Bat Eater and other names for Cora Zeng made me feel so many emotions.

It brought me back to the height of COVID, which is a time and place that many of us do not want to return to. However, if you completely ignore the existence of an event you cannot learn from the past.

And there are so many people who did not survive to look back on 2020 in 2025.

If we do not remember what so many people went through, in particularly the asian hate and racism that was rampant, there will be no action to stop it from continuing.

Outside of being hard to read emotionally, this book is particularly gory. However, this did not personally bother me and felt vital to the story that Baker is telling.

Overall, I loved so much about this book. It was very well written and had a storyline that kept hooked.

Regret towards the things that Covid took from us. Anger and despair about the horrific racism that Asians faced during Covid. Hope for the main character, Cora Zeng, as I was completely rooting for her as I watched her character evolve. These are all things that I experienced while reading this book, and I would 100% recommend it to anyone.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zheng.

I was pleased my request was approved since the premise was so intriguing.

But this novel is not for the faint of heart.

TW abound: gore, blood, anti-hate and violence, racist expletives just to name a few.

I enjoyed the author's writing and learning more about the Hungry Ghosts Festival.

Cora Zeng is a quiet, introverted young woman who trails in the wake of her alluring sister, Delilah. Being a crime scene cleaner is nothing after witnessing the horrific murder of her sister on the subway a few months ago.

But the crime scenes are bringing back terrifying images of her sister's murder, still unsolved, and Cora realizes she's not still haunted by the tragedy. She's literally being haunted.

I won't lie; this brought back scary memories of the pandemic, the anti-Asian hate and crimes that proliferated at the height of COVID (and still occurs now).

I didn't mind the gore and blood, and the author describes it well, perhaps to highlight the rage and hate behind the crimes towards Asians during the pandemic.

I enjoyed learning more about the Hungry Ghosts Festival but I wished I liked Cora more.

Not surprisingly, she is a typical trope; the more interesting sister dies or is no longer in the narrative and readers are stuck with the less compelling character. That's fine; that's life. Not everyone is the life of the party. I'm definitely not.

But still...Cora is dull. And maybe that's the point.

She doesn't know what to do with her life, she has no interests or hobbies. She has no friends. She has no identity without her sister.

But why? I don't understand why she's so character-less.

She's obviously suffering from PTSD and could use a therapist but instead she just trudges on with life.

I sympathized with her obsession with hygiene and sanitizing her hands and food and items constantly; that was me (still is) before the pandemic and my OCD only increased during the lockdown.

The pacing of the narrative suffers due to the repetitive nature of Cora's life and the slow unraveling of the mystery subplot about the origin of the murders.

I understand lives are mundane and for the most part, nothing happens. But it's hard to deal with Cora because she's so lifeless.

We get nearly halfway through the story before stuff begins to happen and the tone of the story shifts.

I like the ending; the dead never really leave us but it's up to us if we let them haunt us or learn to live with them.

** Thank you so much to NetGalley/Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA and Kylie Lee Baker for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.**

This was an easy to read, medium paced novel set against the background of COVID19. The story follows Cora, an OCD crime scene cleaner- who's just lost her sister to a horrific train accident. This novel dissects the way the pandemic caused mental duress and fear within the Asian community. Cora experiences xenophobia from the white population, while trying to process her grief and clean up crime scenes from a suspected serial killer.

As the story progresses, the author adds in 'hungry ghosts' or pretas- thought to be lower, more animalistic spirits, driven by passion or malice or greed, or the souls of those who were murdered or committed suicide or did not receive a proper burial. These ghosts reveal secrets to Cora in hopes of her freeing their tortured souls.

I enjoyed this novel a lot. The characters were likeable and the slasher type crime scenes were written well. If you enjoy paranormal horror books, I definitely recommend picking this one up!

