A decadent Gatsby like house party meets The Wicker Man! Lots of interesting twists in this tale told from the contrasting viewpoints of the main participants as we discover that the events of an idyllic Summer 15 years ago have repercussions in the present day. Are The Birds an imaginary product of local folklore or a real threat to the ghastly Francesca whose visions for her hotel retreat run roughshod over their traditions? I enjoyed this mystery enormously as it built up towards the eponymous solstice feast. The ending tied things together neatly and offered the hope of redemption to some of the more deserving characters.

I always look forward to a new book by Lucy Foley as have really enjoyed her last three books.

The Midnight Feast is an exciting twisty tale, based on opening day of the very exclusive Tome Manor on the south coast of England.
The book flits back and forth between the past and the present. There are various points of view from different characters of when they grew up in the village as children and now much later as the Manor opens as a luxury wellness retreat for the very well off. The book flows very well with great descriptive writing putting you right in the thick of the location and able to imagine it well with lots of twists and turns and of course there's also "the birds" that give it a very creepy and haunting atmosphere. Is everything as it seems?

The pace was a little slower than her other books but still a really great and fun summer read. The book really came alive half way through.
My lower rating is for the slower pace and I found one of the of the main characters a bit overbearing.

A big thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | HarperCollins for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Raced through this in a few hours, I couldn’t put it down. Loved the horror elements and the neat ending, and the weaving of realisation scattered through the book.

I absolutely loved The Midnight Feast, it’s a spectacular read! Going back and forth between the then and now seemlessly, & with such wonderful characters it’s a joy. The writing is superb, the storyline wonderfully intriguing, a real page-turner and highly recommended.

A gret compulsive read, a thriller with many twists and turns, which kept me gussing all the way through as to what was going to happen next and who was responsible for what did happen. In places it covered local feelings and politics in a very realistic way.The ending was almost totally unexpectd and such a joy to end in such a way.
This is Lucy at her best

This was my first time reading a Lucy Foley novel and I have become a fan!

4.5 stars!

The story starts ominously when a body is discovered. Right off the bat, we know that something happened and slowly, we unravel all the secrets. All the guests gather at "The Manor", a luxurious estate in the middle of the English woods in rural Dorset. They are hosted by their beautiful and elegant hostess, Francesca Meadows, along with her husband Owen Dacre, the architect behind this extravagance.

The story follows three timelines and multiple characters. I was thoroughly engaged throughout. In the beginning, trying to make sense of who's evil was difficult. None of the characters were nice humans (other than Eddie). It was written in a way to make the innocent ones seem like the villain. Then slowly, as we read their povs, we start to realize who the real villain is.

Throughout, it successfully maintained the ominous tone. There was this foreboding sense that something is about to happen (which we already know does happen). Having the main timeline take place in a matter of two days added to the urgency. It was a jam packed book with a lot of twists and turns, designed to make you think you outsmarted the book, only to have the rug pulled out from under you.

I love the fact that a lot of local lore was weaved in. The town was known to believe in 'The Birds' who avenged any grievous wrongdoings. It had a paranormal feel to it. It added to the horror of the woods.

It also highlighted the debate between locals losing their beloved woods to profit mongers who aim to destroy the natural beauty to line their pockets. It illustrates the anger and resentment of locals when they are restricted to enter their own woods because the rich take over to build luxurious cottage core estates. But when their livelihoods are stolen from them, they are forced to work in these same estates to earn a living.

Francesca really focused on the aesthetics. Plus, she was one of the crystal girlies who cleansed herself using the power of black crystals. During her spa session or rather, when she was in the Orangery (because spa doesn't sound sophisticated enough for the rich), I felt sure that this book is deep in the trenches of witchcraft and voodoo. Thankfully, I was wrong. Whatever I may complain about Francesca's attitude, she had a strong business acumen. She focused on every small detail and knew how to present a perfect picture. She carefully cultivated the image of the Manor and it played the role of a setting perfectly. I was transported to the scene reading it.

I didn't enjoy the fifteen years ago timeline as much. Though it was necessary to set the background for the characters, I found their actions quite boring and repetitive. All the kids did was sunbath, look down their nose, take a walk in the woods and repeat. Only towards the last diary entries did my heart start thumping.

