This is now my favorite Freida book! As usual she keeps you guessing
Amy is a medical student who must spend an overnight in a locked psych ward. While there, she sees and hears many strange things and doesn’t know who to trust or if what she is seeing is real.
Freida takes the reader on a wild ride, switching gears on who to trust so many times you will get whiplash ! I finished this book in three days. Thank you Freida for the ARC of Ward D

First of all, let me disclose I am a huge Freida fan. I have always hunted down her books on Netgalley to get the first look. Like all authors, some of her novels are better than others, but none have left me completely disappointed. I can always be sure when I grab a Freida McFadden book I will be finished reading in 2 days or less- and that says a lot to me. Something about her books grabs you from the beginning and makes it for quick reading, always wanting to know what will happen next. Ward D is no different.

The setting takes place in a psychiatric ward, different from all her previous novels. Amy is a med student and she is scheduled to spend the night in Ward D as part of the education process. Little did she know, her ex-boyfriend, Cameron, is also on shift this evening. Talk about torture. Each of them is assigned to choose a patient and learn more about them. While looking at the patient records, Amy sees none other than her childhood best friend's name on one of them- meaning she is here too! Things did not end on a good note between the two when they ended their friendship so she was not looking forward to that confrontation....

The night goes on full of terror as there are power outages and people start talking about the prisoner in the secluded room planning to kill them all that very evening. No matter what, Amy is not to open that door. She won't even get close to it... but has someone else???

This book started out interesting enough, but there was some repetition in it and the writing seemed a little juvenile in the beginning so I wasn't sure I was really going to finish it. I stuck with it though, because I am a believer in Freida, and boy was I glad I did. I had a slight idea about one of the twists but was still surprised when they all came together. There's no way you'll guess them all and by the end, your head will be spinning!

3.5 stars rounded up for me. Thank you to Netgalley & Freida for my early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one! She is an instant buy author for me!

I can’t say enough about this book! Wow, I have not been disappointed from any books that I have read from Freida Mcfadden. As I was reading the book I kept yelling to Amy like she could hear me. I couldn’t put this one down because I had to know how it ended. I enjoyed all the plot twist in the book. Another great one from her.

3.5 stars

Ward D by Freida McFadden is a psychological thriller about a night on a psychiatric ward.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Victory Editing and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Amy Brenner, a medical student, has been assigned an overnight shift on Ward D, the hospital's in-patient mental health unit.  She has been dreading this for many reasons.

Things go wrong from the start.  Her co-worker is her ex-boyfriend,  an old friend is on the ward, and there's someone in the seclusion room who has threatened to kill every one he sees.

If the above aren't enough, both patients and staff start disappearing, and Amy's fears are coming true.  She no longer knows who to trust.


My Opinions:
As much as the topic appealed, and the story was good, the writing didn't sit well with me.  It was very repetitive.  I got sick of hearing that orthopedic surgery field was extremely competitive, or that trigonometry will never be needed.  My first thought was that the book was aimed at the YA group, which is usually fine with me.  But the YA crowd is not actually her target audience, so I was a little put off.

The book is broken down into a couple of time-lines.  One 8 years ago when Amy and Jade were best friends, and the other timeline is the night of Amy's ward rotation, which is further broken down into a count-down of the hours until morning.  This actually worked really well, and I always knew exactly where I was.

It was definitely a fast read, and once I got used to her writing style,  I started to enjoy it.  Suspense built quite quickly, and stayed high.  There were a number of twists, most of which I saw coming, but they were still good.  Character-wise, they were all portrayed quite well, although I found Amy to be just too naive for at 26 year old resident, and thus I kept wondering if this was a YA book.

I'm not sure that the mental health issues were treated fairly, so let's remember to treat the book with a grain of salt.  Not every mentally ill person is violent, and not every mentally ill person reacts badly to drugs.....

So, overall, and I may be in the minority on this one, it was good, just not great.  I will, however, be checking out this author's future books.

Ward D is another Freida McFadden winner! The setting is a locked psych ward. The main character is a med student, Amy, who has to spend the night locked in this unit as part of her medical school training. Amy has to deal with many of her own demons from the past as she makes it through this shift, one hour at a time. As I got to know the other characters, I found myself flipping back and forth on who would be the villain. Freida does such an amazing job of bringing her characters to life. The story flips back to a younger Amy, which helps the reader to understand some of the apprehension she feels by being in the ward. In usual Freida fashion, I would think I had the twist figured out, only to be thrown a curveball! There is no way I was going to come up with the climax of the story. My brain finally processed what I just read, then the epilogue whacked me on the head!

Thank you NetGalley and Freida McFadden for allowing me the opportunity to receive an advanced copy of Ward D in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #VictoryEditingCoOp for giving me the honor of reading and reviewing #WardD by #FreidaMcFadden. This is another masterpiece by my favorite and author. It has it all; thrills, twists and the ability to shock and wow. I would love to spend one day in your mind and find out how you do this.

Ward D is my first Freida McFadden book and I’m thoroughly impressed! I’ve heard she is a literary master in the Thriller genre so I had some high expectations going in and I was not disappointed.

