diff --git a/src/EventStore.js b/src/EventStore.js
index 5a2ad87..379eecc 100644
--- a/src/EventStore.js
+++ b/src/EventStore.js
@@ -221,6 +221,17 @@ class EventStore extends events.EventEmitter {
         this.storage.close();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Returns true if the storage is currently locked by a writer process.
+     * Useful when this store is opened read-only to check whether a writer holds an exclusive lock.
+     *
+     * @api
+     * @returns {boolean}
+     */
+    isLocked() {
+        return this.storage.isLocked();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Override EventEmitter.on() to delegate 'preCommit' and 'preRead' event registrations
      * to the underlying storage, so that `eventstore.on('preCommit', handler)` works naturally.
diff --git a/src/Storage/ReadableStorage.js b/src/Storage/ReadableStorage.js
index f0a0c2a..24a1feb 100644
--- a/src/Storage/ReadableStorage.js
+++ b/src/Storage/ReadableStorage.js
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ class ReadableStorage extends events.EventEmitter {
         this.hmac = createHmac(config.hmacSecret);
 
         this.dataDirectory = path.resolve(config.dataDirectory);
+        this.lockFile = path.resolve(this.dataDirectory, this.storageFile + '.lock');
 
         const partitionDefaults = { readBufferSize: DEFAULT_READ_BUFFER_SIZE };
         this.partitionConfig = Object.assign(partitionDefaults, config);
@@ -157,6 +158,17 @@ class ReadableStorage extends events.EventEmitter {
         return this.index.length;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Returns true if the storage is currently locked by a writer process.
+     * Useful for read-only clients to check whether a writer holds an exclusive lock.
+     *
+     * @api
+     * @returns {boolean}
+     */
+    isLocked() {
+        return fs.existsSync(this.lockFile);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Scan partitions and secondary index files; emit 'index-created' for each found index.
      * @param {function} done Called when both scans finish.
diff --git a/src/Storage/WritableStorage.js b/src/Storage/WritableStorage.js
index 4030c5e..857ae7a 100644
--- a/src/Storage/WritableStorage.js
+++ b/src/Storage/WritableStorage.js
@@ -61,7 +61,6 @@ class WritableStorage extends ReadableStorage {
         ensureDirectory(config.dataDirectory);
         super(storageName, config);
 
-        this.lockFile = path.resolve(this.dataDirectory, this.storageFile + '.lock');
         this._lockMode = config.lock;
         this.partitioner = config.partitioner;
     }
@@ -226,14 +225,18 @@ class WritableStorage extends ReadableStorage {
         if (this.locked) {
             return false;
         }
+        if (this.isLocked()) {
+            throw new StorageLockedError(`Storage ${this.storageFile} is locked by another process`);
+        }
         try {
             fs.mkdirSync(this.lockFile);
             this.locked = true;
         } catch (e) {
-            /* istanbul ignore if */
+            /* istanbul ignore next */
             if (e.code !== 'EEXIST') {
                 throw new Error(`Error creating lock for storage ${this.storageFile}: ` + e.message);
             }
+            /* istanbul ignore next */
             throw new StorageLockedError(`Storage ${this.storageFile} is locked by another process`);
         }
         return true;
diff --git a/test/EventStore.spec.js b/test/EventStore.spec.js
index d70fec3..940d4d4 100644
--- a/test/EventStore.spec.js
+++ b/test/EventStore.spec.js
@@ -277,6 +277,44 @@ describe('EventStore', function() {
         });
     });
 
+    it('isLocked() returns true when a writer is open', function(done) {
+        eventstore = new EventStore({
+            storageDirectory
+        });
+
+        eventstore.once('ready', () => {
+            const readstore = new EventStore({
+                storageDirectory,
+                readOnly: true
+            });
+            readstore.once('ready', () => {
+                expect(readstore.isLocked()).to.be(true);
+                readstore.close();
+                done();
+            });
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('isLocked() returns false when no writer is open', function(done) {
+        eventstore = new EventStore({
+            storageDirectory
+        });
+
+        eventstore.once('ready', () => {
+            eventstore.close();
+            const readstore = new EventStore({
+                storageDirectory,
+                readOnly: true
+            });
+            readstore.once('ready', () => {
+                expect(readstore.isLocked()).to.be(false);
+                readstore.close();
+                eventstore = null;
+                done();
+            });
+        });
+    });
+
     describe('commit', function() {
 
         it('throws when no stream name specified', function() {
diff --git a/test/Storage.spec.js b/test/Storage.spec.js
index bee3dfb..9a56c41 100644
--- a/test/Storage.spec.js
+++ b/test/Storage.spec.js
@@ -1225,6 +1225,43 @@ describe('Storage', function() {
             }).to.not.throwError();
         });
 
+        it('isLocked() returns true when a writer holds the lock', function(){
+            storage = createStorage();
+            storage.open();
+            const reader = createReader();
+            reader.open();
+            expect(reader.isLocked()).to.be(true);
+            reader.close();
+        });
+
+        it('isLocked() returns false when no writer holds the lock', function(){
+            storage = createStorage();
+            storage.open();
+            storage.close();
+            const reader = createReader();
+            reader.open();
+            expect(reader.isLocked()).to.be(false);
+            reader.close();
+        });
+
+        it('isLocked() returns false on a writer before open', function(){
+            storage = createStorage();
+            expect(storage.isLocked()).to.be(false);
+        });
+
+        it('isLocked() returns true on a writer after open', function(){
+            storage = createStorage();
+            storage.open();
+            expect(storage.isLocked()).to.be(true);
+        });
+
+        it('isLocked() returns false on a writer after close', function(){
+            storage = createStorage();
+            storage.open();
+            storage.close();
+            expect(storage.isLocked()).to.be(false);
+        });
+
         it('allows multiple readers for one storage', function () {
             storage = createStorage();
             storage.open();