Lucy Foley's book The Paris Apartment is one of my favourite reads of recent years so when the opportunity to read The Midnight Feast came up, I was quick off the blocks to accept the invitation.
Written from various points of view, and in dual timelines, it could quite easily have become a muddled mess of a book, but kudos to Lucy Foley everything stays neatly in its lane and at no point did I feel confused. Once again Lucy manages to make the location very much a character in itself, with the atmosphere of the new wellness centre seeming to carry the weight of earlier events into its new persona despite every effort to 'detox' it with mindfulness and positive thinking.
Everyone seems to be harbouring a secret or two as the opening evening draws near - whether it's who they are or why they are there remains hidden amongst the shadows. With the local myths about The Birds adding to the background spookiness that surrounds the story, I found this to be another very cleverly structured novel which kept me looking for answers from start to finish.

A truly gripping read that I enjoyed start to finish. Told in true Lucy Foley style - a locked room, whodunnit.
Francesca Meadows is setting up a new boutique hotel in Tome, Dorset. It is the opening weekend with the main event of ‘The Midnight Feast’. Her husband, Owen Dacre, helped design the place. Bella is there to expose the past and Eddie is a local, whose brother went missing fifteen years ago, is now working at the hotel.
The book is told through multiple POV and different timelines. The first part of the book has a slower pace as you get to know more about the characters and their background. A body has been discovered in the water but you spend most of the book wondering who and the list of suspects makes this book difficult to predict. Lucy Foley has helped weave the different perspectives together into a tale of suspense and intrigue, infused with small town communities and folklore.
Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins for the chance to read this fantastic book.

I was really excited for this book, as I usually love Lucy Foley's books and the worlds she creates but this one didn't do it for me unfortunately. The thing is, I think the actual plot and the twists were really clever and felt really refreshing but it was the execution of the narrative that I felt let the rest of the book down.

I loved the distinct POVs, I felt like Owen & Francesca were polar opposites and Eddie's individual character came through very distinctively in the book. I always enjoy how Lucy finds interesting ways for these characters to meet and interact beyond being in relationships. Saying that, it would've been nicer if we heard a bit more about Delilah and Eddie's backstory and maybe even had Delilah's POV as she seemed like such an interesting character from Eddie's POV that it felt a little like an undeveloped diamond in my opinion.

I think the main form of confusion for me was structural. The time jumps felt a bit confusing and especially the jumps to the future with the police investigation felt really out of place. The POVs after the time jumps also were even more confusing - at one point it jumped from the police investigation to Owen's POV and I really didn't understand the link there. It was only at the end, that the jump to the police investigation felt relevant, but even then it didn't feel like a good enough payoff for me being confused for 80% of the book up to that point.

All in all, I would've definitely rated this book higher if there was a more straight forward structure of '10 years ago' and then present day without the jump cuts to the future police investigation and also if there was a bit more action. It felt like certain scenes that could've been very suspenseful were over and revolved very quickly so it would've been nice to see them fleshed out a bit more.

Entertaining but not as strong as her previous books. I felt that there were too many POV's and at times it started to drag a bit.

Thank you HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was my first novel by Lucy Score that I have fully read, after starting The Hunting Party last year and DNF’ing, I really enjoyed The Midnight Feast. It quite literally felt like I couldn’t trust anyone, and if you’re a good thriller author, you have exactly those characters in your novel!

I gave this book 3.75 stars, as the start was a little bit tricky to follow; and the multiple POVs came into effect. It also took until over 50% for things to pick up a bit and was slightly weird to follow.

I’m a sucker for things getting a bit weird and whacky, so I enjoyed the introduction of ‘The Birds’ and the whole mysteries in the town of Tome. I really liked Eddie, and following Bella was super interesting too but my GOODNESS Frankie was a weirdo from the get go!

I think if you like the twisty turns and plot twists in a thriller and are a fan of Lisa Jewell, you’ll be a fan of this one too.