Cora has a job that is definitely not for everyone. She’s a crime scene cleaner, a job that requires a strong stomach. She witnessed the death of her sister. A horrible murderer pushed Delilah in front of a train. In front of Cora. His chilling words… Bat eater. Asian racism, the pandemic, and a serial killer each play a role in this story. And if this isn’t horrific enough, there are also hungry ghosts.
I’m not sure if this was more a story about illogical hatred, a mystery, or a ghost story. As I’ve considered what I read, I suppose it really is the story of a traumatized woman doing her best to survive. The horrors that befell Cora, the grief, and the two coworkers who become her people.
There wasn’t a moment when I didn’t wish that things would work out for Cora. This story still pops into my head at odd moments. I see a reread in my future. I’m sure that I will pick up on things. I missed the first time. It is a book worth reading.

Thank you Harlequin | MIRA for the ARC!

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng was my second book by Kylie Lee Baker and it had the dark, horror vibe I got from her with The Keeper of Night! This story had some really heavy elements like racism, ptsd, etc. which I feel were handled with care in the midst of the dark and eerie elements like paranormal activity, murder and mystery.

While this story was overall good, I did have a hard time with the slow pace. But overall it was really well done and I know there will be many who absolutely LOVE this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the E-ARC.

This was a 3 star read for me, but this was based solely on my own preferences, and I think it can easily be higher for others.

What I enjoyed: The insight into the pandemic from someone who dealt with much different things than I did. The xenophobia was hard to read and heartbreaking. It's worse realizing that while this is a book of fiction, this was the experience for so many people in the world. I liked Cora's slow dissent into madness, while reconciling what it meant for her to be an Asian American woman. I liked seeing the different perspectives of those around her.

Why this wasn't my cup of tea: I prefer "Good for Her" horror and was expecting much more of that in this story. While she has intrusive thoughts and visions, I wanted her rage to come out more. This is more of a psychological horror, which I typically enjoy, but it wasn't enjoyable reading Cora's psychological trauma. I wanted her to get revenge and be angry, not going through turmoil.

I would recommend this book to others because I think a lot of people would enjoy it, it's just not what I typically look for in a horror story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Now, this is a horror novel that is going to stick with me. Cora Zeng is an Asian-American living in New York City, working as a cleaner during the events of COVID. At that time, anti-Asian sentiment was in full swing. Cora also witnesses the devastating death of her sister, Delilah. Even in death, her sister cannot leave Cora alone. Something is keeping her sister lingering in this world. For better or worse, Cora must discover what it is, even if it puts her life in danger.

Although it took me a few chapters to settle down and focus, once I did, I couldn't tear myself away from the narrative. Kylie Lee Baker has written a compelling protagonist while reminding readers of a time when the world was locked in a state of panic and an uncertain future. I encourage readers who might be uncertain if they want to dive into this book to read the author's note and acknowledgements at the back of the book. I believe her words alone will be profound enough to give Cora a chance.


Worth the hype!




#BatEaterandOtherNamesforCoraZeng #NetGalley.
Expected Publication Date 29/04/25
Goodreads Review Date. 31/03/25

I read Kylie Lee Baker's previous work, The Empress of Time, and was so impressed by her writing skills I wanted to read any future works by her. Lucky for me I was able to get an ARC of her latest work and I was genuinely surprised to find out she had written a horror novel. Not only was I surprised but excited to dig into this tale. And boy, did it not disappoint! While I do enjoy reading horror novels, I can admit they can be hit or miss for me. Thankfully Baker was able to deliver a scary, unique, and unpredictable tale! The author did a fantastic job scaring me not only with ghosts and gore, but the harsh reality of racism. This was dark. This was bleak. This was eerily close to reality which made it hit all the more closer to home. Do not miss this book if you're a horror fan. You're gonna be in for quite a RIDE.

5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Kylie Lee Baker launches her stunning portrait of grief, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, by showing us the worst thing that ever happens to her protagonist. In 2020, as COVID-19 sweeps around the globe, Cora and her sister, Delilah, are waiting for a train when a man throws Delilah in front of a train. Delilah is killed instantly. The man is never caught and Cora is haunted not only by the death but by the words the man spat at her and her sister: “bat eater.”

