The night Annabelle dies, everything changes, for her family, her friends, and even some strangers.

When Georgia is sent to a locked ward after being accused of Annabelle’s murder, there seems to be only one person who can help her: her twin sister, Mandy. The kicker? Mandy never knew Georgia existed … until now.

Georgia is desperate for Mandy to help prove her innocence. Mandy isn’t sure what to believe from the accused murderer in a psych facility.

Murder. Secrets. Lies. Infidelity. Plot twists. This book has it all folks. Pekkanen doesn’t AGAIN. I only put this book down because I fell asleep reading it. I ZOOMED through it and truly suggest anyone who likes a good thriller story to buy this as soon as it come out!

(3.5 rounded up) Sarah Pekkanen writes popcorn mystery/thrillers that I absolutely gobble up. When I read “House of Glass” last summer, it was exactly what I wanted it to be - a fast-paced, twisty mystery with a satisfying ending. “The Locked Ward” follows this same formula - it’s a quick, twisty read that follows a woman, Georgia, accused of murdering her sister she was raised with and placed in a psychiatric ward, and another woman, Mandy, who is Georgia’s biological sister, raised apart, trying to exonerate her. This isn’t reinventing the wheel and it doesn’t have to - the twists, some expected, some not - were fun, the writing kept me turning pages, and I had a good time. My issue with it is the depiction of a forensic psychiatric ward. I am not familiar with these wards, but I do have mental illness and I found the depiction of mentally ill incarcerated people to be…problematic at best. I realize that people placed in forensic psychiatric hospitals and institutes have been violent or shown violent tendencies, but the characters in this felt like extreme generalizations of people actually in these situations. Almost like caricatures. There are plot reasons for why the author sets this section of the story where she does as opposed to a prison and I could absolutely be oversensitive to this specific portrayal of mental illness, but I thought about it a lot while reading and it did end up influencing my rating. This would have been an easy four star for me, but the mental health rep brought it down a bit. Still - this is a fun thriller that was made to entertain and it does do that.

I liked this one. I liked the dual pov between the sisters. It was a good story, but nothing really took me completely by surprise including the twists.

Georgia Worthington is suspected of violently murdering her sister, Annabelle, at her lavish birthday party. Georgia has had a complicated relationship with Annabelle for her entire life, but they have been making strides at getting closer. Georgia was adopted into the prominent Worthington as a newborn, but Annabelle is their biological daughter and is highly favored by her mother especially. Georgia is now being held by reason of insanity at an institution for violent offenders and needs someone to help prove her innocence.

When Mandy receives a call saying that Georgia wants to speak to her, she is shocked and has no idea how Georgia could even know who she is. Mandy lives a quieter life running her deceased parent’s bar. She soon learns that her parents have been keeping big secrets and her life is changed forever when she learns that Georgia is her twin sister and they were separated at birth. Georgia insists she is innocent and begs for Mandy’s help. As Mandy digs into Georgia’s claims, she finds herself in a dangerous situation to help a sister she has only just met. Can both sisters make it out alive? And who is telling the truth?

This was a great read! I love an asylum setting and I thought both Georgia and Mandy were great characters. The story is told from alternating points-of-view and I enjoyed getting to know both of the sisters. There were definitely some twists and turns that I did not see coming! I will read anything that Sarah Pekkanen writes and I enjoyed this book just as I did her others! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next :)

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another solid mystery from SP. the story starts with a bang as we witness Georgia going into the locked ward when she’s accused of killing her sister. Then an another woman gets a phone call saying that her sister, Georgia, wants to see her. Amanda is shocked and curious because she’s an only child. We get pov’s from Georgia and Mandy as they traverse a much bigger story of their lives than they ever knew. Fast paced and secrets in abundance, the story and characters were interesting. I liked the ending, that was nice touch.

This was a very quick read for me. I enjoyed the storyline and was engaged throughout. The characters were relatable and I was surprised by the reveal at the end. This is a great book overall and I’d definitely recommend it to others!

This book had everything I want in a thriller—twisty, dark, and absolutely gripping! It was a quick read that kept me hooked from start to finish, delivering all the suspense and tension I crave. Sarah Pekkanen has never disappointed me, and The Locked Ward is no exception.

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this incredible ARC! This one hits shelves on August 5th, and trust me—you need to add it to your TBR. You won’t be disappointed!

