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Aftertaste
Feast upon this year's most delicious debut novel: 'A fun romp through New York's food scene' Sunday Times
Aftertaste
Feast upon this year's most delicious debut novel: 'A fun romp through New York's food scene' Sunday Times
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Description
'A fun romp through New York's restaurant scene and the world of the undead' Sunday Times
Kostya is haunted. Still reeling from the loss of his father, he's working as a dishwasher when he discovers something extraordinary. The tastes that have flooded his mouth without warning since childhood – thin-skinned dumplings bursting with lightly sugared sour cherries – are being sent by spirits seeking closure and, by cooking their food, Kostya can bring them back for one last meal to find it.
Maura is moonlighting as a psychic when a man with curious talents enters her booth. She's the only one who understands what Kostya is really capable of – as well as the consequences of messing with the afterlife. And as Kostya and Maura fall deeply, irresistibly in love, the line between supporting his dreams and keeping her own ghosts at bay begins to blur.
While Kostya and his best friend, Frankie, work towards opening a New York restaurant with a unique menu and unprecedented clientele, Maura senses a supernatural catastrophe looming that could see them losing everything…
Product details
| Published | 21 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | 9781526683991 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Dimensions | 198 x 129 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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Reviews
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An amalgamation of hypermodern satire, slushy romance and savvy cultural allusion that is as vigorously brought together as its lead character's recipes … Lavelle excels in conjuring the scenes behind the swinging doors … Aftertaste pulls together familiar elements of romance and the supernatural, adding a dash of Anthony Bourdain-style bullishness and a pinch of Davelle's own authorial smarts. I'll bet there's a run on fleur de sel right after publication day
Guardian
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An imaginative blend of ghost story, culinary fiction and romance served with a generous helping of magical realism … Many will find this ghostly, gastronomic romp hard to resist
Observer
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I savoured every minute reading this epic story about life, death, love and loss ... Original and addictive
Daily Mail
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There's Stephen King in this novel's ancestry, in style as well as scares ... Lavelle's writing pounds with bada-boom dialogue and the kind of adrenaline found in an over-heated kitchen during service ... Lavelle evokes Bret Easton Ellis in American Psycho ... Macho chefs and hidden speakeasies abound; the East Village is still cool, and Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential very much alive
Irish Times
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Aftertaste is a gourmet delight; it's highly original and hugely evocative, it definitely tugs at the heartstrings
Irish Examiner
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A heart-warming read – a fascinating mix of food, romance and the supernatural
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