Bitter Is the Heart

Haunted by childhood abuse, a woman is forced to care for her cruel elderly mother in this electrifying horror novel exploring generational trauma, perfect for fans of Cassandra Khaw and T. Kingfisher.

Tamar Glass fled an abusive mother when she was eighteen, running away from home to find a better life elsewhere. She has lived in freedom from her mother, Ruth, for decades, until one night she wakes to find her now-elderly mother standing over her bed, disoriented and confused. 

When Tamar reluctantly takes in her mother, strange events start happening inside her home: the house becomes oppressively hot, lights flicker, and cupboards open and shut on their own. Whispers filter beneath her bedroom door. Tamar learns that Ruth has been kicked out of her assisted living home, and other facilities refuse to house her and endanger their own residents. Tamar has spent years suppressing her childhood trauma, but it comes rushing back with each strange event in her home.

As Tamar copes with their disturbing past, which her mother stubbornly refuses to admit to, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something worse than her mother lurking in the shadows. Perfect for fans of The Haunting of Hill House, this terrifying novel unravels one dark strand at a time.Praise for Bitter is the Heart:
“Hardy’s use of Jewish mysticism and religion is great, lending a unique worldview in the horror genre . . . A compelling and chilling read.”
—Bookreporter

“Grabbed me immediately.”
—The Nameless Zine

“Bitter is the Heart is the kind of book that gets under your skin and leaves marks. The raw mother-daughter relationship and the steadily growing horror culminate into an unforgettable climax.”
—Darcy Coates, USA Today bestselling author of Where He Can’t Find You

“An absorbing, dread-filled tale of monstrous motherhood worthy of Michael McDowell.”
—Johnny Compton, author of The Spite House and Devils Kill Devils

“With a thread of generational trauma that just won’t break, Mina Hardy’s Bitter is the Heart takes the mother-daughter relationship to a whole new terrifying level.”
—J.H. Markert, author of Mister Lullaby and The Nightmare Man

“Bitter is the Heart is pure arrhythmic horror. Reading it disrupts your own pulse. Symptoms include deep-rooted trauma, disquieting mother-daughter bonds, and sleepless, sleepless nights.”
—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost EatersMina Hardy writes books. Usually, they feature good people making bad choices, but sometimes they might be about bad people making good choices. Either way, everyone is basically a mess, and you shouldn't trust any of them. From twisted tales of domestic suspense to darker stories of bumping in the night, you can expect thrills and a few chills.