I absolutely enjoyed this story. It’s gory, and it’s very relatable due to the Covid connection . It also has some Asian racism so just check triggers please

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker is a darkly humorous, gory, and haunting horror novel that expertly blends elements of the supernatural with sharp wit and a keen eye for emotional depth. This gripping story follows Cora Zeng, a young woman who must confront her complex identity, the supernatural forces that haunt her, and the horrifying secrets tied to her family.

The novel is a wild ride, oscillating between gory moments and dark humor that provides a unique twist on the horror genre. Cora, as the protagonist, is multi-faceted—her internal struggles, coupled with the disturbing elements surrounding her, make her a compelling character. The narrative often leans into a raw and visceral tone, blending themes of personal discovery with supernatural terror, all while maintaining an irreverent and darkly funny perspective.

Baker’s writing shines in its ability to create vivid, sometimes unsettling, imagery that feels both eerie and oddly relatable. The use of humor in the face of horror is particularly striking, providing a balance that prevents the novel from becoming too bleak. Cora’s voice is sharp and engaging, and her witty, sometimes sarcastic remarks help lighten the otherwise tense atmosphere, offering moments of levity amidst the chaos.

The supernatural elements, especially the title’s reference to "Bat Eater," are both chilling and inventive. The novel crafts a world where ghosts and monstrous entities exist alongside the more mundane struggles of growing up, creating a compelling tension between the supernatural and the very human experiences Cora faces. The lore surrounding these entities is rich, adding layers of intrigue and suspense as the story unfolds.

While Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is undoubtedly a horror novel, it also has deep emotional undertones. Cora’s journey to understand herself, her family’s dark legacy, and the ghosts that haunt her is a story of resilience, growth, and acceptance. There are moments of self-reflection and vulnerability that make her journey resonate on a deeper level, even amidst all the blood and terror.

Overall, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a highly engaging and genre-defying horror novel. Kylie Lee Baker successfully delivers a fast-paced, eerie tale filled with blood, humor, and heart. This book is perfect for fans of horror who enjoy dark humor, rich supernatural lore, and complex characters navigating their own terrifying and sometimes funny journeys of self-discovery.

Thanks to MIRA for the gifted copy!

Cora Zeng witnesses the tragedy of her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a subway train. The murderer flees the scene shouting "bat eater," and Cora is left reeling from both her sister's death and the other brutal murder scenes she cleans up as a crime scene cleaner in Chinatown, unsure of what's real and what's in her mind as hungry ghosts follow her.

Kylie Lee Baker does it again! While I've always appreciated the elements of horror included in her fantasy novels, BAT EATER is a reversal of her past reads, with horror being at the forefront and fantasy / the paranormal used as support. I am blown away by the way Kylie makes such impactful statements about the treatment of East Asians during the Covid-19 pandemic and the treatment of Asian women by (mostly white) men in general. It takes so much talent to make the trauma, brutality of killings, mystery or who did it, the pandemic, family dynamics, friendships, and hungry ghosts all come together cohesively under the paranormal horror umbrella. It's a work of genius. Read it -- you will also probably devour it in a day like I did.

𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘧, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥–𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘴.

Bat Eater follows crime scene cleaner, Cora Zeng, as she confronts both supernatural hungry ghosts & a real-life killer targeting East Asian women during the pandemic, all while grappling with her sister's horrific murder & her own deteriorating sense of reality.

What a visceral & gut-wrenching story. I usually avoid any books that involve the pandemic, but I made the exception for this. The first chapter immediately hooked me. It was both gripping & gruesome and it set an uncompromising tone for the rest of the book.

The novel's strength lies in its unflinching proximity to reality. While there were many paranormal elements weaved throughout, the true horror stems from its razor-sharp examination of racial trauma, pandemic-era xenophobia, & personal grief.

Kylie's writing is simultaneously gruesome & deeply thought-provoking. Cora Zeng's journey as a crime scene cleaner becomes a metaphorical and literal exploration of cleaning up trauma, with each bloody scene serving as a complex meditation on violence, memory, and survival. Kylie also doesn't shy away from graphic details, making it a challenging but essential read for those who appreciate horror that cuts deep into social and personal wounds.

