The Midnight Feast

Lucy Foley's The Midnight Feast is a thrilling and atmospheric novel that masterfully blends opulence with suspense. Set against the luxurious backdrop of The Manor's opening night, where no detail is overlooked—from the sparkling infinity pool to the meticulously crafted cocktails—Foley paints a vivid picture of extravagance shadowed by impending doom. The story weaves through a tapestry of old friends and enemies, all converging under the midsummer sun, while the surrounding ancient forest brims with secrets. The tension escalates when a fire breaks out and a body is discovered, drawing local police into a tangled web of intrigue and hidden pasts. With richly drawn characters—the founder, the husband, the mystery guest, and the show more kitchen help—each carrying secrets from fifteen years ago, Foley crafts a gripping narrative that explores how the past can crash even the most lavish of parties, leading to deadly consequences. The Midnight Feast is a compelling read that keeps you guessing until the very end. show less

This was a crazy, twisty, dark and creepy read – and I loved it!! It had some big folk horror vibes, which is one of my favorite subgenres, and had so much intrigue and so many twists and turns that I almost never knew what was coming next. There were so many secrets, so many things to hide. I read way past my bedtime with this one. It is the perfect time of year to read this too, as the book takes place at the end of the summer at a posh resort that had once been a private residence made of stone that towered over the rest of the village. If you have been thinking of reading this, I highly recommend grabbing a copy now!

This tale certainly is a mystery, for more than one reason. Whatever the author was trying to convey from the unclear beginning and sporadically throughout the book is a mystery. The unclear motives and actions of the characters are a mystery. Why an accomplished author would pen a book that lacked focus and did not reflect her notable ability is a mystery. But the biggest mystery is why I finished reading this unremarkable book when there are so many better books in the realm, including other tales written by this author. Sorry, Ms. Foley, but this one missed the mark by a mile.

I can’t really blame Lucy Foley - this is just not my type of book. I don’t like her characters, I don’t like the deprivation and shallow behavior and the plot didn’t win me over to the light. But she writes well and it is a tight, well constructed story with the most obnoxious, hedonistic people populating the pages. Told in multiple POVs the story builds to a dazzling and devastating crescendo and no less than what is deserved. But maybe that was the point of it all.

Thanks to Lost and Found Books Ltd / HarperCollins and NetGalley for a copy.

4 for 4. Always the ladies, huh. What I like best about this one is that the rich are so clearly villainous. Sadly still a poor girl just trying to fit in though. I wonder how many murderous situations I've avoided by just not wanting to hang with the poshos?

The ultimate summer solstice party ends in flames.

Not going to rehash the plot but the setting on the cliff in Dorset, the big and beautiful new manor, the promise of a spectacular party drew me in. I really had high expectations for this mystery thriller, but ended up being disappointed. Why are endings so very predictable? And does it bother any other reader when the author deliberately leaves out important details such as — who is that body on the beach?

There were so many time shifts and characters that it took awhile to realize that most of them were just basically nasty. Everyone had underlying motives for being there at The Manor and none of them were good. A basic revenge trope. Of course the worst of them got what was coming show more to them. It did irritate me that nobody seemed to recognize anyone else and there were way too many secrets and lies going on. I really didn’t like the wrap up ending with its alls well tone. I didn’t really like any of the characters and their outcomes all seemed so contrived. And it all seemed such a waste that the beautiful place came to that end.

And I will not comment on the repetition and ridiculousness of the birds. Really.

I read the e-book ARC provided by the publisher and also was able to simultaneously listen to the audiobook performed by a multitalented cast. The voices certainly leant a great deal of drama to the storytelling. Some of them really got into their characters. show less

I jumped at the chance to read this book. I’ve had this authors’s past books on my shelf since they’ve come out. Unfortunately for me, this book fell flat. I did enjoy the premise and was sucked in by the cover, but other than that, it was a miss. I will try again and hope that these previous or upcoming books are more a fit for me.

There were so many characters including some with name changes, that I found it hard to keep track. Some characters haven’t see each other in 15 years and there was a failure to recognize, which came off as totally odd. Scenarios were thrown in that were not necessary and added nothing to the storyline. Multiple POVs, journal entries and multiple time lines, made this book an extremely slow read show more for me. I feared if I put it down, I’d never pick it up again. I did finish this book, but once it ended, I totally forgot most things about it. I found the majority of the characters unlikeable and unrelatable. Privilege at its worst. The book does pick up towards the end, and there was a twist or two that I didn’t see coming, but it was too late to save the book for me. So much potential here about the local folklore but it just left me scratching my head as to why it was inserted and not fully explored.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion. show less