This story went places I didn’t expect, and I am so glad I was along for the ride! Bloody and tense, filled with grief and self-loathing and despair, this story shines reaches into the darkness at the heart of systemic violence and discrimination and grabs tight with bony claws.

It is set in New York City in 202, right at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, and at the start part of me wished it wasn’t placing itself so directly in actual history, because the discrimination and violence that the pandemic brought to light existed before and after it, and my initial impulse wanted this story to find its voice outside of a very specific historical event. By the end of the novel, though, I realize how wrong I was, and while the story could have existed outside of that historical moment it actually brings the novel closer to the audience, closer to our real life, and in many ways an indictment of a status quo many quietly tolerated if not actively profited from. Additionally, it went a long way to help the world-building, because the emptiness of NYC during the early months of the pandemic is an eerie and palpable reality, and then add in what it was like in New York’s Chinatown at that period and there is a visceral, emotive quality to the world that feels genuine and real and intensifies everything else in the story.

The main character and the few ancillary characters are all really lovingly, wonderfully realized. Not in any way perfect, our broken, traumatized protagonists form an incredible found family, and those emotional connections keep the heart of the story beating. The other ancillary characters, namely the aunties but also the random strangers and antagonists don’t have as much depth, necessarily, but they actually still feel real, like genuine people you know. I really appreciated the emotional journey our main character took, from a past filled with violence and trauma that never gets revealed in full, only in critical details here and there, to a type of blossoming into herself and the realities she is choosing to face and not hide from or try and wash away.

The story itself feels like it is at the crossroads of a number of different genres, with mystery/whodunit vibes type of violent slasher/thriller vibes mixed with paranormal folk horror, all of which live within an introspective social commentary. It flows between these seamlessly, with really strong writing that is descriptive, emotional, and nail-bitingly tense. There is a yawning despair to the writing, a feeling of lack, of never having enough, not in a bad way but in a way that is pulling you along, desperate morsel after desperate morsel. This works really well with the pacing, and once the story gets its claws into you it is hard to put down. The unsettling combination of violence and apathy fuels a type of rage in our characters and the writing and pacing just help stoke a similar blaze in the reader.

My nitpicking critiques would be that the worldbuilding and atmosphere does rely somewhat heavily on the reader’s personal memory and experience of living through the COVID 19 pandemic, and I wonder if reader totally unfamiliar with what NYC was like in the summer of 2020 would feel the world of the novel sufficiently well-developed. While I enjoyed the directions the story took, with some action being very abrupt and some a slower type of simmer, the resolution did feel a little bit easy or expected. It is hard to say unearned, given what the characters had to experience and understand to get to that climax and resolution, and yet it did feel thin. The story has multiple simultaneous stories to navigate, the paranormal aspect and the serial killer aspect, and it felt like things fell into place easier than they should have. Nothing was handed to our characters, they did have to work for every revelation, but I wanted a little more. I think this is also because I just wanted more time with our central trio, a found family of outcasts that I enjoyed more and more every time they were together on the page. The way they transformed form coworkers to something else, what they shared that brought them together and what their developing relationships looked and felt like, those are all things I would have liked to spend more time with, and it feels like if we had been given that time it might have resolved my other critiques as well. That is all to say I wouldn’t have minded an additional 50 pages to this novel, because it read really quickly and I wanted to stay in the world with these characters, through frightening times and times of joy, too.

A gory, emotional, character-driven story that doesn’t pull its punches when looking at systemic problems but never feels preachy. This is a story where trauma and violence fuel an understandable anger, yes, but also a deep empathy, and a recognition that humanity is more than any individual, for better or worse. It navigates heavy and important topics through a combination of biting honesty and supernatural revenge, and I am glad that I had the chance to read it.

(Rounded up from 3.5)

I want to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher Harlequin Trade Publishing, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a short, quick read that brings us back to NYC during the early COVID days. Cora, an obsessive compulsive germaphobe (my interpretation even though I’m not sure it was ever specifically stated) is just trying to live her life after sister gets murdered. I felt Cora was so endearing and I honestly loved her and her weird quirks and compulsions.

At face value, not much happened - but the deeper message was so emotional and you could tell the author felt deeply about this. But I am quite certain Baker deserves jail for what she did towards the end bc how dare she?? I couldn’t believe what she did to my poor Cora 😭

As someone who HATES bats, parts of this one had me 🤢 but don’t let that discourage you bc I swear it wasn’t that bad - I just get grossed out by weird things. I also totally understand if you’re hesitant to pick up a pandemic themed book, because I was too. But this one had so many more layers to it than just the pandemic story.

