Eduardo Quintana is a broken man. The tragedy that cost him the lives of his family is a wound he daily tears open afresh. The once renowned painter wallows in grief, subsisting on alcohol and drugs, eking out a living with whatever painting commissions he can get.

But when he is approached by a mysterious woman who wants him to paint a portrait of the man who killed her son, he soon becomes entangled in a web of deceit in which no one, and nothing, is as they seem. With each brushstroke, Eduardo opens doors that were meant to have stayed shut — doors that, once opened, can never be closed.

Set against the haunted and unsettling backdrop of a Madrid plagued by unrest and economic upheaval, The Heart Tastes Bitter is a dark and compelling story of the search for redemption, revenge, and love — and the cruel power of fate.

PRAISE FOR VICTOR DEL ARBOL

‘If you’re looking for something on the literary end of the eurocrime spectrum, The Heart Tastes Bitter is an attractive proposition — full of vivid and unsettling storytelling.’ The Sydney Morning Herald

‘[The Heart Tastes Bitter] is the definitive confirmation of Victor's talent as a writer.’ La República Cultural