The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Midnight Feast is easily one of my most anticipated releases of 2024, coming from one of my go-to Mystery/Thriller authors, Lucy Foley. I love her classic style, her sense of place, as well as her dramatic characters.
The moment I read this synopsis, I needed it.
This story follows four different perspectives: Francesca, the founder, Owen, the husband, Bella the mystery guest, and Eddie the kitchen help. On first observation, you may think four perspectives it a lot, but honestly, it never felt like it here.
They’re all equally interesting in their own right, and so well developed. Additionally, each play an important role in the events that play out over the course of the story.
We join these characters on the first night of the grand opening weekend at The Manor, a luxury retreat that Francesca has created, along with the help of her husband, Owen, upon her familial coastal estate.
The unique property is sold out for the weekend and all guests are expecting the best of the best, to be pampered and low-key treated like royalty. Francesca is pulling out all the stops, no expense has been spared, but will it all come off without a hitch? She’s beyond stressed.
It doesn’t take long after you meet all the characters for the ominous tone to set in. There are some mysterious things happening and the property itself seems to be mired in a darkness. It’s unsettling; wicked and wild.
The abutting woods feel like they are looming over the resort, like they may harbor secrets and other disturbing things. The local lore surrounding these woods certainly doesn’t help matters. This atmosphere got under my skin fairly quickly and I was eating it up.
Further, I loved the construction of this story. The chapters are short and you alternate between all of these perspectives. With each chapter you’re learning more and more about what is actually going here, the history and connections.
We also get some journal entries, which take us back to the property, I believe, 15-years prior, and the horrific events that happened there at that time. Through these journal entries we learn a bit more about some of the players in our modern timeline. Enlightening stuff.
I was at the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading this. I found the story to be so gripping. As each chapter ended, it felt like another puzzle piece falling into place.
I was scrambling to get through it. I had to know the truth behind all the connections and what was going to happen on the night of the Midnight Feast. It was a real race to figure everything out. I had so much fun with it.
I’m trying not to give too much away about what happens. It’s best to just go in and be surprised. This definitely went places that I wasn’t expecting.
I can’t stress enough how great this atmosphere felt though. I’m an atmosphere-girlie through-and-through. That’s the number one thing I want out of my stories and Foley delivered it in spades here.
It felt rich, dangerous, hedonistic, and a bit pagan in nature. It almost toes the line into Folk Horror territory, if I’m being honest, and you know I love that.
This was wildly-engaging and non-stop entertainment. There’s no lulls ever in the forward progression of the narrative and mystery of The Manor. The conclusion was exciting and included more than one jaw-dropping moment.
In my most humble opinion, this is Foley’s strongest work yet. Everything about this gets top marks from me. I literally have no complaints.
It comes with my highest recommendation. If you haven’t already, you need to add this to your Summer TBR. If you love atmosphere, clever plot development and non-stop twists and turns, you are sure to enjoy this as much as I did.
Thank you so, so much to the publisher, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy to read and review. As mentioned above, this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it far exceeded my expectations.
Well done, Lucy Foley. Well done!