I listened to the audiobook with reading along and enjoyed it a lot. As always, I love knowing the correct pronunciations of names and places and the narrator did an amazing job with this book. Highly recommend either format!

Thank you to the publisher and the author for the advanced copy!

I’m normally not a fan of pandemic-era books, since we all just looked through it so I’m not really interested in reading about it, but but this book was so original and so haunting that I’m definitely glad I made an exception, and if you feel the same way that I do, you should to.

Cora is a half Chinese girl, living in New York City during the Covid pandemic, when she witnesses, her sister being pushed in front of a train. Just as the man shoves her, he says, “bat eater.” Four months later, Cora has taken a job as a crime scene cleaner, with a company in Chinatown, and her and her coworkers noticed a pattern: young women are being killed and bats left behind. Not only that, but it is the season of hungry ghosts and they seem eager to follow Cora.

It’s an amazing set-up right? Well, let me tell you, the book lives up to this premise and even more.

Now I do have to say, some of the descriptions are not for the faint of heart, because as I said, Cora and her friends are cleaning up crime scenes and they are described in detail. I mean, this is a horror novel, after all. But it all builds up attention that is just palpable throughout the entire book and I couldn’t stop reading as Cora is haunted both by the crime scenes she cleans and the ghosts that continue to follow her.

Would also makes it interesting is that Cora is a pretty unreliable narrator. She doesn’t go into a lot of of her mental health problems, but she definitely hints that there are several in her past, which means that some of this could be in her head, and she even admits that. That adds an intriguing layer to the story because not only are we dealing with the supernatural but we’re dealing with these small cruises that may or may not be real. It’s so creepy.

The ending was really spectacular because it’s both social commentary and just plain old good ending that I really didn’t see coming. The author did a really good job of really mixing the horror and mystery genres so that things go south quickly, but that there is a conclusion to the central mysteries of the novel, just like in both horror and mystery novels.

I’m excited to read more from this author and highly recommend this book. It’s truly one of a kind.

The height of COVID is the perfect setting for this claustrophobic (well, everythingphobic) horror about a Chinese-American woman who is haunted by the ghost of her recently-dead sister. Months ago, COVID had just made an appearance in New York and Cora’s sister Delilah was the victim of an Asian-hate crime. Now, Cora struggles to forget even as she spends her days cleaning up crime scenes, some of which are starting to seem related. There’s a serial killer on the loose, destroying the bodies of Asian women and leaving bats as his calling card. Worse, it’s August, the Ghost Month, and the hungry dead have started to creep into the shadows of Cora’s life. Her attempts to ignore them are as futile as her attempts to convince the police that she’s in danger, so it might be time for her to embrace her Chinese heritage, gather up some coworkers, and learn how to bust a ghost or two.

The ghosts are terrifying, as Chinese ghosts are wont to be (at one point, Cora worries that Delilah might be hiding behind her eyelids). Cora’s phobias are both excessive and surprisingly relatable, given the time period. The racism and hatred against Asians is oppressive and constricting, making a certain type of white man into a monster scarier than the ghosts themselves - and the ghosts eat people. Very much like Ring Shout in that way. I already wish that I could read it again for the first time.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng was dark and disturbing but in the best way. This book was graphic and horryfying but I could not stop reading. After witnessing the horrific death of her sister, Cora cleans crime scenes in NYC during the pandemic. In addition to her trauma , she is navigating possible OCD and is held hostage by the fear of germs everywhere. She just can't get clean enough.

This book torn me apart. The social commentary on racism during the pandemic coupled with the graphic imagery was perfect. It is very much a horror book that filled me with rage and sadness especially given the current political climate.

The horrors are consistent throughtout the book. The very real horror of racism and the pandemic. The horror of the crime scenes that Cora cleans up. The horror of hungry ghosts.

Please check trigger warnings before reading this book. It's heavy. I also highly recommend reading the author's note at the end. Perfection.

As someone that does not love horror books. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. This is a definte recommend for me.

Thank you so much to the publisher, author and Netgalley for this ARC.

