Oh wow this blew me away. They say horror is at its scariest when it’s closest to reality. And wow this is absolute nightmare fuel. Has some really important themes, and on multiple occasions my jaw dropped and I needed to take quick break. The best horror is traumatising and stays with you, I think this book might send a couple of people into therapy. Touché

Absolutely loved this dark and unsettling new novel from Kylie Lee Baker!

I was scared to turn out the lights, and look into the dark places in my house whilst reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy of this. I will be recommending this to al those that love reading the unsettling.

4.5 This went so much further than I was expecting and is so much more than a horror story!

I don’t typically enjoy overly gruesome or gory writing because I’ve seldom seen it done in a way that’s not totally gratuitous; while this book has some truly stomach-churning imagery, that’s not what it pins its flag to overall and I think that really worked for me. I was truly surprised at how emotive this story was especially with the themes around sisterhood, grief, racism, existing as an immigrant, existing as a woman, friendship, and family. There’s supernatural happenings, a mystery, and thriller elements too.

The characters were a good group to spend time with. I liked Cora and felt Deliah come to life as a character through her memories. Harvey and Yifei were interesting, complex people that added something really special - I particularly liked the group dynamic that the crime scene cleaners had together and their little slice of found family. Auntie Z was wonderful and I enjoyed spending time with her too. Of all the characters, I found Yifei the most compelling: she was smart, capable, but relatably exhausted by the world.

The writing was top-notch with excellent uses of descriptive language. The hungry ghosts theme added so much to the story. The sense of place and time were excellent. There was something so claustrophobic about NYC in the pandemic. Cora’s fears, anxieties, and experience navigating the different stages of the pandemic were terrifyingly relatable. Cora’s experience as an Asian during this period was painful, infuriating, and upsetting. Baker is deeply skilled at portraying the experience of trying to exist in a hostile place which makes for very difficult, but wholly necessary, reading. I’ve noticed that I haven’t enjoyed stories set in the pandemic but I think it’s because what I’ve encountered has been mostly people whining about lockdowns; in this book, I could relate to Cora’s fear, her apprehension about loosening restrictions, the abuse she received for wearing a mask, everything she felt when she got sick… I found Cora’s experience refreshing compared to other books that use this setting.

As I was reading, this book reminded me of Black Water Sister (another excellent read!) but darker and more gruesome.

If you’re looking for a horror that goes further and deeper exploring timely and important themes around racism, sexism, family, friendship and further intersectionalities, look no further! If you’re interested in these themes but not as sold on horror, I’d still recommend it - it has a lot of important things to say - but go in knowing there’s a lot of violent, gruesome, and gory imagery. Read the Author’s Note at the end too!

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you so much, Hodder & Stoughton!

I'm going to have a hard time portraying my thoughts on this book in a spoiler free manner so just bare with this jumble of thoughts!
This book was absolutely INCREDIBLE. It grasped onto me and didn't let me go, I'm still not convinced it has let me go. We spend the book in the mind of Cora Zeng, a Chinese American, who lives in NYC during the Covid-19 pandemic. The first chapter starts off relatable, no toilet paper to be found, nobody on the streets etc. and then it just takes a complete turn and you know, you're in for a ride. There is a lot of horror in this book in terms of gore and hungry ghosts but also, the horror of realising the topics discussed within this book are some peoples reality.
I loved Cora and I could relate to her anxieties around catching the virus and realising the unknown is the worst part. I did want to give her a little shake at time and tell her to pull herself together but you know what? She was doing her best.
The authors note at the end is definitely worth a read.

i wanted to take my time reading “bat eater” so i could savor every little word: but i was unable to stop myself from reading and, like the ghosts in this book, completely devoured it.

it’s gory, it’s angry, it’s sad, it’s pessimistic. it’s completely terrifying because it's real and all of that /did/ happen.
the author did a great job in transporting me back to those times, making a shiver run down my spine and unease sit heavy in my stomach. i was angry and frustrated and i could see myself and others i quarantined with so much in cora’s actions, in her fear and in her distrust, in her OCD and the anger that kept growing and growing as the world kept going while everything felt like it should be burning down to the ground.

i can’t wait to get a physical copy of this book. i’ll definitely be recommending this to others!

a big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing this arc.

‘Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng’, was a truly surreal novel. It depicts the life of Cora Zeng a crime scene cleaner during the COVID pandemic. After her sister was murdered as a her a hate crime she begins to fall into patterns of OCD, becoming more aware of her surroundings and the presences she feels around her. It is so hard to summarise this novel, nothing I wrote did the plot any justice.

I am not an avid reader of the horror genre and picked this despite it being a bit out there for myself because its themes surrounding the COVID pandemic really intrigued me. I have read very few novels about the pandemic, and I certainly don’t enjoy a lot of the media produced around the pandemic. However, this novel was amazing at encapsulating the horrors, fear and occasional hilarity of a world turned upside down. It was also enlightening as I went through the pandemic in rural UK and the novel was set in New York an obviously busy metropolis. One of the quotes that really had this effect was;

‘There is their dad in China, just a Provence away from the epicentre of body bags. And there is the man who emptied his garbage over their heads from his window and called them chinks on the walk here. And there is the big question of what comes next? Because another side effect of the end of the world is getting laid off.’

Just like I mentioned above this quote combines a mixed reflection of emotions, the clear horrors of the pandemic, the stemming violent racial hatred and an element of comedy as an attempt to self-soothe against a time that was so out of individual’s control.
The novel did so much more than reflect the pandemic though. The body horror was disgusting and completely had the desired affect of making my skin crawl. I was on edge trying to solve the mystery with the main characters. In other words, the generic elements and themes were spot on and added so much to the narrative.

