This is a bit of a slow burner but stick with it as it has a great ending.
The story is set around The Manor which is a new retreat that Francesca and Owen have just opened.
The locals are not happy that their access to the area has been restricted and make their feelings known.
There are chapters from several different characters in the past and present, and there's also a journal which gives an insight into the past.
There's also some chapters after the Solstice and it's clear something terrible happened, but it's not until the end of the book that all is revealed.
This is a good mystery thriller that I enjoyed.
Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the fourth Lucy Foley book I’ve read, so I know what to expect - a large cast of characters, a great location and a convoluted storyline. One of the main characters Francesca is so deluded about her own importance she is a caricature. Bella wants to right a wrong, Owen is married to ‘a goddess’ ( Francesca) he thinks, Eddie is trying to decide his place in life after a tough start. This is a story about haves and have-nots, about tradition, legend and myth; it’s a story about revenge and comeuppance. I loved it! Thank you to NetGalley Harper Collins for an ARC.

In a nutshell, this is an enjoyable ‘who did what, to who & why’. There are a number of characters, but I had no trouble keeping up with who everyone was. The different timelines were clear & it added to the tension build up nicely. I enjoyed it.

Really needed to concentrate with this one so many characters all known by all different names as well as their own and told from multiple points of views and timelines which I usually like but there was just to much going on.
Having read the authors other books and enjoyed them I was slightly disappointed with this one just wasn't for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2024/06/04/the-midnight-feast-by-lucy-foley/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : I Absolutely Loved This One

I’ve read a few of Lucy Foley’s books now and really enjoy her writing and imagination and I think she has absolutely nailed the whole Agatha Christie, whodunnit, plenty of red herrings, leading you a merry old dance type of vibe. This is my favourite by her so far.

I don’t want to over elaborate on the plot because wild horses can’t drag any spoilers from me. Nope. But, I will say, this revolves around the grand opening of a lush vacation/spa/hotel known as the Manor. No expense has been spared for the opening weekend, the guestlist has been vetted, the food is going to be sumptuous, the wine and cocktails will flow, the infinity pool will be infinite and the verdant lawns will terminate in a view of the sparkling ocean beyond. Even the weather is playing ball, well, it’s probably a little too hot if anything. What could possible go wrong?

Well, firstly, the locals are not necessarily happy with this new project. People are getting pushed out of business, footpaths have been fenced off and even the beach, now only accessible via a path on the hotel’s land, has been sequestered, although the locals can still reach it by boat.

Secondly, hugging the grounds is an old forest that practically bristles with superstitious lore. This is the sort of forest with ancient trees and plenty of dark secrets. Do not offend the Birds.

The owners, the staff and some of the guests have secrets and hidden agendas.

On top of this, we have a journal, written over summer 15 years earlier. This definitely makes for very interesting reading.

What did I love about this one. In a nutshell, this worked for me on every level. We have a strange mix of unlikable and likable characters and a number of narrators to tell the story. Eddie, who works at the Manor washing pots. Francesca, the owner of the estate who inherited everything from her grandparents. Bella, a guest staying in one of the woodland hutches, Owen, the architect and husband of the owner. And, of course, the journal. Which I won’t say more about.

The pacing is really good. Foley really cranks up the pressure for everyone. The staff are running around like headless chickens, Francesca is trying to maintain a sense of inner serenity that isn’t really working, Owen is sneaking about, following his wife or trying to slope off for some alone time to surf and Bella is having second thoughts and feeling very anxious about being at the Manor. Meanwhile the Journal is telling us a darker story belonging to the Manor and slowly revealing the events that took place towards the end of a long lazy summer. It’s all leading up to something.

I loved the story. The author totally fooled me and I hold my hands up and readily admit that I had things wrong. And, I love that.

And, the midnight feast – this is when everything goes to hell in a handcart. What a satisfying conclusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, it was so enjoyable in fact I finished it in a day and a half and I will say I now have regrets because I’m sorry that the read has ended.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Lucy Foley is a little bit of a hit and miss author for me, which I know is an unpopular opinion! I loved The Guest List (although speaking to someone who had read The Hunting Party, it sounded pretty similar), but The Paris Apartment only got 2 stars from me. I was excited to try The Midnight Feast to see if it could remind me of the reasons for her hype.