1. Shared on Instagram and goodreads
2. To be shared 3/20/25
3. Just posted
https://www.instagram.com/p/DHa2_-hOBuE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Bat Eater is a horror story 😱. A horror story for reveling in the harsh reality of the traumatic events of covid as an Asian American that is unsettling to read and equally a horror story in the haunting aspects of the supernatural. Which horrors do you think left me gasping and absolutely terrified, though?

A fictional story that is able to reccount such a bleak time period for Chinese Americans, the story opens following Cora Zeng, a 24 year old Chinese American crime scene cleaner during the pandemic who is dealing with trauma, ghosts, pressures of family and cultural expectations, and a disgustingly amount of germs. The story grips you from the beginning to immerse you back into the pandemic, in an abandoned subway station in New York, after trying to find toilet paper.. way too vivid. The amount of violence and hate that was fueled by racism and portrayed following this absolutely left me shocked, and it was uncomfortable to think about how true these instances rang. It is a reflection on how cruelty manifests in times of fear and the nature of how humans cope psychologically with paranoia. And it is not good, my friends. It is gory and violent as fxck.

Bat Eater is such a thought-provoking novel, Kylie Lee Baker ingeniously composes a book that is able to combine the hauntingly scary and gory suspense of a fictional peice of work with a very realistic grim social commentary on the racism and prejudices that runs rampant in America. And I am so honored to have been offered an ARC of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, because it is so important to highlight and uplift experiences/stories of others, so we can hopefully understand and learn empathy by gaining more perspective.

Thank you, @netgalley and @htpbooks🥹

Thank you MIRA and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved this book. Baker did a great job at balancing the horror and mythology aspects with the explorations of themes around trauma, grief, and racism. It’s haunting and gory and had my heartrate up while I was reading. Cora is a very anxious individual, which for me can sometimes either be great or really difficult to get through, but I thought that she was very real and complex and her preexisting mental health issues were exacerbated by her circumstances (being Asian American in New York City in 2020, also the ghosts and string of murders) in a way that felt realistic and relatable. The end is cathartic and I really enjoyed being on Cora’s journey from hell with her. I can’t wait to re-read this and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Baker’s future adult horror.

Despite the edgy exaggeration of the book's title, this is quite a dark story. I felt an uncomfortable mix of despair, anger, hopelessness, frustration, and fear as I read. Especially in our current 2025 political conflict where hatred, misogyny, and mob mentality rule the day, the world of this story could very easily rear its ugly head again (if it hasn't already).
But this aside, Baker has written an engrossing tale for our times that mix current (recent) events, a ghost story, a murder mystery, a serial killer story, a view of what Asian people (especially Asian women) experienced thru the nightmare of the COVID/Trump lockdown years. I was rooting for Cora and her friends, laughing at their crime scene cleaner workplace hijinx while at the same time cringing at the horrific things they witnessed on the job.
I appreciated an insider view to life during lockdown from an Asian female perspective framed in a genre ghost story/murder mystery. And while I felt uncomfortable experiencing (second-handedly) that despair and fear, I know it only pales in comparison to what the author experienced living through that time.

3.5 - I was immediately sucked into this story. The first chapter ends with a bang and you can't help but want more. I really appreciated the mix of historical tradition and modern life that made up this paranormal story. Despite there being a big emphasis on the paranormal aspect, I found the parts about the real life horrors to be more impactful. While I think the story wraps up properly and there were some very intense moments, I did feel like the story dipped at times and the writing style felt a bit YA, which isn't my cup of tea.
Overall, if you like paranormal stories with real life horror elements, this is a good one!

A blend of horror and social commentary. Beware this book is set in COVID times and makes the reader very aware of that, which I know not everyone wants to read about.

Cora is a crime scene cleaner, and realizes they are cleaning up more and more Asian bodies, with bats left at the scene. Her and her friends start an investigation, while also trying to get rid of the hungry ghost that is following Cora. The author does a great job at explaining the Chinese hungry ghost beliefs while not overwhelming the reader in the folklore.

The only downside is that I feel like the ending was a bit rushed- from the point where she finds out about the mayor hiding these murders and then to setting his home on fire. I was fine with the last chapter rap up, but the bit to get there was way too quick!

Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner in New York City’s Chinatown, grapples with the traumatic loss of her sister, Delilah, who was murdered in a hate crime during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The novel has received praise for its exploration of grief, mental illness, and Sinophobia. Because of the excellent reviews, I decided to simultaneously read and listen - my favorite way to experience a book.

