I loved Foley’s The Guest List and after reading the synopsis of The Midnight Feast, I knew I had to get my hands on it. The book centers on the opening weekend of The Manor, a stunningly posh hotel centered around an old manor house and surrounded by an ancient forest. The locals look upon the opening with disdain and are resentful that the property infringes upon their woods and beach. Also hanging over the weekend is the lore of the Birds, a centuries old society that rights wrongs that the law cannot. But no one at The Manor needs to fear ancient folklore, do they?

The morning after the Midnight Feast celebration, the police are called after local fisherman discover a body on the beach. Who’s dead? What happened? And why is The Manor on fire? Told from alternating perspectives from The Manor’s founder, her husband, a mystery guest, and a member of the kitchen staff, this was a quick read that kept me guessing.

I really enjoy how Foley frames her books with each chapter narrated by a rotating cast of characters. I thought this was a great mystery and I really liked the ending. Fans of The Guest List will be equally pleased with The Midnight Feast, in fact I think this might be my new favorite work by this author. I was pretty immersed from start to finish and imagine this will be a popular read this summer! Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published June 18, 2024.

This is the third book I’ve read by this very popular author, and it was my least favorite.

The plot is just weird: people dressing up as birds, mushrooms, drugs, crystals. There are multiple POVs, multiple timelines plus a journal from a summer 15 years ago. There are also a lot of characters, none of whom I really cared about. Francesca was especially annoying with her superiority complex and her constant use of “Hello Lovelies”.

It’s basically a story of the haves and have nots: the rich who own the manor and the poor who run a farm nearby. Childhood revenge is the main driver in this mystery but it’s just too weird. I cannot recommend it.

This book is from multiple
Points of view and jumps from past to present. It takes some time to get into, I wasn’t fully invested until more than halfway through the book.

This is my first time reading Lucy Foley and I love a complex read. I don't mind feeling lost, because we learn slowly who is who, their secrets and intentions. We soon realize that there is more than one timeline to follow and apart from the several POVs we have plenty to learn and the many plot twists make this read a rollercoaster. I am curious now to read more from this author. I love a murder mystery focused on a limited space, like a hotel or house. I like that the folklore added more to the story. It's exciting with a satisfying ending.
Thank you for this e-arc.

I would like to start off by thanking netgalley for this arc. I have never met a Lucy Foley book I do not like and I have to add this to the list. A perfect novel mixing present and past, truth and fiction and everyones favorite murder mysteries. It is opening night of the manor and everything has been specifically planned and perfected, although just outside there is a forest which is just bristling with secrets. The local community resents the manor and what it represents. The town sees the manor as trying to privatize and monetize the beach, while the mystery and superstitions erupt about the night birds, an avenging force that makes right was has previously been wronged. On the Sunday night of opening weekend the police are called in because there has been a fire. What has happened in the past 36 hrs and who caused the fire? Was it the mystery guest? The husband? The founder? The kitchen help? What follows are more twists and turns. You never know who to believe and you will never be able to guess who started the fire and why.

I think this might be my favorite Lucy Foley so far. I loved the twist at the end and I definitely DID NOT see it coming - which is saying something since I read so many thrillerrs.

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

It’s opening weekend at The Manor, a brand new, perfectly curated, guest experience. The local community resents what they see as the Manor’s intrusion into the local woods and attempts to privatize the beach, and small skirmishes have erupted on the edges of the property between locals and the staff. And the whispers keep coming, about an old piece of pagan folklore, the Night Birds, an avenging force that can be called upon to make right wrongs that elude the law.

We have Francesca, the owner of the manor, her husband, Owen, the dishwasher, Eddie, the mysterious guest, Bella, and the cold case detective, D.I . Walker, all helping frame the story of the events that took place during the Midnight Feast at The Manor.

Everyone has an agenda. Everyone has a past. But not everyone will survive.

Pros:
-Multiple POVs (five + a journal)
-Multpile timelines (15 years prior, before the solstice, the day/night of the solstice, after the solstice)

Cons:
-Too many characters being introduced and not all served a purpose
-I felt like the book could’ve done without the local folklore, but that’s just my opinion.
-Too many “twists” - there were some that didn’t even shock me

I would’ve given this book a 2-2.5 ⭐️ however the “after” part of this book did help my opinion. The last little paragraph of the book did give me a good smile.

If you like Lucy Foley books—and I do—then you will enjoy “The Midnight Feast,” because it doesn’t stray from Foley’s tried-and-true playbook. Atmospheric setting? Check--this time the Devon countryside and its folklore . Agatha Christie vibes? Definitely—in this case “Murder on the Orient Express.” A character or two that you love to hate? Yep, they’re there. i suppose there may come a time when more of the same becomes less entertaining, but that hasn’t happened for me yet—I binged “The Midnight Feast” with pleasure.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an eARC of The Midnight Feast! I truly enjoyed it. Mystery and thrillers used to be my go-to genre, but lately, it's been a challenge to find one that truly entertains me. While The Midnight Feast didn't necessarily catch me off guard, it kept me engaged throughout, and the reveals were incredibly satisfying. However, for anyone who hasn’t read something by Lucy Foley, I believe the twists would be genuinely surprising, which is the hallmark of a great thriller! Though I'm grateful for the opportunity to read the eARC, I'm seriously considering picking up the audiobook when it releases. With the setting of the Manor off the Dorset coast and the various local accents mentioned, I’m positive the audiobook will be akin to The Paris Apartment, another good thriller by Lucy Foley with an AMAZING audiobook featuring multiple POVs and accents. Pub day set for June 18th!

This was truly a wild story and I am not quite sure how I feel about it. I enjoyed the setting of the book, they are at a luxury brand new retreat on the English coast and while this sounds glamourous- it truly is anything but. I did like the multiple point of views and hearing about the past/present but after that, it lost me. I am SO confused how they didn't recognize each other- most of them grew up together and the whole Birds thing was so far fetched. Didn't love this one..

