⭐️ 𝔸ℝℂ ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎 ⭐️
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

sᥡᥒ᥆⍴sіs:
It’s the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests’ healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the “Manor Mule” cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.

But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. Just outside the Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called. Something’s not right with the guests. There’s been a fire. A body’s been discovered.


mᥡ rᥱ᥎іᥱᥕ:
The title and cover of this book initially drew me in, it gave me Midsomer vibes. This was my first Lucy Foley book and whoa what a book to start with! Multiple POVs, time hops, and twists everywhere is the perfect recipe for a good psychological thriller. I loved the time hops between past and present to be able to learn about the characters more deeply. Some of these characters were truly so sinister and I was invested from page one. I cannot wait for this book to come out for everyone to read tomorrow June 18! AND I get to meet Lucy Foley on publication day in Concord NH!

A multiple POV novel, surrounding an opening night at “The Manor”. When chaos starts to ensue, mysterious happenings occur, and you see an obvious disdain from the locals, you’re taken on an adventure. And, with the addition of journal entries from years earlier, you find that “The Manor” may just have a darker history than expected.

All in all I enjoyed this one, though it took 2/3s of the way or so for me to get invested. It was a lot slower in the beginning. But it did have lots of good, unexpected twists, and some mystery surrounding the birds. And the ending - did not expect that turn of events!

All in all, it was interesting.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, received from the publisher and author through NetGalley. However, all thoughts and views reflected are strictly my own opinions.

all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder at…The Midnight Feast.

This is a book out of my typical reading zone, but I've enjoyed other Lucy Foley books so I was excited to read this one.

"It’s the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests’ healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the “Manor Mule” cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.

But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. Just outside the Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called. Something’s not right with the guests. There’s been a fire. A body’s been discovered."

Foley smoothly skewers the self help guru trend while crafting a mystery that keeps you guessing and invested.

It flows between timelines smoothly and everyone is revealed in their own, unique ways. I gasped and said "What!?' at least three times while reading it.

Definitely a good read for the summer!

THE MIDNIGHT FEAST is the perfect mystery book. I liked the old historic house and all the POV's. It was definitely a fun book to read. I will be recommending it to my customers at Barnes & Noble.

Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

I've really enjoyed Lucy Foley's books in the past, so I was expecting to feel the same with The Midnight Feast. However, I found it to be a little more disorganized and tedious than prior works. There are many different perspectives, but the reader doesn't really know anything about each of them until over halfway through the book, so it was difficult to engage. Also, I found all of the characters quite flat and predictable. The twists towards the end of the book were quite good, and I appreciate Foley's ability to present shocking revelations without them feeling too far-fetched or removed from the plot.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Midnight Feast is a dark, dazzling, brilliant mystery novel by the incomparable Lucy Foley! She masterfully weaves a tale of lies, deceit and murder into an atmospheric thriller!
Told from multiple POVs and in dual timelines, the novel begins with a cryptic message referencing a black-robed flock, a feather, and a dead man in his cabin in the Woods.
This sets the tone for the mysterious activity centered around a holistic healing hotel/spa, “The Manor,” newly opened next to the creepy, dark Woods, and the nearby cliffs above a craggy English coastline.
In this classic locked-room format, all of the guests have secrets and agendas, and their characters seem to shape-shift as the story progresses. The excerpts of the “Summer Journal” of one participant add significantly to the elucidation of past events and their cumulative impacts on the present drama.
After a few slow but informative chapters introducing the major characters, the plot becomes compelling as it unfolds, covering just a few days leading up to and a day after the Summer Solstice “Midnight Feast”. It is certainly cleverly enhanced and given perspective by the insertion of the entries of the “Summer Journal” written 15 years prior.
While most of the characters are either unlikeable or seemingly not significant, they have depth, and their roles are well-played out, like actors on a stage.
I heartily recommend this new novel to readers who enjoy complex mysteries with multiple POVs and timelines, and a number of gripping twists that enhance the suspense, written by one of the best contemporary authors of complex thrillers.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I absolutely adore Lucy Foley’s writing and this book was no exception! She has a wonderful POV style that stays true in this book. The story was engaging and suspenseful and I could not put it down.

