The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley is a masterclass in storytelling, I think that this book could be her best yet. It was a very clever book to read.
The way different characters were all brought together to be part of the climax was such an awesome set of manoeuvres. I found that the storyline made the reader feel uneasy at times, because you were never quite sure what would happen next, would the birds that kept appearing been instrumental in bringing the Manor and its founder down or would it be someone else?
The tension built up throughout the storyline and in the end the reader was never sure if the Founder of the Manor, the husband., one of the guests or one of the staff would bring the midnight feast into mayhem and chaos, or would it be the mysterious birds and did they really exist?
Highly recommended

A fantastic fast paced thriller. At the opening weekend of a new hotel, a body is found…and that’s not all.

Told my multiple - slightly unreliable - narrators, the past and the present are gradually woven together to reveal the truth.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Another fabulous page turner from Lucy Foley.

I really enjoyed this novel.

Set on Solstice in a secluded English Manor, Lucy Foley has repeated her previous achievements in weaving a tale of mystery and intrigue through the perspectives of different characters, with the added characters of The Birds.

A page turner, keeping you intrigued until the end.

When I seen this book I requested it as I love Lucy foley especially the guest list. So when I was lucky enough to get it I was so excited.
At the start of the book you are introduced to the characters which make you think why but then bang the first twist happens and then it leads you into a false sense of now I know what’s going on. Wrong because then bang another one happens just don’t get comfortable with this book because the twists will make you feel goosebumps the twists within it will have you hooked right to the end where the twists still happen . I will definitely be buying a hard copy of this book as it was amazing. Don’t want to give too much away but the retreat and the description of activities and stories will make you want to go to the small town and explore it yourself. With twists that would make Agatha Christie proud this book will have you hooked.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harpercollins uk for the opportunity to read this and the release date set on a new moon was genius. Good luck Lucy foley but I don’t think you will need it with this brilliant book.

I love a Lucy Foley book but I always have a terrible sense of foreboding while reading . She is such a great author when you think you know where the story is going it twists and leaves you desperate to keep reading. Francesca has it all from launching the hottest place to stay in Dorset to the loving husband. There are no secrets between them, or are there?

An atmospheric read steeped in folk lore and the shadows of the past. Opening night at the Manor begins as an exquisite display of wealth as exclusive guests lap up the fine food and drink on offer whilst enjoying the entertainment. However, not everyone is pleased at the presence of this new retreat or its wealthy owner Francesca. The frivolity and celebrations quickly go up in metaphorical and literal flames, whilst blood, fairytale chants and hooded bird figures stalk the woods. It is an unforgettable night for many for all the wrong reasons and the last night for others. The multiple POVs drip feed us clues to this event and how the events of the last link to the sabotaged event. It takes unti the final chapter to piece it altogether. #themidnightfeast #lucyfoley #netgalley

Lucy Foley has done it again, this may be my favourite one yet. The Midnight Feast is a chilling and atmospheric tale told from multiple points of view and dotted with flashback chapters.

The opening of the luxury resort “The Manor” brings together a host of complex characters. A secret is bubbling to the surface which has been buried for too long. There are those determined to find justice however there are those who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried.

This was a slow burn however from about half way through the big reveals, plot twists and drama were just constant.

I would definitely recommend this as your next read.

Wow - what a book! The genre that Lucy Foley writes is not my normal reading; however, having read (and loved!) her previous novels, I was really looking forward to this new one. And boy, it did not disappoint in the slightest! The way she devises such a interwoven story, the characters she creates, the plot, the setting, the scenarios - all amazing! Yes, I do feel I have to try to keep "with it" at times - there are quite a few characters and as the story moves between timelines (not only over the few days of the 'event' but also going back 15 years to where it all began) and also from different characters point of view, it can be a little disorientating. However, things gradually slot into place and you learn that people are not who you thought they were, or should I say, you learn who they were 15 years ago.....!

