One of the best horror novels I’ve read in a while! Very unique and creative story! I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about a Covid book but this one was very realistic and dark, I absolutely loved it I can’t wait for the rest of the world to get to experience this book. The cover is also stunning!!

A pandemic ghost story that we may not have known that we wanted, but that we certainly needed. Baker does an exceptional job building passionate and loveable characters even if they spend most of the book fighting for their lives.

Cora, reeling from the violent murder of her sister, cleans crime scenes alongside Harvey and Yifei. Soon, a pattern emerges among the victims: They are all Chinese women and all the crime scenes have battered bats. While the crime scene cleaners piece together the murders, hungry ghosts relentlessly haunt Cora. Unaware of their ghostly intentions, Harvey and Yifei search to find ways to relieve Cora of her hauntings.

While reading, the middle seemed to drag, but once the book tipped into the last half, every other page was a disturbing terror and/or a jaw-dropping twist. I couldn't stop my heart from racing. This novel is a necessary look at how Anti-Asian discrimination amped up during COVID-19 and how pockets of social media have brought out the worst in humanity.

From the ghost's (and Cora's) point of view, this is also a "good for her" trope, and while motivations terrified me, her actions in most cases were justified. This novel was educational, entertaining, and horrifying. Would absolutely recommend it to fans of horror.

Cora is an obsessive compulsive hypochondriac living in New York City during the pandemic. While COVID-19 dutifully ravages the world around her, Cora faces unimaginable trauma and racially charged violence as a Chinese American. While she starts to unravel the details of a possible serial killer in their midst targeting Asian women, Cora also faces the looming paranormal threat of hungry ghosts.

Equal parts scary, engaging, and thought-provoking with a fresh perspective on both real world horror and cultural legend.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and HTP Books for the arc of Bat Eater and other names for Cora Zeng.

Wow!! If I could describe this book with one word, that would be it!! I don't normally read books about COVID, or horror books however this was amazing. It has ghosts with very gnarly descriptions, mystery and lots of emotions!!

Highly recommend!!

This book was an unexpected gut-punch in all the best ways. It follows Cora, a 24-year-old germaphobe, who’s half-Chinese and half-white. She’s been living in her sister Delilah’s shadow... and pretty much the whole world's. But her life falls apart when Delilah dies in a gruesome subway tragedy. Fast forward a few months, and Cora is cleaning crime scenes with a sketchy, under-the-table crew. She’s still grieving, still haunted by the past. Then, she starts noticing a chilling pattern: an unusual number of dead Asian women. And bats. Lots of bats. Slowly, she realizes she’s caught in something much bigger—something that blends real-life horrors with paranormal ones.

I wasn’t sure about reading a book set during the pandemic—it felt too soon, too raw. But this story? It needed to be told. Through Cora’s eyes, we see the harsh realities of anti-Asian hate during COVID. The violence, the prejudice, the dehumanization—it’s horrifying, but it’s real, and the author doesn’t shy away from it.

What makes this book stand out is how grounded it feels. Cora isn’t some over-the-top hero; she’s messy, scared, and painfully human. The plot doesn’t rely on cheap twists or forced connections. Everything unfolds naturally, and by the end, you realize how brilliantly the author wove it all together.

If you love stories about revenge, grief, and self-discovery, this book is for you. It’s a deeply emotional read that sneaks in moments of rage, hope, and even humor. And for fans of the "good for her" trope? You’ll love Cora’s journey. I went in for the intriguing premise and stayed for the raw, beautiful storytelling. It’s a haunting, powerful read that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommend.

Brilliant, horrifying, and incredibly powerful.

After seeing rave reviews from numerous people, I had to see what everyone was talking about.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zheng is a powerful exploration of loneliness, community, and belonging in the face of hatred. This book is a must-read, an important and haunting experience for readers.

Kylie Lee Baker stunned me with her ability to evoke such strong emotions within me. Her writing and the way in which she tells this story is simply genius. I was reeling and completely devastated at the end.

If you are looking for a visceral experience, read this book. I do recommend reading with care. And do not skip the author’s note at the end, while dark there is still some light in this world.

A note on the narration: I love Natalie Naudus. She was an excellent choice for telling this story. Her performance adds even greater emotion to this story. I started listening to the audio about halfway through the book, and I finished in one sitting because I was so enthralled.

