opening weekend at The Manor, a luxurious hotel/Mansion on the Dorset Coast with cabins, a pool, tennis courts, etc. Its a place for the filthy rich to be seen. Francesca, the owner has spared no expense, but she isn't exactly who she proclaims to be... On the morning after The Solstice celebration, a body is found, but who is it and what exactly happened at The Manor that night? Oh and The Manor is in flames...

Told through multiple Povs this unfurls perfectly. The twists were u predictable and fantastic. There is also the dual timeline through diary entries that really add to the story by showing us glimpses to the shadowy past. Oh and sprinkle in some local folklore and some woods. Loved it. I didn't struggle to get into it a bit but once I got going I couldn't put it down.

A great story with so many opportunities to work out what is going on but do you really know. This was gripping from start to finish.

Another highly anticipated Lucy Foley read. A huge part of reading this that I enjoyed was the multiple POV which helped with grabbing the reader’s attention and keeps you on your toes (especially with the change in timelines!)

A good, solid & enthralling read!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

I have enjoyed Lucy Foley’s books but this one not as much. The book kept going backwards and forwards and in the middle, I found that annoying, so many books are written this way at the moment.
The luxury hotel has its grand opening and the locals are not happy at the changes Francesca Meadows has made to her grandfather’s mansion that she has inherited. She also has plans to expand into the ancient woods and land to build guest cabins. The story goes back to when Francesca was a teenager and the problems she created with local holidaymakers and villagers. It has repercussions on her opening. Throw in ancient legends surrounding the woods and strange birds.
I enjoyed the book more towards the end when the different strands of the timelines are brought together and I realised who everyone was.

Dramatic and thrilling! this is one of those stories that keeps you on your toes and keeps you guessing as to how things played out!! The issue I had with the earlier part of the story was that it was just a little too 'bitty' and kept chopping and changing from characters to timelines, so that I couldn't really get a good grasp on the central characters!! What I did enjoy was how it all played out in the end and am very glad I stuck with it!

Set around The Manor, in Dorset, a new luxury resort, we are introduced to the owner and a number of locals and visitors alike, and tension starts to build! The locals haven't taken kindly to the construction of the resort, and then the dark secrets start to be revealed about the goings on in the past and how that connects to the present.

I really enjoyed the dark and creepy vibes throughout and watching the secrets of the past being revealed!

Another brilliant read from Lucy Foley! I loved the pagan themes in this book and it was really spooky at times.
You will be kept guessing until the very end and as always, plenty of shocking twists and turns throughout!

A cracking read. As ever, a great read from this author. Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. Look forward to the next.

I so wanted to like this one but it failed to completely reel me in. Lucy Foley’s known for her complex, winding crime stories and this is no exception. It’s told from multiple perspectives, shifting backwards and forwards in time. I could see this approach was meant to keep readers guessing but I frequently found the ornate structure and the array of slightly-stock characters close to dizzying. The underlying narrative is skilful enough - not for nothing is Foley so popular a crime writer - and the backstory presented in the form of a teenager’s diary featured a number of intriguing elements. But it also felt manipulative and, for me, far too slow moving.

The central storyline unfolds in the near future and revolves around the opening of a chic, upmarket resort, the kind that attracts wealthy devotees of micro-dosing and wellness culture – somewhere tailormade for the Gwyneth Paltrows of this world. But this new development has met with hostility from the locals, among them a sinister, ancient society known as “The Birds.” The resort itself is positively dripping with secrets and hidden agendas: from what happened in owner Francesca’s youth to questions surrounding her husband Owen’s origins, not to mention the real identity of Bella a guest who seems bizarrely fixated on Francesca. In addition, we get missing people from the past, delinquent teens from the surrounding area threatening to attack hotel guests; and a series of unsettling occurrences with a folk horror flavour. The material itself is more than promising but the way everything fitted together just didn’t convince me, I found the succession of plot twists and reveals a bit wearying. But it’s still a relatively accomplished murder mystery which will undoubtedly work well for Foley’s many fans.

I think The Midnight Feast might actually be the best book I've read by Lucy Foley. The setting is incredibly atmospheric. It's blazing hot, the solstice is approaching and the newly opened hotel on the grounds of the old manor house is completely booked out. What could be more fitting for a Lucy Foley novel than a remote location and a group/horde of incredibly disgustingly rich people? There are many POVs and almost everyone we meet has something to hide. I enjoyed reading it extremely, especially the ending is filled with plot twists, not all of which I saw coming.

I really enjoyed this, a well paced thriller with plenty of twists. I really liked the more folklore-ish aspects of The Birds which appear in the woods. Nice class distinctions and as is often the way in Lucy Foley novels, some truly unlikeable characters. Great strands of stories coming together well, some surprises along the way and a well crafted plot. Great thriller, would recommend.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

The premise of this book was very promising, yet I am sorry to say that I didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped. I had quite a few issues with this book. Firstly, the constant switching between timelines and POVs was confusing and left me constantly thinking "wait what is going on?". I think the extracts into the past could have worked well if they were better planned, but they seemed too abrupt and confusing. These insights into the past didn't always progress the plot in any way either, so I felt like many of them could have been left out as they felt unnecessary. I did enjoy reading the journal entries though, and I think these would have sufficed without all the other flashbacks.

The beginning was also slow and drawn-out; it took too long for the action to kick in and I found myself feeling bored for the first half of the book or so. Once it did get going though, I enjoyed it a lot more, and the last 25% was enjoyable, gripping and fast-paced. It is just a shame that the author couldn't have made the entire book as thrilling as the last quarter, as if they had this would have been a great book with a great plot. I felt we spent too much time on background details rather than focusing on the plot. I did think the author did a great job at describing this really beautiful, idyllic setting and contrasting it with this really dark, creepy atmosphere that surrounds the legend of "the birds".

