Amy was a medical student who was assigned to an overnight rotation in psychiatry Ward D. She was very frightened but she had no choice. Cameron was her ex-boyfriend, also a med student, who had dumped her in favor of studying for an exam. He had swapped with another student to do the same rotation as Amy. Apparently, he was hoping to win her back. She had no desire to spend even one second with him, but again, she had no choice. The doctor on Ward D was Dr. Beck, and the nurse was Ramona.

Amy's ex-best friend, Jade, was also a resident in the ward. They had been best friends since elementary school, but once they got into high school Jade started doing really strange things that Amy didn't approve of. One of the things she did was to break into their trigonometry teacher's house and tape him to a chair. Then she went to pick up Amy and told her that she was going to kill him. Of course Amy wanted nothing to do with that and she fled the house, ran home and told her mother, after which her mother called the police. Jade was assigned to the psychiatric ward. Amy tried to visit her but Jade treated her like dirt. There was one thing about Amy that was peculiar. She visualized a little girl of about age 6 with blonde hair and a pink dress. The little girl talked to her, but didn't say anything kind. Amy told Jade about this and Jade thought she should be locked up in a psych ward.

There were many characters in the psych ward. There was spider Dan who thought he was Spider-Man, Mary, who spent her days and nights knitting, a Clint Eastwood look alike who always had saltine crackers on him, Manuel, who was insisting that his father was going to get him out, Damon Sawyer, who was considered violent and was locked away in seclusion and Will who had been admitted because he allegedly heard voices. As the night wore on, Will told Amy that he was a reporter and had come to do a story on the ward because one of their former patients told him there were strange things going on there. And there were most certainly strange things going on in the ward.

As the night wore on, Amy had decided that Damon had escaped from seclusion. There was a keypad on his door that she didn't know the code to so she poured water on an outlet and caused the power shortage. At which point she went to his room and when she opened the door she saw Cameron, Mary, an older man who turned out to be Dr. Beck and another woman that she didn't recognize. All of these people were dead. Manuel had been placed in the other secluded room and when she entered his room he was dead as well.

This story had all sorts of twists and turns, which I love in a good book. I did not figure out who the murderer was until the end. The author did an excellent job keeping me in suspense yet he storyline was easy to follow. The author's characters were truly believable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I gave it five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 STARS

Ward D is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. With unexpected twists and turns, it’s hard to put down, making it perfect for anyone craving a quick and exciting escape. While the story is enjoyable, some elements feel a bit predictable, earning it a solid 3.5 stars.

Like all Freida books this is a quick read and as long as you accept some pretty unbelievable situations you will enjoy this book. A young med student must spend the night in a psych ward of a hospital and as soon as the door locks her in she is nervous and suspicious of everyone and everything going on. Odd things start to happen and they keep happening. Then there are flashbacks to her teen years that explain her former friendship to a patient, and it all comes together in the end.
Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC.

This book gave me exactly what I came for. McFadden may not be winning any literary awards, but she knows how to pull you in and keep you guessing from beginning to end. This is yet another book that had me on the back foot all the way through and knocked me over the head during the final pages. Exactly what I was looking for!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced e-book reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. When it comes down to psychological thrillers, I typically find them to be fairly predictable however this is probably my favorite Frieda McFadden book as I did not see the plot twists coming! The premise of Ward D really hooked me because a lot can happen being locked in an overnight psychiatry unit! The main characters Amy Brenner’s mental health background really added to the intrigue - how does someone who hears and sees a little girl who tells them to hurt people end up in the type of position she is - not to mention her childhood best friend is a patient in the unit. Wow - blown away. Very well done.

In classic Freida McFadden fashion she hooks the reader right from the start. The twists and turns caught be off guard, you thought you knew where it was going but you didn't! Great read.

This latest book from McFadden is a 3/5 for being a riveting psychological thriller that was a fast read. I enjoyed most of the characters, plot twists, and all the suspenseful thrills. The story was good though a bit slow for a short book. McFadden is an author that I enjoy and this was a fun, twisty addition to her collection.
My favorite parts: The setting being a locked psychiatry ward, interesting patients who were not just caricatures of a "mental patient". Instead these were personalities who were copying with a mental illness but still intelligent individuals. (knitting needle lady!)

My least favorite parts: The staff, the main character, and her former best friend. These parts all felt rather one dimensional and didn't give me the feeling of a real psychiatry ward.

Overall if you are a McFadden fan pick this up, if you are new to her books I would recommend one of her stronger titles.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was hands down the best Freida book I've read so far. Genuinely had me creeped out/worried the whole time. Such a good time

I will read literally anything that Freida McFadden writes. While this was not my favorite of hers, it was still exceptional. She knows how to keep a reader engaged with so many twists and turns.

I couldn’t really get into this book. It was interesting but so unbelievable, which many people will like, just not by favorite. It’s well writing and intriguing and the ending was good.

I'm a Freida fan. 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 part of her studies. The book was faced-paced as usual. There are a few problematic issues with the book, but you really can't think about this one if you want to enjoy it. It is decent, but not my favorite McFadden book.
Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC to preview.

