It's NYC in the early days of the Covid pandemic and Asians are dealing with scapegoating and violence due to the president's "China Virus" nickname. A young API woman witnesses a horrifying act of racially motivated violence and ends up uncovering a spate of gruesome murders of Asian Americans and immigrants. The book is very dark but does an excellent job blending horror and mystery into a story that is , at its core, about isolation, loneliness and the fear of others. And the toxicity it breeds. The one false note was in a car crash scene, but otherwise masterfully done.

A haunting tale of grief, rememberance, COVID, culture, and fighting your inner demons.
This powerful novel begins with the unlikely protagonist, Cora Zeng- a germaphobic, hyper-anxious crime scene cleaner. Cora loses her sister in the most traumatic way, and must grapple with the loss of someone who lit the way for her, and lead her throughout life after her mother abandons her, and her father never returns from China.
Cora is such a visceral character, painted in such sharp lines, that I could physically feel her pulsing beside me. Not only that, but the nature of her disposition was so real and relatable- I remember being ill and insomniatic, scrubbing down every surface of my home with disinfectant, leaving my counters glistening with the aroma of bleach in the air.
The plot was propulsive and made this a difficult book to put down. Cora was not the only character that I was drawn to, as the author did an incredible job of blending and comparing different character personalities to make the story feel alive.
There is so much I would love to say, but ultimately, the themes of rememberance and culture were huge reasons (besides the aforementioned) that made this a 5 star for me. The connections to grief and rememberance had my heart reaching out to Cora to hold her.
A well done book in all aspects.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for an outstanding debut.
And thank you to Cora for your bravery. You are a character unlike any other.

This book did not come to play. In the first chapter Cora witnesses her sister's decapitation via subway car and it's all downhill from there. I typically avoid 2020-set novels, but after seeing so many ecstatic reviews the FOMO was too strong and I caved. As an Asian woman, Cora is a target of vicious attacks, hurled slurs, a sheep for wearing a mask. After losing her job early on in the pandemic, she finds work with a former dry cleaner-turned crime scene clean-up crew. Remember that opening chapter? Cora relives the gore every single day, washing blood from bathroom tiles, scrubbing bits of brain matter from vents. The horror of the pandemic quickly takes on a supernatural bent as Cora realizes the shadows she's been seeing aren't just a part of her imagination after all. The ghosts are real and they're hungry.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

This story really stuck with me. I appreciated how directly it addressed the rise in anti-Asian hate during Covid—there was no tiptoeing around it, and the commentary felt powerful and honest.

I also loved how the cultural elements were woven in naturally. It didn’t feel forced or stereotypical—just real. And I especially appreciated that Cora’s path wasn’t the usual “Asian in STEM” storyline. Her life felt layered and true to who she was, not a box to check.

Overall, it’s a timely and meaningful read that I’m glad I picked up.

Fellow Simmons MS Graduate! I thought I knew what to expect from this book, but it ended up totally surprising me! I loved every bit of it. This book isn't just good, it's important.

This book dealt with a difficult subject in such an interesting way. The story kept me so engaged that I just couldn’t stop listening/reading it. There were moments where I wondered where the situation was heading. Them towards the end everything seems to happen all at once and it’s so intense. The narrator really did a great job in giving Cora a voice.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC and ALC!

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker is a haunting and visceral horror novel that delves deep into the trauma, grief, and racism experienced by Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Set against the backdrop of a New York City gripped by fear and uncertainty, the story follows Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner who becomes entangled in a series of brutal murders targeting Asian women.

Cora’s journey is both supernatural and deeply human. After witnessing the tragic death of her sister, Delilah, who is pushed in front of a train, Cora begins to experience eerie occurrences.

Baker masterfully blends elements of Chinese folklore with contemporary horror, creating a narrative that is both terrifying and poignant. The ghosts in the story are not just supernatural entities but representations of unresolved grief and societal neglect. The novel’s exploration of systemic racism, xenophobia, and the fetishization of Asian women adds depth to its chilling premise.

