Aftertaste

A chef discovers the ability to bring spirits back from the afterlife through his food, and embarks on a journey to open a New York restaurant that serves up closure

Konstantin "Kostya? Duhhovny is a haunted man. His father passed away shortly after they immigrated to Brooklyn from Ukraine, and ghosts have been hovering around Kostya ever since. He can't see them, but his mouth will often flood with the tastes of meals he's never consumed, and Kostya understands that this is how they haunt him.

Keeping to himself has served him well for most of his life, but on the night when Kostya decides to let the phantom flavors guide his hand, everything changes. Suddenly, his unique gift presents him with a path: to use his ability to reunite ghosts with the living for a last meal, and open a restaurant that serves customers the closure he himself so desperately craves.

But as his kitchen skills begin to catch up with his ambitions, Kostya cannot see the catastrophe that looms. The one person who knows that Kostya must be stopped, also happens to be falling in love with him - and feeding hungry spirits may cost him the life and love he's found along the way.

Aftertaste is at once an exquisitely written epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief.