Today’s book review is of Lucy Foley’s new novel, The Midnight Feast! Read on to find out what I thought…
Title: The Midnight Feast
Author: Lucy Foley
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Synopsis:
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
My review:
Secrets and intriguing characters combine in this gripping novel set on the gorgeous Dorset Coast. A new, very fancy Wellness Retreat is opening up, and owner Francesca is determined to make it the place to be – but locals aren’t quite as thrilled…
I really enjoyed the mounting sense that not everyone is who they seem to be, which seeps through the pages of this novel the more you read on. From the staff to Francesca herself, it seems like everyone is hiding something. I enjoyed the tension between the people living in the area and the retreat’s owners. The novel raised some very pertinent points about how businesses like this can affect local people.
There’s plenty of tension throughout The Midnight Feast, as we find out early on that there has been a huge fire at the hotel during the opening weekend – but we don’t know who was harmed or whose fault it was. We flick forwards and backwards in time as we learn what happened in the run-up to the incident (I always enjoy a dual-timeline novel!) and we get passages from different characters’ perspectives including the hotel’s owner Francesca and her husband Owen, staff members Bella and Eddie, and, back in the present day, DI Walker who is investigating the fire. There are quite a few people to keep track of, but not confusingly so.
The plot has plenty of twists and turns – at some points almost too many! However, it certainly kept the story entertaining. It was a bit unbelievable at times but good fun to read. The Midnight Feast would make a great holiday read – it offers a satisfying blend of suspense, intrigue, and well-developed characters, all set against a beautiful and atmospheric backdrop.
My rating: 4/5
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.
The Midnight Feast is out in the UK on 6 June.