It’s the opening weekend of The Manor, a luxury resort hotel on the coast of Dorset, owned by Francesca Meadows, a former local resident who returned after she inherited the land from her grandparents. Francesca comes from the wealthiest and most connected family in the area, where most other families are poor. Among the locals, there are superstitions about The Birds, a group of black-feathered hooded figures that have rituals and deliver justice where they see it’s required.
Francesca is married to Owen, a very poor former local resident who is hiding his true identity from his wife. When Owen discovers a note addressed to Francesca asking her to meet an anonymous person in the woods at midnight, he becomes paranoid about what his wife is hiding from him. By following her using a tracking app on her phone, he soon discovers she’s been keeping secrets from him, and their marriage is not as perfect as he envisioned.
Bella is staying as a guest at the manor and has returned to Dorset to retrieve her old journal, which she hid in a nearby cave 15 years earlier. Bella’s old journal entries reveal that she and Francesca knew each other for 15 years when Bella’s family stayed nearby for the summer. That same summer, Bella hung out with Francesca. Francesca accidentally killed someone, Cora, by giving her brownies laced with poisonous mushrooms. Bella and her boyfriend Jake witnessed it, but they were threatened by Francesca and her grandfather not to say anything. Afterwards, Jake went missing with his moped, found hanging off the side of a cliff nearby. His death was thought to be a suicide. Bella has now returned to The Manor to reveal where Cora’s body was buried. She intends to deliver justice for Cora and Jake and revenge on Francesca.
By the end of the opening weekend, there’s a suspicious fire at The Manor with multiple deaths suspected. DI Walker is quickly on scene investigating a body found at the base of a cliff and two dead bodies trapped inside by the fire. DI Walker interviews Eddie, a nineteen-year-old hotel worker. Eddie had an intimate encounter with Bella after she summoned him to her room, and he has since suspected something sinister going on at The Manor. With Francesca nowhere to be found, Eddie recounts the bizarre happenings just hours before the fire, but he’s more involved than he’s letting on.
This is an atmospheric and entertaining slow-burn thriller that heats up in the second half of the story. The first half of the novel does feel very slow in parts and is mostly a setup of what’s to come, so you’ll need to be patient for the real suspense to begin. The book includes elements of dark folklore and superstition, making for a highly original story.
The characters are mostly unlikeable, with each of them showing they’re capable of great deception and lies. Eddie, who is portrayed as unpretentious and honest, may be the one exception. His struggle between his allegiance to his family business and his own aspirations is also a great side story.
The book is told in five POVs from Francesca, Owen, Bella, Eddie, and Detective Walker. Keeping track of each POV is somewhat overwhelming at the start, so you may benefit from jotting down notes while reading or listening. Unfortunately, this excessive number of POVs dilutes the quality of each storyline, making the story feel all over the place. The storyline also alternates between two timelines in 2010 and present day, adding further confusion if you’re not paying close attention. On the positive, the ending does bring the characters’ plotlines together with some very clever twists, but they also require a lot of suspension of disbelief.
Narrators Roly Botha, Laurence Dobiesz, Joe Eyre, Tuppence Middleton, and Sarah Slimani all gave excellent performances with well-paced delivery. Each narrator was easy to follow and brought their character to life with a distinct, authentic voice matching the character’s age and stature.
Overall, The Midnight Feast is an entertaining and unique atmospheric thriller that leaves most of the real suspense to the end. If you’re interested in books that include folklore, superstition, multiple POVs, a myriad of interesting characters, and a destination by the sea, then this one may be a good option. But if you’re new to Foley’s work, you may want to look past this one and instead consider either The Paris Apartment or The Guest List, both of which are more suspenseful and captivating reads.
