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.

4.5 stars - creepy thriller full of twists and turns with multi povs and flash back chapters.

Really enjoyed this one - fast paced and the last quarter of the book had my jaw on the floor with all the twists, as the story came to a thrilling conclusion.

The story begins with the pov of a detective finding a body, at the bottom of a cliff.

We have then have the povs of the main characters in the lead up to the night of the death:
Francessca - the owner of the newly opened country retreat. She relies heavily on calming mantras. Is she hiding a dark side?
Owen - Francesca’s husband - head over heels in love but will the rose tinted glasses wear off as secrets are revealed?
Bella - a guest at the retreat - we learn early on that she is there under a fake name and has print outs of Francesca and the retreat - who is she and why is she there?
Eddie - a dishwasher at the retreat. Hiding his job from his parents as the local villagers are against the retreat he becomes entangled with Bella.

We also have a childhood diary excerpts of a girl named sparrow on holiday with her parents who meets young “Frankie”. As they spend more time together Sparrow realises Frankie isn’t as friendly as she puts off.

I found the story quite fast paced and engaging due to the multi povs and I was gripped the whole way through. The twists at the end I didn’t see coming and I was shocked in a good way.

I enjoyed the creepy folklore tale of the birds and kept wondering if they were going to be real or not. I loved who they were in the end. #girlpower

Would highly recommend. Summers hottest new thriller!

An engrossing thriller. I loved the two timelines and thought the use of the journal worked well. The plot is really well done. The Birds was a little convoluted but the idea of the local folklore was intriguing. The young Frankie using it was clever and a realistic portrayal of a brattish teen girl. The characters are the strength of the novel, particularly Eddie and Bella, and as everything falls into place and connections are made by the reader, it's really satisfying. The setting too is fantastic. Really dark but enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley for granting me access to this one.
Just like Lucy Foley's other books, this is a fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing right until the very end! So many twists and turns that just when I thought I knew the whole story I was surprised again.

Struggled a bit with this book. A bit too convoluted I think & I was glad to finish it. Plot was quite o good idea

The synopsis of this novel is really compelling, and whilst I enjoyed much of it, there were aspects that I felt were less effective. There are, for instance, a lot of different viewpoints and timelines. From a writerly, narrative perspective, I can see (and felt, as a reader) how this combination ramps up the tension, but it also obscures quite a lot in a way that, to me, began to feel irritating. The joy of 'crime/murder mystery' fiction is the sense that the reader is being taken along into a puzzle that they might solve. Here, even as an avid genre reader, what I felt was that the constant refocus, rather than elevating the suspense, sometimes dampened it. Don't get me wrong, there is much to enjoy about this novel, which contains all the tropes of the genre, but I felt it was trying to be more clever than it ought to have been. My grateful thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to Harper Collins, Lucy Foley and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Lucy Foley is an autobuy author for me. I loved the Guest List and the Hunting Party and when I saw the Midnight Feast pop up I had to request it. Super stoked to have read it before release day!!

It’s a 5 star read for me and already I’m sure it’ll be one of my best books of 2024.

No spoilers as always but the multiple pov, twists and turns and how everyone’s worlds collide into a crescendo at the end was *chef’s kiss* Great pace, story building and so well thought out as a plot overall. Loved it and would highly recommend to anyone who will listen.

A clash of class, privilege, folklore and trauma all comes to a head in such a memorable way I will be thinking about this book for a long time!

After not loving The Paris Apartment, I was hopeful that The Midnight Feast would prove a more enjoyable read and thankfully it was! There are still quite a few characters as is common in a Lucy Foley book but not too many that it's a struggle to get to grips with as all are pretty distinguishable although you may only like a couple of them.

The very visual setting of the Manor was one I really liked and it wasn't hard to imagine it sitting proudly in Dorset. I also thought the folklore tales of The Birds along with the summer journal entries added a nice touch and helped provide context to the twists and turns of which there are plenty in The Midnight Feast.

The only thing I found a little much (and a tad eye-roll-y) was how many characters had ulterior motives and were hell bent on revenge - all at the same time but this was still an entertaining read regardless.

