Member Reviews
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC of this book- I was so stoked to be approved! One of my friends loves this author and has said loads of great things about her books.
My first impression was that it was a bit of a slow burn, but I am a sucker for multiple POV chapters in a thriller..so about 50 pages in I was hooked. The premise is a multi million dollar retreat opens during the summer solstice, with lots of sinister undertones and secrets from all the characters. Oh also, throw in some creepy as fuck Midsommar festivities 😂 and drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. What’s not to love?!
I saw a couple of the twists coming but I can say there were quite a few that I was shocked by! I thought Lucy did such a good job of weaving all the storylines together, and parts of it (especially the ending) were written so well that it was easy to visually picture the chaos unfolding. Only giving it a 4 because the last few chapters felt a little drawn out but I seriously loved this book.
Thank you again, NetGalley. This is definitely one I’ll be telling everyone to read!
I was SO excited to get this book!! Overall, it was 4.5 for me. I felt like there were some extra characters and some added plot line that didn’t feel needed (the birds?) The start of the book really throws you in without much explanation of anything. Keep with it - it does pick up and keeps you sucked in.
5 enthusiastic stars from me! I read this book in 24hrs.
In true Lucy Foley fashion, this book had you questioning some of the characters’ mental states and guessing at their hidden secrets and motives. I thoroughly enjoyed the more paranormal, folk-lore tone that this story utilized to keep you guessing how it would all unfold.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the chance to review an advanced reader e-copy.
Wow wow she does it again!! The murder mystery! I loved the fact that Lucy gave us multiple pov so that we could see what each character was thinking throughout the book!!
This book is unmistakably Lucy Foley, with multiple POVs, multiple characters with motive, short chapters, and twists and turns you’ll never see coming! I’m always so impressed with the way Foley makes her twists almost impossible to predict, but the plot and characters tie together so well once revealed. The Midnight Feast reminded me a lot of The Guest List, but with fewer characters and easier to follow.
It centers around the opening of The Manor, an exclusive, upscale estate turned resort. The grand opening is the weekend of the summer solstice and many of the locals are unhappy about its opening. The owner, Francesca Meadows, exudes a zen, pure, priestess-like persona, but hides dark secrets underneath. The perspectives switch between Francesca, her husband Owen, a guest, an employee of The Manor, and a detective investigating the aftermath of all that happens on the day of the solstice. There are also some elements of local folklore to add to the mystery.
I really enjoyed this one! I thought the setting was a good place for the story. I enjoyed getting the back story through the journal entries. I didn’t see how everything would connect until it was happening! The end was well thought out and filled with different twists.
lucy foley is quickly becoming an auto buy author for me! love her twists that never fail to surprise me. she really knows how to set the atmosphere and ingulf her readers too.
New Lucy Foley! 😳
I have read a few of her books and love how atmospheric and creepy they all have been. The settings in each book have been fantastic so far, and The Midnight Feast continues that streak for me.
I tried a few times to write a brief summary of this book and I could not properly write anything because the premise is wild and strange. 🤣 I will say that like her other books, it is told from the perspectives of a few different people. In this case, people involved with a luxury resort in a rural English town that is rumored to be haunted by "the birds." That's the best I can do.
I enjoyed the weird vibes and I liked how it all came together in the end. If you like Lucy's other work, then I think you will find this one entertaining as well.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
After an unfortunate (for me) detour to France in The Paris Apartment, the author is back in her wheelhouse with a fast-paced closed circle murder among posh British people in an idyllic setting. It is a cracking return to form.
It is the opening weekend at The Manor, a luxury retreat on the Dorset coast. Francesca Meadows has transformed her ancestral home and herself into the pinnacle of glowing upmarket relaxation and spiritual wellbeing. But the local villagers are not as thrilled about the way she has ridden roughshod over rights of way and land ownership.
There are multiple well-defined narrative viewpoints and a gradually peeled back dip back into the past. We know early on that there is a body but we don't know whose it is and there is a fire but we’re not sure what has burned. The characters all have secrets that emerge over the course of the weekend and there are hidden connections between them all and with the local population.
There’s a spooky bit of village folklore about a group called The Birds who dish out vengeance and justice and it all weaves to a climax at a Bacchanalian solstice celebration. Comeuppances are dispensed, a few last minute twists are thrown in, and it is all very satisfying.
It’s quite close to The Hunting Lodge and The Guest List, but has enough differences on a successful formula to make it worth your while if you enjoyed those two. I wouldn't read them back to back but with the lapse of a year or two, The Midnight Feast felt pretty fresh.
Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
I read the Guest List not too long ago, and I enjoyed Lucy Foley's adept skill at shifting timelines and interweaving relationships of characters who are full of secrets. Her newest book, The Midnight Feast, did not disappoint. While it also has shifting timelines and characters full of secrets, I liked Midnight Feast even better. The Midnight Feast is about a hotel opening weekend that goes wrong, and a wealthy owner driven to make it successful at any cost. Think White Lotus meets Cersei Lannister. My mind was blown at the end as I didn't see the twists coming. What a fun thriller of a book.
This book's publish date is June 18, 2024. Thank you to Lucy Foley, @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the ARC .
This book wasn't for me due to the writing style and the cookie cutter characters. I felt like the writing eas very disconnected. That being said, I would recommend this to anyone who likes Lucy's other works.
Thank you NetGalley for a gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was my second Lucy Foley book and I was a little nervous going into this one since I didn't love some themes in one of her other books. This story follows a few different characters at "The Manor's" grand opening. This book is true Lucy Foley style in that it's multiple POV and very short chapters, which I'm always a fan of. The story takes place at "The Manor" which is located just outside of an ancient forest that is filled with secrets. The local's to the town see the Manor as an intrusion, and it's no secret they don't want it there. There are whispers of a fake(?) group called 'The Birds' that is said to avenge any wrongs. There's a fire, a body, and something isn't right....
