Rating: A-

There's so much in this book that resonated with me. I felt like I could be Cora in another life.

Bat Eater is a horror novel and character study following Chinese-American woman Cora Zeng after her (half-)sister Delilah is thrown in front of a train by a white man at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Set in New York, Cora, who has no dreams of her own, becomes a crime scene cleaner with her friends, Yifei and Harvey, as they start uncovering a city-wide mystery concerning the victims of the crimes - South-East and Eastern Asian women.

Cora is a flawed and insecure woman, directionless in life and also suffering with OCD during the pandemic. Her identity was formed from her attachment to her sister and only now, without her, is she able to discover who she is. I loved this book. The gory scenes were so visceral and graphic, and the dialogue felt so natural and real, there are some subtle and not-so-subtle experiences of racism, microaggressions and just tomfoolery throughout the book that are experienced by Asian people, that I can relate to. I found that the further we got into the book, the more blatant and stereotypical(?) the racism was towards Cora. It felt almost comical. What I really loved in this, was the social commentary of the treatment of crime towards people of colour VS crime towards/perpetrated by white people.

Yifei and Harvey were just such great side characters and really loveable. Their relationship with Cora is described through the jobs they do together then really comes through when Cora needs more personal help. At that point in the book, about 30% through(?), the story kind of derailed and became something totally different. I wholly didn't expect that and I honestly did think it went into something I wasn't so invested in; I had initially thought [spoiler]that the character was experiencing delusions[/spoiler], but the plot was woven in through the rest of the book. It was difficult to continue reading that part but I still really loved Cora's perspective and her characterisation.

The exploration of Cora's both Chinese and American identities was also valuable as someone who is mixed-race, and her disconnect/disapora when not speaking Mandarin fluently was something I also felt to my core. I learnt a bit about the cultural rituals of Chinese people and, in a way, how that can stick with you in your life.

The writing is vivid and descriptive and an utter joy to read, I just had such a good time with this book. It doesn't really hold your hand or anything, but what I can say about the writing/character voices and tone is that it comes across as the modern young person trying to navigate an earth-shattering scenario and losing out on their normal life experiences. COVID utterly changed the lives of those in their early 20s.

Don't miss Bat Eater.

Copy provided by Netgalley.

One of the best and most unusual books I’ve read in the last few years! Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker is a quirky, spooky, ghostly adventure.

Synopsis: Cora witnesses her sister’s death and struggles to come to terms with her grief while being stalked by hungry ghosts…

At times gory and gruesome, at times funny, and at all times unique and heartfelt, Bat Eater is a surprisingly moving story considering its horror genre. The story takes place against the backdrop of New York City during the 2020 height of the Covid pandemic, Cora’s fear of her sister’s killer mirrored in her fear of the disease. I often find books set during COVID to be grating, but I enjoyed how the author approached it and it made sense in the context of the story.

The ghostly elements of the story were different to any other ghost story I’ve read and I enjoyed reading a different take on the supernatural and horrific. There are a lot of themes this book touches on, everything from the impact of COVID to spirituality and belief, racism and sisterhood. So much is unpacked throughout Bat Eater, and yet it manages to remain a fairly easy (though sometimes gory) read. It’s a difficult book to review because I’d recommend going in blind and letting the story surprise you (I knew little about Bat Eater before I dove in and loved how much it surprised me!).

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Bunny by Mona Awad or Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

5 ⭐️

Thank you to Hachette Australia and New Zealand for providing me with an ARC of Bat Eater in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what an incredible and vivid way to tell a ghost story. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hatchette Auz&NZ for the opportunity to read an arc written so beautifully by Kylie Lee Baker.

Bat eater, set during in NYC during the COVID lockdowns is a book that does so many different things flawlessly, it presents a murdermystery, while tackling the racism so many faced during the pandemic. It was an enthralling read that has to be experienced. I’m going to recommending this to so many people!

Set during COVID-19 in New York City's Chinatown, the story follows Cora Zeng, who is haunted by her past. Cora works as a crime scene cleaner, and the recent clean-ups have led her to believe there's a serial killer targeting Asian women. Each murder is increasingly horrific, and the one thing connecting them is bats—present at each crime scene she and her team clean.

This connection brings up Cora's own painful memories of her sister's murder. Her sister was pushed in front of a train by a white calling them "Bat Eater," as he fled the scene, the killer was never found.

To complicate matters, it’s the Hungry Ghost Festival. However, Cora doesn't believe in it until she starts to see her deceased sister following her, and soon, Cora realises that you can’t ignore hungry ghosts.

This book is honestly one of the best I have ever read. It offers a haunting and powerful perspective on life during COVID-19. Cora is an incredibly interesting character, and the way the narrative addresses trauma and cultural heritage makes it utterly unputdownable.

In my opinion, everyone should read this book at least once. It’s an influential and thought-provoking story that will stay with you long after finishing it.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cora's sister is pushed in front of a train, with the murderer whispering 'bat eater'. Cora then becomes a crime scene cleaner, where she encounters a large number of crime scenes involving killings of East Asian woman and bat carcasses.

This book did a good job of creating a chilling and gruesome atmosphere, capturing the fear surrounding the pandemic, racism and the supernatural. It did drag on in parts and I found myself occasionally losing interest.

I loved this book! The opening is just beautiful and I knew right away from the writing style it was something special. Baker has a real gift to make such a subject matter a thing of beauty. I wanted to hug Cora (even though that would be her worst nightmare!) and tell her she was good enough just as she is. While the book was sharp and at times rather witty the underlying story about racism just made me so sad and I wanted to cry for every hurt Cora had ever faced. Stories like these really matter and I’m so glad I read it. I love reading about other cultures too and found the aunt funny and fascinating and sort of wished I could be there with them and burn the paper to keep safe too.

i love it when a horror book delivers and this one really did that. she ate and left no crumbs. it was beautifully written, scathing and super engrossing, i didn’t wanna stop reading it. truly brilliant.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for supplying me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.