464 reviews for:

The Locked Ward

Sarah Pekkanen

3.74 AVERAGE

mysterious

I listened to the audiobook and I enjoyed the narration. It went by very quickly for me and I was entertained. Was it anything shocking or revolutionary? No. But it was a good time and I enjoyed the ending and how everything came together. I went in to this with only seeing low reviews so my expectations were pretty low so I was pleasantly surprised.

Another great psychological thriller by Sarah Pekkanen.  This is the 5th book of hers I’ve read and I’ve enjoyed them all.  I think it’s safe to say she has become an auto-buy author for me.  Most were fairly short (under 350 pages) and all have been quick page-turners with short, intense chapters.  She doesn’t put a lot of “fluff” in her books so almost everything you read plays some part in the overall main plot/story, although you might not realize it initially.  Did I have a hard time wrapping my head around and believing certain aspects of it?  Yes, but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed it any less.  I definitely recommend this one. 
 
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own. 
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

 I have to say that half the chapters in first person and the other half in third person drove me nuts for a while but for the chapters I listened, it made it so easy to determine who the narrator was.

Twin sisters separated at birth. One kills her other sister and ends up on a psych hold pending trial.

There is a twisty mystery about who really killed the sister, but the author always does a good job bringing in other issues to make this more than a mystery. Nature versus nurture since the twins were separated at birth. What is family and what makes them a good family. All framed within a twisty mystery.

I wasn’t quite able to figure this one out until right before the reveal but I ended up more caught up in the sisters’ story. Their dynamics and what made them tick. Which is new for me since I’m always all about the thrill.

January LaVoy narrates the audio and I’m lucky enough to listen to her twice in a row. She always does such a great job sucking me in and letting the story shine. 

 I enjoyed this. It had good movement and twists. The sister and family dynamics were interesting. I appreciated the points of view being different for the two main characters (first for Mandy and second for Georgia). Overall, I liked this.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the free digital review copy. All thoughts are my own.

Full review at: cassieetter.com/eclecticallybookish/r... 
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

First off, I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and author Sarah Pekkanen for allowing me to read this novel, The Locked Ward via Netgalley. All opinions following are my own. 

This novel is told from a dual point of view by the two main characters. Georgia has been placed in a psychiatric facility for violent offenders while she awaits trial for the first-degree murder of her sister Annabelle. The rumors run rampant why she killed her sister in cold blood. It could be jealousy. It could be sibling rivalry that literally started the moment Annabelle was born. It could be insanity. Whatever the case may be, she was found standing over her bludgeoned sister, covered in blood, holding the murder weapon in a state of disassociation.

The second point of view is from Mandy. She has just found out she is Georgia's twin, separated at birth. Both were adopted into two very different families. 

Georgia was brought up in high society where perceived looks are everything. When Georgia was  just four months old, Annabelle had been born, a surprise to the couple who has tried unsuccessfully to have a child for years. 

Mandy was brought up by two blue-collar, loving, and devoted parents. Since her parents' passing, she has quit her corporate job and taken over the family bar. Her life is completely turned upside down when a man claiming to be Georgia's attorney, contacts her to let her know she has a twin sister asking for her in a psychiatric facility. 

Mandy, without any other family to call her own, decides to go visit Georgia. She definitely doesn't trust her, but she can't shake the bond she feels with her. When Georgia whispers into her ear, "I didn't do it. You have to get me out of here," she feels an obligation to her newfound sister and decides to investigate. What will she find, and will she regret ever walking through the locked ward?

I really enjoyed this story. I kept thinking I figured it out, and then I would go in a new direction. I gave this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and would definitely recommend it!

I raced through The Locked Ward. The dynamic between Georgia and Amanda, the politics and behind-the-scenes corruption, I couldn't wait to find out what happened!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC.
dark emotional
challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Solid Family/ Psychological Drama/ Suspense. This tale takes the concept of twins - always interesting to me given that my grandfather was a twin and two of my nieces are twins - and spins a solid psychological/ suspense family drama in and around them in ways that are unfortunately all too realistic in at least some circles in the Southern US. 

This is a richly complex tale with a lot going on, even as it has only a few central character and only two primary viewpoints - that of both of the twins. One twin is written in a manner that reads a touch unusually, which can be a problem for some readers, but I thought that view written in that manner actually worked quite well for the story being presented here. The other twin uses a more standard writing style and should pose little difficulty for most readers.

Overall one of the more rare and inventive ways to tell this type of tale I've come across, both io the use of twins and in the overall setting involved - the titular locked ward. Pekkanen easily has a solid hit here - I'm not sure that I would quite call it a home run, particularly given the struggles some will have reading the one twin, but I would absolutely call this a solid stand up double. (A baseball analogy, in case it wasn't clear from the "home run" bit. What can I say, I *am* a dude. :D)

Very much recommended.
dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley for this opportunity!

When starting this book, I had assumed this would be about Georgia's stay in the ward , primarily. However, it was mainly about the mystery surrounding the death of Georgia's adoptive sister. This book could  have been very interesting, but I think it bit off more than it could chew. Georgia's POV being in second person, how quickly things were tied up in the end, introductions to plot lines that were just... never brought up again? It was an entertaining read for sure, but given how much was introduced throughout the book and how little was actually wrapped up in the end, it just didn't hit.