The Midnight Feast is the newest mystery from Lucy Foley, which takes place at an exclusive manor along the coast of southern England. Francesca's grandfather recently passed away and left the manor to her, and she's renovated it to be a resort for the elite. Opening weekend doesn't end the way she planned, but instead, with the manor enveloped in flames and a death toll. The book follows Francesca, her husband the architect, a mystery guest, and the kitchen help during the weekend - as it's slowly revealed the horrors that happened on that land in the past, and now the present.
This book was a slow burn, and very atmospheric. I've read The Guest List and The Paris Apartment, and loved them. However, this one is slower and took more time to get into. I did love the folklore aspect, and the reveals of how all of the characters are unwittingly connected. If you're a Lucy Foley fan this is worth checking out, but maybe start with The Guest List if you're new to her!Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Midnight Feast grabbed me right from the start. I loved the atmospheric Tome Manor and the multiple POV that Foley is know for. Tome Manor is a creepy manor in the woods with secrets and folklore. Basically it has a dark past and when a body is discover the police are called to investigate and secrets are uncovered. I loved the back and forth time line and how immersive the story became. Thank you Net galley for the virtual copy in exchange for my review.

I like Lucy Foley's work - it's twisty and focused on group dynamics. She may be caught up in her own success where this book had needlessly too much mystery and for no reason. Suspense and tension needs to be earned and not expected by an author. The story was far fetched and we never understood the villains motivations - she is a broad stroke text book villain, and we are expected to hate her. The timing is weird too - only 15 years have passed since major characters have seen each other and no one seems to recognize each other. I understand that we have to suspend some disbelief as we read but this was too much.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher William Morrow for my e-ARC! It’s opening weekend for a posh new hotel that has invaded a quaint seaside English village. Now it’s the locals vs Francesca Meadows and it’s about to get deadly! Never underestimate the power of ancient local lore. I normally cringe at multiple POV books (typical Lucy Foley), but this fast paced and super twisty thriller had me hooked. Get through the first few tedious chapters and things get dicey and you won’t be able to put it down. A solid 4.25 stars!

Release Date: June 18, 2024

Ugh - unfortunately this was not the book for me! The premise was interesting, but the execution of the plot didn't do it for me. I struggled with the pacing and the flipping between characters POVs. I found with the chapters and POVs so short, it was really hard to get invested or keep track of whose POV we were on. The birds confused me a bit, and overall I do wish that this had been a bit more thrilling.

I was so excited to get this - I love Lucy Foley - but this book just didn't do it for me. I had a very different expectation going into it. It took me a WHILE to get invested - It was a "slow burn" for sure. I feel like it got confusing from so many different point of views, but it did intertwine and make sense. The paranormal/folklore piece was unexpected - was a good twist. I feel like I just kept getting confused with the point of views, and also past/present/journal entries etc!

This one just wasn't for me - but I feel the writing was great and a lot of folks would love it!

It took a little while for me to get fully invested in this story. Multi-POV's can be hard to digest sometimes! Especially when there are so many characters. Once the lore and story unfolded more I was fully involved and couldn't put the book down. What a thrill, truly. The folklore was the best part to me, so if you're into that, you'll love this.

I absolutely loved this book. I was hooked right from the beginning and honestly the twists didn't stop until the very end. The characters were so easy to relate to I felt for them. I love when books like this are written in multiple points of view and this one did not disappoint. I love how throughout the story little pieces of the final puzzle were leaked out and they were told to you at the right moments. I had such a hard time putting this one down because I needed to know what was going to happen next! I was so excited to be able to score an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.

The Midnight Feast
by Lucy Foley
Pub Date: Jun 18 2024
Interesting read. Told in differing viewpoints bouncing between different times (thankfully clearly labeled), this is a story of "haves" and "have-nots" intermingling with deadly consequences.
Bella attends the grand opening weekend of the posh new hotel/retreat experience created by the one and only Francesca and her husband world-renowned design architect Owen.. Everything is organic, free of chemicals, and good for the mind, body, and spirit. But Bella knows the dark secrets Francesca keeps, and has come to expose her for who she is. Money and status may have protected her throughout most of her life, but Bella is back to make sure she pays this time.
#netgalley
#midnightfeast
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LOVED Lucy’s newest novel! I think this is my favorite of hers so far! Think Nine Perfect Strangers but everyone has vengeance for
the owner of the Manor. The number of characters was easy to follow along with and I left each chapter wanting to find out what was next. I was surprised by the twists and overall liked how the book ended! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for an thriller/mystery/easy read for the summer.

Top notch thriller that I couldn’t put down and read in one sitting! But that’s any Lucy Foley book. Absolutely devoured this one. Gripping and highly immersive.

Thank you to Lucy Foley, Harper Collins, and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review!