The story focuses on young Amy who is a med student and her friend, Jade whom she has know since they were very young. The two girls have a falling out in school and take two very different paths in life. They end up having an awkward reunion when Amy is assigned to work an overnight shift at the psych ward that Jade has been assigned. Amy is made aware on her arrival at Ward D that they have a new and very dangerous and disturbed patient. The whole ward is locked in for the night and suspicious things begin happening, truly unnerving Amy but she is determined to find out what is truly going on in Ward D.

Thank you to Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op, Netgalley, and the talented Freida McFadden for an ARC in exchange for a review!

Talk about doing a number to my head. Freida loves to play mind games with her stories. It's what makes a great thriller.

I loved this book. The tension, the suspense and the overall paranoid feeling that Amy makes you feel.

The twists kept coming, the stress level kept rising, and the ending left me shocked as usual.

A shout out to freida for her amazing stories. A definite recommend.

Also, If you haven't read any of Freida McFadden books and you love thrillers I suggest you start now.

I am slowly but surely becoming obsessed with all things Freida McFadden. I am FLYING through her books and I need to go back through her backlist.

As usual with her books, expect the unexpected. I guessed wrong on most of the twists (which is so odd for me and I love that!!).

Looking forward to reading anything and everything that she puts out next.

Thank you to Net Galley Victory Editing Netgalley Co-Op for this Arc. Freida McFadden is the queen of suspense. This book did not disappoint it was action packed with characters that you can relate to. Amy is a med student assigned to Ward D a psych ward. As you read it you will see the fear and suspense that occurs while working in the psych ward. I love the quick short chapters that was hard to put this arc down.

Amy Brennan is a medical student, as part of her training she must do a shift in a secure Psychiatric ward, Ward D. Amy's dreading it but can't say why.

The story is told in past and present timelines. The past goes back eight years to her teenage years, hanging out with her best friend and worrying about a Math test. The present is the overnight shift on Ward D, counting down the hours until morning.

The portrayal of Amy's character is just brilliant. She's anxious to succeed as a doctor, while terrified of Ward D.

The creepy atmosphere in Ward D is superbly crafted, there's an assortment of patients with a variety of psychiatric disorders. Some could be dangerous, can any of them really be trusted?

Amy's own mental state is key to her character, deteriorating from a bubbly nervousness to anxiety and paranoia as the night progresses. I don't recall a main character's mental state playing such a big part in any of Freida's books before, and it is executed perfectly.

There's an ever increasing sense of dread and foreboding.

Just when Amy really fears for her safety and sanity, Freida ramps it up some more. There are some big ‘Gasp!’ moments.

You will not see these twists coming!

This is a brilliant book, superb in character, atmosphere, plot, pacing and twists.

Freida does so much with the apparently simple plot, there is great depth. Amy just has to get through one night, but is not prepared for what she'll experience on Ward D.

The past and present threads both hold weight, each adds tension and they weave together tightly.

I read this book on a Monday night starting at 7pm, nonstop cover to cover. What a rush! One of the purest thrill rides in a long time.

That was the first time...

I haven't re-read a book in years. The second time I savoured it, I wanted to spot any breadcrumbs or red herrings. Reading it a second time cemented the artistry, the depth and solidity of the plot and the construction of the twists.

This is a hugely impressive and deeply psychological thriller. Freida's signature pace, flow and humour mixed in with a creepy atmosphere and one of the best psychologically developed central characters I've read in a long time.

I'm in awe.

Ward D tied up tighter than a straitjacket, you'd be mad to miss it!

Thanks to Freida McFadden and Netgalley.

Freida does it again! If you’ve ever read a Frieda book, you know you think you know what’s going on… and then you’re wrong.
Twists and turns and the eeriness of Ward D, keeps you turning the page, not wanting to put the book down for a second.
This book is a must read!!

She's done it again! This was such a fast read with twist and turns and emotions all over.. I love Freida's books this one is way up on my chart now as my favorite. It will have you on the edge of your seat and your page flipping. Prepare for no sleep cause you won't want to put this one down... Thank you for the ARC

I'm generally a Freida fan, but oh my goodness this one was a giant disaster (I guess in my seemingly unpopular opinion based on Goodreads and bookstagram). I sat on this review for over a week because I didn't want to jump to any harsh conclusions because I honestly do enjoy Frieda's other work, but I can't get over the plot and rhetoric in this book.

This book is centered around medical student, Amy, who has a FEAR of the psychiatric ward. The whole book revolves around this fear as Amy has to spend the night in the psychiatric ward (as a medical student, not patient). Amy is constantly reminding us of her fear and beliefs that the mentally ill are all crazy, scary, and violent. Now her beliefs are super cringey and they certainly illicit second-hand embarrassment- she's a med student for goodness sake. Despite feeling all the ick reading her not-so-hot takes, I was mostly willing to chalk up Amy's beliefs as unfortunately accurate for a lot of ignorant people (yes, even in the medical field) and given her past experiences with her best friend.