The novel’s pacing is relentless, with moments of horror that will leave you breathless. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng offers a unique blend of supernatural terror and social commentary. It is a must read for fans of horror that challenges conventions and delves into the complexities of identity and trauma.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner haunted by her sister’s unsolved murder and the killer’s final words: “bat eater.” When a string of eerie deaths strikes Chinatown and a shadowy figure stalks her steps, Cora begins to suspect something sinister is targeting East Asian women—and it might be coming for her next.

I gave Bateater and Other Names for Cora Zeng 4 stars. This story has such a strong premise—an eerie blend of true crime obsession, cultural folklore, and unsettling horror that really gets under your skin. The atmosphere is incredibly well done, and the creepy moments hit hard. I especially appreciated the cultural elements woven into the narrative; they grounded the horror in something uniquely personal and specific, which made it feel more real.

The characters are dynamic, especially Cora herself, though I’ll admit she was tough for me to connect with. We spend a lot of time inside her head, and while that adds depth, there were moments that felt a bit drawn out for my taste. I found myself getting a little bored during those internal monologues and moments, but that’s more of a personal preference than a fault of the writing.

Still, the story delivers on both chills and substance, and it’s one of the more memorable books I have read this year. If you like horror that’s tangled up with identity, obsession, and true crime, this one’s definitely worth reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

This book is really hard to categorize. I would not call it a horror story persay - it crosses multiple genres. This is a story about Asian American identity, friendship, mental illness and found family. There is a serial killer, there are ghosts, and there's violence against Asians, which makes it really tragic. So it's partially a crime thriller and partially a ghost story, but it's also a tragedy. There are even some farcical elements in it. For example, Cora's friend Yifei and her relationship to her roommate is ridiculous - funny, but also racist and tragic. And Cora's Auntie Zeng is like a caricature of a Chinese auntie, but in the very best way.

I actually had to look up the term "Bat Eater" because I had never heard it. Apparently it's a derogatory term toward Chinese people from the Wuhan province, where the COVID virus originated. The author used this skillfully by incorporating bats into the story, which added to the horror element.

Throughout the book, Cora is desperately trying to find her way - abandoned by both parents, living with her older half sister despite their complicated relationship, recovering from being hospitalized for mental illness, making a living as a crime scene cleaner, and straddling both the Chinese and white sides of her heritage (learning about making food for hungry ghosts, meanwhile also confessing at church). She and her coworkers discover that there is a serial killer who is targeting Asian women, and possibly coming after her next. Her coworkers are both Chinese and have their own back stories, and just as Cora starts to get close with them, the story really picks up. There is just so much to unpack.

To add my own perspective, I am an Asian American female doctor who worked before, during and now after the COVID pandemic, so this book really hit home for me. Primarily, the Asian hate is so strong in this book that it's a bit terrifying. But also ... the numbers of people who died, the heightened anxiety that Cora experiences every day because of her OCD, the political issues with masking and social distancing...it brought back the collective trauma we all experienced at the time. We did the best we could with the information we had, but it caused a lot of emotional damage to a lot of people. I am not even from NYC, but if I were, I would be especially traumatized reading this.

Anyhow, to get back to the book, it was very well written and thought provoking, and kept me turning the pages. I both laughed and teared up at various points in the story. I have never read anything like it. Wow! Job well done, Kylie!

Trigger warnings for the reader: gore, racism, hate crimes.
There was some weird spacing in the version that was sent to my Kindle, which was distracting, but tolerable.

I knew I would love this book when I read the synopsis last fall. But boy, did it deliver—haunting, gruesome, and unforgettable!

Bat Eater is more than a horror novel—it explores grief, trauma, racism, and justice. Set during COVID-19, the story captures the real-life xenophobia East Asians faced. While the social horror feels disturbingly real, Baker weaves in other horror elements—hungry ghosts and a serial killer—to write a chilling, layered story of vengeance and justice.

I loved the use of Chinese folklore! Rituals like burning joss paper and feeding hungry ghosts are not just atmospheric; they add a cultural richness that we rarely see in mainstream horror.