Lucy Foley’s The Midnight Feast is set in the summer of 2025. We are all invited to the opening of Tome Manor, a high-end wellness resort which lies between the Dorset coast and ancient woodland. It is built with an uber-wealthy, but pretentious clientele in mind. The building has upset many the locals, who believe the area should remain as is, steeped in local folklore. Their ire, however, does not affect Tome Manor’s owner, arrogant and single-minded Francesca Meadows. We then cut to the day after the Solstice and some fishermen notice a huge fire in the vicinity of Tome Manor, then they see something strange at the foot of the cliffs and realise it is a body. The story then goes through different timelines and is told from different points of view:
Owen - Francesca’s younger architect husband
Eddie – a likeable kitchen porter who finds himself unwittingly drawn into the mysteries at Tome Manor
Bella – a mysterious, enigmatic character with a link to Francesca’s past
A 2009 journal where Alison a socially inept teenager strikes up a friendship with confident, manipulative Frankie.
The premise of the novel is strong. Throughout the story, there is an undercurrent of menace, which is deftly handled by the author. There is also the usual deep characterisation that we have come to accept from this author. Add a dose of mysticism and you have a captivating story that leaps right at you. The author has constructed one twisty plot, where I had no idea of the truth until the very end. One of its main advantages, is you have to suspend belief, but the storytelling carries it along so well you don’t mind. That is a difficult feat to pull off.
I’ve read all of Lucy Foley’s novels and have to say I don’t think this is the best of them. but it is certainly worth 4 impressive stars for a brilliant story well told.
My thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow and Lucy Foley for the much appreciated ARC in exchange for an honest and open review.

I am a Lucy Foley fan and have read all her other books so looked forward to this one. However I was a little disappointed. The story jumps back in time to 2010, forward to 2025 and then before, after and on Solstice day 2025. Confusing or what? There are also lots of characters, some with dual names depending on which year they're in. None of the characters are very nice and I didn't really care if any of them got eaten by the Birds or attacked by the Trees! I did finish the book but it was hard going until the last few chapters when it redeemed itself by tying up all the loose ends very cleverly and throwing in a few twists for good measure. Even so I'm afraid it's only 3* from me for the Midnight Feast.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This is an absolute must read for all readers who love thrillers.

Told in multiple POV'S the story started off as a bit of a slow burn but then morphed into being a fast paced masterpiece.

The added details such as the diary entries had me hooked and I was turning the pages quicker and quicker eager to read more. What I loved most were all the unexpected twists and turns honestly I was kept on the edge of my seat.

As always the author has a superb talent for creating such an atmospheric read and this book did not fail in that aspect. The setting was haunting and creepy especially with the folklore of the 'night birds' I hope not to be in any woods anytime soon that's for sure.

I appreciated how the author portrays the consequences of wealthy people making bad decisions and how the local people were fighting for justice and trying to save their community. I definitely felt there was a hidden reality within the story.

Overall an amazing thriller with short chapters and a super creepy vibe that certainly left me with the shivers.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for granting me access to the book in exchange for my own opinion.

I have enjoyed all of the author's books, but this one I struggled with. The mystery in the book isn't bad, but the narrative technique of switching between different narrators made it difficult to get into. While the book improved as it progresses, overall I felt it lacked the punch of the previous Foley novels.

This was incredible, with dead ends and twists, I was gripped from the first page. I think a lesson in not returning to somewhere you were unhappy is first and foremost in this book. I would definitely recommend this atmospheric page turner.

A midnight feast at a select opening weekend of a re-imagined family retreat, with a select clientele invited to pay for the privilege - what could possibly go wrong? Well, fortunately, quite a lot in the hands of Lucy Foley, whom I sense had much fun creating Francesca, the grown up owner of what was her childhood family home and where, 15 years ago, much friction existed between the people in the posh house and the locals in the village. As I said, what could go wrong?

Francesca is literally the woman who has a fit if the pot pourri is the wrong colour, so managing a staff and attempting to open her stylish new retreat to all her guests is quite the task. But there are so many undercurrents at play here, as witnessed in the dual timelines of then and now. Whilst it would be easy to presume someone is out to gain a simple revenge on something that happened 15 years ago, there are too many players in the game and more than one has something to hide... Or something to discover, maybe? After all, people don't just disappear....

There are some absolutely exquisite moments early on that contribute enormously to someone's fall from grace, and watching, as if through a fourth wall at times, meant that a couple of shockers really were just that. Thoroughly enjoyable.