The Locked Ward: A Novel

· Macmillan Audio · Narrated by January LaVoy
5 reviews
Audiobook
9 hr 4 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook

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

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, Southe...

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Ratings and reviews

5 reviews
Miss 80's
August 25, 2025
So the premise here had me hooked right away—estranged twin sisters who don’t even know each other exist until. .Surprise! One’s accused of murder and locked in a psych ward. Talk about family reunions gone wrong. The story alternates between Georgia and Mandy’s POVs, and I really liked that back-and-forth. Plus, January LeVoy nailed the narration—she gave each sister their own vibe, which made it super easy to follow along. Now, here’s where I was a little bummed: I wanted more of the actual “locked ward.” We got a peek, but it felt more like a TV dramatization than the gritty realism I’ve seen firsthand (my Mom spent a lot of time in psychiatric hospitals when I was younger). I guess I wanted the setting to have as much bite as the twist. Think of it as “psychological thriller lite”—still entertaining, just not too heavy on the dark stuff.
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Darcia Helle
July 27, 2025
I have mixed thoughts on this one. The story is told via two POV narrators. One is in first person, the other in the rarely used second person. I’m just not a fan of second person narration. It’s weird, and no matter how well executed, the constant “you” did this and “you” did that takes me out of the story. The premise fascinated me. I wanted to know if Georgia was guilty of murder, and if not, who was. But the execution didn’t work well for me. The wealthy family felt too superficial and stereotypical of this type of domestic thriller. And the second half of the story went off the rails a bit too much. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by the fabulous January LaVoy. She truly makes every book a better experience. *Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook download.*
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About the author

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.
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 ...

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