4.5

My first Lucy Foley and I was not disappointed. The Midnight Feast will make a cracking holiday read (or any other time come to that) for sure.

The story centres around The Manor, a holistic retreat for rich clientele who "fit the profile" designated by the owner, Francesca Meadows, who has transformed her old family home into a new age hotel for the discerning few.

There are various other significant players- Owen, Francesca's husband; Eddie, local boy and trainee barman and Bella, one of the guests. All have their own secrets that would be devastating to their plans if they were to be found out. Francesca is determined that nothing will mar her opening weekend and that includes local myth that The Birds will seek revenge on any who are found guilty of any crime. The Birds are the law in Tome.

The story is told from several points of view but it never gets confusing. The back and forth into different timelines is equally well handled. I'm notorious for losing my way in books but this story gripped me all the way through. I read it in two sittings.

The reason for the half point deduction is that there were just one or two tiny bits at the end which were a little too fantastical for me but apart from that it was a great story which took off in the second half and I found it impossible to put down until I'd finished it.

Excellent. Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the advance review copy.

I think this is Lucy Foley's best yet. Dark, twisted, sinister, the works!

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley is a dark, mysterious locked-room type thriller told from multiple points of view, flipping between the past and the present. It’s focused upon the opening of a new, luxury hotel set on the Dorset coast, surrounded by woods. I found the story started slowly but I was swept up by the menacing atmosphere and the haunting folklore, and by the final third of the novel I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The characters were complex and fascinating (even if many were thoroughly unlikeable) and the creepiness built to a terrifying conclusion with a satisfying twist.

Thank you to the author, HarperCollins and Netgalley for the advance copy.

Secrets and lies! I really, really enjoyed this one.

It started as a slow burn for me, or maybe it was because I didn’t really have the time to read enough of it at a time, as once I had the chance to sit and immerse myself within it, it seemed to really pick up pace.

It starts with the opening night of The Manor, an old family home, which has been renovated into a boutique wellness retreat by the granddaughter of the family, Francesca. It is a three day event, ending with The Midnight Feast on the day of the Solstice.

The opening of this new hotel is much to the dislike of the community who aren’t happy with the intrusion this new hotel will bring to their beautiful historical woodlands, coast and “the birds”.

It is told through different points of views and timelines, which I really enjoy and I loved the folklore being the integral part of the story.

I would definitely recommend The Midnight Feast, but don’t go upsetting the locals or the birds!

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and Lucy Foley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Pub Date 6 Jun 2024

It is the opening weekend of The Manor. Everything is set in place to go smoothly but by the end of the weekend, the place will be up in flames.

Lucy Foley is one of my favourite thriller authors so naturally I was excited when I got approved for her newest arc. I read the first 15% and found myself thinking it was a bit slow to start, with quite a few characters to keep track of. But as I read on, I got more and more invested as I caught onto who was who and ultimately found myself hooked, finishing the book in one sitting, on a rainy afternoon. The last 10% of the book had me gasping at how creepy it was! It seemed everyone had their own secrets and to see everything come together the way it did was so satisfying. I cannot rave enough about this book! I read an ebook copy and am sure the audiobook version would be phenomenal.

Enjoyable read! It took me a while to get into as I found it a little slow at the beginning and hard to wrap your head around all the characters, but it all came together nicely.


There were a good few twists which I always like.....most of which surprised me!

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this read.

The Midnight Feast - Lucy Foley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 I recommend this if you love a twisty murder mystery thriller!

Releasing 18th June, this is one you NEED to add to your tbr!! Thank you @netgalley for the gifted e-book in return for my review!

It's taken me a few days to write this review while I processed everything that went on in this book because WOW! @lucyfoleyauthor has blown it out the park again with this one, an insanely gripping and twisty thriller!

This book had so many unexpected interweaving plot twists, linking past events to the present and intertwined relationships! Each character has their own secrets and motives which we learn as the book progresses.
Split timeline following the past and the present POVs of 4 people, alongside the police investigation
The four main POVs followed are:
Eddie the bartender, who lives near The Manor
Francesca the owner of The Manor with a spiritual approach to life
Bella the only single guest at the hotel
Owen, Francesca's new partner and architect of The Manor

📖 Brief plot summary

Francesca has opened her new countryside retreat, The Manor. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. The candles have barely been lit for a solstice supper when the body is found....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

Genre: Thriller
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher: Harper Collins
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Tropes & Themes: isolated location, revenge, police investigation, dark past, fast paced, family trauma, haunted, isolation, missing person, plot twist, revenge, suspense, small town crime, split timeline, tension, trauma, toxic friendships

I absolutely loved every moment of the latest thriller from Lucy Foley - outwardly glamorous yet sinister setting, toxic friendships , vengeance, unlikeable characters you still feel for, past and present timelines - all the ingredients I love in a mystery , all topped off by an explosive ending - be careful when you pick this up as you won’t want to put it down…

Plot and twist driven, let down by the relentless twists and clichéd characters

Unfortunately this did not really work for me, as once it became obvious that nary a character was going to be what they seemed, and just about every well-heeled character was going to be vapid and vacuous or hiss the villain without respite, and almost every local and from a less privileged background would be, however awful seeming, redeemable, this became pantomimic rather than mounting and tense.

Set in the usual two time-lines, 2010, when the central characters were early adolescents or children, and 15 years later, when just about every character is not what they seem, and in some kind of hiding-their-previous-identity mission, this is Dorset set. Unbelievably flakey and GOOPy Francesca Meadows is a glamorous business woman who has inherited land from her very wealthy grandfather. Her family has driven the locals off their land – and yes, the influx of wealthy metropolitans into the beautiful West Country for sure IS a real problem, but here, there is no nuance or subtlety.

