This was my first Freida McFadden read and I have to say that I understand the hype! It was a quick and easy thriller that still had some great and unexpected twists. The short chapters kept you hooked and made the book perfect for binging.

I have to admit I found the story a bit creepy. There's just something unsettling about someone being locked up in a psych ward and not knowing what's real. I had some theories about what was going on but they were all wildly inaccurate 😂

The characters weren't really likeable, but I still definitely recommend this if you're looking for a quick and well written thriller with some fun twists!

Freida McFadden never fails to deliver! What a crazy rollercoaster ride all happening during one night!
Perfectly messing up with the reader's mind and don't you even dare to trust anybody in this crazy adventure.
Performed in a fabulous way by Leslie Howard
Thank you #NetGalley #Dreamscape Media, Hollywood Upstairs Press for this thrilling audiobook

Ward D
by Freida McFadden
Narrated by Leslie Howard

Rating: 4.4/5.0 Stars

Amy has to do her one-night rotation on the psych unit, Ward D. She's not looking forward to it, especially since she has a bit of history and the unit hits a little too close to home. People start disappearing and what seemed like raving premonitions, all of a sudden seem like a possible reality.

I flew through this book! First off, The narration was top-notch. I typically listen to audiobooks on 1.5x, and it was easy to listen to at this speed. I felt that Ms. Howard did a fantastic job; her voice fit perfectly with the MC, Amy. I'd be happy to listen to her narration any day.

The story itself was fast-paced and kept me intrigued and waiting to see what would happen next. The individuals locked up on Ward D, including Jade, Amy's childhood best friend, lead to an exciting build-up to see what will happen over the shift. Jade and the others, including the patient in seclusion, whom everyone keeps talking about, keep mentioning that they may not live through the night because of Damon Sawyer, the man in seclusion. I don't want to give anything away, but the lead-up to what happens, in the end, was just a fun ride. I want to listen to more of Ms. McFadden's novels. This was an easy listen that I really enjoyed.

Thanks so much to Dreamscape Media, Hollywood Upstairs Press, and NetGalley for the chance to listen to and review this ARC!

4.5🌟
Ward D by Freida McFadden is a great twisty suspenseful thriller.
Amy Brenner is a medical student pulling an overnight shift on a locked psychiatric ward. Amy ends up on the same shift as her ex-boyfriend with no cell phone service and a secret she hopes keeps hidden. Will she make it through the night?
This book was fast paced and captivating.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio in exchange for an honest review.

On the prowl for a quick OTT popcorn thriller? Here you go! You are now entering the lock-down psychiatric unit of Ward D! Dun dun dun!😱

Amy is a medical student that needs to complete her psychiatric rotation and it looks like poor Amy just drew the short straw. Her rotation just happens to be in the locked-down, most dreaded and dangerous …Ward D! She is understandably afraid! Oh, come on, It’s only one night though ! She’s got this! I mean how bad can it really be!? Right?

My dear, you have no idea! As the door clanks shut behind her she realizes her biggest fear is “what if they don’t let me out?” What if they think I’m a patient there and not a medical student?

I have to say this book was a fun read for me. As a nurse I had the opportunity to go into some of these units to see patients, so I could completely understand Amy’s fear. I too wondered if I could get out if I needed to!😅

Another fun thriller from Freida McFadden with some great twists that caught me by surprise!
I listened to the audio and it was a great way to experience this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media

I did not enjoy this book. The MC was very unlikable, immature, and shallow. As a medical student, she was lacking in empathy and actual medical knowledge or professionalism. She is one of those people who want to be in the medical profession but definitely shouldn’t be.

When I was getting my bachelors degree in nursing, I spent a semester doing shifts at a in patient psychiatric hospital and understand it can be unsettling and the behaviors by patients can be worrisome at times, but I found it to be lazy and sad to make the thriller trope element mostly based on psych patients and people who clearly need help with their mental health being “crazy” and so scary. It’s in poor taste IMO.

One positive is that the narrator was great! She did an excellent job of delivering the story and the voice she made for the little girl was creepy and fun to hear. I also liked that the story had alternating chapters between “now” and “8 years ago” to expand on a friendship gone bad that is tied to the current situation.

Overall, I love thrillers but this just wasn’t the story for me and I DNFd it at 50% and not sure if the twist (I felt one maybe coming on) would have cleared up some of these feelings or not but I couldn’t get past how distasteful the storyline and MC were.

This was such a fast paced listen!!! It gripped me from the start and kept me invested. The narrator was so in character and had me convinced she was the MC.

Although it was predictable in some parts, the ending truly took me by surprise. Freida did it again!

Thanks so much NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the audiobook!

Note: My rating here on NetGalley is for the audiobook format specifically, including the narration, production and pacing. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator Leslie Howard and the audio was very well done!!

Unfortunately the book itself was not my favorite McFadden. 🥺 I had a very hard time looking past the language used to describe the mentally ill ... Especially during Mental Health Awareness Month. I also found the whole concept unbelievable and wasn't able to suspend reality enough to get into it.
That said, people seem to be loving this one, so I'm clearly an outlier.

Thank you Dreamscape and NetGalley for the gifted ALC. ❤️

Book itself: 2 stars
Audiobook: 4 stars

Freida’s books are always super creepy- even as thrillers go- but I knew it was going to be next level when I read the blurb- overnight on the Ward! I don’t usually bring this into my reviews, but I work in mental health, and I have been on these wards (granted not at night) and I’m always a little skeptical when authors write about my profession, but this one did not disappoint!