Not for the faint of heart, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a powerful, uncomfortable, and necessary read.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

As a rule, I try not to read novels set in the pandemic era. Thankfully, I did not read anything about this book prior to diving in. It’s a good thing too because I would have missed quite the story! The setting made complete sense for the plot so it was easy for me to look past.

New York, 2020. Crime scene cleaner Cora Zeng witnesses a horrific murder at a subway station. The murderer only spoke two words, bat eater. Her ensuing crime scene clean ups are all mysteriously of Asian descent and the scenes all involve maimed bats. It becomes clear that a serial killer is on the loose and targeting Asian New Yorkers because of the claims that Covid began with a bat in China. Cora soon becomes haunted after ignoring her aunt’s advice about the Hungry Ghosts. Along with two friends, Cora must tackle her grief, trauma, the haunting, and hunting a serial killer.

Kylie Lee Baker nailed the spine tingling, grotesque, uneasy type of horror! The scenes depicted were bloody, gory, and fantastically realistic. The presence of angry spirits, lore, and a serial killer resulting in a delicious blend of horror and mystery. The characters were wonderfully written (particularly Cora) and I was enthralled in the story. Cora’s obsessive tendencies and low self esteem make her feel relatable and it’s easy to feel empathetic for her. Harvey provided some much needed comic relief. Yifei is the perfect blend of sarcasm and edginess.

I immediately want to buy everything from this author. Cannot wait until pub day to get my hands on a physical.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Kylie Lee Baker for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book left me with a feeling that it needed more.... but it's hard to put my finger on exactly what it needed more of. I just not completely fulfilled when I was done with the book. That doesn't mean over all it wasn't a good book, it was, and it is worth a read if you're into horror and especially if you are a fan of the authors others works.
I think part of it for me is the book being about covid i struggle with books on the subject. I also thought the book's first chapter jumped right in with the death of Cora's sister then it slowed down and took a while to speed back up again but it did during the second half of the book.

WOW.
I can honestly say I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I knew the subject would be difficult especially because we are still feeling the ramifications of COVID. While I've never personally experienced the racism that was associated with it. I dealt with the healthcare side of it, as an ICU nurse during the pandemic.
My only complaint is that it took a little while to get actually immersed into the book. However, once I was in, I was hooked. I felt like the ending just flew by so quickly, I wanted more.
The detail and graphic descriptions throughout the novel may not be everyone's cup of tea. If you can't handle that I wouldn't recommend reading.

Cora Zeng is a complex character, one, who throughout the novel grew into herself and her place in her own life. Also new fear unlocked, hungry ghosts.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade for this E-ARC!

Last week, I finished reading 𝐁𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐙𝐞𝐧𝐠 and let me tell you, it completely blew me away. This terrifying tale follows Cora, who is haunted by her trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer all while trying to hold down her job as a crime scene cleaner. I'm usually not one for books that feature the pandemic, but I decided to give this one a chance and I'm so glad I did. It was deeply unsettling and kept me on the edge of my seat, making me have to put it down at night. But the writing was so incredibly well done that I couldn't resist devouring this book, just like the ghosts devoured everything in their path. It's a terrifying yet thought-provoking read that explores difficult situations and is filled with bloody gore. Easily a five star read and might be my favorite of the year. Seriously read this book!

4.5/5 stars rounded up.

Wow, even from the very first brutal chapter this book was jaw dropping and gut wrenching. I was completely sat from the very beginning.
The book itself begins with our main character, Cora, watching as her sister, Delilah's, head gets obliterated by a subway train. But if you think that's the wildest part of this entire story than you're in for a surprise. The book just continues to ramp up with gore and viscera while Cora and her crime scene clean up workmates realize that there is a serial killer murdering a specific racial group and leaving bats as their calling card.
Throughout this thrilling book we of course encounter many a bloody crime scenes, but also some ghosts making this book a mix of gory and spine tingling. The supernatural aspect of the book is based off of The hungry Ghost Festival, a Chinese cultural lore, which is something that I loved learning and reading about. Even after finishing the book I continued to look into this festival and lore. The way the author portrayed the rituals and the festival itself was so well done and kept my attention the entire time, especially as someone who has never heard of this festival until this book. The gore and supernatural elements throughout this book make you want to read the book with the light one, and continue to overthink every noise that goes bump in the night.
The only thing that I wish would have been different was the serial killer case. It seemed like a lot of that storyline was rushed and almost placed on the backburner. While we did get a lot of the crime scene clean up, I was really wishing for our three friends to do some deep sleuthing into the serial killer himself.
I think what really sets this COVID novel off against the others is the different perspective that Baker was so brave to write about. Asian racism was and still is a very large thing especially during COVID. This book was very unconventional with the way it's written from a perspective that not a lot of people thought about, while also adding in a paranormal storyline and a gore filled murder mystery storyline, this book has a little bit of everything.
The ending was so raw and thought provoking, that when I read it at first it angered me. I wanted everything wrapped up in a pretty little bow, but then I started to think about how that's not reality sometimes and I came to appreciate and understand the ending for the raw and emotional ending that it was.
This book is incredibly well written and congratulations to Kylie Lee Baker for writing such an incredible first adult novel. I can't wait to read more of what she writes.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade publishing for sharing this ARC read with me in exchange for my honest review and opinions.

Racism is one hell of a team to pick.

This taught me the COVID-19 trauma is still too close to examine for myself. But this also had a great message in terms of anti-Asian hate and how truly misplaced and vile it is. What happens and what is discovered by Cora in this grisly horror is awful, to say the least. After witnessing her sister's brutal murder for being Chinese, and with no justice served, Cora spirals in her isolation and takes a job cleaning up crime scenes. The string of murders are connected, and with the help of a truly vivid ghost, works to figure out how to put her sister to rest and find her killer. It's a searing commentary on what Asian communities faced during COVID with an excellent twist of horror.

My only complaint is that the story took a little too long to find its footing and I struggled to find where the story was going. That said, the last half was very compelling and at times quite heartbreaking. I did want more from the ending but I feel that it was very realistic, given the story and the characters.

⭐️ARC Review ⭐️
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

Cora Zeng is a Crime Scene Cleaner, cleaning up the aftermaths of murder and suicides in Chinatown during the Covid pandemic. After witnessing the death of her sister, Cora is haunted by hungry ghosts, her past, and a serial killer

Rating: 4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre:Horror/ Thriller

Publication Date: 29 April 2025

I enjoyed this horror novel. It captured how the covid pandemic effected the world. It spoke about important topics such as the racism that we saw towards the Asian community. I think this is something more people need to think about and reflect on.

Cora is relatable. She’s a bit of a germaphobe and Covid only makes that worse. She’s also a badass for doing a job such as cleaning up crime scenes.

The horror was great. There’s quite a bit of gore, but it’s done very well. The ghosts were a great addition.This book is beautifully horrifying

I recommend checking out this book if you enjoy, horror, gore, and paranormal horror.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this book a 4.5/5 ⭐️. I really enjoyed this book, there were times where I was laughing, almost crying and creeped out by some of the scenes! It really makes you think about Covid and all the things everyone went through. I enjoyed the audiobook as well! I would definitely recommend this one!!

Cora does crime scene clean up for a living during a pandemic. At the same time there is a serial killer on the loose targeting the asian community and important people wanting to cover it up. Cora’s sister was tragically murdered leaving a hole in Cora. Cora starts to see things and with no medical reason she starts to think she is going crazy. Cora finds herself haunted by her sisters ghost and begins investigating her sisters death and it leads to so much more.

This story addresses racism, hate groups, superstitions, family issues, and religion. The story is tense, dark and very intriguing. It is fast paced and well written. It will have you questioning reality right along with Cora. Cora and her colleagues have seen and survived so much trauma its almost like they feel they deserve what is happening to them. They join Cora is trying to find out the truth.

