True confessions.. I’m a McFan. A full-blown Freida McFadden fanboy; someone who has read all 19 of her published books, including three categorized as “Women’s Fiction.” If she re-wrote the phone book, I’d read it–and enjoy it.

This makes writing an unbiased review difficult.

I received an ARC (Advance Review Copy) of Freida’s latest book, Ward D. After one night of interrupted sleep, and a break for a few hours watching The Masters golf tournament, it was finished.

Not surprisingly, I found it terrific.

All the typical superlatives fit McFadden’s books. “Unputdownable.” “Page-turner.” “Gripping!” “Twists at every turn.” Ward D is certainly all of the above.

Here’s the marketing blurb:

That’s all you’re going to get from me on the plot / storyline. Anything else I could say could very well be a spoiler, and no spoilers allowed here!

Medical student Amy Brenner is spending the night on a locked psychiatric ward.

Amy has been dreading her evening working on Ward D, the hospital’s inpatient mental health unit. There are very specific reasons why she never wanted to do this required overnight rotation. Reasons nobody can ever find out.

And as the hours tick by, Amy grows increasingly convinced something terrible is happening within these tightly secured walls. When patients and staff start to vanish without a trace, it becomes clear that everyone on the unit is in grave danger.

Amy’s worst nightmare was spending the night on Ward D.

And now she might never escape.

That’s all you’ll get from me about the plot/storyline. Anything else could be a spoiler, and no spoilers allowed here!

Written in a (non-confusing) dual timeline, the story progresses swiftly. I was about 15% into the book when I first thought, “I know how this is going to end.” I changed my mind during the read about, I don’t know, maybe twenty times? Turns out, I was wrong twenty times.

Typical.

Ward D grabbed my attention from page 1, and held it until literally the last line of the epilogue. (Whatever you do, do not skip the epilogue!)

If you want a highly entertaining read that will keep you guessing and turning pages well into the night, you should read Ward D.

I can’t say it’s the best of Freida’s books. That’s because virtually every time I’ve finished one of her books I used to say, “That’s the best of Freida’s books.” That phrase tends to lose effectiveness after twenty times…

Now I just say, “Well, she did it again.”

And I anxiously await her next work.

Highly recommended!

Release date May 8, 2023. Available on Amazon, and Kindle Unlimited.

Special thanks to Freda McFadden, NetGalley, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing the Advance Reader Copy of Ward D. This review is my honest and personal opinion.

Main image credit: Yours truly via Midjourney’s Artificial Intelligence.

Read other reviews here:

Amazon reviews for Ward D. (Available after publication)

Goodreads reviews for Ward D

Buy Ward D on Amazon. Preorder now. To be published May 8, 2023.

Pondering Books Rating:

Other PonderingBooks reviews of Freida McFadden’s work:
The Gift