It's opening night of "The Manor," an exclusive and glamorous resort looming between the Dorset coastline and the dense forest that is the dream of none other than wellness heiress Francesa Meadows and her architect husband, Owen Dacre. Hundreds of lanterns have been lit, guests are arriving, and soon the "midnight feast" will commence. Francesca has planned out every last detail to perfection, and despite myths and folklore of the nearby woods swirling through the local community for years, she's convinced that nothing could possibly tarnish the night.

And yet, by midnight, something will.

"The Midnight Feast" is another installment of Lucy Foley's highly-recognizable style of multiple nonlinear POVs in countless bite-sized chapters. The initial setting of this was everything; glamour, mystique, a dark sense of foreboding. And unfortunately, it never came together for me. What could have been a really masterful thriller about secrets buried and resurrected, Foley's latest felt (at best) like a haphazard draft with far too many POV switches that left no room for a plot of substance to develop. Whereas in "The Paris Apartment" and even "The Guest List" the characters felt memorable and wove together well, everything about "The Midnight Feast" felt disjointed and poorly thought-out, which left multiple plot-holes and loose ends in its wake.

Far from Foley's best, "The Midnight Feast" promises a gothic atmosphere and glamour-cloaked mystery with little to no payoff; it manages to feel both rushed and dragged out for too long, and it wouldn't be one I recommend.

This is my FAVORITE Lucy Foley novel. I was drawn to it because of the setting, but it gave me so much more. When I first started reading, it was really reminding me of The Guest List, but as we get into the story, get more in depth with the characters, with a little folklore woven in, we are left with an absolutely incredible story that you will immediately want to read again. 4.5 stars!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Just when I’m ready to write “this was my first Lucy Foley book where I had the twist figured out” the last 10% of the book rolled in! This was a quick and refreshing read. I love a fast paced mystery novel and this one had a lot of good elements. Francesca was a wholly unlikable character, as she was intended to be. Personally, this was my least favorite Foley that I’ve read yet. I just felt like The Guest List and the Paris Apartment moved a bit quicker and were more connected overall. That’s not to say this book didn’t have a lot of enjoyable and unexpected twists but in general I connected with those books more.

I really, really wanted to love this book. I adore this author and the premise is so intriguing.
However, the book dragged a bit for me. If it had been shorter maybe it would have been perfect.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. A solid thriller. There just were a few moments where I was really for the book to be done.

I'm a fan of Lucy Foley's previous thrillers, particularly The Guest LIst, so when this novel came up, with shade of The White Lotus, I was all over it. The book centers on The Marno, an English country home redone as a vacation escape for the well-to-do. There is, as you might guess, tension between the well-heeled guests at the Manor and the local population, as well as a mysterious spate of incidents involving what seem to be enormous birds. This thriller is twisty and fun, but it seemed a little bit scattered for me, and I found it didn't have the same oomph as some of Foley's other books. Not that that'll stop me from snapping up her next one.

3.5**

I'm so conflicted by this book! I really enjoyed the way this ended and how the mystery unfurled. My problem with it is I felt it was paced super poorly. The beginning was SO slow, which usually I don't mind, but nothing about it made me want to continue until I got about 60% through, and by then it was just non-stop action. Would recommend for the twists but obviously keep in mind that it has a bit of a slow start.

The Midnight Feast is being told from multiple points of view and everyone has their own motive and secrets. I originally thought it was going to be a three star because it seemed very fragmented and disconnected. Well, let me just say, as I continued down the path of "breadcrumbs" being dropped in every chapter, a new piece of the puzzle was being revealed.
By the time I got to the ending I wanted to go right back to the beginning and re-read it knowing what I know now. Well played!
A big thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Keep them coming.

This is the third book I have read by this author, unfortunately The Midnight Feast was disappointing. There are too many characters, and due to this I felt like the characters did not receive enough development. It seemed like the story was just coasting forward, and I lost interest. I kept pushing hoping the story would pick up, ultimately it did not.

I got an ARC of this book, and was so excited to read it, as I love Lucy Foley's books. This one did not disappoint. It is a whodunnit crime novel, so the general structure of the genre is there. But, Lucy Foley masterfully writes in twists and turns that I do not expect time and time again. The Midnight Feast was no exception.

