2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advance reader copy.
I did not make the connection with the phrase/slur bat-eater, as the title of this book was going to be a COVID story. Once I got the context of the first chapter, I immediately knew what social commentary/themes we would be delving into. However, I would have adjusted my expectations with the story and not made this a five-star prediction. My fault for the lack of research on the book and my reader preferences.

Genres
Horror, thriller, and Crime Investigation

Triggers
The main character suffers intensely from Mysophobia and her obsession with hygiene and sanitizing.
Gore, body horror, heightened violence towards Asians during the pandemic, and racist language.

The main character had a codependent relationship with the sister who died. We also see snippets of Cora having deep, conflicting emotions about her sister. I wish the book had been more about accepting these emotions and dedicating time to finding things that made her different from her sister. She was only ever allowed to be a shadow when Delilah was alive.
Books can struggle when the main character is a ghost of a person. This means our main character does not take initiative in life, so the pacing of the murders, being haunted, and the murderer is very slow to unravel. That pace made it hard to stay motivated to finish. Cora herself has an obsessive personality, so her days are overly routine and repetitive for the reader.
I was not satisfied with the ending either. I did not mind that it was a powerful white man as the villain. Some can argue that it is the easy way out for an ending, though. That was always going to be the reader's first guess, and it is not scary when you know what to expect. However, I did not mind who the characters were, but I did mind how they were dealt with. For the torture and brutality that he put people through before he killed them, and the fact that he killed off her group of friends, his ending was easy. Which is too kind for him. As a reader, I feel we have some outstanding questions. Where and why were the bats at the scene, and was the killer only the mayor, or was he just protecting who did it? It is all unclear.
Finally, in the digital arc copy I had their was quite a bit of formatting issues. Especially, words with L’s in them I hope all those are edited before the final print.

This was my first book from Kylie Lee Baker and I thought it would be at best relatable if not entertaining. I usually steer clear from books about the pandemic but took my chances because I’m intrigued by the provocative cover and title.

I liked that it addressed racial stereotypes and the ever-increasing bias towards Asians, specifically Chinese, during the Covid crisis. The amounts of paranoia and discrimination is disheartening but the dark humor did lighten the mood and there was hope. I didn’t mind any the gore-y parts, it’s a horror after all and I found it strangely entertaining and propulsive.

However I couldn’t connect with any of characters on an emotional level and they felt rather like caricatures. Which made my reading experience way more depressing than I had expected. The main character, Cora, was constantly brooding and lacked so much confidence, it became increasingly draining afterwards. The shocking moments and steady suspense did help me get to the end, accompanied by a couple of good laughs. Ultimately I had to know who was responsible for all of these bloody killings; it was my main driving force. In the end Cora eventually finds her voice but by then I had checked out because everyone she knew was sadly gone.

In this story, Cora Zeng, a Chinese-American crime-scene cleaner, deals with the violent death of her sister during COVID's extreme anti-Asian sentiments. I really liked the COVID story, the murder mystery, the ghost story, the body horror, and the insidiousness of institutionalized racism. There were times when the story seemed a little focusless and winding at times. Overall, I thought this was a completely unique and compelling story. The body horror and ghosts were at once terrifying and 'defanged,' as Cora would say. But the fear and institutions that gave approval to the prevalent racism were the real element of pervasive horror throughout the story.

I’m giving this book well over 5 stars! When I first saw it was about Covid, my eyes rolled and disappointment sank in. I read a little more and within no time I was transfixed. I realized it wasn’t about Covid, but Asian American’s experiences, culture, ghosts, terror, grief and more. This was insightful and wildly entertaining.

I loved this! Such a refreshing and honest perspective on the issues present in these stories. The way the other weaves symbolism with raw experiences was impressive. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more books from this author.

“Closing your eyes doesn’t stop monsters from devouring you.”