I truly enjoyed the glimpse into Chinese mythology and tradition. The best part of this novel was that the imagery. It is so vivid that even though it is super natural you can visualize it easily what the author is describing. This novel moves quickly and will leave you on the edge of your seat!

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

Since the gory incident of her sister’s murder in front of her, Cora can’t quite tell what’s real and what’s a product of her mind. In a 2020-pandemic consumed NYC, unidentifiable bloody chaos doesn’t really unsettle Cora— what truly bothers her are the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of strangers, the hidden viruses lurking in every corner, and the bite marks on her coffee table.

Despite her best efforts, Cora can’t shake the growing unease in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at the crime scenes she is hired to clean, or the unnerving fact that all of these recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women. Never mind the small objects that seem to be shifting in her minimalistic apartment, or the food slowly going missing from the kitchen…

This novel expertly blends both supernatural and physical horror with razor-sharp social commentary, intentionally disturbing readers on multiple levels. It confronts uncomfortable truths, including the fetishization of Asian women, the painful reality of systemic racism, hate crimes, police brutality, and media manipulation. It is gory, bleak, and beautifully written. So what I mean to say is : fellow readers, prepare yourself, this isn’t just a campy romp steeped with Chinese lore. This is a journey of finding one’s own identity and faith, the unspoken bond of friends who understand, and strength in the face of all such odds.

I rarely have nightmares after consuming any type of horror media (something I do quite a bit of), but this story crept into my dreams the way so many spine-chilling things do: through the creaks of my sleeping house, the rattle of unsettled plumbing, the shadows of trees swaying through the windows. I was thoroughly on edge.

Cora will discover that you can’t simply ignore hungry ghosts, and if you also want to find yourself leaving the lights on for safety right alongside our main character — you’ll pick this book up.

As soon as I saw Illumicrate was featuring this book in their Evernight subscription, I knew I was going to fork over the $50 for it. I also immediately requested an eARC and ALC. I received all three as well as a physical ARC ✨blessed✨

Lemme tell you: I'm hoarding it all because it really is that good.

Cora Zeng is a biracial Chinese American living in Chinatown NYC with her half-sister. It is March 2020 and the recently unemployed sisters have just secured the only roll of toilet paper they could find and they are awaiting a very delayed subway (triple whammy because it's the end times). Just as the train is rolling into the station, a white man shouts "bat eater" before shoving Cora's sister in front of said train. Chapter 1 ends with Cora covered in her sister's blood, standing next to her headless body. Safe to say: this is going to be a gorey ride!

The book proceeds to August 2020 whence Cora has secured a job as a crime scene cleaner. She is cleaning out what is clearly a 🔪 scene where an Asian woman was the victim when the drain clogs. No stranger to the disgusting, Cora unclogs the drain only to pull out a bat carcass. This is the first in a string of scenes where the victim is an Asian woman and there are bats and bat carcasses on scene. She and her two Chinese team members battle casual and overt racism every day during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it's hard to not see these as a connected string of hate crimes.

To make matters worse, the eighth month is the Hungry Ghost month in Chinese mythology. Being an ABC Chinglish-speaking daughter to a mid-western mom, Cora doesn't put much stock into Chinese superstitions. However, it does seem that her sister is haunting her. Given Cora's history of mental illness, however, she is unsure if she is being haunted or if she needs to seek psychiatric help again. But it also seems that the ghost wants her to solve her sister's unsolved murder. After breaking down to her coworkers, who very much believe in ghosts given their sordid pasts, the team goes on the hunt to solve the crime so that her sister may get to rest.

I thought I knew how this mystery was going to unfold from the start, but boy howdy, I was wrong.

