Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced copy of The Locked Ward in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio
Published: August 5, 2025
Summary:
Was it…
Bitter, all-consuming jealousy?
Pathological sibling rivalry?
Pure insanity?
Whatever the cause—and everyone has a theory—it’s the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family.
Georgia is locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial. The only words she whispers when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits are, “I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.”
Amanda doesn’t trust Georgia, but she can’t abandon her in a place so eerie and menacing that it seems to exist in another dimension. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that’s so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator?
Nothing is as it seems in Sarah Pekkanen’s The Locked Ward, a shocking psychological thriller about the complex bonds of sisterhood—and what happens when they are stretched to the breaking point.
Some doors in the Locked Ward should never be opened.
My thoughts:
A new Sarah Pekkanen book is always cause for celebration and this one is not to be missed! Her books are the perfect summer reads – fast, addictive thrillers with that little something extra that sets her apart from the traditional summer thriller. I think it’s the character-driven storyline that we don’t typically see in a regular thriller and I am here for it.
There is something about the twin trope that completely fascinates me and when you add in the fact that in this case, it’s finding out not only that you didn’t know about your twin before now but also that she’s locked away for the murder of her sister. That alone completely sold it for me but then the twists start popping up and I had no idea where this one was headed.
I loved how the story alternates between both sisters’ POV…it made for some tense, uneasy moments. And of course, there is always that question of who can be trusted.
I really enjoyed this one. It kept me guessing and as someone who loves stories of family dysfunction, this one completely satisfied me as they started digging into all the family drama and secrets. It’s the perfect summer read to escape into!
Audio thoughts:
This is brilliantly narrated by January LaVoy, one of my favorite narrators. While I did have the book on hand, I found she was able to give each sister their own unique voice.
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