Mark me down as a forever fan of Kyle Lee Baker.

I approached this book with extreme trepidation and left crowing. This book is rife with trigger warnings: death, animal cruelty, COVID-19, nationalism, racism, sexism, ableism, hallucination, body horror, gore, and more. Each and every trigger was skillfully wielded by Lee Baker in this gripping story about the tension of being bicultural, the violence of white supremacy, and the grief of loss. The sensitivity that the author approached the violence towards Asian, specifically Chinese, women during this time through her book was remarkable and allows this book to be as successful as it is. I think authors who did not experience this pain so acutely or share these identities would not be able to pull off this book.

Cora Zeng was a remarkable main character and her growth throughout the novel was astounding. She's neurodivergent (diagnosis never given, but extreme interventions were taken) and the role of her unstable brain only heightens the tension of the story without demeaning Zeng. As a neurospicy individual myself, I appreciated this. Cora is also courageous, which made me root for her from page one.

The folklore and stories shared about Chinese death beliefs and practices were completely new to me. Lee Baker did a fantastic job explaining it and it made for a fantastic foundation for the story. I was completely bought into the premise, though I was never scared. Other reviewers found themselves much more frightened than I ever was. I was certainly swept along by the pace and the thrill of the unknown, but I was not afraid.

In the author's note, Lee Baker talks about how in dedicating this book to everyone we lost in the pandemic, as well as to "all that we lost, including the parts of ourselves." And wow, I needed to hear that. 5 years and 3 days since the first lockdown started and I am just beginning to realize that yes, something did change and die in me, even though I did not. I thought that the grief of the pandemic, and reliving it through this book would overwhelm me. This was not the case at all. Instead, I felt strangely comforted as I confronted my second plague book since living through one.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for this Audio-ARC!

Holy crap, what a bone chillingly phenomenal read!
I was hooked from chapter one!

Bakers writing is descriptive in an easy going way that lends itself well to the thriller genre and this audiobook. Her descriptions of the characters and the scenarios- ESPECIALLY when it came to the hungry ghosts and the blatant racism that Cora deals with throughout the novel is vivid and to me was down right mortifying and sickening to listen to at times- which means that it was doing its job perfectly!

Cora herself is a fun and interesting protagonist that I found easy to relate to and understand. Her character was immediately engaging and her story arc throughout this book made it almost impossible to put down! (I found myself staying up late to listen a few nights in a row)

Her found friends at the cleaning service was one of the most beautiful and heartwarming developments of any novel I’ve ever read! The audiobook has the lovely narrator Natalie Naudus give each of the characters a different voice to easily identify who’s speaking too which I quite enjoy in an audiobook!

The combination of real life terrors/threats on the Asian community during COVID, COVID itself, and the fantastical elements of the hungry ghosts was impeccably woven together and both amplified the terror of the other in a very jarring and thought provoking way

I felt sick, my heart hurt, I wanted to hug Cora, I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, and at points I was really excited for Cora and how she grew as a person!


Absolutely a must read!!!
(But do be sure to check TW!!!)

5/5 stars — stunning. powerful. haunting (both literally and figuratively). kylie lee baker’s writing truly just did the job for me. I loved cora’s characterization, and she was the perfect character for this story to be told with.

I don't want to say a lot about this book as I am not own voices here and I think own voices reviews should always be sought out first when looking into a book.
I will say I throughly enjoyed this book. I read the whole thing in one sitting. Baker has definitely become a new favorite author for me now. She especially did a good job talking about contamination OCD (I do have that). I very rarely see OCD presented realistically in media but Baker did a great job of it. I definitely recommend this book and I am going to bug all my friends and customers to read this book!

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker could quite frankly be my favorite book of 2025! I read anywhere from 200 to 250 books per year with horror being my favorite genre and this book was all the things at once. This book had it all, a great plotand narrator, important social commentary, creepy scenes, cultural tradition, and did I say it was creepy. CINEMATIC! And the writing was exquisite and thought-provoking while relaying important and disturbing commentary on the evil of people and their views of our worlds. BRAVO! All the stars!

(4.75 rounded up) I absolutely loved this one. I don’t even know where to begin! The characters are fantastic, the story is both thrilling and enlightening, and the descriptions? Chef’s kiss. I honestly want this book to be adapted into a movie immediately.

Set in New York City in 2020 (yes, that 2020), this thriller horror follows Cora, our main character, who is thrust into a life-changing event right from the start—a challenge that will impact her throughout the entire book. Cora works as part of a cleanup crew for investigative murder scenes. As she and her coworkers work, they begin to notice eerie, serial killer-like patterns at each crime scene, which are being swept under the rug by corrupt politicians and officers. To make matters worse, Cora is also haunted by a 12-foot ghost that has to bend its neck just to get through doorways (hello, It Follows vibes). After a terrifying ankle grab under the bed, Cora’s ghostly companion helps her find a crucial item that could be key to cracking the serial murder case.

This book is a must-read, especially for fans of well-written thriller horrors.