My rating: 5⭐️

This book was even better than I expected!! The found family was heartwarming and gave the majority of the book an overall warm vibe. Odd for a horror, but I stand by it 🤣 I really liked Cora, she was an easy protagonist to get invested in from the beginning, and her story arc was done effortlessly. I really enjoyed seeing her come into her own and gain confidence throughout the story. There are definitely a lot of heart wrenching moments, but I really really enjoyed this one!

As soon as I saw the cover and description on Netgalley, my fingers hit "Request."

This unflinching novel uses the very real horrors of the pandemic and accompanying racism as a backdrop for the supernatural. It's exquisitely written and a great reminder of how the horror genre can be a therapeutic vehicle for trauma.

Thank you SO much to @htpbooks and @htp_hive for my e-arc of this absolute BANGER of a book.

Quick Thoughts:

🦇 Genre: Horror
🦇 Triggers: pandemic (Covid-19) in NYC, Asian hate, violence towards women, body horror and gore, racism, visual paranormal elements
🦇 Pub Date: April 29, 2025
🦇 My Rating: 5⭐️ and absolutely NO NOTES

This story is absolutely excellent and masterfully written. It weaves paranormal and outlandish fears with the consistent message that often real life is where the horror truly is. This book was a wild, creepy, and stressful ride, and I never expected what was going to happen next. I felt so deeply for Cora and her journey every step of the way. The ending is a true masterpiece giving closure but not without harrowing ambiguity.

This book encompasses everything I love about horror. The ghost elements were visual and the real life horror was visceral.

I highly implore you to give this one a try, but do take care and seriously consider content warnings of this book, especially towards the end.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being a Top Read of 2025 for me.

🦇🏙️👻🚊🍴🩸

This was such an excellent book! I usually steer away from horror, but the description of this story grabbed me and wouldn't let go. This was horror with heart because it absolutely tore mine to shreds.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow. I went in blind. I only knew that this fell into the horror genre.

This book was a little slow in the beginning. It took roughly 6 chapters before I was engaged. After it picked up though I was hooked.

This story is a cross between The Grudge meets The Wailing…yes that creepy.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zhang takes place in Chinatown during the Covid pandemic, right after the everything opens back up. The female main character Cora is Chinese. She is a crime scene cleaner who happens to also be germaphobe.

She arrives to multiple crime scene throughout this book where the victims happen to be Asian and there always seems to be one thing in common amongst the scenes, bats. We find out these serial unalivings are racially motivated due to the “origins” of Covid.

If that’s not wild enough, FMC starts seeing ghosts everywhere. Most of these scenes were very creepy to me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Mira and HTP for the early listening and e-arc copies of this stunnin novel.

This book reeled me from the very first chapter, with this book, Kylie Lee Baker has been cemented as an auto buy author for me. We are placed directly in Cora (an Asian American woman) during the pandy at the height of it. This story was extremely visceral and the horror was two fold for me: the horrors that Cora and Asian around her in her day to day life as well as the horror of the situation she is facing during the book: cleaning up grizzly crime scenes. Friends, please check your triggers on this one because this is a story that demands your full attention and anything less is not giving this story the gravitas it demands.

“Sometimes Cora thinks Delilah is more of a dream than a sister, a camera flash of pretty lights in every color that you can never look at directly.”

Devastated by witnessing the murder of her half-sister Delilah, Cora must navigate the COVID-19 pandemic alone. Cora takes a job as a crime scene cleaner and discovers a common denominator between Delilah’s death and murders of other Asian woman. The streets of New York aren’t safe for Cora and neither is her apartment which she finds haunted by a vengeance-hungry ghost.

Cora’s love-hate relationship with Delilah, the isolation created by the pandemic, and Cora’s phobias fuel the tension. Baker loving builds Cora’s character and the firm foundation adds to the richness of Cora’s character arc as does her budding friendship with her fellow crime scene cleaners and the complex dynamics with her family. Cora’s aunties, each firmly planted in their own religious beliefs, try to influence her. Eccentric Auntie Zeng, with her pyromaniac and kleptomaniac tendencies, quickly became my favorite character. Unlike Auntie Lois, Auntie Zeng’s love and support isn’t conditional.

