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Shadows in the Ward
Anna Gilman is at the top of her class in graduate school and is about to start her internship in psychiatric nursing at Westborough State Hospital; however, when she arrives, her supervisor, Valerie Martin, warns her not to settle in. With Valerie’s words ringing in her ears and a new group of patients arriving, Anna begins to sense that something isn’t quite right about the asylum. Peder Roderick is a handsome, enigmatic literature professor who has been in and out of asylums for most of his adult life. For some reason, he has his eye on Anna who is well aware that Peder has a history of violence. As Anna struggles to keep her increasing uneasiness and anxiety at bay, Peder pursues her relentlessly, tormenting her and sending her spiraling out of control until Anna realizes that nothing at Westborough State Hospital is what it seems.
308 pages, Paperback
Published October 24, 2016
11 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Anderson
9 books119 followersKate Anderson is a special education teacher and professional photographer. She has taught in institutions for less than pleasant children for nearly twenty years and has written two nonfiction volumes on the history of insane asylums in New England, having visited and photographed more than forty such institutions.
She lives in Feeding Hills with her boyfriend, two beagles, and an overweight cat who figures heavily on both her blog and her Instagram feed.
She lives in Feeding Hills with her boyfriend, two beagles, and an overweight cat who figures heavily on both her blog and her Instagram feed.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 20, 2017
“Shadows In The Ward” (2017) is Katherine Anderson’s gripping novel of psychological intrigue that takes place in a 19th century historical asylum setting; this follows her notable novel “Hospital Hill” (2016). As a historian, Anderson has thoroughly researched and photographed abandoned state facilities/asylums combining true facts with her well written story lines and believable characterizations. Ms. Anderson is a special education teacher, and lives in Massachusetts.
Westborough State Hospital (est. 1848-2010) was surrounded by lush farmland and was located on Lake Chauncy, in Eastern Massachusetts. Anna Gilman arrived there by taxi to begin her psychiatric nursing internship for graduate school, staying at the old nurse’s dormitory located at Paine Hall. Anna had a great deal of support and was supervised by her director Valarie Martin, and Dr. Harper Westcott, a psychiatrist. Initially Anna seemed to be doing well in the program, until Peder Roderick arrived from Medfield State Hospital. Downsizing associated with deinstitutionalization began, with the transfer of patients to Westborough from other state hospitals.
Peder had an immediate connection and keen interest in Anna, and seemed to stalk her. At first, she didn’t seem to mind. Although he suffered from acute schizophrenia, he had graduated from Harvard, and once was a professor that taught American Literature. At 35, Peder was very handsome, carried himself well, not like other heavily medicated patients that shuffled around on the wards. Peder looked and acted so normal. After Peder sat with Anna in the cafeteria one afternoon during lunch, she later learned more about his dark visions of death, doom, and violent tendencies. Anna realized she would professionally need to keep a distance, despite her mixed feelings for him.
As readers learned more about Anna’s past sheltered background, living with her devoted aunt, following her mother’s mysterious death and her father’s abandonment; the story begins to unfold in an alarming way. The descriptions of the crumbling, sectioned off parts of the deteriorating asylum are chilling and eerie. Nothing was as it seemed, as Anna fought to maintain her mental stability in this emotionally charged psychological thriller.
Westborough State Hospital (est. 1848-2010) was surrounded by lush farmland and was located on Lake Chauncy, in Eastern Massachusetts. Anna Gilman arrived there by taxi to begin her psychiatric nursing internship for graduate school, staying at the old nurse’s dormitory located at Paine Hall. Anna had a great deal of support and was supervised by her director Valarie Martin, and Dr. Harper Westcott, a psychiatrist. Initially Anna seemed to be doing well in the program, until Peder Roderick arrived from Medfield State Hospital. Downsizing associated with deinstitutionalization began, with the transfer of patients to Westborough from other state hospitals.
Peder had an immediate connection and keen interest in Anna, and seemed to stalk her. At first, she didn’t seem to mind. Although he suffered from acute schizophrenia, he had graduated from Harvard, and once was a professor that taught American Literature. At 35, Peder was very handsome, carried himself well, not like other heavily medicated patients that shuffled around on the wards. Peder looked and acted so normal. After Peder sat with Anna in the cafeteria one afternoon during lunch, she later learned more about his dark visions of death, doom, and violent tendencies. Anna realized she would professionally need to keep a distance, despite her mixed feelings for him.
As readers learned more about Anna’s past sheltered background, living with her devoted aunt, following her mother’s mysterious death and her father’s abandonment; the story begins to unfold in an alarming way. The descriptions of the crumbling, sectioned off parts of the deteriorating asylum are chilling and eerie. Nothing was as it seemed, as Anna fought to maintain her mental stability in this emotionally charged psychological thriller.
November 7, 2016
The story revolves around the world within a mental health facility. It brings you so fully inside an institution and the people touched by that place. Scary, wonderfully scary.