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 🥺

Kylie Lee Baker's Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a chilling horror novel that blends psychological tension with supernatural elements. The story follows Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner in Chinatown, who is haunted by the traumatic murder of her sister and the eerie presence of hungry ghosts. The writing is both vivid and unsettling, capturing the protagonist's descent into paranoia and fear as she uncovers a series of brutal murders targeting East Asian women. The author's exploration of inner trauma and cultural violence during the pandemic adds depth and relevance to the horror genre.

Thank you to NetGalley, MIRA and the author for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Though I’m not a big horror reader, the premise of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng piqued my interest—and I’m so glad I picked it up. This novel is a uniquely chilling story exploring the violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic that HAD. ME. HOOKED.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a horror novel about a woman named Cora who is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer after her sister is pushed into a subway train during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following her sister’s death, she becomes a crime-scene cleaner and soon starts noticing an increasing number of violent crimes against Asian women, all of which share a common, disturbing thread - bats left at the murder scene. And that’s just the first layer of this gory tale…

I was a fan of the Chinese ghost lore and the way that it was woven seamlessly into the story, and thought the passages on grief and death were particularly well-written.That said, I do wish emotional responses to certain events that occurred in the story were explored more in depth, but overall, I thought this was a great read!

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.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s heartbreaking and wonderfully spooky, and well written. My heart hurt for Cora. The pain and loss she endured. I highly recommend this book.

Also as I listened to the ALC, I want to note that Natalie Naudus did a fantastic job narrating. I think she perfectly embodied Cora and brought her to life in a great way.

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.

This was my first book that takes place during the pandemic. It’s nothing like I thought it would be. This is a ghost story, a horror, a story filled with hate and racism. A story of fear and gore with a touch of mental health issues. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s dark but such a good story.
Our FMC is a Chinese American in New York during the pandemic. She sees her sister get murdered right in front of her while being called a bat eater. People are terrible to her. She’s lost her job and finds work cleaning up crime scenes. This book is gory! It extensively describes these murder scenes.
This is a good one! A must read!

Wow. What a rollercoaster of emotions. From the first chapter this book hits you hard. I had to pause and rewind because surely I didn’t hear that right.

We follow Cora after her sister tragic death. How she deals with the grief, her identity, mental health, her feeling of abandonment and the bigotry East Asians felt during the pandemic. Cora’s journey was done in such a genuine manner, I felt like I was a friend watching her succeed.

While this book was gory, the supernatural horror was the biggest highlight for me. Cora is being haunted by an entity that we aren’t sure if it’s a sinister being or if they’re trying to help Cora solve the horrific murders happening.

The murder mystery had me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what clues we were going to get and finding out who this killer was. I definitely was not expecting any of reveal.

This book was masterfully done. Cora’s final thoughts had me tearing up. It’s been hours since I’ve finished and I just had to sit with my thoughts because once again, WOW.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the early access to the audiobook!

This started off with a bang and that bang ended up being the most exciting part of the book. I ended up DNFing at 30% unfortunately. It's kind of depressing and I found the MC to be kind of boring. I REALLY thought I'd love this one

A gory horror story about a string of murders of East Asian women set during 2020/Covid. There was a lot of elements that made up this book from ghosts and hauntings but the most horrific is the real life racism and violence portrayed that so many still face today. This put me through all the emotions but is such a powerful message.

Thanks to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is a must-read for everyone. It combines elements of fantasy and horror while also conveying important lessons about being a good human. I was deeply moved; I got chills and cried multiple times while reading. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and will definitely look for more works from this author.

Wow, just wow. Just wow! I feel that as a white woman, I can’t truly speak to the justice that this book has done in laying bare the bigotry and racism that the reared its head during and even after the pandemic.

Bat Eater is a masterpiece of horror, a masterpiece of social commentary, and the audiobook is a masterpiece performance. It’s been a while since a book has kept me up all night and had me audibly saying ‘oh no’ with such dread and woe. This starts off lulling you into a false sense of security and then snatches it away as quickly and with as much cruel indifference as the pandemic.

This book is gorey and suspenseful. And have I said wow enough times??

I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into with this book, but it is worth the read if you like modern horror novels. I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator was great. There was so much to unpack with this book as it was set during the Covid pandemic and addresses themes of discrimination. It’s not my typical read, but I am glad I had the opportunity to experience it. This novel is very well written and disturbing. This one will definitely stick with me. Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kylie Lee Baker for allowing me the opportunity to read the ARC of this audiobook.

I am at a loss for words where to start with this book. It was astounding. Kylie Lee Baker manages to capture the horrors of living through the pandemic as an eldritch manifestation and it just… clicks. This book is lyrical, cynical, and atmospheric. Not only is it beautifully written, witty, and wild, it is also entirely complex. Making a poignant and timeless commentary on human rights: especially that of Asian women. It is relevant, hard-hitting and heart breaking in all its horrific splendor. On top of all that it even managed to teach me a little about Asian cultures surrounding the Hungry Ghost festival. Wonderfully narrated and acted by the fantastic audiobook narrator; this book is jaw dropping. I have no notes.