I have read all of Lucy Foley’s previous novels so was quick to request her latest on Netgalley, The Midnight Feast.

Set during the opening weekend of an exclusive hotel on the south coast of England, the story follows the owner, Francesca and guest, Bella, as well as the local characters that object to the development of the hotel.

I found this to be a creepy and twisting story and think it would make the perfect poolside read for the summer holidays. There are some unliveable characters and I enjoyed the history between some of the characters and the flashbacks to past events.

Overall another enjoyable read by Lucy Foley.

This will be a great book for the summer time. Fast paced and twisty perfect for the beach. If you like Foley’s other books you’ll like this one

As soon as I was approved to read this, I abandoned the rest of my TBR. I'm so glad I did as this is possibly one of the best books I've read, ever.

The writing style was so lovely and immersive, and the characters felt real. I loved the dark tone to the book, it was so atmospheric. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, Eddie's was probably my favourite but it was nice that they all felt so distinct from one another - a lot of books fail to do that.

The story itself was so interesting to read, and even though it was a bit of a slow burn I didn't feel like a single page was wasted. There were plenty of twists to keep me entertained and everything came together so perfectly in the end.

I don't think I can rave about this book enough, 100% recommended and definitely my favourite book of the year at this point.

I’m sad to report that I found this one disappointing. Lucy Foley’s thrillers started off strong for me. I really enjoyed both The Hunting Party and The Guest List, but things changed with The Paris Apartment. It was just okay. Still, I didn’t let that deter me from The Midnight Feast. Immediately the setting, a seaside manor house turned exclusive retreat, gave me The Hunting Party vibes, and I thought, ‘yes, Foley is back on form!’ But I quickly realised this one was not going to be a new favourite.

While I enjoyed the multiple points of view and the setting, this book had numerous downsides for me. Firstly, the timeline jumped about too much, and that, mixed with the multiple narratives, made for a choppy and disjointed read. Even the chapter titles didn’t help make it much clearer and in my opinion, showed some pretty bad writing. The chapter title, ‘After the day after the solstice’, is evidence of this. So two days after the solstice?

Secondly, a journal belonging to a teenager is introduced, which I felt weakened the story technically as the prose didn’t at all sound like it belonged in an adolescent diary. Who quotes large chunks of dialogue verbatim in their diary? Then this teenager goes from using lush descriptions to the word ‘cos’. It just didn’t work. The backstory it provided was more interesting than the present and essential to the plot, but technically it felt jarring because it just didn’t flow or feel believable.

And lastly, the plot itself was just not my cup of tea. I can get on board with many different elements in a thriller, including the supernatural, the occult, folklore, you name it, but this was just a little too bizarre, and I found myself not caring about the characters in the slightest.

Despite all this, it did have some positives: multiple POVs; a dual timeline; a great setting; a steady pace; and several intriguing twists and turns.

It’s not my intention to put anyone off this book, especially Foley fans, but in my opinion, this is far from her strongest thriller. Thank you to both NetGalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley is a dark thriller with her trademark twists and turns and,this time,more than a touch of "The Wicker Man" ......being set in an area of Dorset where pagan beliefs are still rife behind closed doors.

Francesca has turned her inherited ancestral home into a New Age retreat called simply,"The Manor". Catering for the affluent the planned highlight of the Midsummer opening is a solstice supper,the unplanned highlights turn out to be far more deadly.
With murder and mayhem all around Francesca discovers that many of those around her are not who say they are and they have scores to settle from 15 years earlier and events she hoped were long buried coming back to haunt her.

This is a very entertaining read,some of the twists are really audacious and in the hands of a lesser author would just be outright unbelievable but Lucy Foley knows exactly how far she can go and with the 2 timelines 15 years apart it's great fun trying to work out who is who as the story unfolds and new identities and motivations are revealed.

Something a little different from Lucy Foley,highly recommended.

Possible spoilers

3.5 stars

A familiar tale, rich kid takes poor kid under their wing, and something goes wrong.
I liked the present day and flashback style of this story, always giving enough away in each section to keep you hooked.
My favourite bit was how all the characters lives twisted in and out of each others... I thought we has hit peak, and saw we still had quarter of the book to go.
It has its creepy moments too, they were nicely done.
An enjoyable read that left me with a smile on my face at the very end.

I love Lucy Foley so I was super excited to read this and knew my Friday plans had to change to read this immediately and I am so glad I did because I couldn't put it down. I was hooked and I love the twists and suspense, really well done.

This felt like Saltburn meets The White Lotus and I absolutely tore through it. I've read all of Foley's books and largely enjoyed them, but this book brought together all the best elements of her previous works and was truly excellent. It was gripping from the outset and incredibly well paced with some great twists. I liked that there was a smaller cast of characters from whose perspective the story is narrated and characterisation itself was really well done. The allusion to pagan folklore and the book's presentation of privilege and wealth was interesting and nuanced. 100% recommend - a perfect thriller for the summer.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Well I devoured this book - couldn't put it down! Loved the intrigue, the story and the setting. Perfect summer read!