Reviews

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

nzlisam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Midnight Feast was Unsettling, Creepy, and it Sure Kept Me Guessing! 

June 2025 – It’s the opening weekend of The Manor, an exclusive, cliffside, health and wellness resort hotel, nestled away in the tiny village of Tome, Dorset, with the beach on one side and the woods on the other. The retreat promises three days of luxury, spirituality, and pampering, culminating in a Midnight Feast on the Day of the Solstice. 

But just before dawn The Day After the Solstice fishermen make two grisly discoveries, floating in the water is a body, and high up on the cliff The Manor is burning! 

Just what went on at The Midnight Feast? 

After finishing The Midnight Feast I can honestly say that Lucy Foley is the master of misdirection – the plot had more twists than the trees featured in this novel – the mystery was multi-layered, clever, and exciting, and the shocks and secrets just kept on coming. I can’t stop thinking about that last 25%! 

The characters were a mix of one’s I cared about, other’s I wasn’t sure about, and a few that were evil to the core. All were compelling, three-dimensional and intriguing. I even teared up a couple of times and was surprised how emotionally invested I was in some of these character’s situations and trauma. The setting of Tome took on a life of its own – steeped in class conflict and divide, exacting justice, and customs and folklore. Now, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I’m terrified of birds – although I’m not keen on their squawking, flapping wings, and beady eyes – but the bird legends featured in this novel, coupled with the fact that people kept finding ominous feathers, really freaked me out. 

There were several timelines to keep track of. The present story arc, which took place over the three-day retreat weekend – Opening Night, The Day Before the Solstice, The Day of the Solstice – via four POV’s. Then there were flashbacks to the summer of 2010 in the form of italicised journal entries, as well as flash forwards to The Day After the Solstice beginning with the discovery of the fire and an unidentified body. There was also a spooky, foreboding prologue titled, The Woods. The summer journal was the standout for me, that is until the last 25% when every moment was my favourite. 

Now I can’t decide which Lucy Foley book is my favourite, this one, or The Guest List. I think I love them both equally. 

P.S. As a teenage I also devoured Bella by Jilly Cooper, as well as the other books in the series, Harriet, Octavia, etc. 

I’d like to thank Netgalley UK, Harper Collins UK, and Lucy Foley for the e-ARC. 

Take note of the release date, 6th June 2024, as The Midnight Feast is a must-read thriller. 

ericasbooklog's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Manor is the highly anticipated new hotel offering a luxurious, immersive, outdoor experience targeted exclusively for the wealthy. Francesca Meadows will stop at nothing to ensure that the opening weekend and festivities are nothing short of perfect. But when things being to slowly go wrong in the days leading up to the main solstice celebration, Francesca’s perfect facade is put to the test as she is faced with the local angry townspeople, the ominous long rumored cult, and the secrets she believed to be buried in the past.  

Midnight Feast has the easy storytelling and plenty of twists that we know and love from any Lucy Foley story. It’s filled with quick chapters, multiple POVs, and multiple timelines that keep the reader guessing along the way. 

Overall, I enjoyed this story and the twists and surprises that I didn’t see coming until it was too late. But this story fell a little short for me, especially in comparison to other Lucy novels, for two main reasons:

1. The first half of the book was slow. Sure, it had details and tidbits that mattered to the story, but it felt like a slough to get through the first half. I am not one to “DNF” books so I pushed through, but I can see how this may lose readers in the beginning as it takes some time to really pick up and get interesting.
2. I am an early 30’s, American reader. While I am aware of many UK terms and slang words, I felt like this story had excessive verbiage used throughout that didn’t land for me. I know I don’t represent all audiences, but I feel like the overuse of current trends, pop culture, slang, etc. will make this story miss the mark for many other readers and not stand up well to the test of time. 

Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Marrow for an eARC of Midnight Feast. This was a fun read and I continue to be thrilled to get my hands on anything by Lucy Foley

kenzieleckie_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I was so happy to be chosen to read this arc as I’ve previously enjoyed Lucy Foleys other books! 

I love the dual POVS as I really enjoy being able to see all the different ways people see events and who is reliable and who’s not. I did struggle a little with the pacing which is why I gave it a 4.5 and not a 5 as sometimes it felt like the story dragged whenever we went through the diary entries however I do understand it was needed in order to understand current events going on. 

I thought the addition of folklore and legends was really interesting and added a slight horror?? element to it and made the story that bit more suspenseful and put you on edge. 

At first I didn’t like the POV of the detective as I felt like it didn’t add anything to what we read from the events the night before HOWEVER I was so wrong and it came full circle and was very much needed. 

Thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me this to read!! 

books_by_your_bedside's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

georgiarivers's review

4.0

a thriller with multiple povs surrounding a newly renovated manor in the small town of tome. I enjoyed the structure of this as we have to piece together the story to figure out who the murderer was, who was murdered, and what happened when the group were kids. it was quite slow to get into but once the story really started i sped through it. I loved the folklore of the birds and the locals fighting the rich

thanks to netgalley for an arc, which will be released on june 6th <3 

kseaward's review

dark mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

A lavish boutique resort in the English Countryside becomes the center of an intricately woven, darkly mysterious intersection of traditional pagan and new age metaphysical beliefs. Foley’s highly descriptive storytelling style brings depth to both characters and setting as the reader ascertains if “The Birds” are indeed true vigilantes exacting revenge on the quaint rural community or simply local folklore. As told through five points-of-view, various plot lines are strongly and effortlessly intertwined to create an outcome not reader could completely predict. The Midnight Feast is recommended to readers who enjoyed The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

shannonohannessian's review

3.0

The Midnight Feast takes place during the opening weekend of a luxury hotel, The Manor, in a small coastal town. As Francesca Meadows prepares to open her carefully curated establishment, tensions rise between the visitors and the locals, and Bella, a ghost of her past, comes to finally confront her on an incident from 15 years prior. The novel switches from multiple perspectives including Francesca, her husband, Bella, a dishwasher, a detective, and an old journal.

This was a slow build but once I got a third of the way in, I was hooked. The amount of perspectives was confusing and chaotic at times, but the more I read, the more I caught on. A few plot points could have used more clarification and fleshing out, specifically with Francesca's brothers. The ending was outlandish and almost wrapped up too neatly, but overall it was an interesting story that held my attention.

The Midnight Feast comes out on June 6, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

nickyd80's review

mysterious fast-paced

3.5

meganrae047's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

zippysherman's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual assault and Drug use