The Women In White

By: Sarah Pekkanen

Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld

Macmillan Audio

ISBN: 9781250349552

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: 08/04/2026

Format: Hardcover

My Rating:5 Stars (ALC) (ARC)

AUG 2026 MUST-READ BOOKS

Extrasensory perception.

The Gift.

A Sixth Sense.

Or something else….

In 1964, four remarkable young women at a prestigious university became the subjects of parapsychology experiments by a visionary scientist.

On the cusp of a historic breakthrough, the women mysteriously vanished and the program was erased from history. Decades later, Riley Bell, newly divorced and desperate for a fresh start, accepts a caretaker job for an elderly widow named Betty. Riley steps into a home that is frozen in another era - no microwave, television, or cell phones, and Betty has never heard of the internet.

Why has Betty lived in such profound isolation for so many years, and why does she need Riley now?

As the story unfolds across two timelines - Betty’s 1960s era of 5 o’clock martinis and high-stakes experiments, and Riley’s quest to uncover the truth about the missing women - old secrets rise to the surface. And the only way to survive is to confront the mystery that has lingered for sixty years.

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#TheWomenInWhite

My Review

As a huge fan who has read every single one of Sarah’s books, I was counting down the days for Sarah Pekkanen's THE WOMEN IN WHITE. Spine-chilling, I consumed it across multiple formats, and let me tell you, it completely blew me away. Mark your calendars because it officially drops on August 4th!

Highlights:

THE PAST IS LETHAL

~1964: Four Women. One Dark Lab. Zero Witnesses.

MIND GAMES & TIME CAPSULES

~The Telepathy Trials of 1964

~A Masterclass in Dual-Timeline Suspense

The Hook:

A penniless divorcée takes a caretaker job for an isolated elderly widow, only to unlock a harrowing 60-year-old mystery involving a vanished college parapsychology program.

Elevator Pitch:

Mad Men meets Project Stargate. This dual-timeline psychological thriller explores four brilliant young women in 1964 who underwent relentless, invasive telepathy experiments—until they mysteriously disappeared from history.

Setting:

Marquis University in 1964 (dripping with 5 o'clock martinis and high-stakes campus labs), contrasting with an eerie, modern-day suburban house completely frozen in time.

Vibe:

Chilling, atmospheric, and deeply unsettling. A slow-burn preternatural mystery grounded in dark historical truth.

~Pacing: Medium-paced / Slow-burn tension

Mood: Mysterious, Reflective, Atmospheric, Tense

~Plot / Character-driven: Heavily character-driven with a tight historical puzzle

Genre:

Psychological Thriller / Historical Paranormal Suspense.

Themes:

The dangerous pursuit of institutional power, gender inequality, systemic medical ethics abuse, and the unyielding survival bond of female friendship.

Standout Characters:

Riley Bell, a down-on-her-luck caregiver running from a messy past, and Betty Sadler, an enigmatic 81-year-old widow wheelchair-bound by dark history.

Author Writing Standout:

Impeccable Historical Tension. Pekkanen flawlessly weaves authentic real-world 1960s parapsychology studies into her fiction, opening chapters with factual research that makes the plot feel terrifyingly real.

Takeaway:

Trust your intuition. Denying your internal alarm bells to appease institutional authority figures is where the real danger begins.

Title Significance:

A brilliant homage to Wilkie Collins' classic Gothic tale, referencing the literal stark uniforms worn by the test subjects while symbolizing the erasure of their identities.

Metaphor:

The Time-Capsule House. Betty's completely isolated home—lacking internet, television, or cell phones—perfectly mirrors her mind, completely trapped inside the trauma of 1964.

Why You Should Read:

A masterfully researched, unique thriller that successfully bridges real-world scientific curiosity with spine-tingling suspense.

My Thoughts

As a massive fan who has read every single one of Sarah Pekkanen's books, I can confidently say The Women in White is a massive triumph. Pekkanen effortlessly handles the heavy emotional layers of dual timelines, balancing a slow-burning sense of dread in the past with an active, high-stakes investigation in the present. The historical parapsychology backdrop adds a fiercely compelling edge that kept me totally hooked.

"Pekkanen at her absolute finest. A chilling, beautifully woven puzzle where the weight of historical secrets matches the terror of modern-day discovery. Think Mad Men mixed with a dark, psychic historical nightmare. It is atmospheric, brilliant, and completely unputdownable."

Audio 🎧 Standout: Saskia Maarleveld

Electrifying! Saskia Maarleveld is one of my absolute all-time favorite narrators, and she turns this performance into an emotional powerhouse. She brings beautiful vulnerability to Riley while infusing the 1960s timeline with a distinct, haunting depth that maximizes the story's preternatural suspense.

"Saskia Maarleveld doesn't just narrate this thriller; she possesses it. An emotional powerhouse performance that turns a brilliant book into an unforgettable listening experience. Top Audiobooks of 2026!"

Verdict 5/5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

"An absolutely riveting, masterfully executed dual-timeline thriller that stands as Sarah Pekkanen's most atmospheric work to date. It gracefully handles dark historical realities while spinning a web of preternatural suspense that left me breathless. Brought to perfection by Saskia Maarleveld's hypnotic narration, this is an absolute mandatory listen for thriller fans!"

Read This If You Liked:

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, works by Blake Crouch, Recursion or Dark Matter, The Clinic by Cate Quinn, The Inmate by Freida McFadden, works by Dean Koontz (like Watchers or Elsewhere, or novels with a dark psychic historical twist.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press, #MacAudio2026, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for graciously sharing an advanced reading and listening copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks

My Rating: 5 Stars +

Pub Date: Aug 4, 2026

August 2026 Must-Read Books

Praise

A "Most Anticipated" Today.com Book Pick

Named One of Goodreads' Most Anticipated Books of Summer

"[A] novel everyone will be reading this summer."

―The New York Times

"Enticing. The historical storyline rivets with its nuanced characters and graceful explorations of gender inequality, medical ethics, and mental health."

―Publisher's Weekly

"Pekkanen’s latest is a tour de force: a thriller, an investigation into universities’ past abuse of young women in psych labs, and a nicely creepy evocation of Wilkie Collins’ famous, similarly named Gothic novel. Riley uncovers increasingly disturbing information about the missing women and the lab’s cover-up in this thriller that's both entertaining and wrenching."

―Booklist (Starred review)

“THE WOMEN IN WHITE is a swift, lean, compelling tale of preternatural suspense, disturbing in all the right ways. When the pursuit of knowledge is really the pursuit of power, things go wrong―which can be devilishly entertaining!”

―DEAN KOONTZ

"THE WOMEN IN WHITE is prime suspense and intrigue. In the 1960s, four young women become tragically involved in psychic experimentation at a prestigious college. In the present day, a young woman, down on her luck, becomes the caretaker of one of the survivors. The full story unfolds with fascinating layers, and readers will be held captive until the last page." ―CHARLAINE HARRIS

"This fun and fast-paced novel was inspired by real-life psychic experiments and academic parapsychology departments of the 1960s -- what a great setting for a creepy thriller! Imagine something like Mad Men with ESP and telekinesis. Sarah Pekkanen delivers a thoroughly entertaining story and made me believe the impossible."

―Jason Rekulak, NYT bestselling author of The Last One at the Wedding

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. WEBSITE