The setting of this book hooked me in from the beginning. I was a little confused on the plot as it started out, but I think that's the point. The further I got into the book, the more it made sense. The short chapters kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time with all the mini cliffhangers throughout. Lucy kept dropping hints of secrets that kept me turning the pages until the very end. I didn't care much for the characters - but I also think that's the point? This was a book I wanted to keep reaching for because I wanted to know what was happening. I do think the climax of this book let me down just a little bit, but overall, this was a good murder mystery book that kept my attention until the end.
I was thrilled to get this-Lucy Foley books are my beach read/vacation novels......gorgeous locations, excellent foods and murder! Her books are excellent and this tracks! I thought the story flowed and everything wrapped up nicely! Its a page turner with a satisfying ending. I love her books!
I am forever chasing the high that Foley gave me with The Guest List, one of my all time favorite thrillers. The Midnight Feast was easily one of my most anticipated 2024 reads. It certainly didn’t top The Guest List for me, but I had a great time reading it. Foley is a master at setting an eerie scene and making you question any and every character. That was no difference here. I loved the past and present timelines, adding another layer to this mystery. I guessed a couple twists but I loved how everything came together in the end! I do feel a bit of suspension of belief is required to fully enjoy this one, but that’s pretty common in the genre. I felt the short chapters with their cliffhanger endings did a good job at holding my interest throughout the story and it was a really fast read.
While this one isn’t my favorite Foley, it is a very fun and bingey summer thriller that will make a fantastic beach read.
3.5 stars
I wasn't sure this book was for me. I almost DNFd, but Im glad I stuck it through and kept reading because towards the end, it picked up.
The whole birds thing was kind of freaky, and I kept wondering if they were actually real. I loved the journal entries that gave more background to the whole story. It has quite a few characters, and I can see how some may get confused. I found myself going back to re-read stuff to see what characters POV I was reading.
Lucy Foley is back with her best yet!!! I am a huge fan and was SO excited to receive this ARC! This story has all that I have come to expect and more from this author! I can always count on a locked-room type setting and unlikeable characters who may or may not be either the killer or dead body in question. This one was a bit different. It is set in a small seaside town at a new wellness retreat owned by an obscenely wealthy and out of touch woman. The locals are upset as land and livelihoods are being taken away. A body has been found and we do not know who it is. There is also a legend about mysterious birds to add to the creepiness. Now, I was a bit apprehensive going in, having not fully loved the author's previous story, The Paris Apartment, but I absolutely loved every aspect of this one. Super-fast-paced, great atmosphere and people you love to despise. I even liked a few of the characters! I rooted for Eddie, and I liked Allison. All in all, a highly entertaining, fun read! I am already excited for the next one!
Thank you to #NetGalley, Lucy Foley and William Morrow for this much appreciated ARC! All opinions are my own.
I will post my review to Amazon, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication.
Oh. My. Good. God. I fell in love with Lucy Foley when I read The Guest List years ago. I loved her books in between, but The Midnight Feast brought me back to the jaw dropping twists and turns of my introduction to this author. Told through multiple points of view that jump from the past to the present, we watch as a glamorous cliffside hotel opens for their first weekend with a Solstice themed celebration. The owner has eliminated local access to the beach and woodland paths, and the local residents are livid. Not only that, but we slowly learn that the owner has a previous connection to the land and isn’t exactly who she seems to be. Nobody is. Oh and by the end of this celebration someone dies. (Of course they do, it’s Lucy Foley!) There are so many reveals along the way you won’t want to put this down. Just when you think there is a lull in the action and you can stop reading to go to the bathroom, nope, yet another shocking detail is revealed. This could have been an example of overdone misdirection and red-herrings, but Foley is masterful at creating a complex story and interweaving characters and storylines that all have a purpose in moving the story forward. And then at the end pulling back curtain after curtain to reveal character motivation and identity. Perfection!
Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this early copy in exchange for my honest review.
I received this book as an ARC review
Lucy Foley has done it again! This is a locked room type thriller set at a wellness retreat in a small island town where the local have a deep dislike of the new retreat and the clientele it brings with it. It is told from dual pov and timelines. It draws a map from childhood to adulthood and how sins of the past will always come back to haunt you. I love the lead up to each twist. I gave it 4 stars because the beginning was a bit slow and I did see one of the twists pretty early. Overall it was a good read. After it picked up I could not put it down.
#TheMidnightFeast #NetGalley
The Midnight Feast is a thrilling mystery novel where the past and present intersect. It tells the story of the divide between the wealthy and the less fortunate, and how justice ultimately prevails. The setting is the opening night of The Manor, a luxurious seaside resort. However, the locals are unhappy with the outsiders who come to stay and attempt to privatize the beach and ancient forest. The story is told from multiple characters' perspectives, and as you read, you discover that everyone has their motives. This book has many twists and turns, making it an exciting read. Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Marrow for the ARC. #TheMidnightFeast #NetGalley
The twists and turns and reveals in this book were so fun! The second half where everything starts to come together and be unveiled is very fast paced and a little chaotic and overall exciting! (All in a good way) The first half is a little slow moving as we get to know the characters and I would have liked the lore and some of the background to be explained a little more. It switches between character POV and timelines pretty quickly which was quite a lot to keep up with sometimes.
But at the same time as the pace picked up and chaos ensued it was hard to put down! The reveals were done very well and I loved how everything came together. I had a couple jaw dropping moments which is what I’m here for. I also loved the overall unsettling feeling that was over the entire book!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Marrow for the ARC!