This was my first by this author and it was defiantly a decent mystery/thriller. The short chapters were easy to get through. It does have two POV's but one is written in third person that was a little different. Overall, good book!

LOVED this book! Literally read it in 48 hours and it was sooo hard to put down. Georgia has been arrested for the murder of her sister Annabelle. A sister who she has resented and been jealous of most of her life per their mother. Georgia is now in the psych ward and reaches out to the only person who can help her - Mandy - the twin sister Georgia just found out she had. You have the old south mentality with a splash of politics, power and corruption to make the Locked Ward one amazing read. Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favorite authors and I am super thankful to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read!

Five stars to this one! Another great book by Sara Pekkanen. This face paced and twisty thriller kept my attention and wanting to know what was going on! Highly recommend this book.

This was a great fast-paced thriller. I loved the dual POV between the sisters. The twists were twisting and kept me at the edge of my seat. Highly recommend!

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

***Huge thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 out of 5 stars.

This story was interesting and had an intriguing premise. I found our main character’s stories fun to follow, especially with them being twins. That added element played well for this book and drew my attention. I had so many guesses for how this would end because so much could have happened.

The author did a good job with this book, giving details along the way to keep readers interested and guessing. I also loved the short chapters, that in my opinion was done well.

Something I didn’t enjoy were some of the extra characters who didn’t add much to the story. There were also plot points in the story that came up, but never amounted to much. I think without those pieces there would have been a little bit of a better flow, because too much came up, clouding our main focus.

Overall, I found this to be a good book. It was fast paced at times and had a good cast of characters. Some elements I wished could have been flushed out more, but I got the answers I wanted. I would say I liked this one much more than her previous book. This will be a good summer thriller for sure, especially if you enjoy Frieda McFadden.

I gave this one a 4.5 but NG doesn't have that option so I rounded up!

Wow! What a page turner!! I guessed one of the twists but was blindsided by a couple of others (which I love). The story had a great flow and lots of development. Loved the way everything unfolded, the story didn't feel rushed at all. Definitely recommend for any twisty thriller lovers out there such as myself!! It was my first read by Sarah but definitely won't be my last!

The reason is wasn't a 5 for me is because I felt the ending could have used a little more finesse :) and the middle drug on a little for me.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Thank you so much to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Locked Ward is a fantastic thriller that had me hooked from start to finish. The pacing is spot-on, with the dual POVs keeping the tension high and the story moving quickly. I loved the locked-room trope being set in such a unique and unsettling environment—a psychiatric ward—which added an extra layer of intensity and intrigue.

The twists and turns were executed brilliantly, keeping me guessing the whole way through. While I don’t typically gravitate toward stories centered around twins, I thought this one handled the trope exceptionally well, adding depth rather than predictability. I love Sarah Pekkanen’s books, and this is my favorite of hers to date. An expertly crafted thriller that I couldn’t put down!

"The Locked Ward" by Sarah Pekkanen held me captive as I did not want to stop reading. A fast moving thriller told from two points of view.

This story is about two twin sisters who have never met. Georgia, had a life of privilege having been adopted by a wealthy family. Only her family loved her younger sister Annabelle more since she was the biological daughter. Now Georgia is held in a psychiatric ward as she awaits trial for murdering Annabelle. Mandy has no idea she is a twin or that Georgia exists until she receives a call that Georgia wants to see her. At the psych ward, Georgia asks for Mandy's help and Mandy is intrigued to know more about her long lost twin sister. Mandy begins to investigate and finds that there is so much more to this story.

I enjoyed reading about both sisters. Georgia's story was told using the second person point of view which I found to be really interesting. I felt more a part of the story and really connected to her struggle being in the psych ward. I found myself invested in her plight and really wanted her to be able to protect herself. Mandy was a strong woman, who was smart and tough. Even though she was adopted by the poorer family she definitely had a better life. It was interesting to see what she did to try and uncover the mystery behind Annabelle's death.

This was a captivating thriller and I highly recommend it. A must read for 2025!

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

This book was amazing! I loved it so much. I was super excited when i got picked to read it early. The locked ward is a page turner. I didnt see the twists coming. Sarah Pekkanen wrote this so well. I loved the dual POVs. I didnt want to put it down.

There’s just something about thrillers set in psychiatric institutions that instantly ups the tension - and The Locked Ward fully delivers on that eerie, high-stakes vibe. The story kicks off with a sensational crime: Georgia Cartwright, adopted into a wealthy Southern family, is accused of murdering the family's biological daughter. Now, she’s being held in a high-security psychiatric facility for violent offenders. But when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits, Georgia swears she’s innocent and begs for help. Amanda doesn’t know if she believes her, but she can’t ignore the pull of shared history - or the lingering question: what really happened?

