteries and dangers surrounding them.

I have both the e-book and the audio version. I had planned to start another book, but once I opened this one, I was hooked and had to finish it. The narrator was great.

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This is a great southern gothic family murder mystery with plenty of unexpected twists. A perfect summer read. The narrator did a great job, too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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