Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. If there is one thing Lucy Foley does well it's atmospheric thrillers where the setting is just as important as the character

The characters are well explored through alternative points of view, as well as two time lines.

I felt like the birds bit was a bit. Meh. But overall not bad. Not my favorite but not the worst!

A cast of characters come together to celebrate a beautiful new wellness center. Everything is perfect until a body is found at the base of the cliffs.

The owner and her husband have spared no expense and are determined to succeed despite the resentment from the locals. Each of the characters has their own agenda and although there are some obvious clues as to who is there and why, the story unfolds nicely at a good pace. A slight departure from some of here other titles but worth the read.

This was my first Lucy Foley book that I have read, so I was not sure what to except since I was not familiar with her writing style. The story intrigued me but I did find the style a little hard to imagine and follow along. The story was told over the span of 36 hours as well as 'summer journal' that showed events from 15 years prior. I had trouble keeping all the characters in check. There were too many, some of whom changed their names and identities over the 15 gap . Between the guests, the Manor staff, and the police, there are a puzzling number of characters to keep track of. It had only been 15 years since some of these characters had seen each other and yet they fail to recognize each other??

I gave this novel a 3.5 star rating. The story was good and when I got about 80% through, it really became intense and I was not able to put it down! I just wish I was able to imagine some of the images in my mind the way she had described them. Maybe I am just not familiar enough with English to be able to see it. That aside, I would still recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for the advanced reader copy of this unique mystery for my honest opinions.

DNF. This book was just too slow for me at this point. Hopefully I can come back to it one day. I think it just took too long to get into the story so I ended up not finishing it after reading about 30% of the book.

This is the third and last book that I will be reading by this author. There are too many character perspectives that don't have any personality. I don't ever care about what happens to any of them. Maybe the plot could have been interesting with better characters and writing.

The Midnight Feast started out very slow for me and was slow to hook my attention. However the last 100 pages were intense and worth the slow start. The way Lucy Foley tied it all together and the subtle twists at the end I did not see coming!

I was so happy when I was granted access to this ARC and couldn't wait to dive in. this is one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. it took me a bit to get into the story but once I was, I was able to fly through this book. I absolutely love Lucy Foley's books, and this is yet another I will be buying a physical copy of to add to my collection. I really enjoyed the folklore element and the diary entries throughout the book. thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

4.75 ⭐️

I received this as an Advanced Readers Copy via Harper Collins NetGalley!

When this comes out in June, READ. IT. So different than Lucy Foleys usual. Still a thriller, but with a more haunting/sinister undertone. Multiple POV/flashbacks and a plot that so satisfyingly unravels. Nothing is as it seems, and if you want to be constantly guessing, this is the book for you.

Lucy Foley is one of my favorite mystery/thriller authors for a number of reasons including her wild plots and exotic locations -- and luckily for me, The Midnight Feast had both. Wow, this book was a TRIP, in the very best way. I loved Foley's development of the main characters, particularly the extremely unlikeable Francesca, and the always-present thread of the Birds. Easily one of my favorite books of 2024!

Interesting premise, unique setting, colorful characters... but the plot moved so slow.

Not my favorite from Foley but a worthy read!

The Midnight Feast won't feed your soul, but that isn't why we read Lucy Foley books. There's a lot to like here: evil rich people, the put-upon and misused poor, possible cult/supernatural conspiracy involving vigilante birds. There's also nothing especially original here. These are stock characters in a scenario that's been depicted many times over. It's still enjoyable and you'll love to hate the villain; and while you won't love the supporting characters, you may feel sympathy for them and root for their triumph. The journal flashbacks are serviceable if a bit meh and cliche. Worth your time if British thrillers are your cup of tea.

3.5 Thank you for the ARC of this book NetGalley. I have read one other book by Lucy Foley before, and the style between that book and this one was very similar. You are thrown into a mix POV story where people's social class, morals, and personalities are at odds. I enjoyed the spookiness or almost supernatural feel from the "legend" of the Birds. The setup of the plot was a little static, but about halfway through I could feel the storm brewing, and it exploded towards the end. I'm always a fan of books where characters and details are weaved into the end when you might not have expected it. Overall, it was a good book with some surprises. I don't know if this is due to the version being an ARC, but there were some grammatical errors with apostrophes being replaced with quotation marks.

I loved this book! It was a fun read with some twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down. I definitely would recommend it to family and friends.

What a book!

There were so many details and storylines within The Midnight Feast that I don’t think it would be possible to be bored. We get to know the main characters, which include The Manor itself.

