Well, that was a lot. I really want to love Lucy Foley books. I have really enjoyed some and others I found difficult to get through. This one I loved the premise, but I was quickly annoyed with the execution.

If we are meant to hate most of the characters, and not feel like we really know some others then job well done. If you do not love multiple point of views, accompanied by timeline hops, this is not for you. I enjoy both of these things, but I am discovering that too much and together in the same story maybe not as much. I just kept wanting the actually action to happen. There was a lot of things almost happening to lead up and build suspense, but for me it didn't hit the mark. When things started happening all at once it seemed very chaotic.

I have a lot of questions about some of the logistics of the actions of some characters. I won't bring them up here as to not allow spoilers, but I just wonder how, why, and or why not in a lot of instances. Were all of the outcomes based on intent or were they accidents.? How did more people not get hurt in some of these crazy events? The lack of communication between characters seemed to also allow for a lot of the plot points to happen, but they seemed unrealistic to me.

There is a clear divide in the classes and I think that might be one reason I struggled to really fall in love with this story. The way people of both classes were described it almost seemed just negative throughout. We are snobby and spoiled if we are too wealthy, but we are filth and scum if we are too poor. I guess I read more to escape and this just felt like stuff that happens everyday and society turns a blind eye.

I did enjoy the towns people fighting back. It seemed like a losing battle for them, but they didn't just let it go. My favorite part was towards the end one single line in the book made me laugh. A simple statement from a man at the bar. It is not a horrible book I think it just really was not for me, and not what I wanted tot see from this author. I enjoyed it more than the Paris Apartment, but less than the three others I have read by her.

Lucy Foley has mastered the art of weaving together a number of different plot threads in one dynamic tapestry, as seen in her books The Guest List and The Paris Apartment. The Midnight Feast aims for a similar structure and feel, but it fell short for me for a few reasons.

But first, what I liked:
- I enjoyed the short chapters! It quickened the pace of this slow burn and I flew through it
- The scenery and the description of the luxury hotel
- The last 20% of the book I couldn’t put the book down

What I didn’t like
- I felt the book switched between too many character POVs (not really going into depth with any of them) and timelines, in addition to diary chapters which were a struggle to read and didn’t add much to the story. It felt messy at times.
- I’m not sure how much the folklore element really added to the book. It was used with a heavy handed amount of foreshadowing, with not enough of a payoff until the very end.

3.8, actually. I love Lucy Foley, but it took me a while to get into this book. A lot of characters, the diary pages did not pull me in. The last third of the story was better and finally made me connect with the story. But overall, not my favorite of hers. Thank you #netgalley for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Midnight Feast is what I would describe as a thriller with a healthy dose of fantasy. Following the opening of a resort the local townspeople have passionate feelings about, due to the sacred ground its on, we see a revenge plot carried out. We have several view points to follow with a local fable overlaying it with supernatural elements. Ultimately tragedy strikes but it’s up to the reader to work through the mystery and and separate fact from fiction (or maybe they are one and the same).

Very spooky but if you’re not willing to embrace the fantasy elements this may not be for you. If you are, this is a great thriller that will leave you chilled.

This book didn't work very well for me, I grew tired of the first-person alternating view points when some of their inner monologues started to seem cartoonish. When someone was evil, they were EVIL and very self-aware, which resulted in pretty one-dimensional characters. I did enjoy the local folklore aspects of the story and the conflict between the residents and the resort, I wish that would have been explored a little more. The story had good bones but could have used more fleshing out.

Book review

Lucy Foley returns to using the natural world as a character, in this case the ancient forests and coastline of rural Dorset, in this atmospheric thriller. The novel centers around a mysterious woman in disguise returning to her childhood vacation spot, now transformed into a luxury resort, to confront the traumatic events of fifteen years ago. Foley deftly switches narrators, including a compelling diary written by a teenager. No one is who they seem as tensions between old and new, rural and urban, rich and poor are explored. Elements of the supernatural and old rural folklore make the novel downright scary at times, and balances out the trite nature of some of the character “reveals.” This is a fun novel to read and a great improvement on Foley’s The Paris Apartment.

Lucy Foley never lets me down with a good suspense novel, The Midnight Feast is no different. A Fast paced thriller leaving you grasping for the truth, 5 stars for another Foley novel!

This goes down like sparkling cider on a boiling evening. I have some quibbles: a teenage boy whose voice never quite rang true, a nursery rhyme that never quite managed to be nearly as ominous as it was meant to be, but Lucy Foley excels at grasping mean girls and this sure had one of those! I wanted something easy, fast and satisfying and I got exactly that.

Loved Foleys newest mystery thriller. The ending was so satisfying, and I loved how the story came together and clicked perfectly into place like puzzle pieces. The only other Foley I had read before this was "The Guest List" on audiobook, which was fantastic, and I was happy to see that Foley takes the same method with "Midnight Feast", with the multiple POV's.