Truth always comes out, doesn't it? It doesn't matter if bury it close to heart and "home", there will always be someone else digging where they shouldn't have and unearth it. The fake façade you put on or all the good deeds that come after it won't be enough to make people forget about who you really are and what you did all those years ago.

Frankie was of course the princess in her "little" manor with all freedom in the world. Parents dumped her and her twin brother with grandparents who wouldn't give a damn about them. So grandkids turned into entitled brats looking down on the trailer camp below their hill teemed with people who just want to have a break. Who would little princess be if she couldn't toy with people from the trailer camp?

Years later, Frankie reopened the manor as a wellness retreat to share her "amazing" being with others. Of course any fad, riches of the time flooded this fad just to say they were there when it opened. However, there were few other guests who had a secret "journal". When they pages of that journal started turning, someone was going to wish we never reached the last page

This book was a fun ride! I loved the ambience and the characters were honestly really fun, especially Francesca.
My only complaint was that it could get a little confusing at times.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This is the first I’ve read by Lucy Foley and I will absolutely have to read her others. I never knew what was going to happen next. This story came alive and was so easy to visualize, full of twists and turns, and small details that become so important. Mind blowing.

I really enjoyed the previous books from Lucy Foley, so I was very excited to get my hands on this copy.

Like her other books, she does a great job at slowly revealing the “who done it” and has unexpected twists that are all revealed at the end to neatly tie things up.

However, compared to the other Lucy Foley books that I read, this was my least favorite unfortunately. The chapters that gave insight into a teenage summer 15 years ago was helpful background but felt a little too YA for me. The whole concept of the birds was totally bizarre and the wellness retreat portion of the book was almost giving Nine Perfect Strangers vibes.

With characters explaining the past to tell the story of an older mystery, while the detectives were trying to uncover the current mystery, all while the retreat and solstice event were going on - it was a lot of events and characters to keep track of which for me, took away from the overall plot. I didn’t find myself connecting with or rooting for any of the characters either, except maybe Eddie the dishwasher.

Overall, it was a decent book and an easy read, and I’d recommend it to the right person but I don’t think I’d say it’s a must-read this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me early access to the title in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy Foley has written another twisty mystery over a weekend when everything goes awry. The story is set at the new hotel opening of the Manor nested between the ocean cliffside and the woods.

This was a fast read for me. The setup was well done and she dropped a good amount of information throughout to keep you engaged. I could find myself rooting for, despising or wanting to know more about each of the individual characters.

That said, at points it felt like there were too many people to keep track of and that added only a little. I wasn’t a huge fan of the reveals at the end other than finally finding out what happens because she had gotten me so invested!

This was my first Lucey Foley novel, and I absolutely hated the first half of this book. It felt cringey and childish in some aspects. As if the author was trying too hard to appeal to YA readers. There was a lot of jumping around from chapter to chapter of past/present/future which wasn’t too hard to follow, though a couple times I’d have to flip back the the chapter name to remember who’s point of view it was. What I didn’t care for was the differing first person/third person point of views. As an American, I struggled a bit with all the British vernacular, but it was easy enough to understand the gist.

I was generally surprised towards the last 1/4 of the book where you started to learn about the mysteries and murders. I can honestly say I didn’t see some of it coming and that’s what made me want to finish.

#NetGalley #ARC #TheMidnightFeast

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a really creepy, wickedly twisted and totally engrossing mystery thriller!! The hauntingly vivid atmosphere, steeped in folklore of the night birds, sets a harrowing tone that keeps you turning the pages with anticipation. As secrets unravel and tension mounts, the layers of lies and suspense add a deliciously irresistible allure, making it a feast for the senses!! The story clearly portrays the repercussions of the wealthy making horrible choices, echoing throughout the community, while highlighting the locals' ongoing struggle for justice and fairness. With short chapters, multiple points of view, alternating timelines, unexpected twists, and a slow-burning whodunit narrative culminate in a deeply satisfying conclusion!💚💚💚💚

As The Manor's opening night unfolds in opulent splendor, every detail, no matter how small, exudes luxury. Yet, beyond its pristine grounds, an ancient forest harbors untold secrets, while tensions simmer between the local community and the Manor's staff over attempts to privatize the beach. Amid whispers of ancient folklore surrounding the Night Birds, mysterious incidents cast a shadow over the festivities. When a fire breaks out and a body is discovered on Sunday morning, the idyllic facade shatters, revealing a web of intrigue and suspicion among the guests and staff. As the truth unravels, hidden agendas and dark pasts collide, leading to a deadly showdown at The Midnight Feast!

In conclusion, I was completely immersed from start to finish! I highly recommend this unique, suspenseful and unputdownable mystery thriller. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lucy Foley has mastered the art of literary anxiety and anticipation.

The small town. The birds. The drugs. It was delightfully creepy.

I’m so excited I received this digital copy! I love Lucy Foley’s books, but this book had me loving everything about this story. This book reminded me so much of The Hunting Party and The Guest List. How everything is unfolding right before our eyes and not being able to put this down at all was amazing. I love how you keep guessing all sorts of angles until the very end and leaves you with a little heartache, but also happiness for the characters. I was nervous to read this book because her last novel wasn’t my favorite and fell flat for me, but I still wanted to read more from Lucy Foley. She is still an auto but author for me! Thank you Lucy Foley, NetGalley and William Morrow for this advanced digital copy!

This is my FIRST book by this author and this will NOT be my last! I truly enjoyed every minute of this book. I couldn’t put it down as soon as I picked it up. I lost some hours of sleep devouring this book and it was worth it. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.