Months after her sister’s death, Cora is doing her utmost to carry on without her. She found a job cleaning crime scenes to pay the bills. She dutifully accompanies her Aunt Louise to church on Sundays and visits her Auntie Zeng to keep in touch with the father who left his daughters and returned to China years earlier. When she’s not working or visiting, however, Cora struggles to figure out who she is without her ambitious sister. Without Delilah to pull her through life, what is Cora supposed to do? Curiously, Covid-19 is the least of her worries. With Covid-19 on the march, Cora’s extreme germophobia is almost reasonable. The anti-Asian racism that comes with Covid-19 is much worse than the actual virus.

Most of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng takes place during the Hungry Ghost Festival, the month when family ghosts return to visit the living. Ghosts who are not honored can return as hungry ghosts, murderous creatures with a bottomless hunger that is nearly impossible to satisfy. Cora was born and raised in the United States. Although one of her aunts taught her about Chinese traditions, Cora never bothered to take them seriously, at least until ghostly figures start to haunt her. The ghosts begin to appear after Cora and her two crewmates find a bat at the scene of the murder of an Asian American woman. The bat (and the ghosts) keep appearing as Cora and her crew are called in to clean up after more murders. Strangest of all, it seems like the ghosts want Cora to find out who killed them as much as they want to devour everything.

There is a lot going on in this novel. Baker packs so much into 350 pages that I am astonished by its emotional depth. There’s the murder mystery and the ghosts and there’s Cora’s grief for her sister, her shame over her germophobia, her fraught relationship with her family, and the hope that Cora might be able to make some real friends. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is an incredible read.

"In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. But none of that seems so terrible when she's already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a train.

Before fleeing the scene, the murderer shouted two words: bat eater.

So the bloody messes don't really bother Cora - she's more bothered by the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of a stranger, the hidden viruses in every corner, and the bite marks on her coffee table. Of course, ever since Delilah was killed in front of her, Cora can't be sure what's real and what's in her head.

She pushes away all feelings and ignores the advice of her aunt to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open. But she can't ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenes, or the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women.

As Cora will soon learn, you can't just ignore hungry ghosts.

For fans of Stephen Graham Jones and Gretchen Felker-Martin, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a wildly original, darkly humorous, and subversive contemporary novel from a striking new voice in horror."

Again, a new take on pandemic fiction that is worth the horrors.

Dark and honestly not my typical as I don't delve much into horror-ish books but I loved the writing and sped through this. Free advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Many thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for providing me with an eARC of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng in exchange for my honest review!

This grisly and heartbreaking book hits me hard in the gut as it yanks me back to the start of COVID and guides me alongside Cora as she grieves her murdered sister Delilah, undergoes the gruesome job of being a crime scene cleaner, and confronts the fact that someone out there is hunting down and killing East Asian women. Right from the first chapter, this promptly introduces me to its dark, gory, and devastating potential. And then oh, it turns out that there will be a whole lot more of that to wrestle with down the line as Cora sets out to solve this murder mystery and as she reluctantly partners up with her amusing coworkers Yifei and Harvey. Those two could have been annoying characters, particularly Harvey, but I end up getting charmed by their presence and by the sincere chemistry that they share with Cora.

As someone who remains COVID-conscious, I'm glad that this book and its author approaches the pandemic from the stance that it isn't over—a perspective that, unfortunately, many people have pursued in order to brush past COVID and act like it's all behind us. But no, we're still in the midst of the pandemic as it disables and kills its victims alongside other illnesses like measles and tuberculosis. And this book drives the terror of that pandemic into me, reminding me just how horrifying it was to endure COVID back when it had first begun. Thankfully, I've never caught it (or at least, I've never shown any symptoms) and nobody in my circle has died from it. But even then, it has continued to be awful to witness the harm that COVID has done to us (along with the ways in which foolish and irresponsible people let COVID spread around). Of course, the spike in anti-Asian racism and violence that some bigots decided to spew during the pandemic was frightening, too, and we get a ton of that portrayed in this novel. The casual racism and misogyny that's on display here is capable of viscerally upsetting me throughout a story that brutally concentrates on just how little society cares about Asian women and how disinterested it is in stopping whoever is killing them. Instead, this society would rather falsely smear Chinese people as "bat eaters" and blame them for spreading "the China virus" (and let's not forget that such racists will also hurl the same hatred towards other East Asian ethnicities and get us all mixed up).