March 8, 2017
Shadows in the Ward is the latest novel by Katherine Anderson, author of Hospital Hill. This particular book combines elements of suspense, mystery and thriller in unique measures to create an unusual reading experience. The book follows Anna Gillman, who having finished her Masters program, begins her internship at Westborough State Hospital as a psychiatric nurse.
The normal challenges of internships and beginning a career are soon overshadowed by larger problems. A patient with a fixation on Anna. Anna sleepwalking and ending up in the same room in an unused part of the hospital. Anna’s discover that her mother may have been a patient at Westborough. Her family history is complicated and convoluted. The events occurring around her at Westborough are not making anything clearer. Anna’s mother has been missing from her life since she was a child. So when these events begin happening Anna is clueless about her own history. “Of course children never imagine there will come a day when their parents won’t be around to answer those questions.” This is a very powerful statement. I lost my mom at 26 and my dad at 39. There were so many things I never thought to ask my mom about until later in my life after she was gone.
Ms. Anderson creates characters who seem real and seem to inhabit the same reality the reader does. Case in point, “Harper told Anna about a disastrous blind date she had gone on a couple days before and Anna laughed heartily as Harper recounted the end of the night indecision of kiss, handshake, or hug; she described it as an embarrassing adult version of rock, paper, scissors.” That sounds exactly like a conversation my friends and I could have. Especially the rock, paper, scissors part. Harper and Anna have a very real friendship. It resonated with me as a reader.
The mood is set so well. “An asylum ward at night was a strange thing. You knew it was night because it was dark outside, but still there was a glow of light that never went away no matter how late it was. There was the pool of fluorescence given off by the nurses’ station, the soft flickering of the safety lights high up where the wall met the ceiling.” Another passage I loved was , “The floorboards were beginning to warp from moisture that was slowly seeping in through the holes in the roof that were growing and spreading like a disease, leaving the wards exposed to the elements.” There are just so many nice images and atmospheric touches that I have come to expect from Ms. Anderson.
There is also a touch on a very real issue in our world. “Anna had a hard time agreeing with the concept of deinstitutionalization. From everything she had read in the library she had learned that communities hadn’t been ready to receive hundreds of mentally ill patients being released from the asylums.” This is an excellent point. There was no plan for how to deal with patients once deinstitutionalized. We are still reaping the seeds of that today.
The book has a wonderful set of plot twists that keeps the reader on edge and unsure until the very end. I really enjoy Ms. Anderson’s writing. Her characters are relatable. Her mysteries are not predictable and much more enjoyable because of that. My major enjoyment is just the rich atmosphere she creates through her use of language and phrasing. I recommend Shadows in the Ward for a read that is sure to raise goosebumps.
The normal challenges of internships and beginning a career are soon overshadowed by larger problems. A patient with a fixation on Anna. Anna sleepwalking and ending up in the same room in an unused part of the hospital. Anna’s discover that her mother may have been a patient at Westborough. Her family history is complicated and convoluted. The events occurring around her at Westborough are not making anything clearer. Anna’s mother has been missing from her life since she was a child. So when these events begin happening Anna is clueless about her own history. “Of course children never imagine there will come a day when their parents won’t be around to answer those questions.” This is a very powerful statement. I lost my mom at 26 and my dad at 39. There were so many things I never thought to ask my mom about until later in my life after she was gone.
Ms. Anderson creates characters who seem real and seem to inhabit the same reality the reader does. Case in point, “Harper told Anna about a disastrous blind date she had gone on a couple days before and Anna laughed heartily as Harper recounted the end of the night indecision of kiss, handshake, or hug; she described it as an embarrassing adult version of rock, paper, scissors.” That sounds exactly like a conversation my friends and I could have. Especially the rock, paper, scissors part. Harper and Anna have a very real friendship. It resonated with me as a reader.
The mood is set so well. “An asylum ward at night was a strange thing. You knew it was night because it was dark outside, but still there was a glow of light that never went away no matter how late it was. There was the pool of fluorescence given off by the nurses’ station, the soft flickering of the safety lights high up where the wall met the ceiling.” Another passage I loved was , “The floorboards were beginning to warp from moisture that was slowly seeping in through the holes in the roof that were growing and spreading like a disease, leaving the wards exposed to the elements.” There are just so many nice images and atmospheric touches that I have come to expect from Ms. Anderson.
There is also a touch on a very real issue in our world. “Anna had a hard time agreeing with the concept of deinstitutionalization. From everything she had read in the library she had learned that communities hadn’t been ready to receive hundreds of mentally ill patients being released from the asylums.” This is an excellent point. There was no plan for how to deal with patients once deinstitutionalized. We are still reaping the seeds of that today.
The book has a wonderful set of plot twists that keeps the reader on edge and unsure until the very end. I really enjoy Ms. Anderson’s writing. Her characters are relatable. Her mysteries are not predictable and much more enjoyable because of that. My major enjoyment is just the rich atmosphere she creates through her use of language and phrasing. I recommend Shadows in the Ward for a read that is sure to raise goosebumps.