When you have the chance to read an ARC copy from one of your auto-approved thriller authors, like Sarah Pekkanen, the only thing you can do—after dancing in your study to celebrate your luck—is dive straight into the book. Especially when it presents an intriguing concept like twin connections, psychological thriller vibes with claustrophobic asylum chapters, and a twisty whodunnit premise!

The story revolves around two twin sisters’ perspectives:

Georgia, who is locked in an asylum after being arrested for murdering her sister Annabelle. She pleads insanity and awaits her trial, holding onto the last hope that Mandy will believe in her innocence and help her get out before she’s killed by hidden enemies controlled by powerful figures.
Mandy (Amanda), who runs her family’s bar after inheriting the place following her parents’ deaths. She left her PR job behind, only to find herself at the center of a shocking revelation: the murderer making headlines—the one accused of vengefully killing her stepsister—is actually her twin sister, a sibling she never even knew existed.
One day, Georgia’s lawyer calls Mandy, urging her to visit the hospital and meet her sister. Though skeptical, Mandy is too intrigued to resist confronting the presumed cold-blooded killer. When they finally meet, the unexplainable physical bond between them is undeniable. Then, Georgia hands over strands of her own hair, encouraging Mandy to conduct a DNA test. But deep in her gut, Mandy already knows the truth—Georgia is her real sister, and someone deliberately separated them at birth.

However, the biggest revelation is yet to come: Georgia insists she’s innocent. She warns Mandy that if she doesn’t help get her out, someone will kill her. But is Georgia telling the truth? Or is Mandy just a pawn in her twin’s dangerous endgame?

Determined to uncover the truth—not just to help Georgia, but also to piece together her own fragmented identity—Mandy is drawn into the elite’s scandalous secret circles. She learns more about the Cartwrights, the powerful family that adopted Georgia. Was Georgia the black sheep of the family, envious enough to kill her own sister? Or was she a victim of neglect and mistreatment, driven to desperation?

As Mandy digs deeper, she realizes there are people who would rather see Georgia dead—and in doing so, she unknowingly puts herself in more danger than she ever imagined. But even at the cost of her own life, she is determined to push forward and bring justice.

Overall Thoughts:
The mystery surrounding Georgia’s innocence and the secrets of the Cartwright family are executed with a strong trajectory, featuring short, fast-paced, action-packed chapters. While some twists were a bit predictable, and I had hoped for a more earth-shattering conclusion, I still thoroughly enjoyed the character development and the magnetic—at times, eerie—bond between the sisters. That connection alone made me round my rating from 3.5 stars up to 4!

I highly recommend this well-crafted thriller to devoted fans like me and to any reader looking for a gripping, unputdownable read from the very first page.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC of one of this year’s most anticipated thrillers in exchange for my honest feedback—I truly appreciate it!

Sarah Pekkanen's "The Locked Ward" is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that explores the dark side of mental health treatment. The story follows a psychiatrist who begins to question her sanity as she investigates a mysterious patient. Pekkanen expertly builds tension and keeps the reader guessing until the very end. It's a chilling and thought-provoking read that will stay with you long after you finish it.

The Locked Ward was one wild and exhilarating ride. Sarah Pekkanen has upped her game with this one. Always a must read author for me, I was truly blown away with this one. My favorite by Sarah so far!

Twin sisters separated at birth, unaware the other exists until recently is the premise for this twisty psychological drama. When one sister is accused of murder and sent to a psych ward to be evaluated, the other sister must step in to help save her.

This story alternates between the views of the two sisters. It is dark and twisty and full of surprises. The ending was a perfect way to tie up all the elements of the story. The chapters are short and easy to keep turning the pages. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves domestic psychological thrillers, but make sure you clear your schedule. You won't want to put this down.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy

With short chapters, it's a breeze to get through. Don't expect an epic twist, but this definitely gets you through a reading slump and I think I would have enjoyed it way more if I was new to the genre because the twist would have been more of a WOW moment.

Sarah Pekkanen has written another page turner. The Locked Ward had me reading until 2a, not willing to stop until the last page.

It's a clever plot, and I loved that it was unique. Alternating points of view is one of my favorite formats, and I enjoyed this one.