Add to the mix some kind of local yokery superstition and dabbling in vaguely pagan, occult lore, this is murder-mystery-horror mash up.

I’m afraid I found it silly

Enjoyable read! It was a little slow at the beginning and hard to wrap your head around all the characters but it all came together nicely.
Enjoyed the good selection of twists, most of which surprised me!

Thank you Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am absolutely obsessed with this book, it had me hooked from the very beginning!

The story is told via many different characters and takes place in a series of timelines.

I couldn’t get enough of the suspense in the story, along with the different facets of the characters.

I would definitely recommend this book even if you’re not usually into thrillers, it was brilliant

I have loved some books by this author, but not all and this book is one of the latter. Readers looking for a tense thriller will not be disappointed, though the pace could be a bit faster. I did like the chapters being narrated by different characters, and the creepy woodland descriptions are good.

This fast-paced, multiple POV thriller will keep you turning the pages! A large manor has been turned from a family home to a luxury wellness retreat, it's the opening weekend and local hostilities, myths and legends all hurtle together to create havoc.
The characters were well developed throughout the book with beautiful pacing. It kept me guessing and the split narrative worked well for me. Lots of suspense, very readable

I really enjoy Lucy Foley’s work and was delighted to receive an ARC of The Midnight Feast. A new luxury hotel has opened on the Dorset coast to much controversy. The local people are not happy, there are rumours of a group called ‘The Birds’ who haunt the woods surrounding it and there is a guest pretending to be someone she is not. The story travels in time from the opening party where guru Francesca has the guests enthralled, to the past when Francesca was a child summering at the Manor (as it was then) to after the Summer Solstice where police are investigating a body on the beach and the burnt out remains of the hotel. The story starts slowly but, as Lucy Foley is clearly a master of this genre, I was completely gripped from halfway in. Fans of The Hunting Party and The Guest List will not be disappointed. A great holiday read for anyone that is hopefully having a more relaxing summer holiday than that featured in The Midnight Feast.

This fast-paced thriller kept me guessing the whole way through, and the twists were so good. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and the use of the summer journal to jump back to past, revealing deadly secrets and motives for each of the characters. Lucy Foley has done it again!

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I totally agree that I either love Lucy foley books or I find them somewhat boring. Unfortunately I felt this with the midnight feast. I really disliked the main characters too and struggled to keep up with the story line.

Woe! Another amazing book from Lucy Foley! In fact, think this is my fav so far!
A very atmospheric and engaging read, following multiple characters as they discover misdeeds of the past, which all come down to one woman, Francesca who has reinvented herself as a wellness and lifestyle guru.
Really enjoyed the various character perspectives throughout the book, and thought there was an interesting ' The haves and have not's' theme running through that sadly, resonates with the UK today.
Throughly enjoyed this and very grateful to have been granted this advanced copy.

The Midnight Feast Lucy Foley

5 stars
The past will always catch up with you

This is the second book that I have read by this author and I really enjoyed both of them.

It revolves around a new luxurious wellness centre, The Manor, owned by Francesca Meadows and her new husband Owen Dacre. It is coming up to Midsummer and the highlight of the opening is The Midnight Feast which will establish The Manor as the place to come.

However the village and the locals are not happy with this, what they consider as an intrusion, in their lives. Folklore abounds in the village and there are rumours of spooky birds who live in the woods.

One of the guests, Bella Springfield, not her real name, arrives as a guest but she is hiding a secret. Fifteen years ago she had been friends with Francesca and is intent on revenge for what had happened then. When a death takes place, the police are called in to investigate the incident. Is Bella responsible or is it the birds?

The story jumps between the events of 15 years ago and the current day and we gradually learn what happened all those years ago and also how many people are not who they claimed to be.

This was a very interesting story which I thoroughly enjoyed. I will look out for any further books by Lucy Foley...



Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

I have always found Lucy Foley books to be hit or miss for me. Some I have loved and others I really haven't liked but she is an author I have always found myself drawn to. So I decided to go into this one with an open mind and pretty much blind to what it was about.
I was grabbed straight away by the plot and I liked the writing style. It was easy to read and the story was all flowing well. I enjoyed the different POV's throughout the book and the characters were well defined and likeable. The tension was palpable and I got the sense that it was all building up to something.
However, I did begin to find the pacing was too slow for my liking. For the first 200 pages nothing really happened but the writing was keeping me intrigued and there was a definite feeling that something was going to happen.
One thing I didn't enjoy were the flashback/diary entry chapters. I know why they were there but I struggled to enjoy them.
This is one of those books that is atmospheric and the mystery was slowly revealed but by the end I was left with a feeling of 'is that it?'.
The reveals weren't surprising and it did all feel slightly flat. It started off well and had a lot of promise but ultimately this one was a bit too slow and drawn out for my taste. I just wanted more to happen!

I think this may be my favourite book by Lucy. I’ve always lover her books, but this one is absolutely phenomenal. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could. I was gripped.

It’s opening night of The Manor, inherited by the clean living ethical, perfect, granddaughter. - Francesca. Turning her childhood house into an exclusive hotel for the very rich.

There is folklore in Tome though….the trees are important…the Birds will right all wrongs…and wrongs have been done.

Absolutely gripping.

My thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for inviting me to read and provide an honest review.