Two characters believe they are redeemed in the end. The author also makes it seem like what they did was okay but it's not. They may not have been responsible before but they became responsible when they stayed silent. They might never be completely free from the blame despite the final events.

Overall, quite a lot of twists and turns. Whenever I thought I predicted something, another twist was thrown that ended up blowing my mind and proving me wrong. I had a great time reading this. Highly recommend.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Lucy Foley for the DRC. Highly appreciated!

Lucy Foley delivers yet another twisty thriller full of drama and intrigue. Some twists I saw coming and others I didn't, but every second of this book was spent on the edge of my seat! Definitely one I'd recommend to anybody who loves a murder mystery.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Title: The Midnight Feast
Author: Lucy Foley
Publication Date: Jun 06 2024
Rating: 4/5 stars

Thank you HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, Netgalley and Lucy Foley for an advance copy of The Midnight Feast in exchange for an honest review.

A Lucy Foley's trademark story telling with a classic whodunit: you know what happened but do not know who it happened to, how, why, or when. The story is told from several POVs, and the author gives each one a distinct voice. The way the plot turned out did not disappoint!

The story is set around The Manor, an opulent estate tucked away in Woodland Hutches that is intended to offer its esteemed guests a tranquil refuge. At the Manor, the owner Francesca Woodland is preparing a spectacular summer solstice feast. Despite her outward appearance of being a confident and devoted owner, Francesca harbors secrets and a dark past.

Overall, I had a great time reading this book, despite some unexpected issues. I could mostly follow the general plot, but there were just too many characters, many of them unimportant. Let me also add that there was a lot of timeline jumping in this book, which could make it challenging for readers to catch up. However, the incredible reveal when everything came together more than made up for it! If you like twisty thrillers with a hint of the supernatural or folklore, I'd suggest reading this book!

If you like twisty thrillers with a hint of the supernatural or folklore, I'd suggest reading this book!

Rating: 4.5

An intriguing storyline, with multiple POVs and a well tied together ending.

While the multiple POVs took a little time to get used to, once the diary excerpts were included, everything began to tie in very nicely together. With two different timelines as well, a lot of thought was put into how things were written to prevent confusion and keep interest.

I adored Eddie, his innocence compared to the rest of the character POVs showing through. The twists with the character relationships were surprising, Lucy Foley keeping some of the reveals from us until a specific moment that's just right.

This was my first Lucy Foley book, and I think I'll go and read her other works now.

Perfect for those who enjoy:
- Modern murder mystery thrillers
- Memories and history stories
- Multiple POV narratives
- Being unable to guess the ending
- Dark twists and turns

With thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

I've loved all of Lucy Foley's previous book and this thriller didn't disappoint either! A fast pace, page turner of a thriller mixed with some folklore too

A manor on the Hill of a town is becoming the latest 'in" place for rich people to come, stay, and glamp. The locals however do not like this and neither do the Birds in the woods

I seemed to completely devour this book in the spirit of a midsummer midnight feast! Set on the coast of Dorset, a very modern murder mystery! Intriguing thrilling….. a fab read for this summer!!!
Set on two timelines during an August heatwave in 2010 and the modern day midsummer weekend in 2025. Written from the different characters viewpoints to tell their stories, memories and history and reveal to the mysteries of what really happened. Francesca is a queen of positivity who has built a beautiful boutique hotel within her grandparents old home on the cliffs by the sea, where the neighbouring woodland hold the local legends of the birds that right any wrongs or injustices for the local community of Tome.
Great writing, great tale, took me a couple of chapters to get into but really enjoyed this, a very up to date tale with all the buzzwords we have today! Loved the references to the Chiltern Firehouse and Soho house, a real observation of the London culture escaping to Dorset!
For anyone that enjoyed Saltburn, you would love this.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the early read! Will be recommending!!

I loved Eddie and would quite have liked the whole thing to be written from his perspective?! Lucy Foley is good at multiple POV narratives, but on this occasion, I found there were a few too many characters to keep track of, especially as we were jumping from past to present and there were a few diary entries thrown in as well.

The first half of the book is a great story interweaving a long-ago childhood summer, with the present. We see Bella and Frankie's friendship develop and we follow them around Tome Manor. There are lots of threads built up in the first half, and that's what makes it such a great story - you have no way of guessing what the outcomes are going to be.