I highly recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #SarahPekkanen #TheLockedWard

The Locked Ward had me captivated from the very first chapter! I could not put this book down and would have read it in one sitting had life allowed. The short chapters, alternating between two POVs, and the fast pace had me racing through the pages. I had no idea where the plot was going for the longest time, and I was eager to find out! There are multiple twists and turns, and I didn't see almost any of it coming. Sarah Pekkanen is an excellent writer, and I already can't wait to see what she comes up with next! Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two women who have never met come in contact after one of them is accused of murdering her sister and ends up in a psych ward.

The Locked Ward was fast paced with alternating POVs. I enjoyed the setting building of the psychiatric institute.

Spoilers ahead.

I loved Sarah Pekkanen’s last book House of Glass a lot so was a bit disappointed to not love this one. I wish there was more character building for Mandy at the start of the book. I didn’t feel like I got to know any of the characters and the plot felt a bit forced and formulaic. I wasn’t surprised by any of the twists and felt they were quite obvious. I also felt the ending didn’t make a lot of sense in that the senator was doing all he could to ensure his affair remained a secret yet that all went out the window as soon as Honey was revealed to be the killer.

All in all, it was a quick read but I kept hoping for more. Regardless I will pick up the authors next book as I feel she has the potential for another hit.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!!!

I have loved every single one of this authors novels I have read, and this one did not disappoint! I absolutely love a plot that includes a mental health facility. While that is not the main scene in this novel, every other one was just as intriguing. I definitely could not put this down, especially when the clock was starting to run out.

Sarah Pekkanen has done it again with The Locked Ward.

With Georgia Cartwright locked away for murder and pretending to be catatonic, she gets a message out to the one person she believes can help set her free - her twin sister Mandy. The only problem? Mandy has never heard of Georgia because they were adopted by different families at birth, so why would she help this stranger, and why would she believe in her innocence.

As Mandy learns more about Georgia, she discovers that there is more to the murder than meets the eye; meanwhile, Georgia is doing everything she can to survive in the locked ward, holding out hope that Mandy will find the proof that she needs before it's too late.

The Locked Ward will have readers questioning whether Georgia is to be trusted up until the very end when unexpected secrets are revealed that change the course of the plot.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Sadly this was not for me! I’ve enjoyed previous books by this author but it almost felt as though someone else wrote this one. The exposition heavy writing made the first half a slog and there were quite a few plot holes along the way (or at least I was left with a lot of questions!).

The plot had potential but I felt like the characters were flat and as a former psych nurse, I found the whole “locked ward” setting to be a bit like a soap opera or caricature as opposed to a genuine representation of a psychiatric hospital. The author spends a lot of time explaining details of the ward that just don’t add up or matter to the storyline.

Overall, I didn’t think the thrilling elements were all that thrilling and the ending felt rushed and pretty anticlimactic. Overall, a bust for me but hopefully just a one off as I’ll definitely try SP again!

Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader! All opinions are my own!

This was a title I was invited to read on NetGalley (yay!) but unfortunately, the payoff just wasn't there with this story. Told in alternating POVs between sisters, we've got one sister in a locked psychiatric ward accused of committing a murder and another sister out kind of single white female-ing her life while trying to (maybe?) get her out of this situation and it's just like... the build up is there, but the ending felt a bit rushed and not worth the build to me. I was intrigued and read this quickly over the course of just a couple sittings, but it wasn't my favorite of Sarah Pekkanen's books.

Thanks Netgalley for the free ARC! I really enjoyed the majority of this book. It was an interesting premise and I like how instead of using I for the protagonist’s pov, the author used you. It added a more personal and stimulating effect to the story. I kind of felt like I was in a choose your own adventure book, but not quite. I felt the conclusion was a little bland, and I was tiring of the novel towards the end. All in all, a good book and I do recommend. This is my honest opinion; and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

What a page turner! I was hooked from the beginning and this book never let up! Sarah Pekkanen has been one of my favorite authors for years and she’s written another great book.
When Georgia is accused of killing her sister Annabelle, she is held in the locked ward of the mental facility. Her only hope is her twin sister Mandy. But the problem is that Mandy doesn’t know Georgia exists and Mandy harbors secrets of her own. After Mandy is drawn into Georgia’s life, she’ll stop at nothing to uncover the truth, even if she loses everything including her own life along the way.
If you don’t read anything else this year, read this one, you won’t be disappointed!