This one did start off a little slow for me, but I loved the creepiness, the discussions, and the way culture was woven into this story. It is a tough read because it's sad what so many Asian people went through because of hurtful and uneducated people with covid. Having a main character that is a crime scene cleaner was also a very interesting choice that I enjoyed. As a horror debut I think this was really great and will continue to read from this author!

I sincerely apologize for the tardiness of my review, but I greatly enjoyed BAT EATER AND OTHER NAMES FOR CORA ZENG, and I think it will be one of my top horror books of the year. Listening to it while I did my library work was a treat, and I enjoyed the narrator very much. This was a terrific horror book and I was grossed and creeped out in equal measure!

Just finished the audiobook and I absolutely loved this story!

The first chapter hooks you in a grotesque way. This story is filled with grief, horror and sadness. However it carries a strong message of how cultures and races are treated cruelly when people need someone to blame. I loved the characters, and the setting. It really brought me back to when Covid was happening and reminded me of all the feelings I felt during that time period. It really did have a drastic impact on everyone whether we care to admit it or not.

The ghost aspect was amazing. The visualizations are haunting. Just picturing what Cora was seeing and dealing with gives me chills lol I’ll definitely be recommending this to everyone, and will be in the look out for their next book!

Thank you netgalley for this arc!

I absolutely devoured this audiobook. I always love Natalie Naudus as a narrator, and she did a fantastic job yet again.

As I am still somewhat new to the Horror genre and a huge scaredy cat, this was the perfect amount of haunting for me. Baker paints a perfect picture - and when that picture is a gruesome crime scene, it's disgustingly delightful. *Check the trigger warnings!

There were so many "HOLY SH*T!" moments throughout this story that it had me squealing to my friends who had already read it constantly as I needed to experience the feelings of shock and horror outside of myself.

The premise was unique to me as a crime scene cleanup crew, which is not something I've experienced in a book, movie, or TV show. The concept of not seeing the body, but only the aftermath, is detached from the who & how, yet they can still piece things together based on their experience.

The plot was immediately intriguing, then adding in the layer of COVID took it to another unique level, as this is the first book I've read where characters are experiencing the impact of it. Little things like not being fully comfortable in public again, the need to constantly sanitize and wear masks, with varying participation.

Then, the bat-eater insinuation itself. It makes me sick that this portion of a fictional novel was actually pulled from the reality of such terrible discrimination, which is, unfortunately, not new in our world. I teared up from the author's note, do not skip it.

I love how Baker wove in pieces of Asain culture, the experience of grief, terror, and friendships in addition to SO much more! Words cannot describe the feelings this surfaced. This was phenomenal, and I cannot wait to read more from her.

A few things you will find:
🩸Murder (don't forget the gore)
🩸Not-so-friendly ghosts
🩸Grief
🩸Racism
🩸COVID Pandemic

Thank you, NetGalley, for this audiobook ARC - my thoughts are my own.

This book blew me away and was not at all what I was expecting. I loved every second of the book, the characters, the storytelling, everything.

Three Words That Describe This Book: grief, ghosts, gore

Bat Eater has strong character development and a diverse cast. Cora is biracial and feels like an outsider. Her cleaning coworkers have become more than just friends, and the side characters are also well-developed – Auntie Z is my favourite. When she shows up at Taco Bell!! – Awesome scene. I loved the description of the setting and the atmosphere in general. Baker’s writing style is incredible, and I enjoyed the dark humour. Other readers have said they felt the ending was rushed and unsatisfying, but I thought it was great. I enjoyed the mysterious parts of the story, didn’t see the reveals coming, and didn’t want to put it down! Bat Eater is one of the best books I’ve read in 2025.