The horror of Cora’s haunting is nicely balanced with the murder mystery. Baker does a fantastic job of showing the uncertainty of the early days of the pandemic in New York and the cruelty inflicted on the Asian community through hate crimes. Baker’s beautiful writing shines a soft light on the mundane and supernatural horrors Cora experiences first hand.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Mira, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises ULC, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kylie Lee Baker has done it again. I am incredibly stunned at how much I loved this. This was raw, real and emotional like no book i’ve read in a long time. The use of words to create the vibes and atmosphere about the horror and the gothic of the novel was superb.

also i love when feminine rage rests in the hands of marginalized women or people of color because it’s not just an every day issue that they are raging about, it’s about something that no one else would get except their community.

anyway - listen/read to the authors note. it’s so important and timeless.

This is a wild ride from start to finish. The tone is set immediately in the first chapter following Cora Zeng and her half-sister in the almost apocalyptic streets of New York City during the start of the COVID lockdowns in 2020. Tragedy strikes when a racist stranger murders Cora’s sister in front of her. This begins the downward spiral of Cora’s life amidst New York City alone. Haunted by her past, the future, germs (I feel you girl. I too have Mysophobia), her trauma, hungry spirits and a serial killer on the loose we get a deep look into the dark side of Asian hate during the pandemic (and let’s be real.. still happening sadly.) I shed many tears, my jaw dropped and I gasped more times than I can count. This is one that will be sticking with me for a long while, making sure there’s no hungry spirits lurking about.

Thank you to The Hive & NetGalley for the ARC!

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker is a visceral and unsettling dive into grief, identity, and the supernatural and real horrors plaguing our world. This is horror at its most thought-provoking and raw, combining eerie supernatural elements with the grim realities of racial violence and pandemic-era trauma.

Cora Zeng is a fascinating protagonist: a crime scene cleaner who buries her emotions in bleach and routine while grappling with the devastating loss of her sister, Delilah. Her perspective is darkly humorous, chilling, and sometimes heartbreakingly vulnerable. Her fear of germs, her fragmented grip on reality, and the appearance of bat carcasses and hungry ghosts create a suffocating tension that keeps you on edge.

The story masterfully balances the brutality of real-world violence with ghostly horror. Baker’s vivid, grotesque descriptions and sharp social commentary elevate this book from a typical ghost story to something more profound. Themes of racial scapegoating, intergenerational trauma, and cultural identity are woven seamlessly into the narrative, making it both profoundly personal and universally impactful.

The pacing can be uneven sometimes, with some sections feeling rushed while others linger a bit too long. A few plot threads remain unresolved, but in a way, that ambiguity feels fitting for a story about navigating grief and trauma.

Stephen Graham Jones and Gretchen Felker-Martin fans will appreciate the sharp prose and subversive approach to horror. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is haunting, poignant, and wildly original—a story that will burrow under your skin and stay with you long after the gates of hell close.

This was a veritable smorgasbord of horror, social commentary, and the supernatural, all served with a side of dark humor.

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner in New York City’s Chinatown, whose occupation involves scrubbing away the remnants of humanity’s more macabre departures. One might argue that such a profession would desensitize anyone to gore, but Cora’s real demons are far more insidious. She’s haunted by the traumatic memory of her sister Delilah’s murder—an event marked by the assailant’s parting slur: “bat eater.”

As if grappling with personal loss and societal prejudice weren’t enough, Cora’s reality becomes increasingly more disturbing and bizarre. She discovers bat carcasses at crime scenes and notices a disturbing pattern involve East Asian female victims. This eerie sequence coincides with the Hungry Ghost Festival, a time when, according to tradition, the gates of hell open, allowing spirits to roam the earth.

This book forces you to confront uncomfortable truths about societal prejudices. The way Baker portrays the unflinching racism against Asians during the pandemic was so compelling and REAL. Honestly I usually turn a shoulder with anything Pandemic/ Covid related but this was a damn good read.

The supernatural addition with the Hungry Ghost was simply phenomenal. The story is raw and visceral, with gory aspects and hauntingly beautiful imagery. It’s a thought provoking read that makes you want to reflect on the real-world implications of fear, personal trauma, and prejudice.

