The Heart Tastes Bitter — Victor Del Arbol

An engrossing psychological thriller that traces a widower's descent into the seedy underbelly of Madrid, from the acclaimed author of A Million Drops and Above the Rain

“A gothic cathedral of a novel. In one corner you will find a dark thriller, in another a humorous noir, in another a poetic existentialist text...A major work.” -- Ernesto Quiñonez, author of Bodega Dreams

Eduardo Quintana's life lost all meaning when his wife and daughter were killed in a tragic accident. The once renowned painter wallows in grief and guilt, subsisting on alcohol and drugs, not caring if he lives or dies.

But when a grieving mother asks Eduardo to paint a portrait of the man who killed her son, he finds himself drawn to the unusual commission. He alone understands her need to look deep into the soul of the man who changed her life forever, and he alone can help.

As Eduardo sets out to discover what it takes to know a killer, he is pulled deeper and deeper into Madrid's criminal underworld, where mercenaries, prostitutes, murderers, and thieves are all entangled in a dangerous and deadly web, in which nothing, and no one, are as they seem.

Named a Best International Crime Novel of the Year by CrimeReads and a Best Book of the Year by PopMatters