APPEAL FACTORS
Storyline: character-driven, issue-oriented, own voices, tragic
Pace: medium
Tone: emotional, bittersweet, moving, sad, dramatic, mystical, suspenseful, thought-provoking, dark, informative, mysterious, sinister, bleak, creepy, gruesome, haunting
Humour: dark humour
Writing Style: well-crafted dialogue, attention-grabbing, compelling
Character: authentic, awkward, complex, flawed, likeable, relatable, strong female, well-developed, diverse
Disability representation: mental illness, neurodivergence
Racial Representation: Asian
Audio: character accents, emotionally connected, clear

Read Alikes:
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
You Know What You Did by K. T. Nguyen
The Fervor by Alma Katsu

Final Thoughts
• Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a poignant novel about mental health, grief, found-family, and the danger of misinformation. It carries an important message about racism and the Asian hate experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. I came away feeling like I had a better understanding of an experience outside of my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book has ghosts, but its one of those stories where the real horrors are from the real people.

The book follows Cora Zeng during the Covid 19 pandemic and after the traumatic death of her sister Delilah. Cora and the people she works with start to notice patterns in the crime scenes they clean, including the addition of bats associated with Asian victims.

Cora has to figure out what's going on, while dealing with uncooperative police, white supremacy, and vitriol just for being Asian during the pandemic. There are some fairly gory scenes but the grossest part for me is a scene towards the end where Cora encounters a 'normal' guy. And the guy is so gross and I've met many like him.

I absolutely devoured this book. Definitely recommend for those that like a darker read.

Honestly this book is WILD and at no point did I know what was going to happen next. I felt so bad for Cora the whole time but Harvey and Yifei brought levity to the book that kept it from being too much.

THIS WAS SO GOOOODDD. Man i loved this book so much. Kylie Lee Baker does such a great job navigating thru the COVID pandemic respectfully and thoughtfully. This story touches on so much and although its horror at its core its about how the Asian community was treated during this time and how that is horrific on its own.

Overall this the pacing of this book is well done.. It does have slower moments but it doesn't take away from the overall story.

I appreciated that book was more than just a panda if horror novel. It really had a lot to Say regarding the pandemic and how the Asian community was treated, that alone was horrific,

I highly recommend this book to a range of readers, yes it's horror but it's also literature fiction. With a lot of depth and important topics.

The audiobook of this was great. It was well produced and I thought the narrator really did a great job portraying the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this advanced listener copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

"Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng" by Kylie Lee Baker
3.5 stars
published January 7, 2025
kindle/audio

So I went into this blind after requesting it on @netgalley and I am glad I did. I do not like pandemic books but this one took an interesting twist. It started laying bare the ugliest parts of humanity that were always there but Covid brought them out. Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. She isn't haunted by the crime scenes. It is the memory of her sister being pushed in front of a train by a guy who whispered "Bat Eater". The killer was never caught, and now bat carcasses are being found at the crime scene clean-ups of more Asian women. NYC during the pandemic, where you can hide so much of your face with a mask, I can only imagine the blatant racism that was shown to all Asian- Americans. The novel would have made a great thriller with the serial killer plot line of targeting a specific racial group leaving a calling card of dead bats; however the story takes a haunting turn into the supernatural. The ghost of her sister Delia follows Cora around until finally confronted during the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival where everything gets gory.

this book was...wow. this is one where I don’t even know what to say because I don’t want to spoil a single thing SO I’m gonna try to be vague but just know that BOTTOM LINE I LOVED IT!!

the writing, the pacing, the gritty horror, the unflinching look at how unmasked racists were towards Asians during COVID (and on), the mental health issues— it’s all so well written. this book is unsettling and haunting . it combines supernatural horror with suspense/mystery with Chinese folklore so well and will keep you turning the page to find out what is going on.

Natalie Naudus is one of my favorite narrators and she did a great job with this book!

Tense. Gory. Impactful and thought provoking.

“Wuhang was the epicenter of body bags and NYC was the epicenter of anti-Asian hate crimes.”

Part ghost story, part serial killer mystery, part unflinching commentary on how our worst fears can lead to illogical fear and blame. Bat Eater is a deftly layered story that’s as gruesome and intense as it is original and affecting.

This is the kind of story meant to be told through horror elements!

Haunted by her sister’s murder...and maybe even her sister’s ghost...Cora grapples with fear. Fear of the germs killing people. Fear of the hungry ghosts wanting fed. And fear of a serial killer targeting Asian women.

