Halloween Bingo 2026
I read this for the Closed Circle Mysteries square of my 2026 Halloween Bingo card.
Lucy Foley's writing is not to my taste, but this book is the October choice of my mystery book club. (Her novel The Paris Apartment was popular with members, so this one was added to this year's agenda.) She's very good at writing a whole bunch of unpleasant people, most of whom are concealing secrets. I don't need to like a character to care about them, but caring about this batch of entitled jerks was next to impossible for me.
There are three timelines: before and after the solstice and diary entries from 15 years earlier. The diary assists the reader to understand what transpires in the more recent entries. Foley switches narrators frequently, revealing their current motivations which are contrasted with their past behaviour. I gradually began to figure all the connections, and it was this mental exercise that kept me reading. This was hard on a reader who is usually all about the characters.
Things revolve around Francesca, owner of the Manor, entrepreneur, snob, actress, and queen of denial. She works hard to suppress reality, allowing herself to keep traveling down the path that leads to darkness. Foley led me along with hints about the ultimate event of the long ago summer. The trail of bread crumbs seemed so obvious….which should have alerted me that there was a surprise ahead. At the 60% mark, I thought I had it all ciphered. All I can say is keep your wits about you. I was fooled fair and square.
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