I’m not a horror fan, but I have been known to grant 5 stars to horror books. Although I prefer a fast pace, I can handle slow IF it’s not matched with repetitive ruminations, which this was.

I don’t have a problem with COVID stories (why does anyone? I mean, it was a pretty momentous event we lived through), but xenophobia and any kind of racism infuriate me, making for a painful reading experience - and not in a positive way - like I just get angry.

Suffice to say, this was not for me. Sometimes it’s wise to say less, and because this was not my book and it’s wildly popular, I’d recommend this to horror fans who enjoy an important and unique exploration of the pandemic we lived through.

Thanks to @Netgalley and
@HarlequinTradePublishing and @HarlequinAudio for access to this advanced readers copy

A gorgeous, thought-provoking novel about the East Asian experience during the height of the pandemic. Kylie expertly wove in paranormal elements rooted in Chinese culture while staying true to the horrific hate crimes against Chinese Americans during COVID.

This is my first pandemic novel and it was done beautifully. I devoured each page, and also alternated with the audiobook. The narrator did a fantastic job keeping me engrossed. Everyone has to read this!!

The authors note at the end 🥺

Thank you Harlequin for the ARC and ALC!

All the stars for horror and social commentary.

I tend to shy away from books that take place during the pandemic because it all feels too fresh (what do you mean it's been 5 years?). But when I saw the synopsis of this, I knew that I had to pick it up.

Following witnessing her half-sister's murder at a train station, Cora Zeng starts working as a crime scene cleaner in the middle of the 2020 COVID pandemic. Between a string of murders targeting Asian women, mental health issues, and the looming fear of Hungry Ghosts, Cora realizes that nothing she knows is what it seems.

First and foremost - if you're a fan of horror movies such as The Grudge, The Ring, and even that one story with of the girl with the green ribbon around her neck - this book is definitely for you. The horror aspect of this book is SO well done, I genuinely had to put the book down and take a breath. The depiction of the ghosts, the fear of the dark, is so GRIPPING. You can feel the fear not only from Cora but those she surrounds herself with. And the crime aspect of this book? The graphic nature of the crime scenes - how each girl is murdered, it's chilling!

A huge part of this book is also the Asian American experience - especially during 2020. As someone apart of the AAPI community - the hate and discrimination in this book was all too real. I could recount my own personal experiences of that time, the fear I felt when I was in an area that was not predominantly other Asians, In addition, the Cora's experience as someone who is half white, half Chinese is something that can be relatable for a lot of people. The embarrassment of not speaking your native tongue, the life between Western and Eastern religion. Kylie Lee Baker does an amazing job, touching upon these points with grace while still pressing the importance of addressing this issues.

Thank you so much to HTP Hive, Harlequin Trade Publishing and the author for an ARC in exchange for a review.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

after devouring her scarlet alchemist duology, kylie lee baker is a new autobuy author for me! when i saw she was writing a horror novel, specifically about covid/the pandemic, i was a little dismayed because i am not ready to relive covid. alas, with any major world event, we will inevitably begin to see books being published of it whether we like it or not, and they are important additions to any library.

i am blown away by baker’s ability to write such a gorey mind-fuck of a psychological thriller so rooted in not just the anxiety of everyday life, but living through/after a pandemic.

her descriptions of gore were disgusting and bone-chilling, and the moments of unstable reality were fantastic — all of which get her full marks from me as a newbie horror reader

as for the narrator, i always enjoy an audiobook narrated by natalie naudus!!

as for the evernight edition — beautifully horrifying as always.

CW: COVID, Violence toward women, graphic gore

This book scared me because it’s very real most of the way through.

The narration was perfect, the voice actress was believable and compelling.

I found myself captivated and unable to stop listening and reading. I have an e-ARC as well, so I was doing both.

The elements of anti-Asian violence and how it affected Cora and colored her perceptions felt on point. Watching her slowly open up to her friends was a pleasure. All the characters were actually enjoyable to read, even the ones who weren’t intended to be liked.

While I have only a bare bones understanding of Chinese ghost lore, the way it was approached and handled was interesting without being info dumps.

Overall a very enjoyable book and highly recommended.