But what blows my mind (and I can't chalk up to anything other that a massive lapse in judgement), is that Amy's rhetoric and fear is continuously reinforced throughout the book. There is no lesson here from practicing physician McFadden. The overuse of the word crazy and the idea that the mentally ill ARE all violent is just reinforced by the "big twist" and ending of the book. Like really, Amy even gets with the one person from the ward she claimed seemed "normal." LOL no. This book just made me feel gross with no redemption. Even the twist let me down. I mean there is only so many ways a locked room thriller can go.

The book was faced-paced as usual, but you really, really can't think about this one if you want to enjoy it. I wish I felt differently. Thank you NetGalley for my opportunity to review this eARC for my honest review.

Thank you, @netgalley and @fmcfaddenauthor, for giving me an eARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

A medical student, Amy Brenner, will spend a night in Ward D, a locked psychiatric ward. She is anxious about having this shift for some reasons that no one is allowed to find out. From the time she arrives in the ward, she knows that something terrible will happen. Is she going to survive her first night shift in Ward D?

Wow, I have no words. Freida did it again! I loved this book. I thought I had one of the biggest plot twists in this book, and I was wrong! Freida did the same thing to me when I first read The Housemaid’s Secret. I don't know how she does it!

I just loved everything about this book. I feel like one of the reasons for this is that I am in the field of psychology/counseling, and I can relate to all the medical jargon in the book. But even if you don’t understand most of the terms here, Freida does an excellent job of explaining these terms in detail.

I also liked how Freida emphasized that people are more than their psychiatric diagnosis. We shouldn’t call people “schizophrenic” or “autistic.” It’s better to use the term “a person with schizophrenia” or “a child with autism.” They are still human beings even though they have these mental illnesses. Words can be hurtful! Using some words can perpetuate stigma, stereotypes, and misunderstandings around these mental diagnoses.

Overall, I loved this book so much. I think this is my new favorite book of Freida. 🤗❤️ I devoured this book in one sitting!

Thank you, NetGalley, the author, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the gifted e-book ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read if you like: Past and present timelines, mental disorders, page turners, locked door

You think you know, but you have no idea. Amy has to work at the psychiatry ward for 13 hours straight. She's there with her ex-boyfriend, and a patient is someone she knew. She's very worried about being there, as she should be. This is such a page turner. It grabbed me and did not let me go. Literally had no idea what was going to happen. I did find it to be repetitive at times. That was my only issue. Very creepy, very fast-paced. I highly recommend this!

Thank you NetGalley and Freida McFadden for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've read a few of Freida's books, but this one was BRILLIANT! I absolutely loved it! The characters, the setting, the twists, the plot...it all just blew me away how everything came together so seamlessly. Freida's writing keeps the reader invested in figuring out the psychological craziness going on and waiting for that major twist towards the end. Ward D's ending was no different...I didn't see it coming.
I had such a fun time reading this!! I loved the sarcastic humor throughout the story. I was laughing to myself a few times and can still hear the clicking of Mary's knitting needles.

If you're a Freidah Readah, you MUST of course read this, and if you're not...why aren't you?! Highly recommend to all thriller readers who want to take a break from the craziness of their daily lives and slip into the craziness on Ward D.

Thank you to Freida McFadden and NetGalley for my ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

Frieda McFadden does it again. This is another awesome thriller with plenty of twists and turns. The setting is perfect and in my opinion super creepy. This was another fast read/paced book and I flew through it in a little over a day.

Between a 3 and 3.5 ⭐️ for me.

I am a fan of Freida, and I always fly through her books. This one was a quick read for me as well. I unfortunately just didn’t enjoy this one as much as her others! I struggled with the premise of the story - a med student having a strong fear that she will get murdered by patients while spending one overnight shift in the psychiatric ward. I almost found that and some of the narrative offensive/controversial? I think the story could have been successfully told without the main character having such strong judgements and fears of the patients.

I’m from Canada so guaranteed I’m overly sensitive when it comes to what’s offensive. 😂

I’d love to hear if anyone else thought the same or if I am being overly critical about that!

There were some twists and turns but I didn’t find them overly surprising.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

So, yeah. I don’t know how she does it, but somehow, Freida always manages to make me believe I’ve solved the mystery—then completely flips everything upside down and sideways. I’m always left with a jaw dropping moment I didn’t manage to see coming.

Because it’s obvious the person Amy knows on Ward D is Jade, her childhood best friend. But what was she doing there…again?!?! Which, excuse me? AGAIN??

I LOVE stories that contain past and present chapters. It’s literally my favorite scheme, timeline, whatever. I love how those stories unravel. Because it seems to take longer to get where you’re going, ultimately making the payoff that much better.

The creepiness factor of Ward D is palpable. You can feel it coming off the page. It’s so intense. Plus, you’re stuck alongside Amy, wondering who can be trusted. And who will be alive in the morning. Who is telling the truth. And who is lying. Compounded with all of this is how terrified Amy was going into her shift that evening.

This book has everything I love in a thriller: mystery, twists and turns, humor, and a shocking ending. Freida McFadden is a master storyteller and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Also, I kinda wish I could shrink myself and crawl into her brain just to see what happens in there!!