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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve read this author before and have thoroughly enjoyed her books, so I was totally excited to be approved for an ARC of this one.
The story follows Georgia, the adopted child of a very rich and prominent family, who has just been committed to a psych ward after being accused of killing her younger sister.
We’re also following Mandy, the adopted child of a working class family, who turns out to be Georgia’s twin. Having recently found out about Mandy, and having no one else she can trust, Georgia reaches out to Mandy to help prove her innocence.
With her parents recently deceased and having no family left, Mandy becomes involved in more than she bargained for. Infidelity, political corruption, and complicated family dynamics coupled with powerful and influential people place Mandy in great danger.
While this book kept my interest, I didn’t love it like I was hoping I would. Parts of the story seemed so random (the college roommate in particular). Parts of the story just ended without conclusion (Collin, Scott). And the ending was… meh.
I did like the short chapters and the different writing perspective for each character.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this one!!
The story follows Georgia, the adopted child of a very rich and prominent family, who has just been committed to a psych ward after being accused of killing her younger sister.
We’re also following Mandy, the adopted child of a working class family, who turns out to be Georgia’s twin. Having recently found out about Mandy, and having no one else she can trust, Georgia reaches out to Mandy to help prove her innocence.
With her parents recently deceased and having no family left, Mandy becomes involved in more than she bargained for. Infidelity, political corruption, and complicated family dynamics coupled with powerful and influential people place Mandy in great danger.
While this book kept my interest, I didn’t love it like I was hoping I would. Parts of the story seemed so random (the college roommate in particular). Parts of the story just ended without conclusion (Collin, Scott). And the ending was… meh.
I did like the short chapters and the different writing perspective for each character.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this one!!
I enjoyed the scientific exploration of twins and the in-depth look inside a psychiatric ward—those elements were fascinating and well-researched. However, I found the cast of characters confusing, perhaps intentionally so, but it made it difficult to stay engaged. I wasn't particularly invested in anyone's motives or emotional arcs. Despite a looming murder trial, the narrative lacked a sense of real consequence, which made the stakes feel surprisingly low. Overall, intriguing ideas, but the execution left me feeling detached.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When I tell you I squealed when I got my ARC approval for this one, it wouldn't be an exaggeration. Sarah Pekkanen has been on my auto-buy list whenever I see her books in stores ever since I read the first one. This book comes with a very interesting blurb, which drew me in as well. Finding out you have a sister when you're in your thirties and she's been put in the locked ward due to possibly offing her other sister? Count me IN!
I admit this book was a little slow in the beginning for me because I wasn't connecting to Mandy - but I absolutely loved the thrill of Georgia's POV's. I very quickly got engulfed into both storylines and kept turning pages because I needed to know what happened next. I think I finished the last 50% of the book in one sitting! As someone who's read a lot of thrillers, I feel like sometimes it feels easy to predict what's coming next... but with this book, there were so many things that made me go "what if" and in the end I still didn't know it, even though I could have.
The Locked Ward publishes August 5th, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own!
I admit this book was a little slow in the beginning for me because I wasn't connecting to Mandy - but I absolutely loved the thrill of Georgia's POV's. I very quickly got engulfed into both storylines and kept turning pages because I needed to know what happened next. I think I finished the last 50% of the book in one sitting! As someone who's read a lot of thrillers, I feel like sometimes it feels easy to predict what's coming next... but with this book, there were so many things that made me go "what if" and in the end I still didn't know it, even though I could have.
The Locked Ward publishes August 5th, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own!
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Locked Ward
By Sarah Pekkanen
Pub Date: 8/5/2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
This story follows two women who discover they are twins separated at birth, in split second-person POV. Which was a little confusing.
If I’m being honest, this one was all over the place. Not necessarily in a bad way. Just in a chaotic-psychological thriller type of way. I was wondering when the twist would revel itself the entire time I was reading.
The story was leading me down a path I was sure would lead to the resolution, only to pull the rug out from under me, leaving the possibilities for resolution wide open.
I enjoyed it.
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.
We're both the unreliable narrator and the gullible listener in our own life stories.
I absolutely loved this line in this book. Because isn't this the truth? Everything in life is seen through the glass of our preconceived notions, our biases, our trauma. It shapes how we want to see things and how we make the puzzle pieces fit. Then one day we realize we weren't even making the right puzzle.
This was a great journey and a unique thriller. I especially loved the setting of The Locked Ward. It kept me guessing and I didn't see the twists coming. There were even multiple bombshell twists.
On a biased note, I loved the setting was Charlotte! The author did a great job. She knew the Panthers chant was "Keep Pounding!". That the richest houses are near Queens. That the nicest apartment in Uptown is The Vue and Cam Newton had the penthouse not Georgia but maybe they were neighbors? 😂 The only detail she got wrong was The Penguin. It has been here since the 1980s but the location is brand new. Details though! I love when an author is well researched and I love seeing my city represented in books recently.
Overall, a fantastic thriller and I highly recommend it.
We're both the unreliable narrator and the gullible listener in our own life stories.
I absolutely loved this line in this book. Because isn't this the truth? Everything in life is seen through the glass of our preconceived notions, our biases, our trauma. It shapes how we want to see things and how we make the puzzle pieces fit. Then one day we realize we weren't even making the right puzzle.
This was a great journey and a unique thriller. I especially loved the setting of The Locked Ward. It kept me guessing and I didn't see the twists coming. There were even multiple bombshell twists.
On a biased note, I loved the setting was Charlotte! The author did a great job. She knew the Panthers chant was "Keep Pounding!". That the richest houses are near Queens. That the nicest apartment in Uptown is The Vue and Cam Newton had the penthouse not Georgia but maybe they were neighbors? 😂 The only detail she got wrong was The Penguin. It has been here since the 1980s but the location is brand new. Details though! I love when an author is well researched and I love seeing my city represented in books recently.
Overall, a fantastic thriller and I highly recommend it.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this was definitely one of my favorites of sarah’s recent solo stories - it was captivating and fast-paced and full of heart pounding moments 👀
featuring two long lost twins, georgia and mandy, and their two completely separate lives, I was so invested in the separated at birth trope y’all, except the mystery itself didn’t really hold my interest as much…
I wanted more from the threats, the political scandals, and of course more unaliving tee hee whoops 😭 I just felt that the thriller portions were lackluster in comparison to her other books and instead focused on the family drama elements
I did indeed binge this in a few hours because I was so invested if I was right in all of my plot twist guesses - so that was a big win for me!! every time I thought I had it figured out, the story was flipped on its head again with another layer!
thank you to st martins press for the gifted copy!
rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay
featuring two long lost twins, georgia and mandy, and their two completely separate lives, I was so invested in the separated at birth trope y’all, except the mystery itself didn’t really hold my interest as much…
I wanted more from the threats, the political scandals, and of course more unaliving tee hee whoops 😭 I just felt that the thriller portions were lackluster in comparison to her other books and instead focused on the family drama elements
I did indeed binge this in a few hours because I was so invested if I was right in all of my plot twist guesses - so that was a big win for me!! every time I thought I had it figured out, the story was flipped on its head again with another layer!
thank you to st martins press for the gifted copy!
rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay