I gave myself a little time to digest this before reviewing because I didn't want to be too harsh, but the bottom line is I didn't enjoy it. Having previously loved the Hunting Party and the Paris Apartment, I was looking forward to this book, particularly because the island retreat setting seemed exciting. Unfortunately, that's the only part that was exciting for me. The characters were dull and some of them were a little too conveniently placed/unbelievable. I skimmed through a good portion of the book and did feel that the ending made up for much of the lackluster plot, but overall it didn't blow me away. Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for allowing me to review this ahead of print.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lucy Foley for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 2/5 Stars

While I really enjoyed some parts of this story, most other parts fell flat for me. It was very slow and I found myself checking out of the story.

A very good thriller full of twists and turns that is perfect for any lover of intense thrillers. The inclusion of the journal from the past was great. I loved learning the history between “Bella” and Francesca. I also loved not figuring out “whodunnit”

Lucy Foley has become a must-read author of mystery and suspense. 'The Midnight Feast' lands squarely between "The Guest List" and "The Paris Apartment' for me. Deeply appreciative of Foley's narrative style engaging character's point-of-view to tell the story, the addition of the diary entries was a treat. With a strong nod to Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds', readers are likely to accelerate their reading pace in
order to reach the satisfying conclusion quicker. This work will appeal to first-time Foley readers, as well as those who have read her earlier works.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest reviews.

I felt that this book had a bit of a slow start, but I definitely enjoyed the last 50% of it. The idea of the “birds” felt a little odd to me and I thought there was perhaps too much time invested in explaining and developing the setting and characters. That said, it turned out to be very useful in the end. There were some legitimate plot twists.

The POV jumped around a lot from different people to different times (before and after the Solstice and also farther back with the diary entries). I know many people who don’t enjoy this type of POV, but I really do and it worked for this particular book.

Lucy Foley’s new book, The Midnight Feast, opens with spectacularly sinister undertones and grabs your attention with a vigorous intensity. There was something quite different about this one from her other books. The Midnight Feast is witchy and darkly enchanting. It felt like I was reading the “eat the rich” vibes of Saltburn combined with the paganistic horror elements of Midsommar. Lucy Foley’s signature atmospheric storytelling is on full display here, and the deceptively idyllic coastal summer setting interposed with the creepy undercurrent of what’s actually going on creatives an interesting juxtaposition that’s hard to put down.

Enthralling as it is chilling, full of unlikable characters and building tension, this masterfully-woven slow-burn thriller effortlessly weaves together past and present to culminate in an epic story surprising until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow Books, and Harper Collins for allowing me to read an early copy of The Midnight Feast!

Normally, I can predict twists in the novels I read, but Lucy Foley generally does a good job of throwing me off the trail! I certainly was not expecting some of the twists this novel takes. It is certainly a book that takes a minute to get into, but once I got into it I was hooked and read through quickly to the end. The different character perspectives and jumping back and forth in time made it harder for the reader to make the connections we'd need to make to come to the right conclusions. I think Lucy did a great job with this one! I just wish it had been quicker to pull me in at the beginning!

The ancient woodland setting of this book is the perfect background for the creepy activities going on. The writing is so descriptive, I can easily picture the Manor and surrounding areas. The story is told from multiple viewpoints across two different timelines but I found it easy to follow what was going on. Lots of excellent twists and turns along the way and I enjoyed the slightly supernatural addition of The Birds to the story!

I wanted to like this book but just found it to be ok. The story and characters couldn't keep my attention. There are to many charcters and not enough details for me to feel a connection.

If you read The Guest List, you know Foley’s short chapter thrillers move fast and alternate narrators. In The Midnight Feast, Foley again uses these short chapters, timelines reminiscent of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, and a strong female lead to drive the mysterious thriller.

The high-end resort on the cliffs of Dorset transports the reader right away into the “pagan chic” of crystals, oils, and manifesting your own destiny.

The contrast of the uber rich hotel guests and the locals working or living near this resort give great tension and drama.

I could see a few dramatic reveals coming, but that didn’t make them less pleasurable. The story is high drama and jumps around between narrators and timelines just enough to reveal and conceal secrets and motivations of all the characters.

I would definitely recommend to Foley fans, or anyone looking for a fun, quick thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this ARC for a review.

I really enjoyed this Lucy Foley book. I am a fan of her writing, but in the past I felt like something was just missing from the endings. This book had a completely satisfying ending. I loved (and loved to hate) the different characters in this book. There were enough twists that I was able to figure out some of them and was completely blindsided by others. I also love a book with different timelines, and Foley did this really well without making it confusing.
If you're a fan of her work, this is a must read. If she's new to you start here! This one is great.
The part of this that wasn't believable is - does no one recognize anyone!? Your face doesn't change THAT much from when you're a teenager.
See more of my review on my bookstagram,

The Midnight Feast is a characteristic Foley novel where you'll get a multiple-POV mystery where past secrets mix with current troubles.

In this particular installment, we travel The Manor, a luxury resort set on the British coast where Francesca, the hotel's owner, is desperate to have a flawless opening weekend; Eddie, a local boy, is desperate to make enough money to become something of himself; Bella, a mysterious guest, is desperate to address past wrongs; Owen, Francesca's lover and The Manor's architect, is desperate to keep Francesca happy; and DI Walker, a cold case detective, is desperate to solve more than one murder.

With so many desperate people, trouble is sure to ensure.