In addition to Cora (our FMC), Auntie Zeng and Yifei stood out as memorable characters. I couldn't get enough of Auntie Z: part folkloric guide and part badass ghostbuster. Yifei also provided much needed levity that balanced Cora's heaviness. However, Yifei's heartbreaking confession at the end—ugh! That really hit me hard!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Natalie Naudus (a favorite of mine) while reading along with the physical copy. Naudus breathes life into Cora’s panic, grief, and doubt. Her performance is truly top-notch. The physical book was great for revisiting Auntie Z’s chapters, which provided more depth about the folklore.

If you haven’t picked this up yet, now’s the time—especially since May is AAPI Heritage Month. Bat Eater is dark, meaningful, and deeply original.

Book review: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng 5/5 ⭐️

“But not everyone has dreams. Some people just are, the way that trees and rocks and rivers are just there without a reason, the rest of the world moving around them.”

WOW what a book, it has everything gore, love and hate, grief, fear, heart, religion, trauma, culture, racism, and a plot that pulls it all together. I did not expect to love it as much as I did.

In March 2020, I was living in Manhattan, specifically Chinatown, and the author nailed the atmosphere perfectly. Though I moved out shortly after the pandemic started, I remember hearing the slurs against my neighbors and the accusations that they started the virus. That’s where my experience of the pandemic in relation to this novel ends. However, the author makes you feel, a fraction of, the experience of Cora, and the Asian community had. She writes bone chilling gore, that doesn’t take away from beautiful prose, or the plot. They all stand strong on their own and work extremely well together, and complement the Chinese traditions and folklore the author weaves throughout (introducing not only myself but Cora to certain heritage aspects).

Absolutely loved and will be getting a physical copy of this to read again.

This one gave the me exact same feelings as The Eyes Are the Best Part, although I did like this one a lot more. I do wish it had gotten to the true horror stuff faster. The first half dragged. Also, I kinda wish the commentary wasn't so on the nose. Overall it was an enjoyable read and I'd recommend it to anyone who liked that other book as well.

This book is going to give me nightmares, and that's a compliment.
Cora Zeng is a Chinese-American woman with what seems like contagion/cleanliness OCD during the start of the pandemic in NYC. And then someone pushes her older sister in front of the subway. Now, Cora is crime scene cleaner, not interacting with anyone aside from her two coworkers, hiding and burying everything as deep as she can. But she's starting to see things and something might be following her, and she thinks there's a serial killer targeting Chinese women. It's going to take all she's got just to survive.
Genuinely this book was so scary, right from the very horrifying first chapter. The suspense is glorious and the tension is sky high. The ghosts are terrifying, and then they're even way more terrifying. The ending is a blood bath, although in fairness, a lot of the book is. I'm trying not to give spoilers but this book is so good and so so scary. It's really very well-written and has everything you could hope for. This is going to be a horror classic one day.

Thank you to the hive, harlequin trade publishing, and netgallery for access to this book!

From the first chapter this book starts off with grasping your attention. The story takes place during Covid following Cora Zeng a 24 year old crime scene cleaner in New York who notices that many Asian women are being killed with bats left at the scene of the crime. Cora is also being haunted by a ghost who is leading her to evidence on who might be behind the killings. This story had a lot of twist and turns that kept you guessing and towards the ending had my mouth gapping on the floor. I would definitely recommend reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an e-arc for review.

4.5 rounded up.
Bat Eater & Other Names for Cora Zeng is... whew. It's a lot. Anxious and messy and bleak and funny.

Set against the very real backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City (incidentally, where I finished reading the book) we start with Delilah, Cora's half sister, being shoved off a subway platform to her very gory death after being called a bat eater. Shortly after, we're with Cora Zeng, working as a crime scene cleaner, based out of Chinatown. Asian women keep getting murdered, Cora and the clean up crew keep cleaning up crime scenes, and they start to realize that there's some sort of connection when there's also bats at these crime scenes. Cora's anxiety was already radiating from the page, but it ramps up in such a real and exquisite way that I could feel it and also wanted to scrub myself raw.

And in addition to everything, Cora must deal with the tug between the two sides of her family (her Chinese aunt, and her incredible religious American aunt), and the fact that she is very, very haunted by her sister's murder, the police's unwillingness to do anything about trying to find the murder, and also maybe also being haunted by Delilah.

Without giving too much away Cora and the cleaning crew of Harvey and Yifei try to solve the murders and the ghost problem while also actually becoming friends instead of just coworkers.