If you love thrillers, and you can handle extra creepy, please check it out! My favorite by her so far!

Author: Freida McFadden
Title: Ward D
Audiobook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚Brief Synopsis:
Ward D is the most recent release from an author I consider to be one of my favorites. In the novel, medical student Amy is nervous and anxious about her overnight shift in Ward D - the psych ward. Early on, it’s understood that Amy is hesitant about this rotation due to something that happened in her past; something that isn’t fully exposed until the end of the book. Her anxiety quickly turns to fear and paranoia as she is convinced something horribly wrong will happen during her overnight shift.

✨Thoughts:
I have a couple of different issues with the novel and it pains me to mention them since I am a huge fan of McFadden’s earlier works. But I felt as though this were written as more of a young adult mystery than an adult thriller. Part of the reason I felt like that is because Amy’s inner dialogue and conversations seemed to mirror those of a teenager over a supposedly well educated person attending medical school in their mid 20’s. I felt the dialogue was much too casual between Amy and the patients she was supposed to oversee; they made it seem more like she was there as a visitor or volunteer also by showing her casually sitting on beds, going through personal items in patient’s rooms, and engaging in non-medically based conversations.
I also didn’t like the perceived dangers Amy felt simply by being in the psych ward. We all have our past and approach adulthood and our careers with a certain amount of baggage but at this point in Amy’s education, I would think she would know better than to honestly fear the people in Ward D simply because they had a mental illness. Her demeanor again came off as childish and immature which hugely brought down the level of suspense I usually feel in McFadden’s books.
All in all, this was a swing and a miss for me. Will I read other books from McFadden in the future? Absolutely but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this particular novel.
I listened to the audiobook and feel the narrator did a wonderful job keeping the conversations flowing naturally while also differentiating between the characters.

📚I appreciate the opportunity provided by NetGalley and the publishers to listen to the audiobook in exchange for honest feedback.

How did she do it again? Like give me a second while I go on and on about Freida. Every book is so good and easy to read. I have dyslexia and I can read her books. And this one is an audiobook and it was so good. I am so lucky to have gotten to listen. Thank you Netgalley.

I’ve read most of this authors books and always thoroughly enjoyed them. This one was just a tad silly and far fetched for my liking. It was a quick easy read but unfortunately I expected more

I really liked this one. The narrator was good, and it felt pretty good paced. An audiobook usually takes me around a week, but I finished this one in a day!

2.5 ⭐
Will Amy survive the night? Medical student Amy is doing a night shift at Ward D, a psychiatric ward in Long Island. Amy is anxious and on edge the whole night and rightfully so when people go missing and weird things are happening.

This is two timelines alternating format, 8 years apart and we get to know the characters' backgrounds from these flashbacks.

Two out of two books by McFadden and I'm seeing a pattern with her MCs in both of the books I read, the other being "The Inmate". I feel the leading ladies are a bit dense despite the one here is a med student. Amy's insensitive IMO to refer patients as "crazy", really? I understand if the bad characters say that but not from the MC. There was no jaw-dropping twist for me this time.

Ward D is a fast-paced and a quick listen/read psych thriller. I actually prefer The Inmate over this one. The audiobook is enjoyable enough. Leslie Howard did a fantastic job amping up the suspense with her narration so I'll give McFadden another go!

This was pretty good actually. I'm usually good at figuring these out but I didn't have this one pegged

this book was so good! I finished it in less than a day. I was completely wrong about how it ended. One part I was semi right about, but the rest was a total surprise to me. I also enjoyed the format of the whole book going through just one night. Such a great read.

4.5/5 ⭐
Ward D was a fantastic book! I don't usually read/enjoy mystery thrillers, but I was so intrigued by this one. It truly kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. I also did not expect that plot twist at the end. This was the first book I've read by Freida McFadden, and I can honestly say id didn't disappoint. Looking forward to reading more by her!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a quick spooky read. 👻

Thank you NetGally for providing me a copy of the audiobook.

A nurse, Amy, has to spend her shift locked in the psych ward with some very aggressive patients on Ward D. While not all of them have a history of violence, there are a few who came in after being arrested for violent crimes. Only a few minutes into her shift, patients are chattering about “not making it through the night.” What could this mean? It’s a suspenseful ride for her 12 hour shift, will she survive?
I will start off that I love Freida McFadden. I’ve read several of her books. I love how quickly I get sucked in and speed through them. This book for me has a great story but it wasn’t a favorite of hers, which is fine! They can’t all be favorites. I still flew through it and enjoyed the audiobook version enough to buy the physical for my shelf.
Thank you Freida McFadden, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC audiobook for Ward D. Leslie Howard did a fantastic job narrating the story and even magnified the spooky parts. #NetGalley #DreamscapeMedia #FreidaMcFadden

The majority of this book was actually really great and unpredictable in its twists and turns. However, the ending was so disappointing and really let me down.

~This audio book was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I am thankful for the opportunity to have received a free copy of this Audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Freida's books are always just an automatic read for me so I was excited to get my hands on this new one.

Amy has to spend the night on Ward D, a mental health unit. She's dreading it and I couldnt really blame her. As the night progresses she becomes more and uneasy with what is going on.

This was en ejoyable listen and I rate the audiobook 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars.

Narration was great, as always.

#WardD #NetGalley