Lucy Foley is a reliable author. I’ll start this review by saying that if you’ve read a Lucy Foley book, and you would like to read another, you will probably enjoy Midnight Feast. If you read Lucy Foley in the past and thought “this kind of thing isn’t for me,” you’re probably right, and you probably won’t like this one. Alright, with that out of the way let me address the remaining people. The people who haven’t read a Lucy Foley book yet, but are trying to decide two things. First, if they should even pick one up to begin with, and second, if they are going to start on a project, if Midnight Feast is the one to start with.

Lucy Foley writes what I would call domestic thriller mysteries. They are usually set among closed communities of rich people, in fancy luxurious surroundings. These rich people come together to form a seething mass of resentments, jealousy, and secrets, then things go wrong, and someone dies. They’re almost always told on a non-linear timeline (i.e. bouncing back and forth from before the person gets murdered to after the person gets murdered), and you generally don’t find out who dies for sure until most of the way through the book, when the before the murder and after the murder timelines converge to reveal all. The chapters are short, the plot is propulsive, and it’s generally more of a fizzy fun time than serious literature. If Agatha Christie wrote Crazy Rich Asians, that’s some idea of what it’s like to read a Lucy Foley book.

To be clear, I do not mean the above in any sort of derogatory way--writing a propulsive, fun novel that is a good time to read is not easy, and Lucy Foley has been churning these out at a remarkably reliable level of quality for quite a while now and that’s nothing to sneeze at. So now hopefully you know if you want to read a Lucy Foley book. As for which of the three best (The Guest List, The Paris Apartment, and The Midnight Feast) you should start with, I think it’s all a matter of what set dressing you’d prefer. This one really worked for me because the atmosphere was to my particular taste. There’s a hint of the supernatural and it has a Gothic Flavor, instead of the Paris Apartment’s seedy underground crime boss energy.

I’d recommend this for fans of Glass Onion, Murder she Wrote, and Gone Girl.

I got an advance review copy in exchange for this honest review.

(will post the first week of June and update links)

The last two books (You Will Never Be Me & If Something Happens to Me) I’ve read would be considered popcorn thrillers. This isn’t that type of thriller but it is just as interesting. Out of the 3, surprisingly, this one I had to suspend my beliefs the least, even though at times I wasn’t sure if people or the supernatural were the puppet masters.

This book is about an overzealous heiress who decides to renovate her late grandparent’s old manor/estate into a lavish zen retreat. As a child, she spent her summers there. The locals aren’t happy about The Manor and aren’t shy about showing their feelings. Her grandfa tried to warn her about The Birds curse but she ignores him and writes it off as him losing his mind in old age. With so many odd things happening over the opening weekend, everyone starts believing that maybe the curse is real.

I rate this 3.5 stars. Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for this ARC. These are my honest opinions.

This was a NetGalley approved read!
Lucy Foley gets me again, with her multiple POVs and superb misdirection! Once you think you've got it down, who the murderer is and who was murdered you get caught off guard with a new perspective and I just love her style of writing! This is gonna be another hit I'm sure of it!

Although it took some time to get into the book, I ended up really enjoying it. I remembered from her other books that they usually start out slow, so I kept that in mind. I really enjoyed the diary entries, slowly learning more and more about what happened in the past. Even though there were multiple POVs, they were different enough that I didn’t get confused and I could follow along. I would definitely recommend this book, and I think it may be my favorite of her books.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the ARC for my honest opinion.

I made the mistake of trying to start a Lucy Foley book while I was on vacation in the Texas Wine Country. I totally disregarded the fact that Lucy Foley is the queen of multi-POVs. I went in thinking I was going to drink this book up immediately, and finish it while I was away....I did not, could not. I had to have my mind straight and I had to focus for this thrilling ride. After trying to read the first 15%, I had to put it away and recollect myself.

Once I got back home, I re-started The Midnight Feast, and gave Lucy my undivided attention, and I'm so glad that I did. I absolutely loved The Midnight Feast. It oozed with mystery, suspense, folklore and the rich behaving...rich. The Midnight Feast takes place at a fancy new manor hotel hidden alongside a wood full of lore and the beautiful cliffs of the sea. No detail was spared in the rebuild of the manor. The owners continue to rebuild and reimagine the manor to create an oasis for the people who can afford its extravagance. With Summer Solstice deadlines approaching, they choose to open up the hotel any way. The past never stays hidden, and someone does not heed the warnings of the locals and of the folklore that haunts the woods.