Cora is a crime scene cleaner. She sees the most gruesome after effects of crimes, but nothing that impacts her as much as witnessing her sister being pushed in front of a train. Her sister's killer was never caught. After unexplained killings in Chinatown, Cora believes someone is targeting East Asian women. After the larger than life shadow following her around in the dark, Cora believes something might be targeting her.

A lot of times, I try to not think about 2020. I worked as an HR manager at a major retailer and we saw the worst of the worst. It sometimes feels like a fever dream to think about it. I felt the goosebumps rise as I read Cora's compulsiveness to wash her hands. Her fear of getting sick. I reflect on the everchanging mandates, helping my team navigate loss, carrying around my "essential worker" paper everywhere I went. It unlocked a new form of empathy.

This book was horrifying and the murder/gore was the least horrifying part of it all. It starts off so strong, I was immediately put on edge. This is a horror book that informs. It transparently revealed the dehumanization of East Asian communities. The commentary was expertly done and necessary. The ghost story was outstanding, and I learned so much about the Hungry Ghost Festival. The writing is descriptive and emotional, but without additional fluff.

My only complaint was the pacing was inconsistent - it lulled in the middle and was slightly repetitive. I highly recommend this book. The characters were sublimely flawed and perfectly authentic. They're funny without it being forced. I highly recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the advanced e-copy!! And yay for Aardvark for making this a monthly pick! It publishes on April 29th!

Wow…this kind of blew me away. I went in thinking it was one thing and got so much more. This is a difficult book. Yes, its horror so at the surface its gory and spooky. What makes it much “scarier” are the real-life scenarios and monsters.

This book broke my heart, opened my eyes and made me think HARD. COVID was a scary time for everyone but for people of Asian culture it was a freaking nightmare. I loved that Baker did not shy away from ANYTHING. She added all the elements of a traditional horror story and added all the real-life horrors.

I really find cultures fascinating and this novel delved into some of them as well as spiritual beliefs. I wanted to also highlight there are some witty moments and the grief/sisterhood bond was just… *sobs* This book is important. Thank you @netgalley for my copy!

I felt the pace was fast initially and slowed down until about 60/70%. The action really picked up and I could feel my heart racing waiting to find out what happens next. I quite literally screamed in my car...

Kylie did a wonderful job with crafting a horror story with Chinese folklore on ghosts around covid/pandemic, aapi violence, grief, mental health difficulties, racism, and corporation corrution. I felt angry, frustrated, enraged, and this feeling of sadness in the end.

I need to say... I don't typically read horror and I have come to realize I need emotional connections to the characters to feel the story as a blue/yellow reader. I wasn't feeling connected to Cora and the side characters.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend to other horror readers.

Thank you to Harlequin & Mira for the eARC.

I think I'll read anything Kylie Lee Baker writes! Even if it is horror... and I'm a wimp

There are two stories happening in this book, both of them horror. One is a story about ghosts and the other is a story about a serial killer. They're kind of connected, but not really, but that didn't bother me and I felt there were equal amounts of both plot lines happening. There's lots of description of blood and guts in this book, as our main characters do crime scene cleanup.

Also, if you can't handle a story about covid times, maybe don't give this a read, it takes place during the heart of the pandemic.

The writing is absolutely beautiful and I really connected with the characters and the stories and when the scenes were scary, I was scared!

My biggest complaint with the book is that there was one ideas introduced that never got resolved and I kind of get why it wasn't resolved, but I want to know the answer! sorry no spoilers

As a general rule, I don’t do pandemic books, because I was there, and I’m still here, and I’m not ready yet. I decided to give this one a try, however because I really like Kylie Lee Baker’s writing and I’m glad I did because it was amazing and because it deals with a topic that everyone who isn’t Asian and Asian-American decided to forget about really quickly: the anti-Asian sentiment that was rampant between 2020 and 2024 and is still happening in a lot of places (hi, Jewish, I see you).

