Another sure fire hit for Lucy Foley. A wonderfully dark twisty story, like a country cliff top road! From the start I was hooked. I was very intrigued by 'The Birds" concept and how nature wins! At first I was quite taken by The Manor and thought it would be lovely to visit, but then slowly I realised that Francesca wasn't quite the tickets thought herself to be! It was interesting that she didn't recognise some of her staff as being from her past, but this only added to her narcissistic behaviour. I was truly shocked by some of the twists and turns i was taken on and was delighted by the ending. The body found at the beginning began a guessing game on whom it could be that was revealed at the end. I thought the winning sentence was in the last chapter in the pub. I won't repeat it as it would give some the book away, but it did make me chuckle. I will be wary of being invited to a midnight feast from now on! Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins.

Absolutely loved this book!

I've read a few of Lucy Foley's previous thrillers and really enjoyed them but this is the best one yet.
The story is told from different perspectives and covering different points in time, both before and after the main event, giving you clues to help you discover who is responsible. The book has absolutely amazing characters with so much depth and mystery.

I really recommend this book, especially if you're a fan of crime and thrillers!

Once I got into this book I really enjoyed it. There are several characters relating the story and the time line keeps changing too so a lot to cope with as well as characters who have changed names between the then and now. It certainly keeps you guessing and the ending was not what I expected.

I read and enjoyed all Lucy Foley's previous books, and The Midnight Feast must be my new favourite of hers!

A story full of mystery, where nothing and nobody is what it seems. I binge read this book and couldn't get enough of it. There are so many twists, all extremely well plotted and thought out that there really isn't a good place to stop reading, you just need to figure out what's going on and what are the links connecting the characters.

A book I recommend to any thriller reader who wants to read something a bit different that will keep them turning pages well into the night.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading and loving The Guest List by Lucy Foley, I had to request an ecopy of this and was so excited to be approved.
However, I found it hard to keep up with the timeline and the characters and found myself not understanding what was going on except that there were birds. Birds birds birds. I think it would've been a lot easier to follow reading the physical book, so I may have to try that as the plot was very intriguing!

Having read some of Lucy Foley's books and enjoyed them, I was looking forward to reading this book and genuinely think this is Lucy's best book to date.
The ideas are just as creative and yet more finessed and tighter, whilst the plot is above the author's usual high standard.
The characters are well formed and relatable and not one dimensional in any respect, seeping their respective secrets as the book progresses. I love how natural it is in Lucy's books that the main female character finishes triumphant, scars and setbacks aside and yet it never feels forced or contrived.
I'm grateful for the publisher allow me to read this book early and genuinely hope this author achieves more and more success, as it is entirely deserved.

Wow! First off, I'm impressed by how different stories can go based on the same premise: A remote location, a night full of emotions, a group of people who more or less know each other - and one of them ends up dead. It's the fourth time Lucy Foley has taken this premise and turned it into yet another completely different masterpiece.
Francesca Meadows is opening her luxury hotel in her grandparents' former home - a dream come true. But the locals are not so happy about it, and something terrible happened here fifteen years ago...
It's creepy and atmospheric, it's mysterious, it's absolutely gripping.
The different POVs are so brilliantly written. And for the first time, I did find a character 100% loveable.
This is so dark and yet gives all the summer vibes - the perfect summer thriller.
Go see for yourselves!
Big thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the arc in exchange for my honest review. I already preordered a copy because I loved it so much.

Lucy Foley's The Midnight Feast is an amazing read. The setting is beautifully crafted and I loved how the eerie birds added so much depth and tension to the story. The complex characters, each with their distinct voices and hidden motives, made the multiple POVs engaging and immersive.
The plot's pacing was perfect for me, with tension building up gradually, becoming more intense as the secrets were revealed. The way Foley wrapped up the story was really satisfying, tying all the loose ends neatly. The book's setting, the character dynamics, and the jumps between past and present made this a very compelling read.
5 solid stars from me!!
If you enjoyed Foley's previous works, you'll find The Midnight Feast equally captivating - or even more! However, if The Guest List wasn't your cup of tea, this one might not be either.

