Can’t Wait Wednesday #193: The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen

Can’t Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the Jill at Breaking the Spine. So let me introduce you my Can’t Wait Wednesday #193 pick. Click on the book’s cover to add it to your Goodreads shelf (opens in a new window).

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen book cover — Publishes: August 4, 2026 by St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio.
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld.
Length: 304 pages / ~8 hours.
Genre: Thriller

From The Publisher:

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.

Why I Can’t Wait to Read The Women in White:

I enjoy books set in the 1960s, and the dual timeline and synopsis of this novel immediately caught my attention. Having completed part of my nursing training in an older mental institution, I can easily imagine the eerie atmosphere of such a setting, which makes this story especially appealing to me.