(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.

This was a journey, it was so good. The very first chapter was shocking and the book was riddled with uncomfortable truths about covid, racism, grief, etc... This book changed my brain chemistry as I listened to the story. This book was well written and didn't hold back, I was expecting to feel some things but the scenes of death and emotion just really gave me different feelings. My heart hurt, my eyes cried and I felt myself cheering on the characters. I felt sick at points and honestly I feel like it was all for a reason. The story was coherent and worth every gory detail from start to finish. I'm going to be buying a copy of the hardcover to put on my trophy shelf.

First, I want to thank Harlequin Audio for providing me with a copy of this novel. The following review reflects my honest thoughts on it.

I requested this book because I loved the title, though I didn’t know much about it aside from the fact that it was a horror novel set during the COVID pandemic.

The story follows Cora, a young woman from a Chinese family who works as a crime scene cleaner. Cora is obsessed with cleanliness and avoiding contact with any viruses or bacteria. She is also haunted by a terrifying ghost, which she believes is the spirit of her sister, who was killed in front of her not long ago.

As Cora goes about her days, trying to avoid encounters with the ghost, she and her work crew begin to notice that a disturbing number of Asian women are being killed in New York City and there´s always a dead bat with them. And before they realize it, they find themselves drawn into an investigation, as the killer might also be the one responsible for Cora’s sister’s death.

This is a horror novel that explores themes of loneliness, discrimination, hatred, and the scapegoating of minorities to deflect society’s larger issues. It’s a tragic story, not a happy one, and it is definitely gore.

Did I enjoy it? Honestly, I’m not sure.

I appreciated the book as a whole. Some scenes and concepts are particularly good, and the cast of characters is fantastic.

However, in certain areas, the book falls short. For instance, there are moments where the paranormal elements could have used more explanation, but instead, they either go unexplained or contradict what was established earlier in the story. I also wasn’t fond of the vague setting. The book is set in New York City, yet it never really feels like it. The subway stations are unnamed, the parks are never identified and there’s no real sense of place. It could have been any city. The narrative often describes things like “we took the subway to the nearest park,” which makes the setting feel distant. I would have liked to feel like I was in NYC. The decision to name the city but not describe it was a bit odd.

I did enjoy the plot twists and the ending, though a couple of events left me feeling sad because they seemed unnecessary. It felt like they were included just for shock value or to heighten the gore, rather than moving the plot forward. There were also some scenes that didn’t make sense to me, like one where Cora is cleaning a crypt near a church (I won’t give away more details than that).

Overall, it was an interesting book with some cool elements, but it had the potential to be so much better than it turned out to be. I almost wish this had been a beta manuscript, still needing some final edits.

Do I recommend it? Only if you’re a fan of gory books. As a mystery, it didn’t fully satisfy me.

I am absolutely blown away by this book! I finished it in one day because I was enraptured. It's a perfect balance of social commentary and horror. It takes place in NYC during the Covid pandemic and explores the racial climate toward the Asian community at that time. It was infuriating, but sadly a real reflection. Cora is a crime scene cleaner and can't help but notice the uptick in murders against females in the East Asian community. Reeling from the brutal loss of her sister, a murderer in town killing women whose profile she fits, and on top of all that, she is being haunted by a literal hungry ghost. An incredible mix of psychological, paranormal, folklore and real-world horror! There are so many layers to this one. I devoured this book and wouldn't even consider rating it less than 5 stars.

* Rounded up from 3.5 stars.

Cora is a crime scene cleaner in Chinatown New York who has dealt with a lot of trauma in her life. She witnessed her sister's murder by being pushed in front of a train, being haunted by hungry ghosts, a serial killer that refers to the Asians he kills (including her sister) as "Bat Eaters", and extreme racism against Asians during the pandemic.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is an extremely unique book. Cora is most definitely has extreme anxiety over getting sick with Covid. She is obsessive about doing things to not catch it. She also does not believe her Aunt when she speaks to her about Hungry Ghosts and how to get rid of one, until she starts being haunted. All the while she is cleaning up Crime Scenes that are left behind by the "Bat Eater" Serial Killer. To say the least, she has a lot on her plate.

This book is filled with quirky characters that you will enjoy. From Cora's Aunt to her crime scene cleaner friends, they will keep you entertained.

*I read this book via audiobook, which I recommend. The narrator did a fantastic job.*

This is not an easy book to read or listen to. Through the lens of Cora Zeng Baker captures what is was like for Asians in 2020. She does so through the lens of a story of a serial killer murdering Asian individuals in New York City and no one caring.

Baker does not shy away from hard truths and gives her all in presenting details that turn the stomach. But in doing so she captures the atmosphere so well. Baker is a master at her craft.