I sat down and read this in one sitting when I received it! I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t wait to see what happens. As the story progressed, I was a little less thrilled, but it was still good enough to make me want to find out what was going to happen. I love the character descriptions. It was almost enchanting the way she described everything. Overall, I enjoyed this book!

Lucy Foley has a very specific style of writing. Foley takes the typical murder mystery theme and doesn't reveal the victim until the final pages of the novel. While this style hasn't worked for me in the past, this book was far more enjoyable to me than her previous works.

"The Midnight Feast" follows events at The Manor, a luxury estate hotel of sorts that is the creation of Francesca Woodland. For opening weekend and the summer solstice celebration, the hotel is marred in controversy with locals seething over the use of their land and the potential return of "The Birds," a group straight from folklore that nobody is sure even exists. Told in multiple timelines, a body is found after the summer solstice celebration and the Manor is up in flames. The questions begin: who has died? How did it all go wrong? What happened that night? To find the answers, Foley takes us back to the days before the celebration, a journal from the locals many summers ago, and the detectives uncovering the clues in present time.

Like I mentioned before, Foley always follows this type of pattern for her stories. Because of the folklore, stories told in various voices (not too many), and different formats, it works wonders for "The Midnight Feast." Foley created a novel that allowed me to tear through the first two-thirds of the book without hesitation. The only reason for 4 stars is because the final third of the book did get a little convoluted and the chapters were too short to even warrant making them actual chapters.

Overall, "The Midnight Feast" was a deliciously creepy thriller that does what the best thrillers do: keep me wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the Advanced Reader's Copy of "The Midnight Feast" in exchange for an honest review!

It is opening night at The Manor, a luxurious estate in the Woodland Hutches. Only the privileged are on the guest list, except for one lone guest on her own: Bella. Much of the story is told by her point of view in the present and in the past via her diary. Several other key characters move the story along through their eyes as each chapter alternates a different POV and Bella’s diary relates what occurred in the past. A glimpse into the future is also provided in several chapters, giving the reader an idea what happens the night of the midnight feast.
The story evolves slowly and does not come together until almost the end, culminating with a few short chapters of what happened after the evening of the midnight feast.
This was my least favorite of Lucy Foley’s books. I had a difficult time getting involved because each short chapter told the story through a different person, making it difficult to feel invested in any one character and therefore, the story as a whole. I did not feel involved with the characters until at least halfway through the book.
The book had suspense and intrigue; reality and folklore; and finally, the truth.
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Lucy foley delivers in another spooky thriller. The opening of a new elite hotel spa in a small village is the setting for this story. The locals, who are deeply rooted in the spooky folklore of the village start to express their distaste for the new resort and the drama starts to intensify. As you read you’ll uncover twisty back stories of the characters that all seem to secretly intertwine. Definitely a spooky read, but will keep you turning pages!

I think after this book, I officially will be breaking up with Lucy Foley. There is something about the tone of her thrillers that is too harsh and her characters are just too unlikable for me. This book cinched that. It was about a bunch of rich people at a new resort with a female visionary (Francesca) who oscillated between trying to be a zen master and then having psychotic episodes. This resort was opposed by locals with a tradition of some weird folklore and scary woods. The supporting characters were no better than Francesca and all of them from Owen, her husband, to Bella, her former friend coming back for a big reveal, were unlikeable. The folklore was weird. Didn't care about the characters and drama and the rich people were horribly behaved. Contemplated not finishing but powered through but still did not care for it at all!

The last Lucy Foley book I read I did not love. So, I was hesitant to read this one. However, I found this book to be intriguing and when I finished a chapter I wanted to keep going. I liked the flashbacks and to see just enough of the characters from 15 years ago to get their background and to learn who they were and who they became. I also enjoyed jumping ahead in the timeline just a little from time to time to build suspense. This was a fast paced thriller and I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this opportunity!

The midnight feast had me confused from page one. I couldn’t grasp any interest in this book. There were too many characters and it seemed to drag on and on. I finally had to DNF on this unfortunately. The title and story seemed like it was right up my alley. But sadly it just didn’t work for me.

Lucy Foley's " The Midnight Feast" is a wonderful twisty murder mystery thriller. It was so good I didn't get much sleep. I couldn't put it down for more than a few hours. I was sorry when it ended, that's how good it was.

Lucy is a master of a slow burn turned into an excplosuve and addictive read. I wasn’t sure if I would get into this book but I found myself eating it up and struggling to put it down! She did it again!

Overall, this novel was an enjoyable read. It’s a novel that’ll keep you up at night. The setting was great - a wellness retreat overseeing a cliff with a great view.

This book was a pretty slow burn for me while the author laid OT each characters backstory. I definitely struggled with the sheer amount of characters - the staff, the guests, the police - loads to keep track of.

All in all, I always love a multiple timeline novel with several POVs. The author handled that seamlessly. Throwing in the journal chapters was fun to - discovering clues!

I enjoyed the fast-paced ending when everything came together.

🐦🔥💀💸🎉

The Midnight Feast is a twisty murder mystery, filled with secrets, lies, deception, and murder. Set in the luxurious confines of The Manor, a posh hotel in the small town of Tome. The story unfolds amidst a midnight feast. Fifteen years ago, something tragic happened that changed five people forever. They've been running from it their whole lives, but on the night of the feast, it finally catches up to them. This twisty, spooky, unexpected mystery was fun to read. The Guest List remains my favorite!

