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7 Best Lucy Foley Books

The best Lucy Foley books, ranked by how many expert sources recommend each one, with notes on thrillers, historical fiction, and the best place to begin.

Our take

Lucy Foley writes mysteries driven by the secrets people bring into shared spaces. Her thrillers move between narrators and timelines, letting a wedding, a holiday, or a luxury destination expose relationships that look different from the outside. Readers who enjoy watching motives accumulate may find the atmosphere as important as the eventual solution. Her earlier historical novels take a more expansive approach to love, memory, and hidden lives.

The Guest List offers a useful introduction to her thriller style, while The Hunting Party emphasizes a friendship group's tensions in an isolated setting. The Paris Apartment brings suspicion into a city building, and The Midnight Feast adds a luxury resort and local folklore. For a change of pace, The Book of Lost and Found, The Invitation, and Last Letter from Istanbul explore historical settings and relationships. These stories can be read independently. Start with The Guest List for a mystery, or The Book of Lost and Found if family history and romance appeal more.

7 books · 7 sources · Last updated

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Reading Lucy Foley in order? See all Lucy Foley books in order

How to choose from this list

Skip to the full ranking

If you're new to Foley's thrillers: The Guest List → The Hunting Party
If you want an urban mystery: The Paris Apartment
If you want resort suspense and folklore: The Midnight Feast
If you prefer historical family secrets: The Book of Lost and Found
If you want historical romance and atmosphere: The Invitation → Last Letter from Istanbul

The 7 books, ranked

Ranked by how many expert sources name each book. Ties go to the book more people recommend.

1

The Guest List

by Lucy Foley2020

For readers wanting a concentrated introduction to Foley's social mysteries, the wedding setting gives competing viewpoints a shared point of tension. The gradual exposure of grievances rewards curiosity, though the shifting timelines delay a clear picture of the central crime.

What it's about

A celebrity wedding on a remote Irish island turns deadly when old grudges and private humiliations erupt. Told through several guests' perspectives, it is a tense closed-circle mystery where nearly everyone has a motive.

Also recommended by

1 person
  • Reese Witherspoon recommended this book
2

The Hunting Party

by Lucy Foley2018

For readers who enjoy isolated settings and friendships turning sour, this puts group dynamics under sustained pressure. The remote atmosphere distinguishes it from the city based mystery, though the emphasis on resentment may make the characters difficult company.

What it's about

A group of old Oxford friends reunite at a remote Scottish lodge for New Year's, only to be trapped by a blizzard after one of them dies. Long-simmering resentments turn the holiday into a sharp, claustrophobic whodunit.

3

The Paris Apartment

by Lucy Foley2022

For readers who like an unfamiliar city and a building full of uncertain loyalties, this creates suspense through atmosphere and competing perspectives. The apartment setting gives the mystery cohesion, though withheld information can make the middle feel deliberately slow.

What it's about

Jess arrives in Paris hoping to stay with her half-brother Ben, but finds his stylish apartment and no sign of him. As she questions the building's secretive residents, the whole place starts to feel like a trap.

4

The Midnight Feast

by Lucy Foley2024

For readers who enjoy Foley's ensemble mysteries but want a stronger seam of folklore and local resentment, this changes the atmosphere. The luxury setting creates sharp social contrasts, though the many voices and earlier events require careful tracking.

What it's about

The opening weekend of a luxury coastal resort is meant to be flawless, but old friendships, local anger, and buried secrets quickly poison the celebration. By the time the midnight feast begins, death is already in the air.

5

Last Letter From Istanbul

by Lucy Foley2018

For readers interested in historical romance shaped by political upheaval, this offers a sustained emotional story than Foley's contemporary thrillers. The setting gives private choices wider consequences, though the pace favors atmosphere and longing over a rapid succession of revelations.

What it's about

In occupied Constantinople in 1921, Nur struggles to protect a vulnerable boy while her former home serves as a British army hospital. A desperate plea for help draws her toward dangerous loyalties and forbidden love.

6

For readers who prefer historical family secrets and romance to a contemporary murder puzzle, Foley's debut offers a different pace and emotional focus. Its changing periods broaden the story, though thriller readers should expect a more expansive journey.

What it's about

After her mother dies, Kate follows the trail of a mysterious portrait that looks far too familiar. Her search leads from London to Paris and Corsica, uncovering long-buried love stories and family secrets.

7

The Invitation

by Lucy Foley2016

For readers drawn to glamorous historical settings and emotionally complicated romance, this offers a slower alternative to Foley's murder mysteries. The atmosphere and hidden pasts provide intrigue, though it is closer to romantic drama than a tightly plotted thriller.

What it's about

In 1950s Italy, journalist Hal is pulled into the glamorous orbit of a film publicity cruise and the mysterious Stella. Their renewed connection stirs up buried guilt, old secrets, and a dangerous kind of longing.

Sources

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shape MRB and its growth.

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