Aftertaste

Name: Aftertaste
Brand: Allen & Unwin
SKU: 9781526683946
Price: 46.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

Feast upon this year's most delicious debut novel: 'A fun romp through New York's food scene' Sunday Times

By Daria Lavelle

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Brief Description

‘Part ghost story, part gastro romance ... and lashings of bittersweet humour' Mail on Sunday 'A fun romp through New York’s restaurant scene and the world of the undead’ The Sunday Times '[The] answer to last year’s cult hit Butter' The Bookseller A food story to... Read More

Format: Hardback

$46⁹⁹

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Aftertaste

$46⁹⁹

An unforgettable, imaginative and darkly comic debut novel about food, ghosts and the New York culinary scene

An unforgettable, imaginative and darkly comic debut novel about food, ghosts and the New York culinary scene

Description

‘Part ghost story, part gastro romance ... and lashings of bittersweet humour' Mail on Sunday

'A fun romp through New York’s restaurant scene and the world of the undead’ The Sunday Times

'[The] answer to last year’s cult hit Butter' The Bookseller

A food story to binge. A ghost story to devour. A love story to savour.

When dead-end dishwasher Kostya discovers the ability to summon spirits through the food he cooks, he embarks on a journey to open a New York City restaurant that serves closure – something he’s craved for as long as he can remember.

There are just three problems:

1. Kostya has some ghosts of his own.

2. His advancing menu of spirit cuisine is threatening the stability of the Afterlife itself.

3. He’s falling in love with Maura, a party psychic with her own secret connection to the Afterlife – who also happens to be the one person who knows he must be stopped.

A bittersweet cocktail of humour and heart, Aftertaste is an imaginative odyssey through food and love, life and death: the things that sustain us, connect us, transport us, and remind us who we are.

‘Practically exploding with love, life and flavour’ LOUISE KENNEDY

‘Bitingly inventive, written with humour and heart’ ELIZABETH DAY

‘A hauntingly evocative journey through the realms of pain, pleasure and the power of food’ NIGELLA LAWSON

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781526683946

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 22 May 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 40.0mm

Width: 158.0mm

Height: 236.0mm

Weight: 619g

Pages: 400

Collections

Daria Lavelle Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Daria Lavelle is a speculative fiction writer. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in the New York metro area, her work explores themes of identity and belonging through magic and the uncanny. Her short stories have appeared in The Deadlands, Dread Machine, and elsewhere, and she holds degrees in writing from Princeton University and Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, children, and goldendoodle, all of whom love a great meal almost as much as she does.

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Aftertaste

Practically exploding with love, life and flavour - LOUISE KENNEDY Bitingly inventive, written with humour and heart - ELIZABETH DAY A hauntingly evocative journey through the realms of pain, pleasure and the power of food - NIGELLA LAWSON A food story to binge. A ghost story to devour. A love story to savour. When dead-end dishwasher Kostya discovers the ability...

By Daria Lavelle

Paperback

$33⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$36⁹⁹~~

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Pre-order

Aftertaste

Deliciously evocative, bitingly inventive, written with humour and heart – Elizabeth Day Kostya is working as a dishwasher when he discovers something extraordinary. The strange tastes that have flooded his mouth without warning since his father's death – aftertastes – are being sent by spirits seeking closure. Through his cooking, Kostya can help them find it. Maura is a psychic...

By Daria Lavelle

Paperback

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Pre-order
Out 29 Sep 2026

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