Baker has delivered a suffocatingly intense narrative that is rife with uncomfortable truths. The complex storyline skillfully explores the inner turmoil of grief and trauma Cora faces while also expounding upon the external turmoil of seeing Asian women hunted and brutalized. It’s no surprise that the writing is raw and provocative to match the tone of the read. And while the richly crafted characters and the dark humor sometimes offset the sense of foreboding, the narrative never quite let’s go of its sinister nature.

This is a rage filled horror novel that is meant to evoke deep feelings. And for me, Baker well delivered through this perfect blend of Chinese lore and incisive commentary.

🎧Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is an Earphones Award winner, and with GOOD reason. It’s narrated by the incomparable @natalienaudus who delivered an engrossing performance that captured the fullness of the emotion and breathed life into Cora Zeng.

Many thanks to my friends at @_mira_books_ @htp_hive @htpbooks and @htpbooks_audio for the free #gifted copies of this book. #partner

If you're looking for a dark and gory peek behind the curtains of being a biracial woman in America during the height of the global pandemic.

It's hard to say what was more frightening, the casual and prevalent racism that dogs Cora's heels, or the ghosts that follow in their wake.

Being able to see Cora's identity pushed and pulled between her white and Asian aunties was an excellent utilization of bringing characters to life and I thoroughly enjoyed it.l

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker was nearly a five-star read for me. The story follows Cora, a young Chinese-American woman working on a crime scene cleanup crew in the aftermath of her sister’s murder at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Ghost Month begins, Cora starts seeing spirits—and noticing unsettling patterns in the crime scenes she cleans that suggest there might be a serial killer on the loose. What follows is a fast-paced, emotionally layered blend of ghost story, survival tale, and murder mystery.
The prose is lyrical in places, and Natalie Naudus’s narration in the audiobook really enhances the emotional core of the story, especially Cora’s grief, confusion, and unraveling sense of reality. I also really appreciated the friendships Cora forms with her coworkers—there’s some sharp, funny banter that helps balance out the heavy subject matter. The ghosts are described with vivid, eerie detail, and the scenes of gore and horror land effectively without feeling gratuitous.
My only hesitation is with the ending, which felt a bit inconclusive. While I can understand the thematic choice—sometimes real horrors, like murder or pandemics, don’t offer satisfying closure—I still found myself wanting more resolution from the mystery. That said, it didn’t take away from how strong the rest of the book was. Definitely worth a listen if you’re looking for something haunting, heartfelt, and a little unclassifiable.

We follow our main character Cora, and right off the bat we're exploring some complex sibling dynamics between her and her sister as they navigate their life in New York during the peak of the COVID pandemic. Things get devastating quick when she sees her sister get pushed in front of a moving train by a masked individual. She knows it is racially motivated because he calls her a bat eater before he runs away. She is obviously grieving profusely throughout this story and her OCD type behaviors are exacerbated by the trauma. Finding comfort in cleaning, she becomes a crime-scene cleaner. Her two co-workers become a compelling oddball mix of personalities and eventually, her friends. After cleaning up the aftermath of multiple homicides in Chinatown they begin to see a clear pattern. All the victims are East Asian women and there are dead bats left at each scene. Between a serial killer, the claustrophobic force of a society partially shut down, and Cora being haunted by hungry ghosts, she is barely clinging to any dregs of normalcy.

This book is brilliant and the longer I sit with it, the more my thoughts keep returning to it. It honestly amazes me how much emotional depth, social commentary, and varying types of truly disturbing horror are jam packed into around 300 pages. The pacing in this is FAST, like downward slope of a rollercoaster fast. And don't go into this lightly, definitely check trigger warnings because this book is as brutal as they come.

This is peak grief horror. The way she grapples with her complicated feelings about her sister in life and the inadequacy she felt always being compared to her by family while also grasping at the memory of her felt so raw and realistic. After their parents both essentially abandoned them, their only parental figures their two, very different Aunts. The maternal one is Caucasian and forces Cora to go to her Christian church in order to receive financial help while her Auntie Zeng is more concerned with ancient Chinese superstition and preparing Cora for the Hungry Ghost Festival. I loved the other side characters, watching her and her coworkers bonding despite her attempts to keep them at an arm's length almost gave a found-family type of vibe.

