gina_readsbooks 's review for:

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen

4.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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“We’re both the unreliable narrator and the gullible listener in our own life stories.”

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

I’ve always enjoyed Sarah Pekkanen’s books, including the ones she co-writes with Greer Hendricks. Her thrillers are well-written and compelling, and this one features estranged twins and a political angle that I didn’t see coming. 

The story centers around Georgia and Mandy. They were separated at birth with Georgia growing up in a wealthy, powerful family and Many growing up in a blue collar household. When Georgia is arrested for her sister Annabelle’s murder, she has her lawyers contact Mandy who rightfully has her own suspicions. The pieces come together slowly, casting doubt about Georgia’s innocence and Mandy is the only person that can help her. 

I liked how twisty this felt, especially with how the clues were sprinkled in. It didn’t feel obvious, but it’s clear that something is not right with Georgia’s family. There’s also a political angle which was interesting and adds to the stakes of the plot. For Georgia, being in a locked ward for a psych evaluation is terrifying, let alone the possibility of going to jail. Mandy is confused about everything, but in the end she’s determined to help her sister. 

There are a few bits that feel just a bit far-fetched and gave me some House of Cards vibes in how cutthroat the political aspect gets. The chapters from Georgia perspective are written in second-person, which feels a bit weird since it is from her point-of-view. But overall, this is a really solid, fast-paced thriller.