Review: Ward D by Freida McFadden

Author: Freida McFadden
Publisher: Hollywood Upstairs Press
Publication Date:  May 2023

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.

I love when a book goes into a completely different direction than I am expecting.  That is exactly what Ward D did.  It involves Amy, a medical student, who is assigned to an overnight shift on Ward D.  It's a inpatient mental unit.  Despite her reservations, she agrees.  She realizes quickly that something is not right.

I really enjoyed this thriller.  The reveal came out of nowhere for me, but in a good way.  I was so sure it was going to be something completely different!  I loved finding out the truth along with Amy.  I also loved that I had no idea if she was a reliable narrator or not.  I don't want to spoil it, so I'll just recommend reading it.  The ending was perfect! I highly recommend!

Review: Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Author: Freida McFadden
Publisher: Hollywood Upstairs Press
Publication Date: September 2022

Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams.

But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.

In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.

Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels.

And then Tricia reaches the final cassette.

The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth.

Never Lie is a closed room thriller that took me by surprise.  It involves newlyweds, Tricia and Ethan.  They end up being stranded in a house that belongs to a missing psychiatrist.  Tricia finds a secret room full of Dr. Hales taped sessions. As she listens, Tricia begins to uncover what really happened to Dr. Hale.

This is a hard book to review without spoilers.  There were a lot of twists and the ending was surprising.  I found the atmosphere of the house very creepy.  I loved not knowing who or what to trust.  Events happen that have you wondering if they are a part of reality or the delusion of the characters.  I'm going to leave it there.  It's be not really knowing more than that.  I definitely recommend this one.