A story that gripped me right to the end, with loads of twists and turns which you just don't see coming. Cannot rate this book highly enough if you love a good murder / crime / mystery - even if that isn't your normal genre, I would give it a go. You might be surprised how much you enjoy it!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

Francesca Meadows has returned to her family’s country pile - Dorset coastline in this story but you catch my drift - and is launching her newly renovated Spa Hotel for the Uber wealthy. But as you’d expect, nothing us as it seems and there’s a huge backstory here from multiple perspectives which flick from past to present. Sadly out of these leading characters there’s probably only one you’ll be rooting for and that’s Eddie who is living in the shadow of a dead older sibling. The death is connected to the Hotel in its previous guise. Then there’s birds, big and black who keep shedding feathers everywhere and a village full of people resentful of the hotel. It all gets a bit confusing to be honest. It gave me real Nine Perfect Strangers vibes initially but Moriarty’s book shone throughout whilst this fizzled out like a damp squib. I’m sure Lucy Foley has a huge fan base who will love this before even reading it and as such my opinion won’t matter one iota. Praise though to the publishers whose marketing persuaded me to read this despite my option of her last book being meh too!

It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and Francesca Meadows is preparing for the grand opening of The Manor, the latest high-end health resort. An opening that's beset from the start by delays, local hostility and hints of pagan superstition.

Cutting back and forth between the eve of the opening, its aftermath and a Summer fifteen years earlier it quickly becomes clear that nobody, not least Francesca herself, is quite what they seem. Before it's over long held secrets will be revealed and death delivered.

The Midnight Feast, which is a bit of a return to form by Lucy Foley after the disappointment of The Paris Apartment, has all the ingredients to be a classic crime: it's well constructed, packed with plot twists, red herrings and revelations, but just falls short. The ending gets bogged down by all the revelations. Just because everyone seems to have a secret do they have to actually have one!?

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins and the author for an advance review copy.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

First time read by this author and I wonder what rock I have lived under , I've been missing out !
Fab , edge of your seat stuff . I loved it.

Another gripping thriller from Lucy Foley. I defy anyone not to read this in one sitting. A gripping cast of characters against a pacy and tense narrative.

Twisty, juicy thriller as we have come to expect from Lucy Foley. very satisfying example of the genre, perfect holiday read - but maybe not if you are in an exclusive spa resort!

Thanks to Net Galley & the publishers for the ARC

It's the opening weekend of the Manor, a newly renovated luxury getaway spot by the coast. Francesca, the owner, has curated everything for the weekend, including the guest list, determined that the weekend will be a success. The Manor is full of people hiding secrets though, staff, guests and even Francesca and her husband. Nobody is exactly who they seem. As the Midnight feast hits full swing things take a dramatic turn.

This was an interesting book to read. It was a little different to some of Foley's previous books, in that it's not exactly a closed room mystery. It's still full of suspense though, and you spend a large part of the book trying to figure out the connections between the characters.

Speaking of characters, this book is full of broken people. Francesca is deplorable, and you know from very early on that you just don't like her. The rest of the characters though, much as they have secrets and issues, there's a very clear feeling that this is because of things that have happened to them over their lives.

The storyline is split between the past and present, showing us a summer at the Manor many years ago, and the current opening weekend. It's also told from multiple points of view. You learn early on that there is a link between that previous summer and the events that are unfolding in the present day, but it takes some time to figure out who and what those links are. The different points of view are all clear and distinctive, with well defined characters.

I thought Foley did a great job with this book, letting you piece the picture together slowly, which helps to build up the tension. There was certainly a couple of twists that I didn't see coming, and the ending ratcheted things up to a frenzied pace.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley is the third book I've read by the British author and I've enjoyed them all. She seemingly draws on long-kept secrets and develops intriguing and complex plots around relationships - testing family ties and friendship boundaries. Here the launch of a new luxurious wellness retreat brings together a disparate group of story tellers (in the present) and a diary-writer (in the past), the two converging in fresh tragedy as past secrets are revealed.

We learn about the past a little through some of our narrators in the present, but it's predominantly diary entries that share the events of a summer holiday in 2010.

In the present (2025) we jump around a little. We start with the official opening of the wellness retreat, then leap forward (a few days we learn, though initially I thought it was the very next day and was slightly confused) to after tragedy's struck. We then move back and forth as those we meet traverse the next couple of days and revisit the past. We know these days culminate in a body, perhaps more than one, and a fire but Foley does a good job at keeping details from us until the very end when she deftly reveals them with a sleight of hand. Or fingertips to keyboard, I guess.

We have a few narrators, but it feels like Bella is front and centre. She's at the retreat under false pretences and we piece together her story fairly quickly, thanks to the diary entries from fifteen years earlier. Then there's Eddie, a local lad who's washing dishes at the retreat but wants more from life. And Owen, husband to the retreat's owner Francesca Meadows who inherited the Manor and its buildings and grounds from her grandfather. We also meet DI Walker, who arrives to investigate a body found on the beach as well as the fire and other happenings at the retreat.