That's all a crucial element of the third act that this reaches. I kid you not when I say that there was about 25 pages left when it grew so nightmarish that I had to put the book down and take a break for a bit. And I'm speaking as someone who has processed plenty of incredibly heavy tales, who doesn't usually have to pause like that, so it's notable that this was a reaction of mine. And once the book is over, I'm left to sit back and reflect on what I just navigated my way through. I truly believe this has a good chance of landing in the spot of being one of my favorite books of 2025.

Overall, I'm officially rating Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng 4.5 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding up to the full five stars. I'm absolutely keeping an eye out for more of Kylie Lee Baker's top-tier writing.

This was great. I think the only thing that knocks it down a bit for me is that I felt like it ended kind of abruptly and was a bit anticlimactic. I was really engrossed in the mystery the entire time and when the big reveal came, it was shocking, but wrapped up super fast after that. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was a little disappointed. The rest of the book was a really fun read. I liked all the characters a lot, the horror aspects were pretty creepy and it had some truly wild scenes. Thanks for the ARC!

Stars: 5, not for its ability to be used in the classroom, which is why I give 5 stars, but more because it reawakened my teen obsession with horror novels.
My Thoughts:

Non-white ghost stories are MUCH scarier. There, I said it. Sorry, not sorry. I am not being reverse racist. I am speaking from experience. The obake stories I grew up with in Hawaiʻi, like the faceless woman in the bathroom of the old Kahala drive in theatre, or the other long haired faceless women in kimono in the black and white movies at the Japanese theatre in Chinatown. . . horrifying. Then there are the forests and coastlines of Hawaiʻi where as young children we are warned to ignore the voice calling your name. Do not turn around. Even the rocks that do not want to be moved. Try moving it with your heavy equipment. Your tractor breaks, or you move it and it goes back home.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is that kind of asian horrifying. Put the lights on. Leave the lights on. Look for hands crawling out of the shadows. Don't feed the ghosts. They will come back.

This story takes place in COVID New York where someone is killing Asians and ripping bats up near them or calling them bat eaters and shoving them into trains so that their faces explode onto the tracks. Things that white people do are scary enough, but that is just the inhumane part of living in a racist society.

What is absolutely terrifying are the ghosts that will not settle and cannot leave. When I was a young girl, I would visit my grandparents on another island and I would bring these flowers for the grave. We called them obake anthuriums and they are only found on Hawaiʻi island. Once my grandfather told me that I don't have to bring as many because someone steals them from the grave. I told him that whoever is stealing the flowers will get "batchi." It is a Japanese term for bad luck and negative karma. He told me something that makes sense when thinking about this book. He said batchi only happens when you believe in it. So why are the ghosts not haunting this killer that takes pictures of the victims with the bats and posts it on some hate sight? Why do the hungry ghosts not haunt the people who comment on these pictures and say that these victims deserve it because of the "China virus"? Why do they only come to Cora? Because, like my grandfather said, she believes in it. I guess I believe too because I could not read this at night. Too many shadows. Not enough light.

If your students like this, give them:
Man Made Monsters by Andrea Rogers
She is a Haunting by Trang Than Tran
and Tran's new book on my TBR list They Bloom at Night

What all of these horror stories have in common, including this one, is that from the lens of a non-white author, the horror is not just about monsters, but about monsters that walk in the light. Meaning, these are novels about social injustice, colonisation, racism, and all the things that haunt this society.

From the Publisher:
In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. But none of that seems so terrible when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a train.

Before fleeing the scene, the murderer shouted two words: bat eater.

So the bloody messes don’t really bother Cora—she’s more bothered by the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of a stranger, the hidden viruses in every corner, and the bite marks on her coffee table. Of course, ever since Delilah was killed in front of her, Cora can’t be sure what's real and what’s in her head.