This is a horror novel in more than one way. It’s a horror novel because there’s a serial killer. It’s a horror novel because Cora and her friends are being haunted by hungry ghosts. And it’s a horror novel in that very Shirley Jackson way (ya’ll know this is my twisted favorite) in that it reminds us that there is no monster more horrific than other people.

The things people do to one another in Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng are so much worse than the things the COVID does to anyone or the things hungry ghosts do to people (though the hungry ghosts do spawn my new favorite lines from a horror novel ever:

“She ate all my plates”

“She ate your roommate.”)

that murder is the least of them. At least the people who are murdered are dead(ish). But the racism, the spitting, the assault, the evictions, the microaggressions, those people have to live with and will have to live with for the rest of their lives. Even when the mind locks things up or glazes over them, bodies remember, the same way so many bodies remember COVID in the way they were changed by the virus. Cora’s body will never forget the way her Aunt Lois insisted she forgive Delilah’s murderer (not a spoiler). It will never forget someone else’s spit between her lips or the fingers on her arm. Blood spray on her face.

People who haven’t experienced these things don’t get it but Bat Easter and Other Names for Cora Zeng is so honest, so visceral you’ll at least get a sense of it, an understanding of the way bodies remember and the way people were changed, and are still being changed by what other people did and are doing to them. Of the way people were treated by other people just because they looked a certain way or spoke a certain language or were from a different country. Because racism is easier than science and kindness and it shouldn’t be.

It’s also a fantastic ghost story with a lot of insight into Chinese death traditions which I, as an end-of-life doula, really appreciated.

Come for the other-worldly horror, be brave and stay to confront the horror in this world. Maybe learn something. Your life will be better for it.

Title/Author: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

Page Count: 304

Publisher: MIRA BOOKS

Format: NetGalley/eBook

Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: First time reading

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/9780778368458

Release Date: April 29th, 2025

General Genre: Horror, Suspense & Thriller, Crime

Sub-Genre/Themes: Dark Comedy, Crime Scene Cleanup, COVID-19 Pandemic, Asian Hate, Serial Killer, Grief/Death of a Sister, Gory & Violent, Ghost/Paranormal, Chinese Folklore, Friendship, Feeling Like an Outsider, Sibling Rivalry, Murder, Mental Illness, OCD, NYC

Writing Style: Character-Driven, Compelling, High-Stakes, Gruesome

What You Need to Know: Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner, is haunted by her sister Delilah's murder - she was pushed in front of a train by a killer who yelled "bat eater." Crime scenes don't faze her, but germs and hidden viruses do. Since the murder, reality blurs for Cora, and she ignores her aunt's advice to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival. Despite her efforts, she can't shake the dread as bat carcasses appear at crime scenes, and all her recent cleanups involve East Asian women. Cora will soon learn you can't ignore hungry ghosts.

My Reading Experience: This book surprised me. Set during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng captures that strange, anxious, isolating time by introducing us to Cora Zeng who is really struggling. The more I read, the more I fell in love with her, which horror readers know is dangerous territory for your feelings.

The way Kylie Lee Baker writes about grief, loneliness, racial tension, and the rise in anti-Asian hate feels incredibly grounded and honest—never heavy-handed, just real. Real and painful, and perfectly attuned to a very specific time in history. Cora Zeng is one of the most compelling characters I’ve read in a while. I genuinely wanted to be her friend. She's smart, sharp, a little messed up (in a very human way), and you root for her immediately. Her emotional arc is handled so well that when things get intense, you feel it. The stakes felt personal, and I was fully invested.

The crime scene cleanup crew she works with, who are also sorta-kinda her friends, are my favorite aspect of this story. I would read a spin-off just about them. Their banter, their weird humor, and the way they support each other offset all the dark, gruesome events that unfold around them. They’re hilarious and weird in a way that feels authentic—not quirky for the sake of it. What worked for me was the blend of genres. You’ve got ghosts, Chinese folklore, a serial killer plot, and a genuinely scary atmosphere, but it never feels out of balance. Everything ties together naturally, and the pacing is super tight. I didn’t want to put it down, and honestly, I didn't.

Final Recommendation: I wasn’t expecting this book to hit me on so many levels—there are moments that made me laugh out loud, others that made me emotional, and at least one or two scenes that straight-up freaked me out. It’s rare to find a story that can do all of that without losing its voice, but this one pulls it off. By the end of it, and after I read the author's note, I was a wreck. This book pulled so many emotions out of me like only horror can

In my top 10 horror novels of 2025 for sure

Comps: The Fervor by Alma Katsu, The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

This was such a good read and also gave perspective of what it would feel like to be Asian-American during COVID. I loved the supernatural element as well and that I learned a bit of culture outside of my own as well!

This book is very different from what I was expecting and was so much more! I was thinking it was going to be more of a serial killer slasher but I was not expecting it to have so many Supernatural elements and honestly some of the best characters in any book I've ever read. I loved Cora, Yifei, and even Harvey so much. They were just such honest characters who weren't trying to pretend to be anything other than themselves, and I loved them. I mean, especially Cora. If you've ever felt like a shadow or a wallflower in your life, you'll definitely have a soft spot for her.

This book is set very early during COVID, which I was kind of turned off by initially because in ways, it feels a little too soon, but for obvious reasons, this setting was needed. This is a book where the true horror is the fact that the events in this book mirror real life. Asians were targeted with a lot of hate/racism during COVID, and that is definitely the central theme of this book. It also explores how racism can fester on anonymous places on the internet and take on a life in ugly ways in the real world.

Somehow, I've never heard of the Hungry Ghost Festival before, and this was one of my favorite parts of this book! I think it was incorporated so well with Cora dealing with the death of her sister.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing /MIRA for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will start by saying you should go read the first chapter sample if you're interested in reading the book because that will convince you better than anything else. Page 1 I knew this book was going to be fantastic.

This book hooked itself onto my shoulders and did not let go until I finished. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking of it. I was (and still am) recommending everywhere I can because I just love it and need everyone to read it and understand. This was my first Kylie Lee Baker novel and I have no doubt her fantasy books were gorgeous, but she was born to write horror. I hope she writes more after this. And as for Cora herself, I am the same age as her and I related so much to her at times I maybe cried a little. She's one of my favorite FMCs I've read. I also loved her coworkers and their bond.

This book is eerie. It's unsettling, the way that an abandoned building in the middle of the night is. That distinct discomfort that arises when things are as they should be but just a little bit... wrong. You're finding unexplained bite marks, seeing things out of the corner of your eye that shouldn't be there; your comfortable crime scene cleaning job is becoming increasingly concerning. That sick feeling you get when Web MD convinces you you have a brain parasite and you're going to die.
I, like many of us, hate anything covid related in books. I lived it and I don't wanna do it again. But I have to say this book is an exception because as with everything else, it was so well done. And I was seeing it from the perspective of a Chinese American woman dealing with the very real racism I saw prevalent at the time, which is in itself a horror. This book is a fantastic blend of horror in the traditional creepy spooky way and also horror in the this shit actually happens way. Baker focuses on liminal feeling of empty places, the discomfort of trying to navigate the world when you're petrified of germs and illness and everything, including your coworkers, is possibly contaminated. Not knowing whether to hug someone. It's not the sickness itself but the way it changes the way we see other people (hazard) and the way we navigate the world (empty).
It did not make covid the main horror of the book or discuss it so much that I grew tired of it, which I appreciated.


"God loves you as you are."
And how am I? Cora wants to ask.

Vibes:
Paranoia, fear, shadows, echo of raindrops in an empty building, gasping for air, feeling dizzy, feeling sick, isolation, hearing something move in a dark room, the sound of bat wings getting closer to you, suspicion, being inside an empty church, red stained glass, the slow way blood moves across a tiled floor and seeps into the cracks, an animal banging in its cage, numbness, who's afraid of little old me?

