Sarah Pekkanen's The Locked Ward is a twisty novel of psychological suspense with an eerie bond between twin sisters at its heart.
The Locked Room alternates between the points of view of Georgia Cartwright and Mandy Ravenel. Georgia is the adopted daughter of a very wealthy family who is being held in a psychiatric ward and accused of murdering her younger sister, Annabelle, while Mandy runs a bar she inherited from her adoptive parents. In the novel's opening pages, Mandy learns that Georgia is actually her twin sister, separated at birth, and that Georgia wants to meet with her. During the visit, Mandy feels an instant cellular connection with her sister, who insists that she is innocent and begs Mandy for her help.
Pekkanen (Things You Won't Say; Catching Air; The Golden Couple with Greer Hendricks) expertly guides readers through the left turns and twisted corners of her compelling story, contrasting the lives of the sisters in short, strobing chapters. As Mandy uncovers dark family secrets, Georgia contends with hidden enemies inside her ward. All the while, questions of whether Georgia is manipulating Mandy and why Mandy seems so game to dive into Georgia's life thrum under the surface. Pekkanen explores the complex and sometimes spooky connection between the two with a keen eye and examines the effects of privilege and entitlement--or lack of it---on each of their lives. The Locked Ward delivers on that all-important suspense element--its final twist is a doozy. --Debra Ginsberg, author and freelance editor