This book had me in it's grips after I chose to give it my undivided attention. There are lots of POVs and diary entries you have to keep track of, so if you are going to read this, be aware that you have to keep them straight. The pacing was great and the creepy factor of the "Birds" was A-1. The Midnight Feast was another of Lucy Foley's books that I really enjoyed.

What a delightfully twisty and well written book!

Excellent character development and a satisfying and shocking conclusion.

The backdrop of the story was unique and made for a dark and somewhat creepy mystery.

I enjoyed the different POVs and connected with the characters.

Highly recommend !

Mystery/thriller that goes back and forth between the present and 15 years in the past - to an incident that altered the lives of a group of friends. This is told from the perspective of several different characters, which made it a little hard to follow for me. I kept forgetting who the narrator was - I had to keep looking back at the chapter title to remind myself who was talking. This also made it hard to relate to one character more than another, in my opinion. To really “like” a character. It’s just a writing style I don’t read very often, so took some concentration. Good book, though, with twists I didn’t see coming.

Wow! Lucy Foley does it again! I feel like she is one of the few authors that does dual POV so well! I did think that the beginning took a bit to get started for me but once it did I could not put this book down! It just had you guessing till the very end! I was able to figure out a few of the plot twists, but the other I had no idea! Lucy is an autobuy author for me and I can’t wait to see what she has next up her sleeve!

It’s solstice weekend and the opening weekend of the manor. The narrators of the book switch between Francesca - the owner of the manor, her husband Owen, a guest named Bella, and a dishwasher named Eddie.

Lucy Foley’s books have been very hit or miss for me. The switching between all the characters for me just seemed to drag the book on. She loves to do multiple POV’s throughout her books and while I love when some authors do that.. hers just does not do it for me. The whole storyline was a bit strange. I feel almost like the part of the birds with an after-thought. Others may really enjoy this book, but for me I just didn’t love it.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Foley is one of those auto-buy authors for me at this point. I enjoy her twisty British mysteries! This one wasn’t my favorite, sadly. It reminded me a LOT of Ellery Lord’s The Club - exclusive resort full of rich people, locals who hate the fancy folks taking all their land, and murder! In this case, the resort is called simply The Manor, and it’s meant to be like a fancy wellness retreat…for those who can afford the outrageous price tag. The opening weekend of The Manor is also the weekend of the summer solstice, so we’re jumping around in time to the days immediately before and after the solstice itself, when it’s clear something terrible happened.

The Manor is run by a woman named Francesca and designed by her architect husband Owen. She’s a real piece of work, and by the end I got why she’s such a loon, but her chapters are extremely irritating to read. We also have POVs from Eddie, one of the staff (he’s a dishwasher hoping to someday be a bartender), Bella, a guest with A Secret, and DC Walker, who’s investigating the dead body found after the solstice. It’s a lot of perspectives and a lot of jumping around in time, and none of the chapters are longer than a few pages. We also have excerpts from Bella’s summer journal, which is where we learn how all of these seemingly disparate threads connect. It all felt a little *too* convenient that there were SO many connections between all of these people. There’s also this whole cult thing happening with “the Night Birds” - it’s not clear if the locals think they’re a cult (made up of people) or some kind of mythical creature, or if they’re even real at all, in any sense of the word. The Night Bird thing doesn’t end up adding all that much to the plot. There are some creepy scenes in the woods, but I feel like you could get rid of it and not lose anything from the story. There’s already a lot going on here.

This is one of those multiple timeline stories where I wanted to change timelines! I couldn’t decide if I would have rather just started with Bella’s teenaged story, or if I wanted to just follow the detective in the present. Jumping back to the resort kind of left me cold, and I wasn’t all that interested in hearing from Francesca or Owen. But it’s fast paced and twisty, and it was a decent distraction from the world’s worst flight (when I was soaking wet after standing in the rain waiting to board!)