The book dives headfirst into some seriously twisty family dynamics - old resentments, blurred lines between love and competition, and secrets buried deep beneath a polished exterior. Told in alternating perspectives, Georgia and Amanda’s voices give us two very different versions of the truth, which is exactly what keeps the suspense so taut. Is Georgia a master manipulator, or a victim of something more sinister? As Amanda starts to investigate, she’s pulled deeper into a world that’s far more dangerous than she realized - both inside the ward and beyond it.

Sarah Pekkanen’s writing is fast-paced and engaging, with short chapters that kept me saying “just one more” until suddenly it was 2 a.m. The psych ward setting brings a claustrophobic tension that works so well for this kind of psychological suspense - it’s unsettling without being over-the-top. There’s also a strong emotional undercurrent about sisterhood, loyalty, and the lasting impact of trauma, which gives the book some real depth beyond the thrills.

That said, I was hoping for a bit more of a jaw-dropper twist toward the end. Some threads felt a little too neatly tied up, and a few questions were left hanging that I really wanted answers to. Still, that didn’t take away from how compelling the journey was.

If you love psychological thrillers with an eerie setting, unreliable narrators, and morally gray family dynamics, The Locked Ward is definitely worth adding to your TBR. It’s suspenseful, emotional, and just the right amount of chilling.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader’s copy!

I absolutely loved this one! I am so glad I was able to read it early. The Locked Ward is an absolute page-turner! Sarah Pekkanen masterfully weaves a gripping psychological thriller packed with suspense, family secrets, and unexpected twists. The dual POV between Georgia and Amanda adds depth, making it impossible to put down. A must-read for thriller lovers!

I really enjoyed this read!
Georgia Cartwright was adopted by the Cartwright family and is being accused of killing her sister. She knows she didn't do it and there's only one person she can trust. Her biological sister, Amanda, who doesn't know they were separated at birth. Amanda isn't sure she can trust Georgia but is too intrigued not to help. But now Amanda isn't sure what she's gotten herself into or if she can get herself out.

This book was exceptionally well done! It’s been a while since I had something I couldn’t put down and this book was it! Great pace, intriguing yet small character list, and an amazing twist! Two thumbs up!

Sarah Pekkanen is a favorite author of mine. Her most recent release, House of Glass, was an enjoyable, roller coaster that I thoroughly enjoyed! I reeeeeallly was hoping for the Locked Ward to follow suit. Unfortunately, it fell majorly flat for me.

Wealthy socialite Georgia wakes up in a locked psych unit accused of murdering her adopted sister. The only person she wants to talk to is complete stranger, Mandy. Mandy agrees out of morbid curiosity and her life slowly begins to unravel, and also, make sense maybe?

The Locked Unit felt more like a cheap popcorn thriller than a typical Pekkanen psychological page turner to me. It was cheesy at times, unbelievable, and far fetched. I don’t typically judge books for being unrealistic because that’s what’s expected, but securing murderers on a locked psych ward and then just letting visitors come and go directly onto the unit several times really bothered me for some reason. I guess I just wasn’t connecting at all with the story so these details really stuck out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me before it’s intended publication date of August 5, 2025.

The Locked Ward is full of family drama and secrets. Georgia is accused of murdering her adopted sister and placed in a psychiatric facility. She will only speak to her estranged biological sister, Amanda. Amanda must infiltrate Georgia's world to find out what really happened. I enjoyed the storyline of this book. I liked that it was told in each sister's viewpoint. I found it extremely difficult to read Georgia's viewpoint because it was written in the 2nd person. Reading half of the book in this viewpoint distracted me with all of the "you" and "your". I would have rated this book higher had it been told in either the 3rd or 1st person.

I really enjoyed House of Glass when I read it last year, so I was looking forward to reading more of Sarah Pekkanen's work. While I still enjoyed her writing, especially the fast-paced short chapters, this one just didn't hit as hard. I felt like most of it was pretty predictable, and I found myself just not really caring about what happened to the characters for most of it. This also alternates between two points-of-view, one of which is in second person, which is a little jarring at first. Overall, though I'd still recommend. It was just wasn't a fave thriller of mine.

What would you do if you received a call from a psych ward saying you have a sister you didn’t know about and that she needed your help? Would you meet her even after finding out she’s in there for being a suspect for looking someone? Can you trust her??

Dual POVs
Twins
Psych ward
Short chapters

If it’s written by Sarah Pekkanen I always know it’s going to be page turner that keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book since I tend to devour this author but something about this one didn’t click with me! It felt too predictable, too overdone.

“The Locked Ward” is Sarah Pekkanens newest psychological thriller and I read it almost in one sitting. The main character Georgia is locked in a psychiatric ward for the killing her stepsister and she swears that she is innocent. There are many twists and turns, some a bit much, but I still managed to tear through the book.

The Locked Ward is a tense and emotional psychological thriller that had me turning pages late into the night. The story is layered with suspense, family drama, and the unsettling feeling that nothing is quite as it seems.

Sarah Pekkanen’s writing pulled me in right away, and the twists kept me guessing. Gripping, fast-paced, and hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!