There are so many quotes I want to add but I don't want to spoil anything for you more than all my blabbing did. You'll see when you read it 🖤

P.s. chapter 13 scared me so intensely I had to stop reading and walk away, and it was daytime. Maybe I'm just a weenie but I dare you to read it in the dark, alone.


Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC 🖤

Baker has a strong writing style. The characters are well written and there are great themes. The setting is well developed. It's a strong story with good pacing. I'd recommend this book to other readers.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zang!!

I have been pretty excited for this one, since it was actually the Evernight pick for January, as the book had an earlier release date in the UK!!

This book is a unique blend of supernatural horror, which isn’t my favorite honestly, and also slight serial murder horror, which is more my speed. But I think Baker did a great job blending the two together in a way that kept me engaged and curious to see how things ended.

I am struggling with a rating as I normally do when I find a book that has a more personal representation in it. My small brain says “yes, five stars because the main character thinks just like you do” and my big brain says “remain critical, 4 stars.” I think I’m going to settle with a 4.5 star rating and move on 😂

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng 🦇

Thanks @netgalley and @kylieleebaker for this ARC!

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng comes out later this month.

Synopsis:

In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. But none of that seems so terrible when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a train.

Before fleeing the scene, the murderer shouted two words: bat eater.

So the bloody messes don’t really bother Cora—she’s more bothered by the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of a stranger, the hidden viruses in every corner, and the bite marks on her coffee table. Of course, ever since Delilah was killed in front of her, Cora can’t be sure what’s real and what’s in her head.

She pushes away all feelings and ignores the advice of her aunt to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open. But she can’t ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenes, or the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women. As Cora will soon learn, you can’t just ignore hungry ghosts.

Reviews:
I really enjoyed this book! I will say if you have any type of anxiety that makes you want to clean or wash your hands- this can be a hard read. I actually took a break in the middle of it.
I loved the ghosts and the tension of the last 20% had me unable to stop reading. It was creepy! I was hesitant to pick up a book about the pandemic, but I ended up not minding the setting. It definitely added to the horror of the novel and the uncertainty that the characters would be feeling.

Has anyone else read this yet? If not, are you looking to pick it up once it comes out?

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a complimentary early release copy of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker.

I am intrigued by Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng! The premise of the book is interesting. I was drawn in due to the crime scene cleaner part of the story. I’ve read a lot of thriller/horror novels but surprisingly I don’t see a lot of crime scene cleaner story elements involved in them. The pacing of the story was good, there was always something going on that kept me invested in the story. I found the story to be equally in parts thrilling and horrifying. I didn’t know how things were going to play out with the hungry ghost aspects but I was pleasantly suprised with those horror elements! The hungry ghost elements were some of my favorite scenes throughout this novel. I also really enjoyed these characters and how their friendships evolved during the story. I liked the ending of the novel but there were a few things that I wished were played out just a little bit more differently.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is deep, timely plunge into the rage of exploitation, racism, power inequality, and community fragmentation that characterized some pandemic experiences. Set in NYC in 2020 and 2021, the reader is thrust into the anxiety of the COVOD-19 crisis, further heightened by hungry ghosts and a serial killer targeting young Asian women. Cora is neurodivergent, traumatized by a life changing event at the start of the novel. She's left to cope with surviving in the pandemic urban landscape, barely making ends meet as a crime scene cleaner. As the blood and bats carcasses pile up, Cora must confront all of her many fears and anxieties, and finally find her voice and power. In a vein similar to Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zang uses horror to show both the vulnerability of young women when they find themselves in situations beyond their control---and the power they harness to change their lives and their circumstances.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for the advanced reader copy. As always, all opinions expressed were exclusively my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I love a good social commentary horror and I love Kylie’s writing. There was so much Asian discrimination going on during Covid and I’m so glad there are books that can discuss that. I’m looking forward to more from this author!