Centered around the opening of The Manor, an estate nestled in Woodland Hutches, this book includes elements of Folklore, a cynical view on class, and an ever present reminder that the secrets of our past can never truly be ignored. I found myself engrossed in the lives of each character and desperate to know the ending.

Foley’s other novels were my introduction to the Thriller Genre and I was so happy to get the opportunity to dive into this book as well. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to try out a new genre.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eARC! 4.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another classic murder mystery from Lucy Foley! Foley never seems to disappoint, providing readers with loads of entertainment and continually keeping us guessing until the end. Highly recommended! This was such a fun read!

This was like an uncomfortable vacation.
Frankie and her twin brothers live it up in summer of 2009. They are staying with their Grandfa and grandmama at their manor on the hill above the town of Tome (pronounced tomb). Bella, a girl from the caravan park is invited to join in the fun as a little pet project of Frankies. One of the twins warns her not to get too comfortable, Frankie will bore of her and cast her aside. They spend the summer talking about boys, reading magazines and tanning alongside the kidney shaped pool. At night they adventure into the woods and tell spooky stories of local folklore. Frankie creates trouble. And a lot of it. Something that even 15 years later, Bella can’t escape. Bella needs to let go of her guilt so that she can look her new baby daughter in the eyes and know that she’s good enough for her. She returns to the manor that’s been upgraded to a posh getaway for the rich and privileged. She isn’t looking for revenge. She’s looking for justice. This story wasn’t just Bella’s and Frankie’s. We explore Owen, and the detectives working the case. Oh. Didn’t I mention? During the inaugural weekend of the manor being opened for business, a midnight solstice party turns deadly.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Foley and Harper Collin’s Publishing for the Advanced reader copy. This was yet another great story from Lucy Foley. The story unfolded in such a way that so many characters histories were intertwined. Everything fit. I ended the book feeling perfectly satisfied.

Sometimes Lucy Foley hits it out of the park and other times she underwhelms. This was the latter. Small town setting, multiple points of view, murder mystery. I’d still recommend reading this but it didn’t stand out to me.

Lucy foley really never disappoints. I loved the small town setting and the flashback diary entries throughout the book. I always love a multiple POV and the about had of the characters were likable and easy to root for. The twists were fun without being completely unbelievable. This very much had the same themes as Kismet by Amina Akhtar which I really liked so although this story wasn’t truly original, it was still a lot of fun and a properly spooky summertime read. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This book is what you get when you combine Midsommar, M. Night Shyamalan vibes, and well…birds.

Secret pasts and hidden identities all come to light as Francesca creates the getaway of a lifetime on the land she inherited from her grandfather. As the grand opening of her resort draws near, Francesca’s past begins to resurface one person at a time.

This was my first book from Lucy Foley, and it unfortunately fell a little flat for me. This is probably just a personal preference, but I think more than 3 POVs is just too many to keep up with unless it is well written. If you include the notebook, there are 6 POVs total- and it was just tooooo many for my liking. On one hand it does keep the book from feeling monotonous, but on the other it just feels a little frazzling trying to keep up with who’s who.

The ending was unexpected, but mostly because it came out of nowhere and at no point could you have made the connections to this certain group of people lol. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it.

The Midnight Feast is the lastest from Lucy Foley, and is going to be one of the best thrillers of the summer. I had so much fun reading this book, and Lucy Foley knows how to create such vivid characters- including the setting, which becomes its own character. I had so much fun reading this story. My only issue was that there are a lot of characters, and it does make it difficult to keep up with all of the point of views, but other then that, it was super interesting throughout- great pacing and super addictive.

If you love Lucy Foley, you'll love all the elements this has to offer: multiple POVs, a shifting timeline centered around a Manor, creepy elements and a mystery that continues to build. It started off a bit slow for me (and the jumping timeline started a bit eh for me) but the last third of the book really picked up with some plot twists that I did not expect. I enjoyed this one more than The Paris Apartment. Solid 3.5 stars - recommend if you're a fan of thrillers or Foley!

first of all, thank you to netgalley and william morrow for providing me with this arc!

the midnight feast unfolds around the centerpiece location “the manor,” an over-the-top estate offering a meditative escape for the unfathomably rich from their everyday lives in the city. while the manor is introduced as a peaceful, almost charitable, getaway designed to cater to its guests’ every needs, it quickly becomes clear that the estate and the very land it has been built upon is concealing a dark, unknown history just waiting to be dug up.

through rapid changes of POV, foley provides insight into the backstories and hidden intentions of each character that finds themselves at the manor in the wake of the summer solstice. the alternating perspectives coupled with super short chapters is the perfect recipe to entice its readers into flying through the pages to piece together everyone’s motives and complicity in the tragedies of the past and present.

overall, i thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, page-turning mystery/thriller!