Well, this book took me round the houses and back again as I eventually gave up trying to second guess what was going on and just sat back and allowed the book to take me.
We start with the opening of "The Manor" a very posh new resort with no expense spared, the creation of Francesca Woodland, and the height of luxury. Designed to be an "escape" for the extremely privileged, with woodland and seaside huts. The majority which have been finished. A kind of wellness retreat.
Obviously, the locals are up in arms against the endeavour and there have been ructions between staff and locals. Throw in some mysterious folklore regarding the woods and the Night Birds and you have the starting of what will soon become a tragedy...
As we follow the events of the present, the run up to the first main event of the opening weekend, a "Midnight Feast" held on the solstice, we also go way back to when Francesca was a youth and what happened between her and some of the locals, the same locals who are pretty against what she is up to in the present. And then we also fast forward to the day after the event, after the fire, when the body is found...
And that's all I am saying as it all gets a bit convoluted and interconnects as masks start to come off, true identities are revealed and secrets come out.
Ooo I absolutely loved this book. I do love a healthy dollop of dysfunctional behaviour and definitely got more than my fair share of that herein. And with three timelines and a pretty big cast list, with some pretty clever obfuscation around who is who from each timeline, the author definitely kept me on my toes throughout. But, that said, I did guess a few connections and did a wee celebration when I got one right. She also delivered a few jaw-drop moments with some of the reveals that I never saw coming. All cleverly done and without giving me the feeling of being duped. The pace escalates as the end of the book neared and I had to rein myself in a bit as shock after twist were revealed, culminating in an ending which I found to be wholly satisfying.
So yeah, another winner from another favourite author whose back catalogue I can also heartily recommend. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

'here among the trees, hidden from the moonlight and starlight, it is as if the modern world is the fairytale: other and strange'

It's 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.

'I always did love sneaking out at midnight as a youth. There's something so alive about this hour: magical and elemental. As though anything could happen'.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction and Netgalley for arc of The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley.

Once again Lucy doesn't fail to impress it is remarkable! And I could not put this down I read this so quickly and got me hooked right in highly recommend to all to read if you read Lucy's other books then I'm sure you'll love this as I did!!

5 stars!! (If I could give more than 5 I would!!)

I’m so disappointed in this book and it’s such a shame. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I ADORE Lucy Foley but this for me was the weakest of her books so far. The plot was extremely boring and felt so flat for me. I wasn’t interested in the characters or invested in the plot, it was very one dimensional. It only started to pick up and get better towards the end, it was such a drag to get through. I would have DNFd this if I wasn’t reviewing it, such a shame :(

The Midnight Feast is the second novel I’ve read from author Lucy Foley, and I can firmly and confidently say that an area Foley excels in is giving me the creeps. Foley plays on the supernatural and the paranormal, however all deeds have a human explanation and presence behind them (although sometimes I do wonder…).

Let me tell you — I already had a wary distrust of birds before this (sorry birds) and this just heightened it for me even more so. Next time I sense those beady little eyes on me I will be thinking of this book.

I really liked how the past and present played off of each other in this, with the diary entries portalling us back in time to when our protagonists were younger and enjoying (to varying degrees) the summer season. I liked how this began to set up and weave with the plot in the present. However, I do feel like this was very slow paced and really drew out the tension and the suspense to the point that when it came to revealing what happened that summer and how it is intersecting with the present it was a bit of a let down.

I, like other reviewers, take umbrage with the different perspectives. I didn’t really think that the characters stood out from each other that much, and I never felt really connected or invested in any of them. While I was curious to know where it was all going, the plot barely revealed itself before it was time to conclude, and I did not feel there was much afterwards. There just felt like there was a lot of lead up, creepy vibes, a dramatic reckoning, and that was that.