It’s opening night at the Manor and there’s been a fire in the forest near by. Police are called and a body has been discovered 🤔 something is not right with the guests. Everyone has an agenda, but who done it? 😏
I’ve read a few of Lucy Foley’s books and I’ve enjoyed them. I can count on her to have a mystery, thriller, who done it book 📚 I enjoyed this book but, with her books you need to have patience because she does pack a lot information and details in her work. If you like a thriller, murder mystery book, then I’d give this book a chance.
Thank you to Lucy Foley and NetGalley for the advance readers edition of this book for my honest review ❤️

The was a wild ride!

Ive been a huge fan of Lucy Foley for awhile now so when I got this ARC I screamed! I read it in one sitting and could not put it down!

Tension between the locals of a town and the guests of a Manor that sits on the edge of an ancient forest brings unwanted attention and a murder.

Over the course of 36 hours the police are trying to figure out what happened in that manor and why everyone involved is acting out of character.

This book had wonderful folklore themes that any thriller enthusiast would enjoy!

5 star read for me!

I didn’t know what to expect with the Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley. The beginning I could tell was a little different than the others I like by her but by the end i was totally hooked! I really liked the different perspectives & the flashback journaling. Definitely recommend this!

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow Publishing for this ARC.
I always enjoy Lucy Foley's books. The Midnight Feast was a wild ride. With dual timelines and numerous important characters there is a lot to keep track of while reading. However, once you get your bearings you can feel the tension and all the dynamics at play. Once I started I couldn't put it down!
The Midnight Feast comes out May 15 and you will want to make sure you have a seat at the table!

The multi character storyline had me hooked. I couldn’t put the book down wanting to find out more about the characters from both the past and current time. I loved the setting of The Manor and the woods with all the mystery that shrouded it.

This is a classic local small town trying to be overtaken by some corporate greed. A mix of mystery and a little horror.

“Watch out for the birds.”

Lucy Foley is back in her newest book, The Midnight Feast, bringing us another tourist destination mystery. Francesca has opened a must visit, luxurious resort for high end guests, but not everyone is what they seem, not even Francesca. Everyone is hiding their own histories and agendas, including staff worker Eddie, guest Bella, and Francesca's husband, Owen. Told through multiple points of view and even timelines, it is hard to know who to trust and what will happen next, all adding to the intrigue.

While I preferred this book to Foley's The Guest List, which I found to be highly predictable, this is one book you have to pay attention to if you want to understand everything that is happen. Between the past unraveling slowly, current day problems, and a potentially supernatural setting in the background, there is a lot requiring attention. I don't love that about mysteries, where I like to be immersed in the one or two storylines, but it was done pretty well. I was especially intrigued in the slow unraveling of the character's past history. This was definitely not an easy book to predict the ending, and I enjoyed the surprises along the way. Overall, a solid book, albeit not my favorite. It is definitely worth checking out if you like Lucy Foley's other works!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

3.5 / 5 stars
Pub date: June 18th, 2024

This was top tier! The way the story comes together piece by piece like a beautifully written puzzle had me shook. The ending was the best! The little snippets of foreshadowing was so subtle it all made sense. This was a great read! This is my first by Lucy Foley and I'm sure it's not my last!

My first Lucy Foley novel and it won’t be my last!

Read if you like:
Multiple POVs
Alternate timelines
Amazing plot twists

The story kicks off with the grand opening of the posh, luxurious hotel called The Manor. The owner is the illustrious and enigmatic Francesca Meadow. She wants everything to be perfect but when one guest from her past shows up unexpectedly along with the locals causing trouble, this “perfect” weekend for her privileged guests could turn into anything but.

I absolutely devoured this book! The story, coastal setting, superstitious history and all of the characters had me invested in this story. The multiple POVs, alternate timelines and the summer journal kept me on my toes and helped give some more background on the owners of the Manor and the locals who resent them. Each character served a purpose and while it was slow at the beginning, the middle and end make up for it with some jaw dropping twists.


Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for granting me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Sadly this one let me down.

The story was so slow. And it never felt like it got going or moving or picked up any steam. I just wanted to find out what happened, but even in the end, everything felt underwhelming.

The concept of the book was eerie and I wanted to know the info however the twist at the end wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be. The people who you want to die do and the other characters didn’t surprise me as much as I thought they would. Owen being shrimp was the biggest surprise.