The name, The Midnight Feast, along with the cover art had us excited to read this latest novel from Lucy Foley. What happens at The Manor, where luxury meets mystery, over the 36 hour journey we are taken on is unique, but overall not our favorite.

Set against the backdrop of an ancient forest and a community with deep-rooted secrets, Foley set out to tell us a story to keep us guessing to the very end. While the book is well written and does its job, we found ourselves a little confused and wanting a bit more.

We knew what were getting into with a Lucy Foley novel, a lot of characters and stories told from different perspectives. The solicitation gives us four, which isn't a lot, the founder, the husband, the mystery guest and the kitchen help. However, in the end we are also introduced to a number of other characters as well as another perspective. Additionally, some of these characters go by different names in the current timeline than they do in the flashback sequences. All this made it harder for us to follow along, taking us longer to digest and understand each chapter.

The flashbacks in The Midnight Feast were told via a diary from 15 years ago, which in the grand scheme of things is not that long ago and yet characters couldn't recognize each other. This is a unique way of filling in the story with stuff we need to know, but overall we found the teenage angst within these pages annoying and we were rushing to get through the chapter to move onto the current timeline.

The presence of the Night Birds, an avenging force from pagan folklore, is there to add an element of suspense and mystique to the story, but ultimately was easy to predict.

In the end, The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley was worth the read. Foley is an excellent writer when it comes to these types of stories. The different perspectives is perfect some people, just not for us. When you boil it down, each chapter was well written and easy to understand, but as an overall book it was harder.

I am a big fan of Lucy Foley and was so excited to get my hands on this book.

The story follows multiple characters, over multiple timelines. Some characters change their names and identities, which adds to the confusion and intrigue of piecing together the story.

This mystery has multiple twists, hints of paranormal activity (that later becomes....nothing....which was a bit of a let down), and an unfortunately obvious ending. My issue with the ending was how perfectly it was tied up with several coincidences. I do wish there was a little bit of mystery and plot unsaid.

While this wasn't my favorite story and it didn't captivate me to read it in one setting, I still loved the writing style and enjoyed all of the characters. The plot was interesting and did have me guessing at times, plus there were a few turns that I was not expecting at all.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 (𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐲, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞!!! 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝟒.𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 (𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩) 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰. (𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐍𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐠), 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩, 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝-𝐧𝐨𝐭-𝐩𝐮𝐭-𝐢𝐭-𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧-𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞-𝐭𝐨-𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰-𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭-𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬-𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩!

𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 (𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞-𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝! 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭 & 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐬! 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐁𝐑𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, & 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒!

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐿𝓊𝒸𝓎 𝐹𝑜𝓁𝑒𝓎, 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓂 𝑀𝑜𝓇𝓇𝑜𝓌, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Opening weekend at The Manor, previously a family mansion now turned hotel retreat, should be an exciting getaway for the guests. The main event of the weekend is an extravagant Midnight Feast, held on the solstice. While The Manor is set to be a place for the rich to play, the working-class locals in the community are not happy about its existence. Told through multiple POVs and alternating timelines, it appears everyone at The Manor has secrets of their own.

This was a great twisty thriller that really did keep me guessing. So many questions throughout. Whose body was found? What are The Birds? I liked that the end provided resolution that I didn’t see coming.

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

The Manor is a new resort in nature for the rich and is having its grand opening around the Solstice, but the locals are not happy that the Manor’s owners have blocked off land access to the beach in an attempt to privatize it, among other things. There’s whispers of avenging birds from the locals, but surely it’s just folklore. The day after the Solstice, a body is discovered on the shore and something is on fire.

The Midnight Feast is told from multiple characters’ point of view and alternating timelines, but I found it easy to follow without too many characters to keep track of. The chapters are short, which I always like in a book. It kept my attention. I liked the setting. I liked how the book ended. Out of all of the books I’ve read by Foley, I think this one is probably the best.