What I like about Foley's books the most is that despite having multiple-POVs, she still keeps you on your toes. She anticipates what readers think will happen and twists it slightly on its head, ultimately producing a <i>satisfying</i> mystery read- something I've been desperate for lately.

Suspension of disbelief is a requirement, I'll warn, hence the four stars, but this proved to be a quick and attention-keeping new installment by Foley.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing an e-arc of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Foley is known to write her books with multiple character POVs and the way the story unfolds is like no other!! It took me a little bit to get the hang of the chapter flow, but once that happened I was hooked and couldn’t put this book down!

The story revolves around the Francesca opening a luxury manor retreat and a body is found on the shore by some locals. Who is the body and what happened at the resort? We also get the perspective of her husband, a guest, a worker and a detective, all of which play a critical role in the opening of the manor. We also get some flashbacks to Francesca as a teenager. Every detail is so important and plays out so well in the end.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Midnight Feast will be published June 18th.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

I want to preface this by saying The Guest List is one of my favorite books, and I had high hopes for The Midnight Feast, however, it didn't hit like I expected. For me the beginning was on the slower side, and I had trouble following the amount of characters throughout the story.

I will say the ending picked up nicely and the full unravel made it a satisfying finish!

This is my second Lucy Foley book. As with my last, I found the beginning to be a bit slow, however, when I realized what it was all setting up, it was great. Foley has an incredible way of writing an intricate story and making the twists and turns unexpected. I was floored with every reveal. By the second half of the book, I was totally hooked. Foley has done it yet again.

The Midnight Feast
Lucy Foley
Mystery
2024-34❤️❤️❤️❤️4.0
TBR June 17 PreOrder today!
📚📚 📚 In a small beach town hostile to outsiders, a posh resort is opening to world
wide attention. Heiress Francesca has left nothing to chance, using the best of everything, after redoing her grandparents manor she visited as a child. But not everyone at the opening is there for fun—some have sinister purposes and some have been lured there. 15 years ago, the same players had a party in the woods behind the manor with deadly consequences.
❤️❤️❤️JJ’s last words. Told in alternating points of view from multiple characters, over 3 timelines. This is a fun, twisty mystery with an ending to die for (and portions completely unexpected). I had a blast reading this one, and this will be a summer sizzler pool read! It is exactly what you want from a summer read—compelling characters seeking revenge, campfire legends come to life, and characters you just know you are going to hate. Throw this one in your pool bag, and turn your mind off!
📚📚Thanks to William Morrow (with NetGalley) publishing gave me access to this advanced readers copy on NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the ARC of The Midnight Feast in exchange for our honest review!

What we love most about Lucy Foley is that when we read her writing we can always picture the location and scenery vividly. This time as readers we find the murder mystery set during opening weekend at The Manor a new luxury resort destination built upon the edge of a woods inherited by Francesca Meadows.

Both Francesca and the woods share a secret past that fifteen years later will be revealed. Just like in Foley’s other works, you might think you know “whodunit” but you’ll be surprised! The twisty turns and spooky local folklore kept us guessing the entire time. Some twists we saw coming a mile away, others not so much! The cast is much smaller than that of The Guest List and we found that made it more enjoyable to follow each alternating POV. We noticed that it felt like a bit of a slower start but it all comes together and becomes un-put-downable by the end.

The Midnight Feast Pub date is June 18th which will be absolutely spot on for the summer solstice, midsommar vibes she so perfectly depicted in this book. We will probably always read a new Lucy Foley book and feel so lucky to have had the chance to read this one early!

The Manor is the hottest new hotel in England and seems like the perfect place to get away and relax among the rich and famous. But when mysterious things start happening, the Manor might just be too good to be true. Will Francesca be able to figure out who is ruining her opening weekend? Or does she deserve all that is happening to her?

I absolutely loved the Guest List by Lucy Foley and was so excited to read this in advance of its release date. And while it was engaging and a quick read (took me a day), it just wasn’t my favorite!

It felt like there were one too many story lines and a few too many characters. The story started off slow and really ramped up in the end, I feel like we could have done without the first 1/4 of the book!

Despite those qualms, I can acknowledge that many readers will enjoy this story! The way the characters all blend between past and present, the twists and turns at the end, it really is a classic thriller.

Thank you Netgalley and William Marrow for this advance copy! The cover is perfect!

The book centers around the opening of The Manor, a very luxurious retreat for those who want tranquility and pampering. The resort was built on the site of the owner’s old homesite, which appears to hold many secrets from the past. The local residents are not happy with the resort being opened up and all the wealthy, snobby visitors looking down on them. One guest, Bella, comes for the opening weekend and seems to have a hidden agenda. She also seems to know the owner, Francesca, from earlier times. Bella is a made up name and looking different than she did in her youth, hoping she won’t be recognized. The story switches between many POVs - mainly Bella, Francesca, Owen (Francesca’s husband), and Eddie (a local young man working as a dishwasher at the resort). Each character has secrets. The beginning of the book kind of dragged a bit for me, it was hard to get into the flow of the story as it jumped from different characters and different time periods. However, once I got into the flow of things, I found it very interesting and was eager to see how it would all end. The characters were well written and there was an air of supernatural beings/folklore that played into the story too. I give the book 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. It is set to be published June 18, 2024.

This is an excellent locked room murder mystery with perfect twists. It jumped between two timelines and was told through multiple POV's but it was easy to follow. The plot was fast paced and a quick read. I really enjoyed the clever plot.