The Manor’s grand opening is an event for the ages, and as we learn about it, we’ve also been hearing from Bella about her past with Francesca and The Manor. As the current timeline events unfold, none of them are surprising or creepy, yet the story is entertaining. At a certain point, I definitely wanted to keep reading to see how this would end.

Advance reader copy provided by NetGalley and William Morrow publishing and all opinions are my own.

Great for fans of psychological thrillers. Told in 3 split storylines in a small out of the way coastal English town, ripe with tales of the Birds delivering justice and haunting the ancient wood. The long past, and 15 years later before the solstice and after. Francesca has remade herself and opened a posh retreat after inheriting her grandparents Oceanside home. She’s full of love and light…or at least she wants people to think so. Her husband, an architect, has his own secrets. Bella has come to opening weekend to right a wrong. DI Walker is investigating a body found on the beach after the solstice. And it’s all wrapped up together. Small towns have their secrets.

The queen of a locked room mystery expands to a rural coastal retreat, but with no less intrigue. If there's one thing Lucy Foley can do, it's create a thunderous pace with multiple narrator switches that keeps you flipping pages without getting (too) frustrated. Most of the twists weren't particularly unexpected, but a few were genuine surprises, and the journey to get there was just so fun and satisfying. Lots to love here... it's not great literature but it's very very good fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have read other books by Lucy Foley, one common theme that she carries through with all of her books is an atmospheric thriller where the setting is just as important as the characters.
The setting of this novel is The Manor, a very upscale spa, owned by Francesca. Not everyone is excited about the Manor’s opening weekend. There are some pretty explosive secrets that reveal themselves in this twisty thriller. The characters are well explored through alternative points of view, as well as two time lines.
One part of the ending was not completely explained. Otherwise , the ending was quite satisfying

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! All opinions below are my own.

The Midnight Feast is Lucy Foley's latest thriller novel, set in an isolated wilderness retreat on a remote island. I'd previously read two of her books. The Guest List and The Hunting Party, and find that Foley writes atmosphere consistently well. No matter what the weather is, when I'm reading one of her thrillers, I'm cold and shivering, feeling like something horrible is just around the corner.

Because of that, I often find that I have to set down her book to pick up later, frequently. This is especially how I felt about the Guest List, which did feel like it dragged at times, in an effort to get to that final twist.

Here, with the Midnight Feast, there is the added element of the likability of our characters. Our main character who own this resort is incredibly hateable, as intended. But if you are the kind of person who cannot stand people going on and on about crystal healing and all that alternative wellness (it feels I can call this out fairly, as someone from LA), then this book will certainly not be for you. Having this added tension of poor local boy whose family is about to be shafted into poverty made me feel doubly gross - there's just something about having poverty and poor financial decisions looming over you that makes me so incredibly anxious.

Ultimately, like many other readers, I did feel like "the birds" was a bit overkill, and didn't pan out in a particularly meaningful way. But those book does what Lucy does best - creates an intense, uncomfortable atmosphere that sets up a twisty book flitting between past and present. And thank the gods, there is never a supernatural twist.

*4.5 stars rounded up*

Ms. Foley did things a little differently with this book, but I'm not at all mad about it. In fact, I absolutely loved it.

Francesa has recently inherited and renovated The Manor, turning it into a luxury seaside retreat for the wealthy elite. She's also reinvented herself with a carefully cultivated air of serenity and well-being, hoping to leave the secrets and misdeeds of her youth far behind. The opening weekend of The Manor will be a Summer Solstice event culminating in a midnight feast, but Francesca isn't the only one making plans and secrets never stay buried forever.

With an otherwordly, creepy vibe established in the prologue and a setting steeped in folklore and dark history, this story added in elements of folk horror while still having the dual timelines, multiple POV's and mystery of the author's past thrillers. A couple of the big twists I saw coming ahead of time, but there were a few reveals that caught me totally off guard. This ending checked all my boxes, and I thought it was a perfect and fitting way to end the story.

The Midnight Feast combined some of my favorite thriller elements and skirted closer to horror than the author's other books, which I loved. The ominous atmosphere, the superstition and legends, the puzzle of who and why, and the usual secrets, lies, and drama worked together seamlessly to provide a story that felt familiar but also unique and unexpected. This is my new favorite book from Lucy Foley, and I'll definitely be picking up a copy for my shelf.

Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

Wow what a thriller! I loved the storytelling in this book! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time trying to guess the mystery. I kept thinking I had it but then I kept getting wrong. Highly recommend for a fast paced thriller!