She pushes away all feelings and ignores the advice of her aunt to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open. But she can't ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenes, or the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women.

As Cora will soon learn, you can’t just ignore hungry ghosts.

For fans of Stephen Graham Jones and Gretchen Felker-Martin, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a wildly original, darkly humorous, and subversive contemporary novel from a striking new voice in horror.

Publication Information:
Author: Kylie Lee Baker
Publisher: MIRA (April 29, 2025)
Hardcover: 304 pages

This book was so cinematically written, I couldn’t help but to picture it on the big screen. Hitting heavy topics of racism and the fear every one experiences during COIVD-19 this book does a great job mixing horror and mystery. At 1st I was a little confused on the serial killer moment, I felt that plot line slipping away and getting lost in the supernatural aspect of things, however it all came together nicely at the end. I really enjoyed this book overall, thank you NetGalley and HTP for letting me read this ARC!!!

Probably the first book I felt good reading despite the genre. I am early predicting this book will be big. So happy I got my hands on it before the social media community could dissect it.

The book had a strong start and featured some cool side characters, but unfortunately, it became repetitive from the 25% mark onward. The second half felt overly juvenile and lost my engagement. The pacing was uneven, and the conclusion ultimately made the entire story feel meaningless.

“Closing your eyes doesn't stop monsters from devouring you.”
Wow. What an incredible, devastating, powerful, gory, and heartbreaking read. I was gripped from the first chapter. Baker did a fantastic job giving us a supernatural horror story, while also getting into the unbelievably real horrors faced by the Asian community during the pandemic. The combination of social commentary, horrifying moments, a glimpse into Chinese culture, and the well-thought out characters made for what should be one of the biggest reads of the year. I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile. If this isn’t on your radar for 2025, it needs to be. I will leave it at this as to not give away any more of this incredible story. An immediate full five stars from me.

“Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng” is an absolutely horrifying, hard-hitting story about violence against Asian women during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was already a big fan of Baker and this book was extremely different from the other books of hers I’ve read, and I was certainly not disappointed. Cora’s sister is murdered, and Cora is being haunted by her hungry ghosts. She teams up with her fellow crime scene cleaners, Harvey and Yifei, to try and quiet her. Throughout the story they also clean up after the murders of women killed by those who blame the pandemic on the Asian American population.
It’s clear that Baker’s powers, which were already formidable, have only grown since the publication of The Blood Orchid (If you haven’t read the Scarlet Alchemist series yet do yourself a favor and start). We get a deep look into Cora’s psyche as she processes the death of her sister and the violence she is surrounded by every day. The book also offers a gripping take on the very real and targeted violence of the 2020 era and reimagines it in the context of a horror novel that incorporates fantastical elements. While not for the faint of stomach, this book is incredibly well written and paced and tells a compelling mystery. I highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Harlequin Audio for both an ARC and advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Hey There Delilah, What’s it like in New York City? 🏙️
It’s the end of the world and Asian women are being murdered left and right by a serial killer that leaves behind bats as a calling card.

If you loved Monika Kim’s “The Eyes are the Best Part” you’re gonna love this. The ghosts are creepy AF, the revelations are chilling and there is so much gore, whilst still maintaining a darkly funny undertone and also made me tear up at times. This is feminine rage at its finest, and the first book I’ve ever read that totally centered around the pandemic, and I think the author did a great job of capturing the fear surrounding that era. I also loved how Chinese traditions and folklore were woven throughout the chapters. The one thing I’m gonna complain about is that Cora never actually finds out the name of Delilah’s killer. I’m glad that she gets a semblance of justice in the end but the author really built up the reveal of the killer for there to not really be one. I read and listened to the book in tandem, picking up where I left off at each one. The obvious song pairing for this absolutely wild ride is Crazy Train (sorry Delilah!) by (another bat eater) Ozzy Osborne 🦇🩸🚊

Pub Date: April 28th 2025 🥳