Lucy Foley back at it, proving yet again she knows how to write a solid, entertaining mystery.

This atmospheric murder mystery draws you into the story as well as the eery setting that is Tome. However the pacing of the story felt a bit off, with it slowing down in the middle before ramping up to the whirlwind ending.

Throughout the first half of the book I was convinced this was just going to be an entertaining albeit obvious mystery..wrong! Well some of my predictions did end up being accurate, Lucy definitely had some tricks up her sleeve with the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC.

Welcome to The Manor.
It’s opening weekend and everything has to be perfect. The aesthetic, food, service and atmosphere will be over the top…only the best for the guests that have spent a small fortune to stay in luxury. The Midnight feast will be one for the books and the reviews alone should have this place booked for months. ( not that it isn’t already).

Everything is set in place, yet sometimes things don’t go as planned.
Secrets and lies aren’t forgotten. The past is never left in the past. The guests might have a memorable weekend, but for all the wrong reasons.


Lucy Foley has created some of my favorite murder mysteries and this novel had me reading well past midnight. The characters were intriguing and Foley’s writing had me feeling like I was one of the guests along for opening weekend at The Manor. I love multiple POVs chapters and getting into the mindset of each character. Some of the twists I had kind of predicted, but I read A LOT of mysteries and I still enjoyed the reveal at the end. If you’re looking for a summer thriller, you need to add this novel to your list!

Let me preface this by saying this is my first Lucy Foley book. From what I’ve read, the multiple POVs throughout her books are her thing. Whilst it was thrilling and definitely didn’t turn out like I expected, it was very very hard for me to become connected with the characters and took me well over half way through the book to even want to continue reading. I’m still thankful I had the privilege to read this ARC and can’t wait to delve into more thrillers. I will be reading more Foley to hopefully gather a better sense of her writing style. 3.8/5

Lucy Foley writes her thrillers in a certain format that works really well for me. The Midnight Feast is no exception, with its array of characters providing first-person narratives in short chapters. The book begins with some setup, getting to know the four characters’ personalities, a sense of the kinds of secrets they might be holding back, and the general gist of what is happening here. In addition to first-person accounts from Bella, Eddie, Francesca, and Owen in the lead-up to the climax, we also get third-person chapters the day after it all goes down, from the fishermen who find a body and the detective investigating the accident (or murder?!). Interspersed with all of that are journal entries from 2009, painting a picture of all that happened 15 years ago and how it may tie in with the present day.

With so many characters and such short chapters, The Midnight Feast flies by. It’s the kind of read that gets quicker and more gripping with each bit of new information until you’re hurtling through the end. Some characters here feel sympathetic, while others are so easy to despise. Eddie, only 19, seems naive and kind, working as a dishwasher at the newly opened resort, The Manor. Bella is clearly hiding something… like her true identity and her reason for being there as a guest. Francesca, the owner of The Manor, is a wealthy woman who relies on positive energy and crystals and whatnot… but what’s beneath that fake persona? Then there’s her husband Owen, who is unhealthily obsessed with her, but maintains his own secrets, too.

As I was reading The Midnight Feast, I thought I had a clear idea of where it was all headed. However, the last third of the book definitely threw in a few curveballs. Some of my assumptions were proven wrong, the connections between characters sometimes went deeper than I’d anticipated, even the true victims and perpetrators were at times shocking. With its clashes between socioeconomic classes, dissection of power, and feeling of justice, this made for a satisfying and thrilling novel!

The Midnight Feast is the perfect summertime read, with its sweltering heat and themes of long-buried secrets come back to haunt us. If you want a fast-paced thriller with surprises along the way, put this on the top of your list!