If you think you've worked out a twist,maybe you have.....but have you worked out the other 5, or are they waiting in the shadows, to grab you?!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Set between present day and 15 years ago. Francesca now owns a hotel retreat. It’s opening weekend and she is anxious that all goes well. Bella is a guest the only guest there alone. Eddie is the dishwasher, a local farm boy. Owen is an architect, and Francesca’s husband. In the past rich girl Frankie and sparrow, holidaying at the caravan park hang out. Events from the past and the future are intertwined but what will be the final outcome.

This was clever. Events from the past were told via Sparrow’s diary entries. The connection between Bella and Francesca slowly revealed as we learnt about what had happened previously. Twist and turns and mysterious birds. A fabulous read. Just after finishing, I’m still processing some of the events. The characters were strongly written. The present events were told from the point of view of those 4 characters mentioned above. Bella and Francesca were easy to match to their younger selves. The mystery of just who Eddie and Owen were was something I didn’t see coming. Highly recommend.

I'm a big Lucy Folley fan. I have read all her books and loved them all. This book was fantastic. It was dark, it was twisted, it was gripping and it was full of drama. I really enjoyed this book. I thought the pass was great. I liked the twists and the intertwining stories.

This just didn't work for me. I'm not sure if I have just read too many books set in retreats/resorts etc. but this just didn't happen for me

Lucy Foley is a ‘can’t pass’ author for me to every new release and she has me in every new book! I’ve read all of the others preceding this and I couldn’t start this one soon enough.

She peppers in intrigue and sprinkles in suspense, all culminating in a murder at the midnight feast. From the cover to the plot, I knew I was going to enjoy it before I’d even started! As much as I enjoyed the others, I think this was the best one yet! Boy was I absolutely enraptured.

A new countryside manor, the opening of a brand new retreat and old friends and enemies are mingling amongst the guests. Guess that’s a recipe for disaster..!

It follows a split perspective theme with easily digestible chapters which makes quick work of going through the book. I found one sit down stint and I was accidentally hours into the book! It was super addictive and I liked how the story slowly pieced itself together.

I tend to find I can take or leave split perspectives and I either really enjoy them or don’t. I absolutely loved it in this scenario and it worked so well, slowly building up the suspense as we got each new chapter from the different characters to make up the story.

Ah, I so enjoyed this and it was a suspense filled murder mystery at its best!

I received an ebook ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Lucy Foley's writing style, she's one of the few thriller/mystery authors that I am drawn to because of her writing rather than her plots.

I really enjoy the multiple povs and the way that she can create such distinct voices for each of the characters. Without even reading the title of the chapter, I can tell whose pov we are in. I also love the settings of her books and the way that she can set a scene and use the location and the weather to create the perfect atmosphere for her stories. The Midnight Feast was no exception - I could picture the shimmering Dorset coastline and feel the uncomfortable and claustrophobic nature of a British summer heatwave so perfectly throughout the book.

While I definitely wouldn't classify her books as 'cosy' but they are more low-stakes thrillers. I didn't find myself on the edge of my seat with this one and I never find myself completely blown away by her twists and reveals (although I did love the ending of this book). It's more of a 'ah okay that's what's been going on - makes sense' type reaction than a shocking reveal but I think that makes her books the perfect thing to pick up for a bit of summer reading by the pool on holiday. You get interesting characters, great writing and an engaging story without the dark or unsettling feeling you can get with other books of this genre.

It gets 4* for me because, like I said, the actual mystery didn't really blow me away. I also (contrary to some of the other reviews) would have liked to have a few more povs. We only really get the perspective of 4/5 characters and I honestly didn't really like any of them so constantly going between the same 4 people did get a little bit mundane. I think it would have helped with the pacing of the book to throw in a few more povs (even if we only heard from them once or twice) just to get a different perspective on events that were taking place.

Possibly the best thriller you will read all year! The Midnight Feast is an incredibly gripping and nail biting thriller with folklore and mystery thrown in. Told from multiple view points that keep you hooked throughout, this book has so many plot twists I think I got whiplash! I cannot praise it enough. This is the perfect holiday read.