I gave this three stars because I thought there was some decent writing, in particular when it come to settting up the atmosphere of the novel. However, I think the plot could have been better paced and more could have been done in terms of characterisation and making their individual perspective chapter more distinctive.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | HarperCollins for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely devoured this book. It's so readable & kept me gripped.
It's true Lucy Foley style, a good who dunnit, with lots of twists and turns.
The unmasking at the end made me laugh, but I also felt a bit sorry for young Eddie. Caught up in all of the chaos.
A good mix of weirdness, mystery & horrible people! Oh and birds. I loved the local tales and how each of the local people were involved in some way. Definitely a recommended read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As I was reading a thriller roundup on Guardian where Foley's book was mentioned, there was a comment in the line of: "Oh, is this another Foley's book about posh wankers on a holiday?" And I had to laugh because Brits are so good at snark but also because it is in fact another book about posh wankers.
And you know what? Nobody does it better than her.
After The Guest List, it seemed we got so many thrillers in the same vein, a group of pov characters in a secluded place with secrets escalating into chaos, but Foley simply knows how to keep this theme fresh. And then she does it again!

So, bare bones: The event we are following is the opening of The Manor, a grand spa resort catered to rich who are in tune with the nature and want the authentic spiritual experience in woodlands of Dorset county with the gala perfectly aligned with the solstice. The main players are Francesca Meadows, the owner of the Manor and the land that was in the possession of Meadows family for years. Bella, a mysterious guest who couldn't care less about the opening and seems only intent to confront her childhood friend Francesca. Owen Dacre, the handsome boyfriend of Francesca and the architect of the Manor and Eddie, a local youngster who started working as a dishwasher for the event without the knowledge of his parents. Intersecting with their chapters are the chapters after the solstice of the police investigating what happened at the Manor that resulted in a murder.

So, with the setup like that, of course you want to know what happened? Who died? What happened in the past that made Bella/Sparrow hate Francesca so much? How the local myth of giant Birds connects to all of this? But most of all, just how insufferable Francesca can get?
And this is the real reason Lucy Foley's books really work for me: she writes a whole rounded characters and she really commits to this: if they are annoying, they are annoying to the max. They are every cliche circling in your head, making you roll your eyes; if they are good, they are sweet cinnamon rolls you hope will prevail. But they are not bland, they are not there to just carry out the plot and the twist, they ere intriguing. Francesca is not the first posh, entitled character Foley wrote, but she manages to add something new every time and her faux spiritual, zen persona was so fun to read because it's so out of touch with real life and that's something only extremely privileged and rich can afford. She was not right in many ways and it's quite fascinating reading it through chapters covering barely a few days. Owen, a wonderful train-wreck of a character that will take through whole palette of emotions from loathing to rooting. Bella, Francesca's nemesis was a perfect conduit for the drama, but not really coming off good either. This is all accentuated when you compare them to the only genuinely nice character, Eddie, who when push comes to show has the courage to do the right thing despite being only 18 which says more about these middle-age disasters of people who in their youth didn't. True hero of the novel, a local farm boy who was taught well.
If she puts characters on a secluded place she makes sure they are not boring to read about.
If you like her books, there is a great chance you will enjoy this one as well. I had a lot of fun and for me it's on par with The Guest List and just under The Hunting Party in terms of enjoyment.

Thank you so much Harper Fiction for an advanced copy of The Midnight Feast!

This is a classic Lucy Foley style who-dunnit set in an extremely glamorous countryside retreat in Dorset.

I found the first 25% of the book a little slow but I don’t know if that was a book problem or just a me problem. I’d just read another who-dunnit prior to reading this and I don’t like to read this style back to back.

After the first quarter, I was addicted and I couldn’t put it down. The short punchy chapters certainly helped me to fly through it.

It was glamorous and wild and Lucy Foley managed to shock me many times with several twists. She is honestly so clever! My favourite of hers is still The Hunting Party but I did still really enjoy this!

Starting with the positives - the chapters were nice and short which meant I read the hook in two sittings. The writing was easy to understand and I think this would be a good transition between YA and Adult Fiction. However I just felt the plot progressed at too slow a pace. I don't feel like a lot happened and it was quite forgettable.

A compelling thriller set during the opening of a fancy hotel in Dorset. Foley draws us in with compelling characters, who are sympathetic and repulsive to varying degrees and continues to build the tension until the set=piece finale. A gripping, thought-provoking read.