I enjoyed the first few chapters, especially the shock value given and the call out of hate and the issues being addressed. I love extreme horror for the gore and overarching themes. I was bummed this book is not formatted fully yet, so I was unable to read it on my ereader, and I was hoping for more gore in this book. There is a lot of focus on hair balls and the grosser aspects of a crime scene, and not so much on the other aspects I was hoping to have more of. I will still buy this one and check it out from my library once it has been fully formatted as the story itself is neat and I am intrigued.

Thank you for the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily. I received a free eARC of this book.

Cora Zeng finds herself working with two others as a crime scene cleaner, post-pandemic in NYC. Cora is haunted by the voices in her head, the germs that she has no control over outside of her home, and the death of her sister Delilah. But even more frightening is the amount of East Asian women who are turning up dead, and whose homes are the ones that Cora and her crew are being sent to clean. A pattern with the deaths starts to emerge, and a calling card of bats is being left in the women’s homes or on their bodies. With Cora being haunted by ghosts and the murder of her sister, she knows it’s all connected to the Asian women who are being murdered, but none of these murders are being reported, and now Cora could be one of the next women in danger.

When a book is promoted as Horror, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is the one I’m looking for! Kylie Lee Baker does not shy away from anything in this book, and it all comes together in a macabre, supernatural story that is also a statement on racism, government corruption, and mental health.

Cora’s character has been through a lot, and she reacts with the fear of losing control of her environment. She is torn between two worlds, with a white mother and an Asian father, neither of the two involved in her life. Her aunts are the parental figures in her life and Cora struggles with the Christian religion of one aunt and the Asian beliefs of her other aunt. Throughout most of the book Cora lives a lonely, isolated life, but Baker delivers some great character growth by the end of the book.

The ghosts are a perfect supernatural element, and I loved Baker’s haunting descriptions of them, and the rituals that needed to be observed to send them peacefully on their way. The use of The Hungry Ghost Festival to appease the ghosts was one of my favorite parts of the book.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is definitely a difficult read, with the hate and violence inflicted on an entire people group. But it also shows moments of friendship, family, and resilience. If you love supernatural horror, true crime, and suspense, with deeper insight into humankind, then I would definitely recommend Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng.

If you’re looking for a book that will haunt your every thought, make you question your subway habits, and have you side-eyeing your coffee table, Bat Eater is your new best friend. This book had me gripped from the start with its perfect blend of psychological terror and good old-fashioned horror. The writing is as sharp as a butcher’s knife, and it carves its way into your brain.

Meet Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner who’s used to scrubbing blood and guts from murder sites. But, as she’ll soon find out, nothing’s messier than dealing with the ghosts of her past—and the very real, very hungry ones lurking in the present. If you like horror with layers—think family trauma, societal horror, and some seriously unsettling supernatural elements—Bat Eater is here to ruin your sense of comfort.

The characters are compelling, and Cora is so relatable in her denial and quiet desperation, I found myself rooting for her while also wanting to tell her to maybe listen to her aunt about the whole “prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival” thing. But hey, who am I to judge? I’d probably ignore warnings too, especially if there were mysterious bat carcasses involved.

This is a must-read for both OG horror fans and newcomers to the genre. It’s chilling, it’s thought-provoking, and it’s a wild ride that will leave you questioning, “Was that real?” long after you turn the last page. So, get your hands on it—just maybe don’t eat while you read. You’ll thank me later.

I had some reservations, as I don't normally read a horror-ish genre, but this one was absolutely spellbinding. I could not put it down. Fans of Grady Hendrix, this is your girl. The personality of the protagonist, Cora, was multi-layered and the themes of the novel multi-dimensional, covering the fear and loneliness we all experienced during the COVID pandemic, the racism inflicted upon the Asian population in the United States, and issues of family dynamics, especially from the perspective of American Chinese pressured by the elder community to be "more" Chinese. While the novel is firmly in the horror genre, it did not tweak my somtimes squeamish sensibilities. Loved it!

Honestly I think this may be one of my favourite horror reads this year. Yes it was about the pandemic and for some it may be too soon, but this was genuinely such an interesting and needed read. Yes the gore and paranormal activities adds to the book’s nuance, but at the end of the day this book was about the experience of a Asian woman who was dealing with extreme xenophobia and racism that became more prevalent during the pandemic. Some of the lines towards the end of the book genuinely haunt me, and it’s the realistic approach of what actually happened during the pandemic that makes this book even more haunting.