The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley - Review

I've previously read other books by Lucy Foley and generally found them intriguing and interesting, so I requested this at the library. But I didn't find this as interesting as her previous books. It seemed over complicated and needlessly long. A bit like writing for the sake of writing. I lost interest but by that point I needed to finish it just for completeness!

So, the main characters are Bella, Francesca, Owen, and Eddie. In the current time, around 2020, Francesca is opening a wellness retreat in the mansion that belonged to Francesca's grandparents. It is by the beach in Devon somewhere. She has ploughed an awful lot of money into it and there is going to be a grand opening. Francesca is mostly insufferable, relying on deep breaths and yoga to stop herself getting angry. Bella has managed to get herself a booking at the opening event, and she will be staying in one of the cabins in the woods on the edge of the property. It becomes clear that she has a grudge against Francesca and that she is here to exact revenge. Owen is Francesca's boyfriend, and the architect of much of the retreat. He's got a lot of secrets, though.

And Eddie is working behind the bar. He's local to the area, unlike most of the staff. The development of the retreat has not been popular in the area and Eddie is kind of caught in the middle of that. He's young and his past is linked to what happened when Francesca and Bella were young...

Because it turns out that one summer, Bella was visiting the area with her parents and staying at the local caravan park, when she meets Francesca - known then as Frankie - and becomes friends with her. Bella is wowed by the family and the house and just how rich they are. Frankie has two older brothers who are very good looking but also just rich and posh and arrogant. A lot of crap happens to explain why Bella is here on Francesca's opening weekend. 

The reader also knows that the main house has gone up in flames and that a body was found on the beach - but it's not obvious until later who the body is and what exactly happened.

I think my main problem is that I just really couldn't stand any of the characters. I liked Eddie best, I guess, but that's a low bar. I felt for Bella but I felt like the book was just a bit hackneyed. I'm giving it three out of five.