I was eagerly awaiting the new Lucy Foley novel (publishing on 6th June) so delighted with an ARC from Harper Collins via @netgalley.
If you are a fan of Foley’s earlier thrillers I think you will enjoy this. The author is always very clever with the plot she creates and there are plenty of twists and turns that will surprise and enjoy.

However, I did not enjoy for 2 reasons, the first being I’d previously read a thriller where a family opened a high end hotel and people ended up dead, (The Retreat by Sarah Pearse) so I felt like I’d read a very similar book before. The second was the Birds element of the book, constantly reminded of Daphne du Mauriers short story. I was scared to death watching a play based on the story which was adapted by Conor McPherson in the Gate Theatre in Dublin about 15 years ago. It still haunts me to this day, and hence the use of similar imagery in this book did not work for me.

I was stuck between giving this 3 or 4 stars! I really enjoyed the story and I read it really fast.

The chapters were really short, there was a past, present and future POV, and there were multiple character POV’s as well. This was both a blessing and a curse. It moved the story along at a rapid pace which really held my attention BUT this did mean that sometimes it was hard to keep on top of the story because so much was happening 😂

The characters were pretty unlikeable, but this wasn’t a bad thing! I liked Eddie and I spent the whole book feeling bad for him. Bella was okay, I felt for her in the past POV and in the present day she was fighting for what she thought was right. The detectives POV was alright because we got to learn more about what had happened that night, but we didn’t get to learn a lot about him so I wasn’t attached to him at all. Owen’s POV was interesting because he was a bit boring but he was so clearly hiding some secrets 😂 and then Francesca was very unlikeable.

There wasn’t one big plot twist in this book, it was more like twists were sprinkled throughout it. I feel like this worked well with the pace of the book, although I’m personally partial to a big plot twist near the end which we didn’t really get.

And that’s all my thoughts! This was a really gripping story and I did enjoy it, but there was so much happening I don’t think I could explain to someone the plot and order of this book 😂 I absolutely loved the setting though and the really creepy vibes of the forest and The Birds.

I’ve enjoyed most of Lucy Foley’s thrillers and I found The Midnight Feast to be an easy and entertaining read.
It’s set during the opening weekend of The Manor - a luxury retreat on the Dorset coast and told through various points of view including that of Francesca, the owner, Eddie a teenage employee and Bella a guest.
I enjoyed the setting which is atmospheric and sometimes creepy and found the diary entries from 15 years previously compelling. The first half of the novel was well paced but I did find that some momentum was lost after this and I began to lose interest.
Overall this was not one of the author’s best novels but it was an enjoyable read that I’d recommend to those who enjoy this genre.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
3.5 stars

I absolutely devoured this book. I could not put it down. It sounded like something I would enjoy but it exceeded my expectations.

I have previously read The Guest List by Lucy Foley and the book follows a similar structure with the multiple points of view and timelines. This works really well as the mysteries are slowly revealed. Whilst I enjoyed The Guest List, this book was even better.

The writing style was great. The book moved at a swift pace and kept me glued to the page, not wanting to put it down. The writing was also amazing at building the tension and suspense. There are elements within this book that even border on horror, which added to the mystery.

The characters were an interesting bunch as well. They all had their flaws which made them believable but most were likeable in their own way. It worked really well with the story. It kept you on your toes as you knew that any of them could be the victim or the murderer.

There is so much more I wish I could say about this book but I can't without giving spoilers. I just want to gush about this book and get everyone I know to read it.

I would highly recommend it for murder mystery and thriller fans. I completely understand why Lucy Foley is being established as a queen of mystery. This was just such a clever book. I will definitely continue to read more of her works in the future. This book will be released on 6th June so make sure you check it out.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lucy Foley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this mystery thriller from Lucy Foley and found myself eager to read. It centres on the opening of The Manor and some strange events.
Lots of characters stories intertwine and we re-visit the past through Belle's diary.
Really enjoyable read.