I enjoy all of Lucy Foley’s books and was excited that I was able to obtain an ARC. Lucy Foley pairs a small town with a dark and twisty forest that is skirted by a brand new retreat for high dollar clients. The atmosphere is such a vibe in this book! If I could equate it to a feeling, it would be the feeling of exhaustion from a day on the beach and the cold chills you get from a sunburn after a shower. I want to reread it just for the summer vibes alone! The murder, deceit, and cults also help :)

I was really excited to read The Midnight Feast, but really struggled making it through to the end. The story started off interesting for the first few chapters, and then got so bogged down in multiple characters backstories that it felt like nothing interesting was happening for far too long. Things definitely picked back up towards the end, but by the I was so bored I just wanted to finish the story and be done with it.

I did like the paranormal elements, and found a few of the characters real identities and reasons for being at The Manor interesting, but there were just too many characters involved in the secret from the past and doing devious things to make it at all believable (it also got a little confusing). This seems like it would have been a better novella than full book. I will definitely give Lucy Foley another try in the future; this book just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Foley, and William Morrow for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy Foley has done it again with another riveting mystery that unfolds through multiple POVs. The story is fast-paced and filled with memorable characters and several surprising twists. I also loved the setting, atmosphere, and incorporation of the local folklore of "The Birds". I highly recommend this book and encourage you to read it this summer!

I am a big fan of Lucy Foley so when I got approved for this ARC I was so excited! And it didn't disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

The Manor is an old historical house that was renovated into a hotel by the grand daughter of the original owners, Francesca Meadows. Francesca has turned the Manor into a massive wellness boutique hotel but the locals aren't too happy about its existence. Freaky things start happening around the location, some are reminiscent of an old wives tale the locals call "the Birds". "Beware of the Birds" many locals have warned, believing in the superstition. But surely "the Birds" are not responsible for murder, are they?

The story follows different POVs so the reader never get bored. It also jumps timelines as a woman from Francesca's past appears at the Manor's opening weekend. She is intent on exposing all of Francesca's dirty and morbid secrets. In addition, there's DI Walker, the detective that is investigating what seems to be arson and murder. But is it the mysterious woman from Francesca's past that's causing these horrible tragedies or is it really the work of a superstitious myth?

I give this book 4 stars. While I absolutely loved how the story unraveled, I do think I prefer her other books. This one was entertaining but forgettable. It won't be one of my top books if this year but it was spooky and fun to read. My favorite thing about this book is I NEVER at any point knew who the culprit was until the end when things started to unravel. A juicy summer thriller for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was good. It wasn’t jaw dropping but it was enjoyable. I think I’m just too buggy of a thriller reader that I wanted more in the story. It’s like the beginning takes off running, the middle is SO slow with background details, and then the end picks back up. It took me a week to read it was 400 pages but I devoured that last 150 pages like it was nothing.

Now, that’s probably pretty normal for a book that’s more of a mystery than a thriller however that could be entirely my fault as I went into this thinking it was a thriller. I like to categorize this book as “brain candy”. A book that isn’t hard to understand or read, you can sprawl out on the couch or by the pool and read it but not have to worry about thinking too much.

I definitely needed this book and will recommend it to people because it is good. It’s just not unputdownable until you hit the last 150 pages.

Overall I had fun with it. The entire rich retreat in a rural town with terrifying folklore and angry neighbors is an enjoyable concept. There are creepy elements to it and obviously a murder I just needed a little more to make is 4⭐️. However, I do think it’d make a great movie or series so if that’s something you’re into you should definitely pick it up.

This thriller had everything and nothing at the same time. Kind of a mess with all the plotlines and characters, most of whom had changed their names for the sake of revealing twists later on. If you're looking for a "culty retreat bonkers thriller" vibe, maybe pick up Nine Perfect Strangers instead. Without spoiling anything, there was one plot point in particular that had to have been inspired by that novel.

As a huge fan of Lucy Foley's other novels, I was really looking forward to getting to read this one. And The Midnight Feast follows a similar format - multiple POVs, something about someone's past coming back to haunt them, each POV giving the reader a new piece of the puzzle. And the characters and the POVs themselves were very compelling, but I'm not sure why, but something about the plot itself felt less compelling to me than the other ones.

I was definitely immersed in the story, but I found some of the things the novel was expecting us to believe to be a little weird - like how come none of these people recognized each other? Not a single one? And I feel like the whole birds plotline just kind of lost me.

The Midnight Feast was one of my most anticipated 2024 reads and it did not disappoint! Easily my new favorite by Lucy Foley! Told in multiple POV's and dual timelines (past and present) it was very easy to follow. The setting had the most appeal for me. A luxurious mansion during The Summer Solstice weekend on a beach cliffside, sign me up! Throw in some Pagan Folklore, local legends, creepy nighttime woods, mysterious Birds and fantastic twists and I'm sold! Easily one of my favorite books of the year so far!

this seemed like just fluff until the end - actually nothing happened until the end
this could have been a cool short story instead of a full novel.