June 13, 2024
I absolutely loved this book! I could have never guessed what was going to happen in this story, it really kept me on the edge of my seat.
February 1, 2025
Both Shadows In The Ward and Hospital Hill were exceptional historical mysteries thay are based in a mental health institution. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and how they flowed into Hospital Hill as well. I didn't expect either of their endings, and I would highly suggest adding both to your TBR even if historical reads aren't your usually go ro because they're not mine either and I'm so glad ai gave them a chance because ai couldn't put them down.
December 1, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this spooky tale, and I will miss all of the characters. The author draws you in with her incredible attention to detail and the depth of her characters that jump right off the page. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a chilling story, with all sorts of twists and turns!
November 25, 2020
When I write reviews about books, I try to maybe give a gist about what the book is about, what I liked about the characters, and how the book made me feel.
I hope I can do this book justice, because it literally left me feeling gutted. Not in a bad way, so please don't take that the wrong way.
This book is a prequel to Hospital Hill, but it can be read as a stand alone as well. Valerie Martin from book 1 is in this story, but this mainly pertains to Anna Gilman and how she comes to Westboro State Hospital, which was were Valerie Martin had left in book 1 to return to Northhampton State Hospital. Anna comes in contact with a patient named Peder Roderick. He is relentless at getting close to Anna as she keeps trying to keep him at a arms length. There is multiple plot twists in this book. I was immediately hooked. One thing I do like most about this book, though is that you do learn alot about mental illness and the different forms of mental illness. I have to brag on Katherine Anderson (Benson).She is such a talented, articulate writer. Her passion for asylums, their history, and architecture just flows off the pages so wonderfully. You can tell that as she wrote the story she had such a great respect for it all. This book is filled with mystery, suspense, and thrills. It is definitely a book that has touched me in a way that is so hard for me to put into words. As you can tell by this long review, it is usually not hard for me to express my thoughts and feelings.
I hope I can do this book justice, because it literally left me feeling gutted. Not in a bad way, so please don't take that the wrong way.
This book is a prequel to Hospital Hill, but it can be read as a stand alone as well. Valerie Martin from book 1 is in this story, but this mainly pertains to Anna Gilman and how she comes to Westboro State Hospital, which was were Valerie Martin had left in book 1 to return to Northhampton State Hospital. Anna comes in contact with a patient named Peder Roderick. He is relentless at getting close to Anna as she keeps trying to keep him at a arms length. There is multiple plot twists in this book. I was immediately hooked. One thing I do like most about this book, though is that you do learn alot about mental illness and the different forms of mental illness. I have to brag on Katherine Anderson (Benson).She is such a talented, articulate writer. Her passion for asylums, their history, and architecture just flows off the pages so wonderfully. You can tell that as she wrote the story she had such a great respect for it all. This book is filled with mystery, suspense, and thrills. It is definitely a book that has touched me in a way that is so hard for me to put into words. As you can tell by this long review, it is usually not hard for me to express my thoughts and feelings.
January 8, 2018
I met this author briefly at the Boston Book Festival and requested both of her books from the local library. Unfortunately Hospital Hill is so badly edited and laid out that I couldn't read it; while Shadows in the Ward also had some topological errors and such, I enjoyed it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised by the twist in the middle; I had caught some signs of something being off in the first half, but still didn't see it coming! I can see purchasing this book and rereading it at some point in the future.
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February 2, 2026Trigger warning for madness, mental health, murder, etc.
This story started out strong. I don't know if I have an older copy or what but there were so many typos and they detracted from the story. By the second part I was losing interest and almost set it down.
Contrary to what the cover says, this is not a "must read." It's very depressing and has an unsatisfying ending.
This story started out strong. I don't know if I have an older copy or what but there were so many typos and they detracted from the story. By the second part I was losing interest and almost set it down.
Contrary to what the cover says, this is not a "must read." It's very depressing and has an unsatisfying ending.
September 2, 2023
I had put out a request in my fb book group for a book similar to Shutter Island. The person who recommended this book did NOT let me down. While alot was predictable (as with Shutter Island) the story itself was still an awesome ride. Highly recommend and will be reading Hospital Hill immediately.
August 24, 2017
Great Read
This is the second book of Ms Anderson's I have read. I am looking forward to reading more from her in the future.
This is the second book of Ms Anderson's I have read. I am looking forward to reading more from her in the future.
November 6, 2025
Super entertaining and creepy read. Highly recommend!
November 27, 2025
A very good story, with a great twist. I admittedly did struggle to get through it since I hated a character so much, however it was worth struggling through the hard parts to get to the end.
December 2, 2025
Great read. Love the setting in Western Ma and the historical context of where the story takes place!
December 10, 2016
the story & characters were both great, & the ending was unexpected. however, there were A LOT of grammatical/spelling errors. so many in fact, that some sentences didn't even make sense. (it does not say it is a Arc of anything, so to me, that is unacceptable.)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews