The Midnight Feast
By Lucy Foley
Gothic thriller
William Morrow
June 2024
A young woman in disguise checks into an exclusive Dorset coastal resort on its opening weekend. Bella has been here before, but not for years, and is determined to right the wrongs of the past.
Francesca is the lady of the manor. She has converted her late grandparents' mansion and its grounds into a world-class resort for those with plenty of money and fans of New Age ideas. She will do whatever it takes to keep bad feelings or the past at bay.
Owen is her husband, a famous architect responsible for some of the most distinctive changes to the property. But is the seemingly calm man, entranced by his wife, all that he seems?
Eddie is a teenager working as a dishwasher. He's one of the few locals hired on, partly because Francesca doesn't like the locals. And partly because the locals don't like her. That's especially true because she has blocked the pathway through the grounds, wants to shut down the old, rundown caravan park that has been a longtime tenant, and would love to have the aging farmer and his family removed as the mansion's closest neighbors. That aging farmer is Eddie's father.
These and other characters are at The Manor for an opening weekend Francesca has convinced herself, and others, will make this former residence the It destination for years to come. She will not take no for an answer. In Lucy Foley's latest thriller, The Midnight Feast, Francesca's attitude and strong belief in herself are not that different from what the teenage Frankie was like 15 years ago.
What Francesca doesn't know is that Frankie's sins of that long-ago summer are coming home to roost. As the various characters interact and try to move their own interests forward, it becomes clear that what happened one summer during Frankie's teen years mattered a great deal to many involved. The waves of events from that summer are building as they rush toward the celebrations of The Manor's opening weekend.
Foley is accomplished at writing a narrative that propels toward a solution that can be surprising. But the story plays fair with the reader all along the way. In The Midnight Feast, Foley also creates a Gothic atmosphere that recalls Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, except on the Dorset coast instead of Cornwall.
This latest novel, like earlier ones, includes a cast of characters brought together for what should be a fun weekend but is instead murderous. The Midnight Feast also builds on character development that matters to the plot and provides a thoroughly rewarding reading experience.
sounds like a lot of fun!