As a person of Chinese descent who’d lived right in the area for 6 years and having known so many East Asians who had suffered abuse or discrimination during the pandemic, I knew I had to read this as soon as I came across the title.

This novel comments on the increased violence towards Asians during the pandemic and the lack of effort in trying to solve these hate crimes, PLUS body horror, gore, the supernatural, and Chinese folklore!

Some of the rules (I was also told as a kid) of the 7th lunar month AKA Hungry Ghost Festival are:
- Don’t dress in all black clothing
- No swimming, no hiking, no picking up coins you find on the street
- Don’t turn around if someone calls your name at night (could be a ghost!)

The supernatural parts were so creepy!!! Straight up old school Asian horror movie imagery- think Sadako, Ju-On, Chinese vampires with ominous red smoke… read this over a few nights and i jumped one time when the radiator came on because i was just so wired :-D

I really really really wanted to love this because on paper this is a mix of all the genres that I adore… Unfortunately I didn’t connect to the writing style here. The pacing felt a little bit off to me. Sometimes a mood or subplot is set up but moves on abruptly, yet sometimes for something kinda uninteresting (to me) there’s a lot of telling to excruciating detail. In my opinion that made the book feel much longer than it actually is and hindered connection/ feelings towards the characters in the book. It probably doesn’t help that I found Cora an unreliable and generally kinda dull MC. It’s sad because the book quite literally started off with a bang and then never really brought that same excitement or tension back.

Coraline "Cora" Zeng lives in New York with her half-sister Delilah, who is beautiful and arty and dreams of becoming a famous model, when the pandemic begins. After witnessing Delilah is pushed in front of a subway train by a stranger who shouts "bat eater" at her, Cora becomes a crime scene cleaner and starts noticing a majority of murder victims she's cleaning off the walls all seem to be young East-Asian women.

Is Cora going off the walls and imagining being followed by creepy ghosts that remind you of the yall ma from It Follows, or is she truly being haunted? Sometimes, I wondered if she was a reliable narrator, and it's easy to make that assessment with a heroine who suffers from OCD and cleans "people's entrails for a living". While I don't typically read books set in the real world during Covid 19, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I feel like the Goodreads blurb for this one tells you a LOT about the story, maybe even too much? But at the same time, you sort of need to know what you’re getting into.

This was one of the bleakest books I’ve ever read. But it should be, because it’s a portrait of horrifying racism, specifically during the height of COVID. If you’re one of those people who roll their eyes and say, “Not a pandemic book!” then this novel is not for you.

I was immediately sucked into the story, which wasted no time at all revealing the darkness and cruelty that I was in for. It was a blend of true crime and supernatural. The main character, Cora Zheng, works as a crime scene cleaner with two friends as she simultaneously tries to process the fact that she’s seeing spirits.

Cora constantly thinks about the moment when her sister was violently murdered in front of her, and every time she revisits this memory it is still fresh, visceral, horrific. Just like the crime scenes she’s scrubbing away. There’s actually a lot more going on beyond this as well, if you can believe it! The crime scenes begin to seem as if they might be connected, and they appear to be racially motivated…

Cora is Chinese, and she experiences constant aggressive acts of Racism on the street. She’s also very conscious of germs and afraid of getting sick, so the pandemic is extra scary for her from that standpoint. Every time she leaves her house, it’s stressful to read about. On top of all of this, there’s also the ghosts that are following her around. The way that Baker described the unique spirits in the book was very creepy and frightening. There was one specific scene that absolutely shocked me in a good, scary way.

I really enjoyed reading this, even though it was a heavy and upsetting experience. The writing was very good, and the characters were well developed. Harvey got on my nerves with his constant insensitivity, but I loved Yifei. And learning about the lore behind “hungry ghosts” was really interesting. I didn’t know exactly where the plot was going to go, and I did not predict where it ended up.

One thing is bothering me, slightly: Is it really that easy to sneak into the subway tunnels when they’re closed? (Honest question. They don’t have metal doors or big gates or anything?)

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes horror and true crime, as it’s a capable mix of both. Just be aware of the depressing journey you’re about to take.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Biggest TW: Hate speech/slurs, Racism, Graphic violence, Animal harm/death