I was INTO this one. Omg. I thought the storyline was so good and I couldn’t put it down!! Very eager to keep reading- the ending was so good!

I loved this book! Sarah Pekkanen is a great story teller and this book was no exception. In The Locked Ward, Georgia is institutionalized after being accused of killing her sister Annabelle. Georgia uses this moment to reach out to the twin sister she has only just learned about, in hopes that her sister will help her prove her innocence. This book is filled with a massive web of lies and secrets, and is truly engaging. I did see some aspects of the ending coming, but that comes with the territory of reading many thrillers. There were other aspects that surprised me. I loved the epilogue and felt like it was such a fitting end to this book.

This book is expected to publish on August 5, 2025. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my ARC.

I really enjoyed this one! It was fast-paced with a twist I didn't see coming! I will definitely be reading more from this author

The premise of this book was so interesting and it didn’t disappoint. This is not the first book I’ve read by this author and I’ve really become a fan! I loved the psychological aspect of this as someone who works in mental health and thought it was well written with lots of great twists and turns! Overall, another fantastic read from Sarah Pekkanen.

Oh. My. Freaking. GOSH!!! Pekkanen has outdone herself, which I didn’t think was possible after House of Glass! I have loved her for years and years but my goodness she just keeps writing better and better novels! I loved the alternating POV between Georgia and Mandy and I loved the unique twist of her using second person perspective on Georgia’s chapters to highlight her state of mind. Absolutely brilliant! I was so caught up in trying to get ahead of one massive twist that I totally missed the big whammy! (Don’t even bother trying to guess what it is…)
This book is definitely going on my list of books to recommend! Beyond brilliance!

“The Locked Ward” by Sarah Pekkanen delves into the psychological complexities of Georgia Worthington, a young woman confined to a mental institution after being accused of murdering her sister. Adopted into a prominent and wealthy family at birth, Georgia finds herself entangled in a web of suspicion as the biological daughter of the family is found dead, and she is at the scene covered in her blood. Her desperate plea for assistance leads her to reconnect with her twin sister, Amanda, whom she was separated from at birth. Amanda doesn’t even know she had a twin, let along one accused of murder. She feels strangely drawn to her new sister, but are Georgia’s intentions as pure as she claims they are?

I worked in a psych unit and I really appreciated how accurate this novel is. It can be really frustrating to read an inaccurate novel but this book really delivered and Sarah Pekkanen definitely did her research! I devoured this book within 24 hours of starting it. I recommend this novel for fans of Sarah Pekkanen’s previous works and enthusiasts of psychological thrillers in general.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this novel. “The Locked Ward” by Sarah Pekkanen will be published on 8/5/2025.