Yes, there's a lot of social commentary. Yes, there's a lot of COVID-19 being mentioned (it is integral to the story, after all.) So if that's not your speed, maybe this book isn't for you. But it's definitely for me: a gory fever dream that toes the line of being an "unhinged girly" book.

Wow— So so impressed with this! I don’t read a lot of horror but absolutely loved this.

It was creepy and horrific in all the best ways.

I’m always skeptical of media and how it might handle 2020 and the pandemic but this paints the reality so that time so well.

Content Warnings: death, murder, racism, misogyny

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

There were so many aspects of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng that made this book so enjoyable for me.

There is grief, ghosts, folklore, a group of lovable misfits with an insanely intriguing job. I felt a wide range of emotions reading this, sorrow, empathy, pure rage and even brief moments that made me cackle. I really thought this was a beautiful, heartbreaking story, and several weeks later I still think about it. I listened to this on audio, Natalie Naudus did an amazing job with it. This was my first read from Kylie Lee Baker, I immediately need more. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng published earlier this week and is going to be in my top faves for the year. Thanks to MIRA and The Hive for my advanced audiobook! 🖤

This is a review of the audiobook.

Happy pub day to Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by @kylieleebaker

NO NOTES! A five star read for me! In hungry ghost fashion I devoured this book! It drew me in from the very first page. This book was the perfect mixture of a horror story and important messages.

Let’s start with the horror. I really enjoyed this ghost story. Bakers writing did a great job bringing the words off the page. As I read late into the night I felt as though I could see the story happening all around me. I love when a book makes you feel like you are right there with the characters. I really enjoyed being creeped out by the different ghost encounters while also getting my true crime fix from the different crime scene clean ups. Also THE FEAST scene I had my jaw to the floor while reading and then disturbingly enough also got a good laugh. IYKYK. Although the ending left me feeling sad, I was content with how Baker wrapped everything up and didn’t leave me with feeling like I was without closure after connecting with the characters.

Now on to the importance of this great book. Kylie Lee Baker did a fantastic job creating a story line that not only showed paranormal horrors, but also the real life horrors Asian Americans face everyday and especially during the pandemic. Her writing was able to elicit so many emotions from me as a reader. I was angry, hurt and sad for Cora and the other characters as I read. I laughed with them, cried with them and it was a great way to see into the lives of someone different than myself. I live my life by trying to always be kind to everyone I come across each day and to teach my children the importance of kindness even when someone isn’t the same as they are. I think it’s a character trait that so many people today lack and I believe it’s important to keep writing and reading stories like this to see what’s outside your own bubble. Always be kind because you never know what someone else is going through.

I encourage everyone who reads this book to also read the authors note because it’s really meaningful and important.

Let me start with, if you love supernatural horror with gory elements then absolutely read this book it is amazing and incredible and will absolutely meet your expectations. With that said, there are so many human elements that are so beautifully represented in this book, that it makes it not only a great horror novel, but also a piece of social commentary. The representation of the Asian American experience during Covid was compelling and emotional. The representation of contamination OCD, which I happen to also suffer from, was phenomenal. I have never seen someone so accurately portray the things I deal with and struggle with, while I’m just trying to be a normal person who can function in society like anyone else. All and all the social commentary elements along with Kylie’s ability to stay true to the horror elements and giving them a constant presence throughout the book made this a hands down 5 star read for me.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng was an incredibly compelling horror novel that combined supernatural Chinese lore, gore, and real world fears of racism. I am not typically one to enjoy a pandemic novel (especially about COVID-19), but Baker wrote something so exquisite that this has become a very rare exception for me. This book had many layers that were effortlessly balanced. We follow Cora, a crime scene cleaner who is grappling with the grief from losing her sister and struggling with her identity as a biracial Chinese-American. Baker did an amazing job of getting the reader to feel the gamut of emotions that Cora has been experiencing which made for a visceral read. I couldn't help but root for Cora and feel connected to her struggle (which is dangerous territory in a horror novel). This is definitely not the easiest read, but a crucial one as it highlights human depravity and the violence that stems from fear and bigotry.