This was so disappointing. I have really ejoyed Foley’s other books, but this was a real letdown. Mostly loathsome characters, implausible and far-fetched events, unsurprising twists. It just didn’t work for me.

4 stars

Another win for Foley. I dont think this woman can miss. She knows how to write a totally engrossing “locked room” mystery/thriller.
As always there are plenty of twists to be had, and characters you can’t trust.
I loved it.

The Midnight Feast is a locked room murder mystery set at The Manor, which is an expensive retreat set in the English countryside. Francesca is the owner, along with her husband/architect Owen. Guest Bella is another POV as well as 19-year-old Manor worker Eddie. The story has multiple POVs and short chapters, but is actually more of a slow burn than I would have liked.
It's essentially a revenge story, with diary entries telling what happened in the past. There's also a touch of Pagan folklore (the "Birds") that doesn't really make any sense until the very end.
There were some interesting twists and turns, and it was altogether an interesting story.
Recommend if you like Foley's other books.

I absolutely love this multi-point-of-view in classic Lucy Foley fashion with twists and turns and a creep factor through bird references and the woods. Definitely a slow-burn, but one that makes you turn the page. "The Midnight Feast" will be the perfect summer read on the back porch or by the pool. Personally, I cannot wait to revisit this novel on audio.

What’s not to like about a book with a decade old murder mystery, pagan vigilantes, a seething take on wealthy wellness spaces, and tons of suspects? Told in alternate perspectives, The Midnight Feast is a fun twisty read. Lucy Foley is great at crafting a wild thriller with multiple twists, and this book is true to her abilities. It will be a great summer read for fans. Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a digital review copy of this amazing thriller.

Lucy Foley’s books have been hit or miss for me and, unfortunately, this was a miss. The best word I can use to describe it is chaotic. There was a general plot that I could mostly follow but there were so many characters, a lot of whom did not matter. Then there were the dual time periods. The past scenes were written in journal format, which actually would’ve worked pretty well if there weren’t so many extraneous plot points. The strangest and most disturbing part of this was the whole “birds” theme. Honestly, Foley could’ve forgone this altogether and it would’ve been much better. It distracted from the point of the overall plot and was completely unnecessary. Hoping her next book is better.

Not Foley’s best—but definitely captured my attention from start to finish. I could see this being popular, especially with Saltburn being such a hit (this feels semi-adjacent). I think The Birds were too confusing a concept that felt so abstract until they weren’t. I was worried we were getting into magical realism/sci-fi (a la The House Across the Lake), but it ended well and I definitely grasped the concept of The Birds by the end.

"The Midnight Feast" is a captivating novel delves into the secrets of The Manor, a luxurious resort with a dark past, where a locked room murder mystery unfolds over a momentous opening weekend.

As the story unfolds, Foley masterfully weaves together the intricate lives of her characters, each harboring their own clandestine agendas and closely guarded secrets. Against the serene backdrop of The Manor, an luxurious estate nestled in the idyllic Woodland Hutches, Francesca Woodland reigns supreme, her pristine facade concealing a labyrinth of dark mysteries. Alongside her is Owen, her younger husband, ensnared in the allure of her otherworldly charm but oblivious to the storm brewing beneath the surface as his own secrets threaten to surface.

But the tranquility of The Manor is shattered by the arrival of Bella, a mysterious figure from Francesca's past, determined to confront the ghosts that have haunted her for fifteen long years. Meanwhile, Eddie, a nineteen-year-old kitchen helper, finds himself caught in the crossfire of the brewing turmoil, torn between his loyalty to his new job and the tumultuous dynamics of his own dysfunctional family.

Foley's characters are so vividly drawn, so achingly human, that you'll find yourself utterly immersed in their struggles. Whether it's the conflicted Owen, the determined Bella, or the resilient Eddie, each character leaps off the page with a vitality that is truly electrifying.

So far, it might me my favorite Lucy Foley's book. Highly recommended for anyone craving a gripping and immersive read.

I really wanted to like this one but none of these characters were really likeable and the toss in at the end didn't really hit for me. Francesa was just such a flat character that when SPOILER happens, I wasn't shocked or awed. This is a fast read but just not well executed.

Lucy Foley keeps getting better and better. This is probably my favorite of her novels. She has an ability to weave together a compelling story with multiple threads that make it impossible to stop reading. Her pacing is breakneck and her plotting is tight. Thriller fans will be delighted by this tale of revenge, wellness gone wrong, and final accountability.

One luxury resort for the rich to go to escape reality. The locals hate it. I loved the creepy folk lore of the woods and the birds, the multiple points of views and a weekend where nothing goes as planned.

This is a locked room thriller that was a slow burn. The guest list is still my favorite by this author but this is the same concept.

Frankie thinks she can get away with anything because she is rich but she may have finally met her match.