Unfortunately, reading back on my critique of The Paris Apartment, I can see the same points to be mentioned in this review. Firstly, I didn’t feel like I engaged much in The Midnight Feast, I found it difficult to have the impetus to pick it up to keep reading. It didn’t really grab me, and I didn’t feel invested in the storyline. Part of the issue I think are the characters, the chapters alternate between 4 points of view, as well as flashback sequences and skipping forward with the Police Team at the Crime scene. However, they are all written so similarly I had to remind myself whose point of view we were in throughout each chapter. I also found that I didn’t really empathise with any of them either which led to my lack of engagement. The police scene chapters were good to drip feed us information about the crime that was about to happen, but I found myself a bit frustrated with them as they took me out of the immersion. I didn’t see the point in learning a lot about each of the police characters and their backstories when the main storyline was happening in the past.

The story should have been interesting – a fancy hotel’s opening weekend is plagued by angry locals who believe that they are building on their land and knocking down their trees. However, it all felt a little surface level, and quite frankly, I felt like I’d read very similar stories before – nothing felt very original.

Overall, The Midnight Feast fell a little flat to me - with an unoriginal storyline and too similar characters leading to a lack of engagement in the plot. Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins UK – Harper Fiction for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

oh my goodness me where to start with this one.... there are a plethora of characters to get to know and not only that but you also have then and now chapters and not to confuse you even more but maybe one or two characters being other people from the past as well.... so its all a bit confusing at first until you get your head around it....

then when you start to figure out the main story its intriguing enough to carry on to see how it all pans out

but remember nature has it way of sorting things out and when you know the truth its a shocker of an ending....

3.5 stars rounded up.

I got this as an ARC from netgalley in both audio and ebook form so read them in tandem. If you've read a Lucy Foley book before, you'll know her books follow a format - a group of people are gathered in a semi wilderness setting, a body shows up (in this instance 2 - a historical body and a recent body) and they figure out what happened. It's a good book with a good format. It's well written and the main characters are sufficiently developed. I enjoyed it and will likely read more books by this author.

3.75⭐️s. This book is not a thriller but more a murder mystery. There were a few times where I gasped out loud but In general it was a little slow paced. Would still recommend but wouldn’t describe as a thriller since there was little suspense for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book.
When I first started I thought "not going to finish this too much like others I've already read," but I stuck with it which was difficult at times. So glad I did as the ending was so much better than I expected.

Bit of a slow burner but worth reading.

This was difficult to rate because whilst it is really well written, I did struggle to keep up with what was going on sometimes. I wasn't completely on the edge of my seat hooked, but having said that, this is still a very highly anticipated release that I know lots of Lucy Foley fans will enjoy!

Oh my goodness I loved this book! It took me a little bit to get in to it but then I couldn’t put it down.
I liked the jumps between now and the back story, it helped give context to what was happening.
The strange twists and reveals in terms of characters keep me on my toes as I was reading.
The central storyline of how the community looks after itself was one that I thought held everything together so well.

I’ve long been a fan of Lucy Foley’s locked room murder mystery thrillers and I have ti say I think that The Midnight Feast is my favourite yet. The addition of the quiet menace of The Birds folklore and the horror element that brought seriously elevated this one in my eyes. Lucy Foley’s books are always great, but this was something else!

In The Midnight Feast we find ourselves in Tome, Dorset. It’s very much a small rural town where the locals feel extremely put out by the new wellness retreat, The Manor, that has been opened at the site of the old Tome Manor House. The local/outsider and class division elements that ran through the novel really added a greater depth to it. I don’t want to say much else on this so as to not give anything away but it worked really well.

We have a classic Foley multi POV that builds up to the inevitable murder, that’s interspersed with the present where we follow DI Walker as he begins his investigation and the past in the form of a diary that recounts the events that occurred 15 years prior. The different POVs all gave clear and distinct voices, they’re nearly all hiding something and range from outright unlikable to morally grey. This is such a clever and tightly plotted novel that will have you making guesses about people only to find yourself totally wrong and then going no way! when you do find out. I had a couple of hunches that proved right which was a real thrill.

This really was such a great read. The short chapters make it impossible to put down. I really loved the horror element included within this one as well. The final couple of chapters, honestly, I was scooping my jaw off the floor. I’d thoroughly recommend this one.

The Midnight Feast
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thankyou to @netgalley and @harperfiction for sending me an e-ARC of this book and happy publication day to @lucyfoley

This was a very highly anticipated thriller for me, having read Foleys other books with her short chapters from multiple POV’s I was super excited to get stuck in.

She never fails to write a story that is fast paced, atmospheric, and so much fun you don’t want to put it down. This was no different it has you hooked from the get go, I mean it says a lot that I read about 90% of the book within a few hours.
I also really liked the 2 timelines this time, the present being the grand opening of a manor resort for the rich and famous, and the past being told through the pages of a journal
My only (slightly) negative thing was at times it became confusing to remember who was who in the story (you’ll have to read it to fully understand what I mean).

