The Locked Ward, Sarah Pekkanen
The Locked Ward, Sarah Pekkanen
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Locked Ward
A Novel

Author: Sarah Pekkanen

Narrator: January LaVoy

Unabridged: 9 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/05/2025


Synopsis

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.

This program is read by January LaVoy, seven-time Audie Award–winner, Grammy nominee and AudioFile Golden Voice.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press

About Sarah Pekkanen

Sarah Pekkanen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fifteen solo and co-authored novels. Her books are sold in thirty-six countries, with several optioned for TV and film. Sarah also co-wrote the screenplay for The Wife Between Us for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. She serves on the board of directors of International Thriller Writers, and is the founder of the nonprofit IndiaStreetPaws.com, which rescues injured and abused street dogs in India. She lives just outside of Washington, DC.

About January LaVoy

January LaVoy has narrated the Sweet Valley Confidential series for Macmillan Audio, as well as The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck and Dreams of the Dead by Perri O’Shaughnessy.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer on October 06, 2025

When you have the chance to read an ARC copy from one of your auto-approved thriller authors, like Sarah Pekkanen, the only thing you can do—after dancing in your study to celebrate your luck—is dive straight into the book. Especially when it presents an intriguing concept like twin connections, psy......more

Goodreads review by Shelley's Book Nook on July 27, 2025

My Reviews Can Also Be Found On: The Book Review Crew Blog I was really looking forward to this book, and what an utter disappointment it was. I loved the titles You Are Not Alone, The Golden Couple and An Anonymous Girl that this author wrote with Greer Hendricks. I should have known thi......more

Goodreads review by Jayme on August 05, 2025

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: 🎧 The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen Narrated by January LaVoy 9 hours 4 minutes at 1x 6 hours 3 minutes at 1.5x 4 hours 32 minutes at 2.0x (which is how I listened) 🎧 It’s the Crime of the Decade. Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, has been accused of bludgeoning to death h......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on February 27, 2025

This was another book that I was eagerly anticipating. I loved the author’s previous book “House of Glass”, so I had high hopes for this book. While I did like this book, I didn’t love it unfortunately. I did love the short chapters, and the alternating POV’s between Georgia and Mandy. But the shock......more

Goodreads review by Linzie (suspenseisthrillingme) on September 02, 2025

Slow-boiling, addictive, and thoroughly twisted, Sarah Pekkanen pulled out all the stops yet again with The Locked Ward. From the down and dirty dysfunctional family dynamic to the almost soap opera-esque feel, while I definitely had to suspend all disbelief, I was happy to do it just to inhale one......more


Quotes

"Instantly immersive, involving, insightful and scary - this is psychological suspense at its very best." —Lee Child


When beautiful and wealthy Georgia Cartwright is kept in a locked ward after being accused of her sister’s brutal murder, there’s only one person who can save her: the other sister she didn’t know she had. Spellbinding and masterful, Sarah Pekkanen’s THE LOCKED WARD is a deep dive into the dark secrets of a powerful family, where reputation and social standing have always mattered more than the truth. Nothing is as it seems in this evocative and twisty thriller, and I loved every breathless minute of it. —Jennifer Hillier, USA Today bestselling author of THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK and LITTLE SECRETS


"A dueling narrative fraught with tension that will leave you guessing until the very end. And when you think you know...you don't!" —Jeneva Rose, bestselling author of THE PERFECT MARRIAGE and YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE COME HERE

"One of my favorite thriller writers, Sarah Pekkanen is an automatic buy for me. I love her twisty, propulsive thrillers and THE LOCKED WARD is no exception" Laura Dave, NYT bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me