We learn more about the past, when teenage Frankie (as Francesca was known then) visited her grandparents along with her older bratty and spoiled brothers, befriending other holidaymakers and a few locals. The Meadows family are not particularly pleasant and Frankie's brothers comment that she's got a habit of collecting things (and people) to make up for her mother's lack of attention and affection.

Adding local folklore into the mix is a catalyst for all that comes after - both in the past and present. I wondered (however) if events would have unfolded similarly even if there weren't stories of 'the birds', seemingly seeking revenge and punishment. A myth surely... though life-sized creatures are seen by reliable witnesses.

I loved the 'reveals' Foley offers in the present. Those from the past who've reinvented themselves. And those who our characters never really knew back then. Not really. I guessed at one or two of these but not some of the connections and Foley does a stellar job at timing these with catastrophic events at the retreat And the fact that there are still a few secrets falling out of the past at the very end made this a very entertaining (and satisfying) read.

The Midnight Feast is easily one of my most anticipated releases of 2024, coming from one of my go-to Mystery/Thriller authors, Lucy Foley. I love her classic style, her sense of place, as well as her dramatic characters.

It's the summer solstice in Tome, Dorset - perfect timing for Francesca to open her new luxury wellness hotel. The place is sold out, the welcome weekend has been planned to perfection and Francesca is feeling very zen. But, as different POVs are heard, and their reasons for being at The Manor are revealed, the veneer of opulent tranquility begins to crack and peel; chapter by chapter, person by person, 'When you open up the past like this, it can have repercussions you never imagined'. Add together the rising tide of animosity flooding from the surrounding locals, unhappy with being cut off from the ancient forests and access to the beach and the hottest summer weekend on record, truly becomes scorching.

This is my first Lucy Foley book and I readily enjoyed the rapid pace of tension and complexity building. Using multiple points of view, journal entries, and pre-event as well as post-event timelines, keeps the reading a pacy, page-turner. I did slightly grumble at the way the ending wrapped up, but with so many threads to cast off, it's hardly surprising. Part mystery, part thriller with horror and folklore elements, this book is bound to keep most readers entertained.

This will definitely not be my last Lucy Foley book. I love the way she wrote this story, it kept me entertained and I couldn't put it down.

Thanks to #NwtGalley and #HarperCollinsUK for the book #TheMidnightFeast by #LucyFoley. This book is a non stop roller coaster ride with murder, secrets and lots of drama. Bella goes back to The Manor to face Frankie and old demons. Fifteen years ago, something bad happened at the Manor. The truth needs to come out. And the birds are back. Watch out for the birds!

Thank you for this ARC. I have read Lucy Foley books before so couldn’t wait to read this one. What’s great about this book is the short chapters each one dedicated to a character. It doesn’t take long to be absorbed and it was hard to put down. I devoured in 2 days. Would thoroughly recommend to others.

"The Midnight Feast" by Lucy Foley is an enthralling thriller set on the Dorset coast. The story revolves around Francesca, who inherits her family estate and turns it into a luxurious resort. The opening weekend is marred by secrets and tension, leading to a murder at the solstice supper. The novel skillfully alternates between past and present, revealing dark secrets from 15 years ago.
Foley creates a vivid setting, contrasting local folklore with Francesca's superficial spirituality. The multiple perspectives and dual timelines enhance the suspense and kept me engaged. Francesca is a compelling villain, self-righteous and oblivious to her impact on the locals.
Some aspects of the story made me feel like I am missing something important and the jumping in time made it harder to focus on a few chapters but the story's twists and turns, along with its atmospheric setting, made it a satisfying read in the end.
Overall, "The Midnight Feast" is a dark, captivating thriller with a compelling setting and intricate plot.

I nearly gave up on this book as I felt it was a slow burner but I'm glad I persisted with it as the pace increased and the thrills, shocks, twists and turns commenced. A historic manor has been converted into a boutique hotel and on the opening party night things started to go very wrong. Amongst other things, Franscesco had an unwelcome visitor from her past. Even the locals were trying to put an end to proceedings quoting ancient folklore.
After a slow start this book became an exciting and thrilling storyline. The author cleverly uses various characters points of view to get the story across.