Unfortunately this wasn’t a book that I enjoyed reading, I had high expectations for this one as all this authors other books that I have read were really enjoyable. Im looking forward for the next book to come out. The characters werent very likeable at all and the story itself didn’t have enough suspense to get me hooked: Although the style of writing was perfect.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.:

I do enjoy a Lucy Foley story.

Another well-written, intriguing story filled with unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes murder mysteries have an unnatural flow, where the author is studiously avoiding writing anything that might give away any clues about what’s to come but that’s not how this story is at all. It all unfolds so naturally and with an ease that belies how complex the story is.

Francesca Meadows is opening her luxury boutique hotel/glamorous retreat over midsummer’s weekend but there are some unexpected and unwelcome guests along for the ride.

A twisty, clever tale of revenge, revelations and retribution - I couldn’t put this down, it had me absolutely hooked but I was genuinely intrigued by how the story would play out - and I almost didn’t want it to end, so cleverly done was it.

Set aside a few hours to read this undisturbed because you won’t want to leave Tome until all of its secrets have been revealed.

Another five star corker from Lucy Foley. I stayed up until 1am to finish this as I had to know a certain someone had met a deliciously awful end. Fantastic to have some likeable characters this time too, to root for and cheer for and to keep everything crossed that they get out alive.

I recently had the pleasure of reading "The Midnight Feast," a gripping dark atmospheric thriller that unfolds at a newly opened, highly exclusive wellness retreat situated on the Dorset Coast.

The narrative initially unfolds at a leisurely pace, but soon gains momentum, drawing the reader in with its multiple points of view and three distinct timelines. While the initial confusion may be off-putting, the gradual convergence of these threads and the unexpected plot twists make for a truly enthralling experience. The infusion of folklore elements adds an eerie and captivating dimension to the story.

The characters in the book are skillfully crafted and intriguing, albeit not entirely likeable. With most of them harboring secrets, it's challenging to find someone to root for. However, I found myself surprisingly drawn to a side character named Eddie, and I couldn't help but hope for a positive outcome for him. As for the other characters, they failed to evoke much empathy from me.

I would caution potential readers against learning too much about the plot in advance, as the element of surprise greatly enhances the reading experience. Overall, I believe this book is a perfect choice for readers seeking a compelling thriller to delve into this summer.

I am immensely grateful to NetGalley and the publishers HarperCollins UK and Harper Fiction for providing me with a digital review copy (eARC). The thoughts I have shared are entirely genuine and unbiased, and I am doing so willingly.

I guess it is safe to say that I’m a fan of Lucy Foley’s mystery-thrillers. I thoroughly enjoyed The Hunting Party, The Guest List, and The Paris Apartment. So when I had the opportunity to request a review copy of The Midnight Feast from Netgalley it only took me half a second to click that button. I did not regret that decision.

Just like the three previous titles, The Midnight Feast is a multi-layered and well-plotted mystery in which nobody and nothing is exactly who or what they appear to be.

The story is told through four narrators: the founder of the newly opened luxury resort and organiser of the midnight feast, her husband, a mystery guest, and the kitchen help. These four characters have very distinctive voices as they share their personal perspective on The Manor, past and present.

I rated the book 4.5 rather than 5 stars because too much of the story felt a little over the top to me. From Francesca’s esoteric musings to the total destruction of the Manor I would have preferred a more nuanced approach. On the other hand, I loved the author’s use of folklore and local myths and practices. These gave the story a somewhat magical feeling which only added to the thrill of reading a fast-paced and well-executed mystery. And there’s no denying that the story pulled me in from the start and didn’t release me until I reached the end. An end that kept on surprising me. Just when I thought that surely all the questions had been answered and all the mysteries solved, Lucy Foley managed to surprise me again and again.

Long review short: With The Midnight Feast, Lucy Foley has created yet another breathtaking mystery that only reveals the truth slowly and with a few misdirections along the way. The past and the present mirror each other as events that remained unresolved 15 years earlier finally come to a head. The use of local myth and folklore only adds to the mystery and the thrillerish vibe. This is a must read for everybody who enjoys a good and fascinating mystery.