It’s opening night at the Manor, a high society new hotel Francesca (Fran) Woodland is opening back in her hometown. The locals aren’t impressed with the tourism, but Fran is not threatened. The town has forever talked about “the birds” a folklore reminding the locals that if they do something wrong, the birds will get them. The town has a bit of a dark past, which Fran is no stranger to.
Bella, another person from Fran’s past, is also present for opening night. The story is told from both of their perspectives, along with a few other characters and a diary written 15 years prior.
The first half of this book was a bit slow for me and I was initially letdown by the big reveal. I did feel like the last couple chapters, especially the after portion, wrapped up nicely and led to some unexpected twists. That being said - it was all just ok for me. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely devoured this book. Lucy Foley kept me guessing right up until the end. I loved how atmospheric the book was.. feeling like a campy horror story. Very well written, I will recommend this to every reader I know!

Lucey Foley never disappoints, and certainly doesn't start here! Loved this book so much. The suspense, the drama, the twists and turns. Can't wait to go and read more of her backlist.

thank you to netgalley and william morrow for this advanced reader copy! all thoughts and opinions are my own.

francesca inherited her family's summer home, the manor, and has transformed it into an opulent resort for the wealthy to escape their day to day lives. this has caused rift amongst the locals, since francesca is attempting to privatize the beach and forest surrounding the resort. on the night of the solstice, a fire breaks out that burns the resort to the ground. after a body is discovered at the base of a cliff, we have more questions than answers. told from multiple points of view, we learn of ancient folklore, teenage mistakes, harbored grudges, and a past that can't seem to stay buried.

unfortunately, this book fell a little flat for me. i read almost 60% before i was interested to the point that i didn't want to put it down. this is the ultimate definition of a slow burn thriller, with an excess of background information being thrown at you - and yet only more questions arise as time progresses. i found myself anxiously awaiting the summer journal chapters, dying to learn more about francesca's too good to be true mask of a personality she exhibits in her on pov chapters.

in my opinion there were several plot holes that definitely affected my enjoyment of the book. i find it really hard to believe that people wouldn't recognize people from their pasts, especially as it hadn't been a significant amount of time. i can understand if a person didn't recognize someone from their childhood as a 75 year old, but i definitely can still recognize people i knew 10-15 years ago (even if they dyed their hair)! i had a hard time getting past this, so it took me out of the story quite a bit. i also feel like there were way too many reveals left for the last 10% of the book that were so rushed just to tie up loose ends.

i also was not particularly enthralled with any of the characters. i think i liked eddie the most, and he's nowhere near one of my favorite characters. i felt that most of the characters lacked the depth i need in order to connect with them and understand their choices. that being said, i was invested in francesca. i love her extreme two faced-ness and loved seeing her feral side slip here and there. overall, i'm very character oriented, so my lack of connection with any of the characters also heavily affected my enjoyment of the book.

if you're looking for a suuuper slow burn thriller with lots of chaos that kind of, barely forms a coherent ending, this book is for you! i don't regret the time i spent reading this book at all though! i have read 2 other lucy foley books: the guest list and the paris apartment. my rating for all 3 of these books are sitting around 3 stars, so maybe i just don't absolutely love this author. we all love some, like some, and hate some - nothing wrong with that!

I received an ARC of this book from William Morrow via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. Lucy Foley is one of my must-read authors, so I was excited to have early access to her latest. And for me, it is another 5-star book.

There is a lot of "people are not who you think they are" here, but it all makes sense and also made me smile (a few times, gasp, as well). The characterization is skillful and descriptive - no confusion at all about whose chapters are whose.

I enjoyed that we don't find out who the body belongs to until nearly the end. This is just one aspect of the suspense built throughout the whole book. But it is suspense done well, not suspense where I am frustrated that it's taking so long.

I loved all the vivid descriptions of the resort! It sounds like the pinnacle of luxury and I would love to go there (if it was not in the haunted forest with fires and bodies around, obviously).

Absolutely loved the last scene.

I was so disappointed in this. After loving this author's previous books, I was so excited to pick this up. I feel like I was thrown into the story and characters without much introduction, but there wasn't enough intrigue to want me to keep reading. The characters were boring and unlikeable and the story seemed liked one I heard many times before. I will read more in the future, but I would pass on this one.

4.25 stars!