Now while this is peak grief horror primarily, there are so many other facets of horror we see executed to perfection. A ton of gore and intense body horror paired with the crime thriller whodunnit aspect as she pieces together connections between her sisters death and the grisly scenes at work. I think my favorite was the paranormal stuff, though! The way she is questioning her every move when food starts disappearing from her fridge and she finds bite marks on her coffee table. The imagery used to describe the hungry ghost that is haunting her was creepy as hell and reminiscent of some early 2000's horror favorites like "The Ring" and "The Grudge." By the ending, I was devastated and in awe at how flawless this book was. There are moments that will forever haunt me and the overall story holds up to reflection and analysis. I will never stop recommending!

I went into this audiobook completely blind. I knew it had something to do with COVID and I was pleasantly surprised with the story this book brought. This story follows Cora and her friends/coworkers through the COVID era of Asian discrimination, hauntings, death and murder. Cora is living in the city with her sister when a horrible death happens. When she takes a job as a crime scene clean up person, her life starts to change. Kylie Baker did a really good job showing the perspective of Asians as they were discriminated against and called hateful names. Bat eater was not something I knew was being said during this time and as a mexican american, this opened my eyes to the discrimination other races receive. This is a well written horror story that incorporates hauntings, gruesome death, religious turmoil, grief and mental health. It was much more heart wrenching then I though it was going to be. I will be adding this author to my automatic buy list!

BAT EATER AND OTHER NAMES FOR CORA ZENG by @kylieleebaker was SO GOOD!

Cora loses her sister to a hate crime early on in the book and unrelatedly she ends up becoming a crime scene cleaner. Her and her friends/colleagues start noticing a sick pattern in the victims. And it’s all related to the Covid virus.

Listening to the audiobook was a real trip. I’d highly recommend it. Set in NYC during the early months of the pandemic, this story will bring back vivid memories of those days. I had already left New York a couple years before the pandemic so my experience is very different from what it would have been if I was still working in NYC.

There were so many creepy scenes that made me glad I was folding laundry while listening to it and not putting my baby to sleep in the dark which is when I usually read/listen to audiobooks. Asian horror is such a beast of a sub genre that I would love to see this story on the big screen. There was just enough humor provided by Cora’s coworkers that would break the tension during the scary scenes. But there was also so much grief that came through.

An excellent read. I don’t want to say much more bc of spoilers but I found it really atmospheric and obviously pandemic books don’t bother me so take that with a grain of salt lol.

🎀 Thank you to @netgalley and @harlequin_audio for providing me with an Advance Listener's Copy.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng on audiobook is both entertaining and deeply unsettling, completely pulling you into Cora’s unraveling reality. The narration is gripping—Cora’s voice is raw, emotional, and filled with a growing paranoia that makes every eerie moment hit even harder. Her grief over Delilah’s death, the strange occurrences surrounding the crime scenes she cleans, and the looming presence of the Hungry Ghost Festival all feel even more intense when spoken aloud.

The side characters add so much depth—her aunt, who warns her about the spirits, and Yinfei, her co-worker, who tries to keep her grounded in reality. But as Cora starts to see connections that may or may not be real, even those relationships feel fragile. The audiobook really enhances the slow-burning tension, making the supernatural and psychological elements even more immersive. Every scene, from her moments of eerie quiet to the full-blown disturbing encounters, keeps you hooked. If you love a listen that’s haunting, gripping, and impossible to turn off, this one is it!

I was lucky enough to read the eARC before its official release, and now I’m thrilled to revisit the story by listening to the audiobook version. Natalie Naudus did an amazing job bringing Cora Zeng’s inner thoughts and the various character voices to life. Her narration truly enhanced the experience, capturing the emotion and depth of the story. It was such an immersive listening experience, and I enjoyed it even more the second time around. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC!

I was weary about a pandemic horror novel, after finishing it, I feel dumb for having any doubt. This is truly incredible, it gave me a fright that I haven't felt since Mike Flanagan's Hill House.
The narrator did a phenomenal job.