The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

There once was a horrible children's mental institution - grossly overcrowded and understaffed where the mentally disabled residents were starved, beaten, abused and made to sit in their own filth without medical care or education. Sounds like something out of a Dickens novel or third world country but this was New York state in the early 1970's.
When Sage discovers her twin sister was committed to the Willowbrook State School years ago and that she is missing she leaves immediately to find her. Her worst nightmare happens when unable to prove who she is and is admitted in her twin's place. Sent to the same hell that her sister Rosemary had been living in for years has Sage fighting to find a way out but she must also escape the serial killer who has been abducting and killing Willowbrook patients. The scariest part of this story is that it is based on true events- Willowbrook State School was real as was the serial killer who worked there. An intense story that will captivate readers of true crime as well as historical thrillers but be prepared for a long night reading with the lights on.
4 stars