A lot of my thriller reading has unfortunately felt very generic recently and so it was very fun to return to the stories and writing of Lucy Foley. I thought the descriptions of this small English town of Tome with this luxury manor, community secrets, and creepy woods was so eerie and haunting.

Although there were components that I did guess, Lucy Foley did still manage to make me surprised! I read this entire book in basically one sitting because the quick chapters, multiple points of view, moments of suspense, and alternative timelines all made me whip through it. I liked figuring out what was happening slowly and it was extremely satisfying when all of the pieces of the puzzle came together.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4-stars!

This book was very engaging from the beginning. The story is structured with each chapter told from each character’s point of view, which I love. It gives multiple insights to each scene which was incredible. Lucy Foley captures the macabre in gothic detail….. think pagan, earthy, mythical, and absolutely thrilling. The author wraps up each emotional struggle within each character in a way that was not obvious to the reader, which is a delight in thrillers. Some twists were expected as the author had to knit the characters together, but overall the book contained multiple dark twisty turns not expected. Character development was well fleshed out through various flashbacks that supported the story line. Overall, the book was well written, engaging, and surprising with an Agatha Christie feel; perfect for fans of Alice Feeney!

Lucy Foley is the master of twisty locked room whodunnit style thrillers. The Midnight Feast is no exception. With its slow burn storytelling, you’re introduced to multiple POVs and timelines as you piece together how they’re all inner connected.

I especially enjoyed the diary entries as they were a unique perspective to the story and the short, fast chapters kept me engaged throughout. This book is loaded with eerie suspense, unpredictable twists, and such intricate details that at times it was mesmerizing. It does take a bit to get fully invested in the story, but it’s worth it!

Thank you to NetGalley & William Morrow for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book - I thought Lucy's writing was great (as always) and the story was unique and suspenseful.
At first I wasn't sure I was going to love it but by 25% in, I couldn't put it down.
The characters were great and the unexpected who's who at the end was top notch!

The Midnight Feast is my least favorite of Lucy's books so far, however it still kept my attention, and I was thoroughly entertained! I always enjoy the short chapters that alternate POVs. The setting of a cliffside luxury resort was perfect for the spring and summer months and added to the atmosphere of the book. The characters were flawed, but had depth and the reader can understand the actions these characters take based on their past. I felt that a few things in the plot went unexplained and I wish the book would have delved more into the mysterious group at the center of the novel. I definitely recommend trying this book because it’s a quick read that kept me entertained!

Thank you to William Morrow Books and NetGalley for the free copy of The Midnight Feast in Exchange for an honest review!

WOW! 😮

What a suspenseful and interesting mystery! There were some things I was able to guess that were going to happen, but there were a few things that had my jaw dropping!

I love that the chapters were short and easy to read from character to character. It kept it fast paced and the story interesting. I was able to read it within 2 days when I sat down - definitely a quick read.

I really enjoyed the summer journals that gave more a of background to the characters, and like that it takes place in the present/future.

Outstanding! Love everything written by Lucy Foley. This novel is well written with an intriguing plot. Complex characters with some you will love to hate. A book I could not put down and a mind-blowing ending with twists and turns galore!

✨ I really wanted to love this one and was so excited when I was approved for the ARC, but I also have certain expectations for thrillers that might be considered subjective that this book didn’t meet for me. A 4/5 star thriller usually means I can’t put it down but that wasn’t the case here.

✨ I found the first half of this book to be too slow for my expectations - I initially wrote down that the beginning “plodded on”. The story picked up a little as it came together at the end, but the ending didn’t blow my mind either. And some of it felt too convenient.

✨ The Francesca character reminded me a little of Nicole Kidman’s character in the show Nine Perfect Strangers. But, the show told a better story imho.

✨ There were lots of shifting perspectives and PoVs. I typically do like that and am even writing a novel with multiple POVs myself, but in this book, I found them confusing and kind of hard to follow.

✨ I did like the flashbacks to the summer journal of one of the characters. The backstory was interesting.

✨ I’ve seen other reviews where this book was given 5 stars so maybe I’m not with the crowd on this one. You should still give it a read and see what you think!

Not my favorite Lucy foley unfortunately. It was very hard to get into and I had a difficult time liking the characters.