<Spoiler>Given Cora's internal monologue in Chapter 1 and the likelihood of her being an unreliable narrator, I definitely thought Cora was the guilty party and that the ghosts and the bats were all figments of her imagination. But in fact, there are ghosts and they all want their pound of flesh.</spoiler>

I adored the connections that Cora unwittingly made with her coworkers after a string of family abandonment. The author says this is the most depressing book she has written to date and in many ways, this book is full of tragedy and unfortunately, there's a lot of truth and reality in the tragedies examined. However, there was love and joy and growth to balance it out. Oh, and an epic scorched earth ending.

Full stars for an important story well told.

Disclosures: ARCs and ALC received as an influencer with The Hive/HTP Books. Opinions are my own as well as the money I spent on the special edition of this book :)

I hate to say. I am not a fan of books set during the Pandemic. I also was not a huge fan of the third person narration. It made it difficult to continue reading.

The atmosphere in this book is very tense and chilling while having moments of brevity from the characters that I appreciated and enjoyed and the switch between both was very well done. I enjoyed the character relations in this book, as the character is very much alone at the start of this book and feels very much like an outcast and she sometimes acts as if she prefers that but she is trying more to be a whole person by the end of the book as a lot of this is her trying to figure out what she wants in life instead of just floating through it.

This story is different than many others being released. It was engaging and paced well. I found myself thinking about this book before, during, and after. I will be getting a copy for my home library. I can’t wait to see what the author does next. Thank you for the advanced copy.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker is a third person-POV horror taking place during the COVID lockdowns of 2020 in New York. Cora Zeng and her sister Delilah are just standing at the train station when a man pushes Delilah towards a train and it kills her. Cora is traumatized and spends most of her days cleaning up crime scenes with her two friends, Harvey and Yifei, with many of their recent cases being young Asian women. But when her sister comes back as a hungry ghost, Cora is going to be forced out of her comfort zone.

One of the things I thought was such an interesting choice on Kylie Lee Baker’s part was having Cora be something of a germaphobe pre-COVID. She wore gloves when riding public transport and wore masks and had a strong idea of how long to wash her hands before the pandemic. COVID ends up hiding her compulsions from other people and making her seem responsible instead of bizarre. As someone who had a parent with an autoimmune disease, there were certain habits people developed during COVID that I already had, so this detail helped me relate more to Cora while also adding an entire layer to her character.

Anti-Asian hate plays just as much of a part as COVID does in the part. The way these young women are killed is horrific and clearly fueled by racism that was amplified by how people talked about the virus. Cora and her sister are called ‘bat eater’ and multiple people call COVID the ‘China virus’ in the book. It is a lot, but this is only a taste of what so many Asian Americans experience during and after COVID and also touches on the exotification and fetishization of Asian women. In the author’s note, Kylie Lee Baker asks her readers to also keep in mind the discrimination faced by all BIPOC and makes mention of the Black Lives Matter movement in the book and the corruption of the police department. I’m sure there are people who will never want to read a COVID book, but if there is any genre book centering COVID that I would suggest they read, it would be this one because anti-Asian hate reached such a fever pitch and we cannot forget that nor the various ways all people of color are treated in America.

The use of hungry ghosts added a supernatural element to what is already a very scary plot: an Asian woman who cleans up crime scenes keeps being confronted by the murder of Asian women, many being of Chinese descent, like her, shortly after the murder of her sister. The plot could have stayed away from supernatural elements and gone a million different directions, but the hungry ghosts seeking revenge and pushing Cora to leave her sterilized environment really brought everything home for me. So many people turn to faith in times of crisis and while Cora doesn’t, her father’s culture’s beliefs do find her.
Content warning for racism, gore, and police corruption

I would recommend this to anyone looking for genre fiction exploring COVID-19 and readers looking for a contemporary horror with hungry ghosts

Wow. Pandemic based novels can be very hit or miss for me, but this one was definitely a hit. I admire authors that delve into the world of social commentary horror. Cora and her sidekicks are so likeable, you easily get sucked into the story before you even really know what’s going to happen. The unease and tension only continues to build from there. Humans really make for the best horror villains and this novel proves that again and again. The authors note is a must read and really drives home the overarching themes of this must-read story. Aside from that, the story of friendship and family is also heartwarming yet devastating.