Reviews - The Locked Ward | The StoryGraph

449 reviews for:

The Locked Ward

Sarah Pekkanen

3.75 AVERAGE

princesssparklecatsbookshelf's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kaylahewett's review against another edition

4.0

Mandy gets the shock of a lifetime when she finds out that she has a twin sister that she never knew about. Mandy and Georgia were adopted into different families when they were babies and now that Mandy's parents have died, some secrets died with them, like why they never told her about her sister. To make it even more complicated, Georgia's public defender is the one that broke the news to Mandy because Georgia needs her help. She is currently in a locked psychiatric facility accused of murdering her other sister, Annabelle. There's just one problem, Georgia says she didn't do it and she needs your help to prove it.
Review:
I devoured this book. Over the years, I have read a lot of books and I am coming to realize that I love family dramas and that is exactly what this is. The setting of this book was creepy and eerie being in a locked ward. I loved getting both Mandy and Georgia's POVs while the story unraveled. Mandy made some questionable decisions that left me wanting to shake her. As the reader, I wasn't sure if I should trust Mandy, Georgia, Georgia's family, the ward patients, the lawyer, etc. etc. You honestly don't know who is telling the truth or lying. I had a few different theories while reading and my first gut feeling was correct, but the author makes you question your own thoughts and logic. I did think some of the twists were predictable and a little far fetched. But, the way the story pulled me in with the anticipation of more secrets being revealed and the short chapters was addicting and I highly recommend!
The Locked Ward is available now!
Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and St. Martin's Press for this ARC of the Locked Ward in exchange for an honest review!

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

As a longtime fan of Sarah Pekkanen, I was very excited to pick up her latest novel.
"The Locked Ward" follows twin sisters, Georgia and Amanda. Georgia is accused of killing the biological daughter of the wealthy, southern family that adopted her. Now, she is locked up in a psychiatric institution awaiting trial, and the only person that can help her is her twin sister, Amanda. Amanda does not know she has a sister, let alone a twin, so when she gets the call that her presence is being requested, she is shocked to say the least. Can Amanda help clear Georgia's name? Does she even want to?
This was such an engaging thriller from the first page. I did not read the synopsis before I started this novel (I just knew I had to read the new Sarah Pekkanen) so when it was revealed within the first few pages that Amanda had a twin I audibly gasped. Every twist and reveal shocked me and I absolutely loved the ending. I thought I finally had the whole plot figured out, but then Sarah took the story in different direction that I actually enjoyed even more than my own theory. I do think that this story is not necessarily unique in its reveals, but I just really enjoyed it regardless.
Something that I thought was explored exceptionally well in this novel was the psychiatric institution. Unfortunately, I think it is far more commonplace than anyone wants to admit how the workers mistreat and neglect people in those wards. Georgia faces a lot of unnecessary hurdles being in that ward all because people are trying to manipulate and take advantage of her.
Another theme I thoroughly enjoyed in this novel was the idea of twins. The author presents this idea that twins are intrinsically connected, even if they do not know about one another. I do not know too much about the science behind this, but it was really beautiful to see that even when Georgia and Amanda did not know about one another, they were still pulling the same thread.
I highly recommend this novel if you are locking for a fast-paced thriller that is such a good time.

Content Warnings

jsanchez11153's review against another edition

4.5

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

stephanie_hounsell's review against another edition

3.25

This book had sooooo much potential. The first half I binged in one sitting and was so excited to see how it was going to land. Spoiler it didn’t. The premise of twins separated at birth and one of them is accused of murdering her adopted sister was GOOOOD. But the story was predictable, I didn’t connect with either of the main characters and the twists felt superfluous yet boring. The execution did not live up to the story here.