Was disappointed with this novel as I usually love her books but this one just did not deliver for me. A very slow burner with too many POV . It took over half way through before the pace built up and became more of what I had expected.. Felt overly complicated about who everyone was at the end. I would definitely read her next one and hope that it is back to her usual standard. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Nobody is very nice in this book, and I think that was a problem for me as a reader. I did like Eddie, but for much of the book it didn't feel like he had a very big part in the story, and everyone else was pretty awful. I also struggled with the idea that people didn't recognise each other after 15 years...so much of the story relied on that, and I'm afraid I didn't buy it. Which is a shame, because otherwise it was readable and although it ran a little long, I did want to know how the resolve would work itself out.

'Secrets. Lies. Murder. Let the festivities begin...'

Francesca has inherited her family's old manor and to the annoyance of the locals, she has turned it into a luxury holistic retreat which is fully booked for months and some parts are still under construction with the scope to expand even further into the surrounding land. Guests arrive and settle in and one starts snooping around and is not who she pretends to be who has came back to confront the past that has haunted her for 15 years along with others who are not who they appear to be. The festivities begin and mixed with the unknown about the town's old folklore the story starts to unravel and the past catches up.

I absolutely adore Lucy's writing style and her ability to keep you guessing after every single page. This book is told through multiple character's POV and three different timelines (solstice, the day after solstice and Summer Journal 15 years prior) but don't be worried it was super easy to keep track of everything (Which I sometimes really struggle with) but I really enjoyed it and followed it perfectly!

The chapters were kept short and that kept my full attention and I absolutely flew through this book as one chapter turned into 'just one more' and before I knew it 25% was gone! The twists and turns made this book a page turner that you just had to keep going and binge read!

Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to read and leave my honest review!

Secrets and intriguing characters combine in this gripping novel set on the gorgeous Dorset Coast. A new, very fancy Wellness Retreat is opening up, and owner Francesca is determined to make it the place to be - but locals aren't quite as thrilled...

I really enjoyed the mounting sense that not everyone is who they seem to be, which seeps through the pages of this novel the more you read on. From the staff to Francesca herself, it seems like everyone is hiding something. I enjoyed the tension between the people living in the area and the retreat's owners. The novel raised some very pertinent points about how businesses like this can affect local people.

There's plenty of tension throughout The Midnight Feast, as we find out early on that there has been a huge fire at the hotel during the opening weekend - but we don't know who was harmed or whose fault it was. We flick forwards and backwards in time as we learn what happened in the run-up to the incident (I always enjoy a dual-timeline novel!) and we get passages from different characters' perspectives including the hotel's owner Francesca and her husband Owen, staff members Bella and Eddie, and, back in the present day, DI Walker who is investigating the fire. There are quite a few people to keep track of, but not confusingly so.

The plot has plenty of twists and turns - at some points almost too many! However, it certainly kept the story entertaining. It was a bit unbelievable at times but really good fun to read. I think this would make a great holiday read - it offers a satisfying blend of suspense, intrigue, and well-developed characters, all set against a beautiful and atmospheric backdrop.

Hard to get into but intriguing enough in places to keep me going. I found the flashback/journal entries some of the most interesting and the mystery was decent enough but I struggled with Francesca's voice and almost cartoonish characterisation and found the final reveal a bit much.

I've read all of Lucy Foley's previous novels and enjoyed them as tightly paced, twisty thrillers and this follows the same pattern. There's lost to enjoy here - especially loved the sending up of wellness for the wealthy angle - and there's a still few surprising twists that are cleverly plotted. But I just didn't enjoy it as much as her previous and felt it was a bit by numbers.

This was a slow burner for me at first, the first couple of chapters I wasn't sure how I was going to get on with it as I did not like one of the central characters. But that is the beauty of a Lucy Foley novel- she creates flawed characters (to say the least in this instance!), who are not supposed to sit comfortably with you. The story builds and builds, with different layers creating an uneasy atmosphere. It flits from present day to the past as we become more and more involved in each different cast member. Two chapters in and I was hooked, and then raced to the conclusion of the book.

This is sure to be a summer hit, a perfect beach read for people who love a pacy thriller. I would definitely recommend it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.