I feel like Lucy Foley is a pretty consistent 4 star suspense review in my book. I enjoyed The Midnight Feast with its multiple points of view and fun references to things like “the birds” and “midsummer nights dream”. These allusions did a great job of contributing to the eerie imagery and almost supernatural vibe laden throughout the novel. I did not really “love” any of the characters so I also got some White Lotus vibes in that regard. I did like how everything came together in the end and found the twists to be surprising!

Wow, this was a wild ride! I've read a few other books by Lucy Foley and this was by far one of the best. 4.5 stars!
On the Sunday morning of opening weekend of the Manor retreat, the local police are called. There’s been a fire. A body’s been discovered. Something’s not right with the guests. What happened on the grounds of the Manor the past 36 hours? And who—or what—is the cause?

THE FOUNDER

THE HUSBAND

THE MYSTERY GUEST

THE KITCHEN HELP

Everyone has an agenda. Everyone has a past. But not everyone will survive…The Midnight Feast.

There are a cast of characters and there are flash back scenes that are read through one of the character's diary. The pieces eventually slot into place but the way that so many of the characters are pivotal throughout the story unfolds in spectacular fashion! I don't want to spoil any of the twists but they are TWISTY!!!! This is a good one for folks that love a little revenge plot too! Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy! Loved it

The story has multiple POVs which allows the reader to learn more about the characters. I enjoyed the diary entry chapters, as they slowly revealed more of a backstory.. The story was a little too slow burn for my taste, but the ending was intense and kept me hooked.

I want to love Lucy Foley and all her books just seem to fall flat for me, The Midnight Feast included. I'm bummed. again. the cover pulled me in, it’s gorgeous. I want to have it on my shelf solely because of the cover, but I have a 4 star and up rule, and I gave this one 3 stars.

Francesca Meadows opens a resort called The Manor after inheriting the property from her grandparents. It’s opening weekend and she wants things to be perfect, even though it’s been a bit troubling getting things up and running. The locals are not a fan of a posh resort opening up. And then there’s The Birds. The locals whisper about The Birds and how they right wrongs within the community.

The Midnight Feast has 5 POV’s and 3 periods of time we are jumping between. it’s not hard to keep track of, but when we start having characters from the past showing up in the present with new names and no one recognizes each other, it becomes unrealistic and a little hard to track. And The Birds. Honestly, I hated this part of things. It just seemed… dumb. I don’t know how else to put it. One of the POV’s was a teenage diary and it was understandably juvenile, but I didn’t enjoy reading it.

If you enjoy Lucy Foley’s other books, you’ll probably enjoy this one. She’s just always been a 2-3 star read for me, and this was no exception.

I devoured this book ! It was full of suspense and twist towards the end. I adored the setting the book takes place In at the Manor. Felt like I had stepped into a Midsummer Night's dream set. Lucy Foley never disappoints on her descriptive writing style. I also loved all her other books. I highly recommend this book if you love a good fast paced thriller with lots of secrets and lies being uncovered.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Book 46 of 2024
[Thriller & ARC]
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read this if you know what it’s like to pull yourself up from the bootstraps that is your family, you dream of starting over as an entrepreneur, or don’t trust anyone.

I truly enjoy Lucy Foley’s writing style. She has a great way of hooking your interest early on even if you don’t relate to the world or concept she draws you in with being able to rate to the characters experiences and emotions and struggles. This book really drew me to develop new interests in travel abroad and paying attention to ALL people I encounter.

The Midnight Feast was not my favorite Lucy Foley. The ending was redeeming, but the path to get there was littered with too many ridiculous coincidences and plot twists. The main character, Francesca or "Frankie" was one of the most unlikable fictional people I've ever read about. The misdeeds of the rich and powerful ooze throughout this book, and the bacchanalian behavior of the guests of "The Manor" were a real turn off to me. At one point I almost threw in the towel, but I was already 50% done so I plowed on. Foley uses the flashback method, and stories told from multiple people, Francesca, Bella, Eddie, and Owen to tell her tale. Curious to see what other readers will think of this one.

Lucy Foley's "The Midnight Feast" is a compelling and fast-paced novel that takes place over the course of opening weekend at a posh new resort called The Manor. Told through multiple viewpoints across time periods, it quickly becomes clear that not everything is what it seems. The cast of characters are unique and the story offers a fun take on "wellness culture" and how the 1% tends to abuse their power. Although I felt like the ending dragged on just a tad too long, I had a great time with this and really enjoyed it on the whole.

I loved this! I’m a fan of Foley’s previous work but this one may now be my favorite? I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the journal to present time jumps as well. There were a couple of twists that I saw coming, which I think was the point to distract you from the main twist, which was absolutely a shock! I will be buying a hard copy and recommending to my thriller friends. Thanks to #NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so fun! I loved the atmosphere of the manor and pagan, midsommar vibes of the party! The birds and midnight feast made it so eerie and gave it a hitchockian feeling. In typical Lucy Foley fashion, there are multiple POVs and short chapters that will keep you turning the page and wanting to know what is going to happen next.

Thank you for this ARC copy.

I liked the premise of the book overall but felt the delivery lacked something. It was hard to connect to the characters and messy at times. I think there could have been more thrill throughout. Reads similar to Nine perfect strangers, with the setting and main character.

Lucy Foley is one of my go to authors, I just love everything that I've ever read by her! When I heard she was releasing a new book, I could hardly contain my excitement. I just knew I wasn't going to be disappointed, and I was right.

The Midnight Feast is set at the Manor, a new posh resort for the elite in small town, legend filled, Tome. Guests gather for the opening night and are awed by Francesca's elegance and poise as she floats among the guests. Her husband Owen's architecture brought the woman's dreams to life and the couple seems to have it all. Yet, something dark and eerie threatens to bring the opening weekend crashing down.

In typical Lucy Foley fashion, The Midnight Feast has multiple points of views, well written, tons of twists and turns, and keeps you on your toes!

Highly HIGHLY recommend The Midnight Feast.

Thank you so much, @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this Advanced Reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

WOW WOW WOW! It took me a few weeks to read this because I did NOT want it to end. I'm forever a huge Lucy Foley fan, and this was her best yet. I've read thousands of thrillers throughout my time as a reader, and none of them have ever gotten under my skin the way this one did. I've already recommended it to so many people and plan on buying the hard copy ASAP. THANK YOU to those who approved me for this-- you have no idea how happy and excited I was to read this!

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.