I also really loved the ending of the books how everyone’s worlds and all the multiple POV’s collided into one and the little twist I was completely blindsided too!

Could not recommend enough that you all go and add this to your summer TBR, you won’t regret it.

I love this author. Another fantastic job at keeping me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put this one down! Lots of twists and suspense: highly recommend!

A slow burn of a mystery, The Midnight Feast follows several characters over dual timelines showing us the opening weekend of a luxurious Manor House owned by Francesca and her husband. We also follow a flashback timeline to 15 years previous which gives a very differnet view of the lady of the Manor!

This is one that needs a bit of concentration dye to the amount of different characters and the different names they are known by.

I’m a huge fan of Lucy Foley and was really keen to listen to her latest book, The Midnight Feast.

The book moves between two timelines. The present timeline centres on the weekend of the grand opening of a luxury retreat hotel opening in Dorset in South West England. It also glides into another timeline of the past and the events from a summer fifteen years previously where the teenagers of the ‘big house’ spent the summer with the locals and teenagers from the holiday caravan park.

The hotel is bordered by a woodland and the coast and the book builds up an eerie and atmospheric setting. It also fuses midsummer magic and superstition from a remote part of the country with a backdrop of class, privilege and locals pitted against outsiders.

The story unfolds from the point of view of the teenagers from the summer fifteen years ago and as adults in the present day, as well as other characters involved in the hotel opening.

I was completely sucked into the story and didn’t see the twists and turns coming. One thing is for sure - the past is never lost or forgotten.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, HarperCollins UK, for making the e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I eagerly await anything written by Lucy Foley so I was thrilled to be offered an ARC of her new book The Midnight Feast.

It's opening weekend at The Manor. On the surface the retreat appears to be luxurious, glamorous and the perfect setting for the elite to spend in Summer Solstice celebrations. However there are secrets lurking just under the decadent surface. Dark secrets that may ruffle a few feathers.

This is a perfect summer thriller. Set at midsummer during a heatwave really ramps up the tensions. I enjoyed the two timelines and the different POVs, although I did get a little confused at the start and it took me a minute to get used to the rapid changes. I also enjoyed the folklore elements and found they lended an eerie atmosphere to the story.

I would definitely recommend this fast paced thriller and think it will be a hit this summer.

It’s Midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests are gathering for the opening of The Manor hotel, the new jewel on the Dorset coastline. The champagne is flowing, the guest list sparkling, and the sun is setting on an unforgettable summer solstice. But under the cloak of celebration, something dark is stirring. The Manor has a secret history, lurking in the shadows of an ancient wood next to the site, and old friends and enemies are creeping out, along with other deadly secrets that come out at night…

I devoured this in two sittings, I was hooked from the first page and held captivated right until the very last word. Having read the last three titles from this author I have been looking forward to this for a while and I certainly wasn’t disappointed! The mix of characters are perfectly aligned (Francesca is just vile in every way!) and the diary entries from the past set the scene with the folklore legends established within this local community’s lives through the years.

Some very clever twists and turns, ones you won’t see coming, that literally keep you on the edge of your seat! It’s hard to say much more without spoilers (not happening!) but this is a fast-paced thriller, filled with suspense and intrigue that will hold your attention right till the end. Fans of this author won’t be disappointed and, if you’ve not read any other of her books, can’t recommend this one enough as a great place to start!

3.5*

In this locked room Murder Mystery we follow a number of perspectives: Francesca who has just opened a wellness retreat called The Manor; and a bunch of her guests. The ominous and otherworldly atmosphere is set from the start of the story and continues to build throughout and mounting secrets and lies unfold one at a time. One of the perspectives follows a teenager from another timeline and slowly as the book progresses we see the relevance of how everything comes together satisfyingly.

The setting and owner of The Manor, Francesca reminded me of ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ and the claustrophobic small town setting was reminiscent in atmosphere of ‘Spells For Forgetting’ - two books I’ve really enjoyed.

I really loved the twists and turns of this one, especially as I only guessed one of them and it was a really fast paced read with very short chapters which made it so easy to fly through. This book also surprised me with a few one liners that made me laugh out loud that added to the overall enjoyment. I’ve had a great time reading both “The Hunting Party” and “The Guest List” by Lucy Foley and this one is no exception - so I’ll need to check out “The Paris Apartment” next!

Thank you to Harper Collins, Netgalley and Lucy Foley for the advanced copy. This book will be released 6/6/24 if you fancy checking it out.