I have thoroughly enjoyed Lucy Foley’s back catalogue – from her debut historical dramas to more recent large cast ensemble murder mysteries – so when I heard she had a new book out, it was a no brainer to request a copy from Net Galley. Here’s the blurb:

“Midsummer, the Dorset coast
In the shadows of an ancient wood, guests gather for the opening weekend of The Manor: a beautiful new countryside retreat.
But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. And the candles have barely been lit for a solstice supper when the body is found.
It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder at…
THE MIDNIGHT FEAST”

The Midnight Feast has a very similar feel to recent Lucy Foley books – told from multiple points of view from different characters and over different timelines. You know that something awful has happened at a new countryside retreat and a dead body has been found on the beach – but you don’t know who the victim is until quite near the end of the book. The storyline jumps between present day – both pre and post the grisly discovery – but also back in time to the early 90s with extracts from one of the character’s teenage journals.

I have to say that what I’ve enjoyed about Lucy Foley’s books before is that they feel well written and ‘literary’ despite being contemporary fiction – but I found that the chapters from the flashbacks felt a bit forced and ‘she said, she did’. I can see that this is because it’s written in the style of a teenager – but I felt it made the book a little disjointed and not up to the usual standard of writing (but fully appreciate this is probably just my taste!)

There is also quite a lot of ‘black magic’ and mystical folklore referred to – specifically ‘the birds’, This is not my vibe at all – and I would actively avoid books with this in – or even TV programmes with such references – but I was happy to give it the benefit of the doubt and push on through because I’ve so enjoyed the author’s previous books! But this does mean I didn’t get references to ‘The Birds’ or ‘Midsommar’ as I’ve not seen or read either.

None of the characters are particularly likeable (apart from Eddie the barman) and all have their own secrets that as a reader you are party to from their chapters, and it’s interesting to see how these unravel and are revealed to other characters.

The descriptions of the countryside retreat are excellent – and you really get a feel for being there, and the suffocating heat – and the venue does sound amazing.

As you’d expect from a Lucy Foley book there are loads of twists and turns, with characters from the ‘flashback’ chapters intertwining with those in the current timeframe. Some I guessed, some with hindsight I should have guessed, and some were a complete shock – a perfect recipe to keep you just smug enough but still shocked and intrigued by the storyline.

Although I’ve been a bit moany, I really enjoyed the book and was desperate to see what happened in the end – and I thought the end very satisfactory in tying up lots of loose ends.

A big thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC – it’s out in early June 2024, so not long to wait – a perfect summer read.