Freida McFadden does it again. She is the queen of twists and turns. From the beginning of the story until the end, you are held captive wondering what is real and who is telling the truth. I loved this book the first time I read it and cannot wait for other fans and readers to experience a rollercoaster of a ride

As this book is being republished under a different publishing company, right now is a great time to pick this one up.

** spoiler alert ** I'm usually a huge Frieda fan and most of her twists usually catch me a little bit by surprise.

I think I had my expectations set a bit too high with this one. I was waiting for this big huge plot twist to pull me in and make me rethink every scene in the book leading up to it but I didn't feel grabbed like that.

From the start, I was worried I was essentially reading a retelling of Shutter Island. That the mental hospital itself was all set to help the FMC unwrap some of her trauma, and we'd be met with some wild story about the FMC herself, instead... we find it's actually about some random best friend instead. Frieda leans into that a bit with her focus on how anxious and worried the FMC is in the ward when in reality.. she didn't have much of a reason to be that way.

I, like many of the other reviewers, was not super impressed with the portrayal of mental health in the book either. I was surprised given she had a professional in her family to consult with. I expected more on that end given that background.

YOU WILL. NOT BE ABLE TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN and if this is the first book you’ve read of McFadden’s you’ll be a loyal reader!! As always, her books are quick and suspenseful reads and she ALWAYS leaves you wondering “what just happened” at the end! Kudos for another GREAT book and thanks for the ARC!

Another book that is fast-paced and unputdownable by McFadden. I read this in a day, as I do with most of her books. I would however drop a star because the plot could’ve been better and if the writing was less repetitive at times. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so confused on why this book was on NetGalley, but then I learned it was previously self-published, and that this edition has been updated. I read the back of the book and knew I wanted to read the book. Mental health and wellness are near and dear to my heart. I really wanted to hear a thriller about a psych ward. I saw some reviews, but it is like I did not read the same book.

I think this is the second book I have read by this author so far. It was a very quick read, one that I really did not want to put down at all. I am sure I could have read it in one sitting. I did not see the changes coming, but I knew something was up- matter of fact I was telling a friend about something similar that I read in a non-fiction book last year.

Ward D by Freida McFadden is a psychological thriller full of suspense that will have readers fully engaged throughout. Medical student Amy Brenner is spending the night on a locked psychiatric ward as part of a required overnight rotation. Ward D is the hospitals inpatient mental health unit, and Amy’s worst nightmare. She has specific reasons for dreading this assignment. As the hours go by, something is not right. Patients start to vanish. Who will survive the night?

The characterization is well done. Amy likes to read, follows the rules, is smart, and she's a good listener. However, she is also impressionable. The other characters had the right amount of depth for their roles.

Those who enjoy psychological thrillers will likely enjoy this novel. I felt the book fell into this genre more than horror because it tended to use suspense, ambiguity, and Amy’s mental state more than graphic imagery and startling scares to create terror. However, there is also some of the latter as well.

Using flashbacks to eight years ago, the author eventually reveals the reasons for Amy’s anxiety for this assignment. While there are predictable elements in both timelines, there are also a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming. The pacing is fast and there’s little time to catch one’s breath before another event occurs that causes Amy to be fearful and wonder who she can trust.

Overall, this is a compelling and suspenseful story that kept me rapidly turning the pages. This is my first book by the author and I’m looking forward to reading more of her works.

Poisoned Pen Press and Freida McFadden provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for March 4, 2025.

This is a horror movie in book form, and I mean that as high praise. It’s a survive the night thriller following a medical student on her first night shift at the psychiatric ward. You’ve got Michael Myers Damon Sawyer and he’s not locked in there with them, THEY’RE LOCKED IN THERE WITH HIM! I could not help but think of the opening scene of ‘Malignant’ with like lightning crashing on an isolated facility and all hell immediately breaking loose. That is such a fun movie and I will recommend it until the day I die (which is hopefully not tonight in Ward D.) Anyway, this book is equally balls to the wall madness and that’s why it was so fun.
So just switch your brain off for once and let yourself enjoy a silly little thriller, because why not?

This was very mediocre and forgettable, but I was engaged in the story the entire time (which is how I feel about most Freida McFadden books that I read).

The synopsis is exactly what you get in this story, so if it sounds interesting, pick it up. There were some fun elements and twists but everything is very surface level and obviously written to “trick” the reader. And personally, I cannot stand when I am obviously being led to think the wrong thing in a mystery/ thriller. All facets of this book (the characters, development, plot, foreshadowing, twists, and writing) are very mediocre. But, i enjoyed that I could turn my brain off and just have a good time reading.

If you care about accurate, empathetic mental health representation, I would not recommend this. If it doesn’t bother you (which is totally fine!) you will probably have better luck with this book, as it will be easier to suspend your disbelief and become more immersed in the story.

TLDR: I had a fun time reading, but I will never think about this again.

Undeniably bingeable, but the storytelling feels padded with unnecessary repetition (as, I feel, do most of Freida's books). The portrayal of mental illness also feels shallow and very insensitive, especially given that the protagonist is a med student who should know better.