The book follows several characters brought back to a childhood place to confront dark traumas in their past. The players are laid out at the beginning, but might not be who you think they are. It was a fun read that kept me wondering what would happen next. In my opinion, Lucy Foley, is a master of the genre.

There were a lot of characters which made it hard to keep up with. Also the journal entries seemed a little young adult

I really enjoy Lucy Foley's twisty suspense novels and The Midnight Feast was another great read! I struggled with her last book, The Paris Apartment but I thought that this book was back to the style she does the best. I like how she builds her story by telling us about the events from multiple points of view; this book also takes us before and after an event. I thought I knew what was happening a few times throughout the book but I did not get it right! Lucy Foley is the queen of a suspense in a secluded place.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I gave myself a little time to digest this before reviewing because I didn't want to be too harsh, but the bottom line is I didn't enjoy it. Having previously loved the Hunting Party and the Paris Apartment, I was looking forward to this book, particularly because the island retreat setting seemed exciting. Unfortunately, that's the only part that was exciting for me. The characters were dull and some of them were a little too conveniently placed/unbelievable. I skimmed through a good portion of the book and did feel that the ending made up for much of the lackluster plot, but overall it didn't blow me away. Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for allowing me to review this ahead of print.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lucy Foley for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 2/5 Stars

While I really enjoyed some parts of this story, most other parts fell flat for me. It was very slow and I found myself checking out of the story.

A very good thriller full of twists and turns that is perfect for any lover of intense thrillers. The inclusion of the journal from the past was great. I loved learning the history between “Bella” and Francesca. I also loved not figuring out “whodunnit”

Lucy Foley has become a must-read author of mystery and suspense. 'The Midnight Feast' lands squarely between "The Guest List" and "The Paris Apartment' for me. Deeply appreciative of Foley's narrative style engaging character's point-of-view to tell the story, the addition of the diary entries was a treat. With a strong nod to Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds', readers are likely to accelerate their reading pace in
order to reach the satisfying conclusion quicker. This work will appeal to first-time Foley readers, as well as those who have read her earlier works.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest reviews.

I felt that this book had a bit of a slow start, but I definitely enjoyed the last 50% of it. The idea of the “birds” felt a little odd to me and I thought there was perhaps too much time invested in explaining and developing the setting and characters. That said, it turned out to be very useful in the end. There were some legitimate plot twists.

The POV jumped around a lot from different people to different times (before and after the Solstice and also farther back with the diary entries). I know many people who don’t enjoy this type of POV, but I really do and it worked for this particular book.

Lucy Foley’s new book, The Midnight Feast, opens with spectacularly sinister undertones and grabs your attention with a vigorous intensity. There was something quite different about this one from her other books. The Midnight Feast is witchy and darkly enchanting. It felt like I was reading the “eat the rich” vibes of Saltburn combined with the paganistic horror elements of Midsommar. Lucy Foley’s signature atmospheric storytelling is on full display here, and the deceptively idyllic coastal summer setting interposed with the creepy undercurrent of what’s actually going on creatives an interesting juxtaposition that’s hard to put down.

Enthralling as it is chilling, full of unlikable characters and building tension, this masterfully-woven slow-burn thriller effortlessly weaves together past and present to culminate in an epic story surprising until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow Books, and Harper Collins for allowing me to read an early copy of The Midnight Feast!

Normally, I can predict twists in the novels I read, but Lucy Foley generally does a good job of throwing me off the trail! I certainly was not expecting some of the twists this novel takes. It is certainly a book that takes a minute to get into, but once I got into it I was hooked and read through quickly to the end. The different character perspectives and jumping back and forth in time made it harder for the reader to make the connections we'd need to make to come to the right conclusions. I think Lucy did a great job with this one! I just wish it had been quicker to pull me in at the beginning!

The ancient woodland setting of this book is the perfect background for the creepy activities going on. The writing is so descriptive, I can easily picture the Manor and surrounding areas. The story is told from multiple viewpoints across two different timelines but I found it easy to follow what was going on. Lots of excellent twists and turns along the way and I enjoyed the slightly supernatural addition of The Birds to the story!

I wanted to like this book but just found it to be ok. The story and characters couldn't keep my attention. There are to many charcters and not enough details for me to feel a connection.