Lucy Foley has finally delivered her perfect thriller. While I have enjoyed her books in the past, as a large cast of characters and dual time lines often are part of my favorite mysteries, the characters in her past work had a tendency to blend together. In The Midnight Feast, every characters had a unique voice and played an integral part in the story. This story has the vibes of Saltburn and Midsommar, with the perfect amount of subtle, but poignant critiques about class and entitlement, with an incredibly satisfying element of justice and revenge. One of my favorite elements of the story was the, somewhat less obvious, message about motherhood that ran through the narrative.

My one critique is that one of the last reveals of the story felt a little too perfect. While I enjoy feeling like my thrillers come together at the end, if they wrap up too cleanly it is somehow not quite as satisfying. Not enough to knock this down from five stars though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

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.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, and I did enjoy it.

You know from the blurb that “The Manor” is the brainchild of Francesca Woodland and designed by her architect husband, Owen.

The novel starts during the opening weekend and Francesca is certain that everything is perfect. There is a beautiful infinity pool, special “healing pouches” for the guests with crystals and a special cocktail to mark the occasion. The “Manor Mule” is already being enjoyed by the guests spread out on the lawn - it seems to be the start of a wonderful weekend. It is a picture perfect evening - until it isn’t.

I really enjoyed the premise and the setting was beautiful, the combination of beautiful woods alongside a cliff overlooking the sea reminded me of living in St Thomas.


I didn't enjoy that there was too many characters, some of whom have changed their names and identities. Between the guests, the Manor staff and the police, there are a puzzling number of characters to keep track of.

Lucy Foley has become an auto buy author for me, having loved all her previous books. She is a master of weaving stories filled with atmosphere and mystery. Her newest book is probably one of my favorites. Told from multiple different points of view it tells the story of a luxury resort opened by Francesca and Owen, much to the dismay of the locals. Every character has their secrets and involvement that leads to a battered body at the bottom of a cliff.

I loved the character development in the story and the weaving into the story of the local folklore. The book was a fast and incredibly enjoyable read. I thank #netgalley and Harpercollins publishing for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Although this one didn’t WOW me, it was an enjoyable read. I think it’ll be great for summer when you want a creepy thriller that’ll keep you awake at night. I love the concept of a wellness retreat setting where everyone attending has hidden agendas and secrets from their pasts. It was slow burn at first while we learned about the characters. I always love a good multi POV, short chapters, and flashbacks to the past. These aspects were done very well along with the summer journal that slowly revealed clues.

I enjoyed the fast-paced ending when everything came together. The twists were predictable, and although the bird folklore added another level of creepiness, it wasn’t necessary. Personally, something in this book was missing for me to rate it 4 or 5 stars, but I think many people will love this book!

This is my first by this author and I’m so glad I was accepted to read it early because easily a top 10 book and now a top 5 author for me! I cannot wait to read more by this author! This book was so intriguing and kept me engaged and interest all the way through!

This is only my second Lucy Foley book. I'm not a big reader of thrillers, but I do enjoy twisty stories, and a mystery that allows you to figure it out if you're looking close enough. This book has both of those attributes, but there was also something missing. <i>The Midnight Feast</i> had enough suspense and intriguing twists to make me keep reading, but the writing itself was lacking for me. I wanted to know the answers, and I was drawn in enough to keep turning the pages. I think, though, that there were a few too many character points-of-view, and it was hard to distinguish them from one another-if the chapters hadn't been named by character, I would have been lost a number of times.

I didn't feel a spark, either. Why am I supposed to care about any of these characters? I don't feel much sympathy for most of them, because they all seem to be operating for their own selfish reasons. Why has it taken so many years for any of what happened to come to light? Why live with a secret for so long and then decide to go about getting closure in such a drawn out, roundabout way? Maybe there are answers to these questions, but there doesn't seem to be enough background for any one character to be fleshed out. Other reviewers have issue with someone not being recognizable after fifteen years, but I for one found that one of the most believable parts. There were a few times, too, that I felt the book was strangely similar to <i>The Guest List</i>, with a cast of side characters that seem to have been reused.

There are enough twists and pieces of a good puzzle here to keep fans of thrillers and in particular Lucy Foley engaged, but in the end I felt that there wasn't enough characterization for the story to really hit home.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book.

ARC review-

I loved this book. In true Lucy Foley fashion, we have a classic twisty turny whodunnit that leaves you guessing, not only who committed the crime but who the deceased character actually is, until the very end. The time jumps were easy to follow, and the journal entry POVs were a clever way to take a peek into the past as we learn more about our host of characters.

As the reader, you start off immediately suspicious of every character we are introduced to. You know that each of them have secrets of their own, some sinister and some innocent, and as usual the secrets are what ties everyone together. The last 15% of the book had my jaw on the floor with how many twists were revealed.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a unique twist on a murder mystery. Lucy Foley is a modern day Agatha Christie, weaving the most intricate and addicting stories to read.

This was such a good book! Lucy Foley always writes the most gripping stories and she has DONE IT AGAIN! Will be recommending this to my mystery/thriller lovers.