There are also a few too many characters in this book. It got to the point that I was confused over who was who, and was having to keep notes on who each character was, what their job was or how they knew the other characters etc just to keep up. For example, there was no need to include so many staff members and delve so deeply into their lives. The plot could have proceeded in the exact same way but using half the characters. Pretty much all the characters (other than maybe Eddie) were also annoying and quite shallow as they didn't have any real personalities (Bella for example seemed to have no personality other than being driven by revenge).

This is a real shame as I really wanted to love this book! I've heard some great things about Lucy Foley's other books, but this one was overall very disappointing. I will still try and read some of her other books, as I do think this book had potential that was just unfulfilled, but I am sorry to say I would not recommend reading this particular book. I rated this 2 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Lucy Foley for this ARC.

I have mixed feelings about The Midnight Feast. It dragged a bit in the beginning, actually up until around halfway. It did pick up at the end, the characters came together and pieces fell into place.

I cannot for the life of me understand why Sparrow kept going back to the manor. Real sucker for punishment stuff. Especially after that business with the dreadful Hugo. Every member of that family, from Frankie to Grandfa should have quietly been put out of their misery, what absolutely god-awful people. (Although I do tire of the whole 'the rich tormenting the poor' trope).

I loved the way Foley describes the Woods. Alive and writhing, they are another character in the book, malevolent and vengeful, as I would be if I had existed for centuries and this crowd came along. I loved the town, especially the name, Tome, pronounced Tomb. How cool is that? And you'd better pronounce it correctly or else.

I hated the business with the bull. Why oh why do authors do that? That really could have been left out, it added nothing and in my opinion detracted from what could have been a better read. Subtlety, Ms Foley, goes a long way towards creating atmosphere. Blood and gore do not. That's just gross. And no one in their right mind would sacrifice their own bull and remove his head because he was arthritic. I ask you.

All in all it wasn't the worst thing I've read, and the potential... Mind-blowing potential that sadly wasn't reached. The manor, the gardens, the woods, the elder trees... So much atmosphere could have been built into this, the being-watched creepy. Spine-chilling, subtle creepy. The stage was there but sadly the hedonistic Bachannalian behaviour really threw a damper over everything. Glad to see Daphne du Maurier's The Birds given a mention, i think I shall read it again, a sort of palate cleanser, if you will.

3 and a half stars, with a whole star knocked off because of poor Ivor.

It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder at…
THE MIDNIGHT FEAST

I’m a big fan of Lucy Foley so this one was a must read, and I Demolished it in 3 days!
The last 30% was just whiplash twists after twists. It felt like putting the last pieces of a jigsaw together and realising what the picture is.

Whilst it took some getting into, it was very much worth it. I really enjoyed the switch between past and present and the switch between children and adults.

It’s an eerie read. At times I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go but overall I really enjoyed it.

Safe to say I’ve never been a fan of birds and they just creep me out a little bit more!

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me access to a copy of this in exchange for an honest review

This is very much a run of the mill thriller but it just didn’t have the edge that I’ve come to expect of the author, Lucy Foley. I’m disappointing that I can’t rate this so well but, for me, the plot is weak and I couldn’t relate to any of the characters. Unfortunately I abandoned the book at 60% as I felt that I could give an honest review by then. Maybe it will appeal to die hard fans.

My thanks to the author, to the publisher and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Midnight Feast.

I enjoyed this book however I did find the characters leading each chapter confusing at times.

The characters were great and well written, made me love and hate certain ones.

All in all, a good mystery book which will keep you wondering and thinking page after page.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I’ve read all of Lucy’s books and was excited to read the next one. It didn’t disappoint. Told through multiple viewpoints, this murder mystery will keep you guessing to the end

Thank you to @Netgalley.co.uk and @HarperCollinsPublishers for a copy in return for an honest review

Lucy Foley always chooses fantastic settings for her stories, and yet again, has found the perfect setting in "The Midnight Feast"
What I really enjoy most about this writer is the way she presents her story. As an aspiring writer, I once was advised by a "critic" that "you have to write from the hero/heroines POV, not from the POV of different characters."
Not So, and I'm delighted to see that someone who is such a talented writer thinks like me! (Or that should be, I think as they do.)
As Foley demonstrates beautifully in her work, everyone has a voice. By dedicating each chapter to a character and separating the point of view, the story holds more depth, and for me, it becomes more natural.
Each chapter brings more information from the way each person thinks, feels, and sees the tale unfold. There are so many hidden truths to be uncovered, and each one brings an unexpected angle to the story. It is so intense and exciting that it grips the reader from the beginning.
Excellent storytelling, brilliant plot, wonderful characters, and a fantastic read.

Lucy Foley has become an autobuy author for me. I raced through this book with its dual timeline, multiple POVs, intriguing characters, and unexpected twists!

I really wanted to love this book as I've enjoyed this author in the past. However, the first half of the book seemed to drag and I almost gave up a couple of times. There were just many points of view and the timelines got a bit too confusing. There was a wide range of characters which I quite liked but I always think including diaries, especially a teenager's diary is a bit off-putting for the reader but that could just be me!

Overall, I'm glad I persevered as the last quarter was quite exciting as it all came together.

I absolutely loved this book from the first chapter. It is the perfect murder mystery, my favourite Lucy Foley book so far! Set over the summer solstice, it was the perfect time to read this one and I devoured it in a few sittings.

Set at The Manor, a high-end get away for the city high flyers to pretend they're at one with nature on the south coast, you really feel like some of the characters are getting their just desserts. Told through multiple POV and timelines (my favourite type of thriller!) there's many twists and turns you won't see coming.

Highly recommend this as the thriller of the summer! Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.