Member Reviews
ARC Review Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!
I have been so looking forward to reading this, because, let's be honest, Lucy Foley DOESN'T MISS. The Queen of multiple POV suspense comes with a thriller so good I couldn't put it down.
The story takes place during dual time lines. One during the summer of 2009 and the other the summer of 2025 in a town nestled along the Dorset coastline in a town called Tome (pronounced Tomb). Tome Manor is a beautiful estate owned by an ultra wealthy family who keeps their grandchildren every summer. Frankie (girl) and the twins, Hugo and Oscar. Bella is a Tome local and her family is staying at Tate's Holiday Park, a lower income area. Bella meets Frankie and starts hanging out at The Manor most days as they become close. Frankie is a little dark and off, and so are her brothers and Bella logs all of the events of that summer in her journal, including what Frankie calls "Midnight Feasts". Frankie enjoys taking late night strolls through the woods, against the better judgement of the locals, and a lot of disturbing things happen.
Fast forward to 2025 when Fransesca opens The Manor, an ultra luxurious resort and spa for the super rich. The grand opening features drinks, live music and a summer solstice feast. To Francesca's demise, the locals are less than thrilled about the opening of the Manor and are seeking retribution against the guests and the owner. While Francesca tries to maintain her composed demeanor, she sees someone is out to sabotage her grand opening and dig up her dark secrets.
Entangled in all of this is a long kept secret haunting Bella and Francesca, and someone is wanting to bring it to the surface. With a clever homage to "The Birds" and folklore, there's the local legend of Birds that seek revenge on people who do wrong in their town. This was such an interesting additive to this story and gave it almost a magical or pagan complex. This is a perfectly blended cocktail of lies, family trauma, legend, mystery, secrets and juicy thriller. Lucy has given us an unputdownable thriller that I ATE UP. 4.5 STARS AND HAPPY READING.
The Midnight Feast takes place during the opening weekend of a luxury hotel, The Manor, in a small coastal town. As Francesca Meadows prepares to open her carefully curated establishment, tensions rise between the visitors and the locals, and Bella, a ghost of her past, comes to finally confront her on an incident from 15 years prior. The novel switches from multiple perspectives including Francesca, her husband, Bella, a dishwasher, a detective, and an old journal.
This was a slow build but once I got a third of the way in, I was hooked. The amount of perspectives was confusing and chaotic at times, but the more I read, the more I caught on. A few plot points could have used more clarification and fleshing out, specifically with Francesca's brothers. The ending was outlandish and almost wrapped up too neatly, but overall it was an interesting story that held my attention.
The Midnight Feast comes out on June 6, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.
I'm torn on this one.
Enjoyed it a lot more than the last Lucy Foley book I read, probably because murder mystery at a posh resort surrounded by ancient, debatably haunted woods, is definitely my kind of story. Thought the alternating timelines and multi POVs did a good job at building suspense while unraveling past and present mysteries - I was so locked in for the last third of the book, waiting for some justice to be served. I was very taken in by the drama of it all.
But in the end, I felt like there was just too much going on. Can't totally explain it without spoilers, but... did every single person need to unveil their depeest darkest secret over the span of like 15 pages?
Also would love to know more about wtf is up with the birds.
But overall had more fun with this than most of the thrillers I've read recently - 3.5ish
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy in return for an honest review. The main problem I had was that there were so many characters that at times it got a little confusing. The ending was a fun ride though and I didn’t see it coming.
Phenomenal suspense and twists for another Lucy Foley mystery! I loved Lucy Foley's writing!! She is so good at twists and turns of the plot and making her readers guess again. I loved the way the story alternates between current and past events. Two girls from different classes intersect for a summer at an old manor house and tragedy results. In this part of the English countryside, the locals refer to "The Birds" as a supernatural force that seeks justice. Nearly 20 years later, there is a new hotel at the old manor house and the people are reunited by the opening celebrations. Will the Birds seek revenge? **Spoilers ahead for those who wish to stop here.
I loved the ending, the surprise reveal of the two brothers and their reunion. The missing body was a good red herring, I was sure it was the older brother Jake. I think the way Foley weaves together all the stories of the characters is masterful. Truly loved this book even more then THE GUEST LIST, which was my favorite until now. Fabulous suspense and making the reader feel the emotions of the villains and the hero and heroine. I found the atmosphere very well done and I could picture the woodlands and the fire. I would definitely recommend this for bookclubs and people who like multiple povs.
The Midnight Feast might be my favorite Lucy Foley book to date! The Manor is a brand new luxurious resort that has been built in the woods. It's the Grand Opening and the woods hold many secrets for the Manor's Proprietor, her husband, one guest, and the kitchen's dish washer. Full of twists and turns, this book will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat the entire way through.
I love Lucy foley books! This one was no exception! Although they follow the same formula I love it every time!
📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 The Midnight Feast is poetically written, bringing an immersive experience to the reader. Amidst the beautiful writing is a thick air of unease that draws you in…The Manor is open for business, offering a retreat away from the hustle and bustle of life yet ominous signs appear. And not everyone will survive this Midsommar celebration. Centered around the summer solstice, a time when light is abundant, darkness is lurking in the woods. Paganism and spirituality runs deep throughout the book, illustrating a beautiful connection with nature yet with an ominous tone. The plot is a slow and steady build yet the writing is just so beautiful and mysterious that it moves the story along seamlessly. When the pieces of the puzzle come together, it is an absolute treat.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve read all of Lucy Foley’s past mystery books and have liked all of them. This one, unfortunately, was not one of my favorites. I found the plot line to be a little too over the top, and the main antagonist a bit too outlandishly cartoonish, for me to really enjoy it as I have her other ones. That being said it’s not necessarily a bad book, and I’m sure others will be able to appreciate it more than I did. I would absolutely recommend we order it for the shop, as I believe it will be a hit seller, but I don’t know that I would personally recommend it to customers. I will, however, continue to read her books in the future.
The deliciously twisty new locked room murder mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List and The Paris Apartment.
A decent by the book murder mystery. Some cool ideas and thoughts here, but nothing too new or original. If you're a fan of these types of books you'll probably find plenty to like here. I just am not really the target audience for this genre...
Lucy Foley’s books are fairly formulaic. Some of the twists are eyeroll worthy. If you can suspend disbelief, this is fine beach read.
Thank you for this advance copy. I really enjoyed this book. It kept me up all night reading, I just could not stop!
Welcome to The Manor, a luxury retreat hidden away cliffside for those looking to enjoy nature. From the outside it is a beautiful setting, lush gardens, intricate architecture, and quiet. The guests have secrets though. Someone winds up dead at the bottom of the cliff. Was it an accident or did someone get to close to finding out the truth?
Two words, slow burn. Lucy Foley tells stories with multiple POVs and timelines. The character building is well done, but it also makes the story drag at points. There's a strong sense of location in this story, but at the same time there's just a lot going on. I felt like I was being drug along by the middle of the book. The last 30 pages were great. It just took a long time to get there. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.
Locked room mysteries are my favorite so I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to check this one out. I’m usually decent at figuring out what’s coming, but this book surprised me! I really enjoyed it.
I had my reservations at the beginning. The Midnight Feast didn’t immediately draw me in the way Foley’s books usually do. However, sticking it out is absolutely worthwhile. If you’re asking me, this is Foley’s best book yet.
The character connections that are usually present in Foley’s books is strong and it is so unique in The Midnight Feast. The identity puzzle is incredible—I consider myself quite good at picking up on the clues an author leaves behind and this book gave me not one, but two surprises. Some of the writing was lost on me, an American, but not enough to lose the plot or not pick up on details.
Foley did extremely well at giving each POV their individual voices. Even when I forgot who each chapter was, I could parse it out by the middle of the book because their voices were so different from one another. The pacing was great and looking back, even the slow start at the beginning was okay given how the story played out. It needed a slow start to lay the groundwork.
Overall, The Midnight Feast is a 5/5 for me. The last paragraph of the book was *chef’s kiss* perfect. What a thrill to read it! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. I’ve already recommended it as an upcoming read to two people and I won’t stop there. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ooh This one took me for a loop. It took me a minute to get into it. A lot POV's which sometimes can be hard to follow but gave the story a lot of depth. I was intrigued and wanted to know how it was going to end.
I had some mixed feelings about this book, but overall it was a pretty good suspense novel. I liked the twists at the end.
Lucy Foley once again creates another fantastic mystery thriller. I’ve been continually impressed with her skill in this genre since I was introduced to her work through The Paris Apartment. In a genre that has become saturated, Foley once again stands out with The Midnight Feast. This was a refreshing story that kept the reader guessing and flipping pages.
Really enjoyed this one! Not my favorite of Lucy Foley's work, but a very solid addition to her catalogue. The ending felt a bit too easy (everyone is an undercover local), but the setting was A+. And the Birds! So creepy!
When a small, seaside town becomes the new center for a wealthy wellness retreat, a lot of bad blood and old secrets are unearthed.
Lucy Foley has done it again! Another thriller/suspense novel that reads like a movie. While the multiple points of view and timelines were occasionally a little tricky to transition between, this was a fabulous read. I loved all the cascading twists and reveals and how some were right there under the surface while others I would have never guessed at. This one needs to be made into a movie or mini-series ASAP. The Menu meets Agatha Christie vibes were so devilishly fun! I'd say this is a 4.5 star read because my attention wavered a bit with some of the multiple points of view, but I'm rounding up to 5 stars for this one because, at the end of the day, it was just that good!