I loved the representations of culture within the book. The depictions of hungry ghosts, while scaring me, tuned me in and I felt like I was deliberating their reality and prevalence to Cora’s heritage and life alongside her.
‘It’s not about my gods or your Autie Lois’s God being the right one. There are thousands of gods that open thousands of doors to anyone who knocks.’

I can’t say that any part of this book was bad to me, no notes.

Thank you to #netgalley for a copy of #bateater in exchange for an honest review.

Cora Zeng is an Asian American living in New York City at the hight of the pandemic, life was already a horror show before her sister was brutally murdered in front of her.

I absolutely devoured this book, I read it on 2 sittings. It was utterly unnerving, terrifying, upsetting and one of the best books I've read all year.

Baker gets to the heart of her characters, noone is perfect and everyone has their own demons (literally in this case). Cora was so fleshed out I would forget she wasn't a real person.

The horror was done in an way which made it feel completely real and like something from a true crime documentary, every grisly scene stuck with me.

Id recommend this to every horror fan, Kylie Lee Baker is an author to keep an eye on in the future!

I can't thank enough Netgalley and the publishers for granting me this ARC of one of my most anticipated books of 2025 !

"Bat Eater" isn't my first book by Kylie Lee Baker; I loved "The Scarlet Alchemist" and "The Keeper of Night" was beautifully written, even though I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. So, I was very eager to discover her new book categorized as a thriller, which is my favorite genre
This book blew me away. I wasn't expecting any of that. "Bat Eater" is so much more than a horrific thriller!

I was already aware that Kylie Lee Baker's writing was top tier, but she outdid herself: the content is gruesome with gory crime scenes descriptions & other details including entrails, but it's lyrically penned that the sense of discomfort, fear, and disgust are magnified.
As I'm very afraid of ghosts, I was expecting to be widely frightened by this book, and even if some scenes including them were dreadful for me, the fear wasn't necessarily where I expected it to be.
"Bat Eater" portrays too vividly our reality where the real monsters are just people and that's where the true horror lies.

It's a very slow-paced story full of descriptions; you have to wait 40% through the book for the "real" plot to get going. But it was needed to be fully drawn to the book's vibes, which mix our present time with old Chinese beliefs (Hungry Ghost Festival).
Auntie Zeng's briefing and advice about how to handle/treat ghosts and guide them back to the gates of Hell were one of my favorite parts.
The story takes place during COVID and portrays the seriousness of the situation with accuracy.
It may be triggering, but despite everything, it is not a novel ABOUT COVID, but it is used as a setting to tell an important story and unfortunately inspired by a real rise in hatred of minorities during this period.

I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't tell much. Yet, I can tell you that I cried, laughed (a little thanks to Harvey ♡), felt afraid, and was left agape by the end. "Bat Eater" will live in me for a long time.

All characters were interesting and properly introduced to us; some were written not to be liked, like Auntie Lois, and some were written to be loved, like Harvey and Auntie Zeng!
Cora is a very unusual FMC as we seldom see in books. I didn't expect her to be the way she was, and that was a very good surprise (that's why I won't tell much about her). I simply loved her in all her flaws & goodness, empathized a lot with her, and unfortunately -sometimes- found myself in her worst fear & mental state.
Harvey stole my heart: his backstory is more wretched than any ghost story you could hear. Despite all the trauma, he was like a lighthouse in the darkness, always here to light up the day and the mood.
I also loved Yifei with a backstory I wasn't expecting, and I couldn't help but cry; like Harvey, she helped the mood lighten a bit.

If I say that this novel is more than a thriller, it is because, although the mystery is present, the strength of the book lies in its themes.
The author's note is very important to read, explaining why she wanted to write about that!
Bat Eater touches on spirituality, but also faith (we have a lot of talks about religion, how to choose it...etc); of course, sisterhood with the very complex relationship between Cora and Delilah. But the main subject is racism, most particularly anti-Asian racism though. Very hard to read but crucial to open people's minds, to understand that racism isn't just words, it's also acts of violence that can change a life and someone.
Once again, this book made me question about humankind.

"The dead do not forget."

This has the most jaw-dropping, harrowing first chapter I've ever read. It horrified me to the point I had to take a minute before venturing into the second chapter. And, while the book did slow down, it had terrifying moments, amazing characters, and incredible writing. So, yes, five stars.

Bat Eater follows Cora Zeng, a Chinese American crime scene cleaner during the pandemic. As she cleans crime scenes, Cora and her colleagues quickly realize that 1) the 'China virus' has turned the US into a very hostile place and 2) a serial killer is targeting Chinatown and leaving mangled bats behind as their signature. The bats remind Cora of the day her sister was murdered and the killer called her a 'bat eater' - incidentally, the killer hasn't been caught.

This book managed to combine the terrifying aspects of the Hungry Ghost Festival with being Asian in the US during the pandemic. (*Please note that I am saying 'Asian' instead of East Asian/Chinese because of spoilery reasons). This book was scary because of its horrific paranormal aspect, but also because of the brutal real-life aspect of it all: racism and bigotry that is ignored by society and the authorities.

This is my first time reading Kylie Lee Baker and I do have to say they know how to balance very graphic, violent imagery in a way that doesn't distract the reader from the story. It's hard the pull off, and this was 10/10. I also really liked the characters and their backstories: Harvey, Yifei, and Auntie Zeng, they were adorable. The last things I want to mention are that 1) there is a little twist at the end that made me gasp, so well done there; and 2) I liked this perspective on how tricky sisterhood can be.

Content warning for social commentary focusing on pandemic times and being Asian in the US. Racism, serial killer stuff, and scary hungry ghosts.

I absolutely loved Bat Eater. It follows Cora Zeng, a young Chinese American woman who witnesses the murder of her sister at the hands of a racist during the Covid pandemic. There’s a lot going in this novel: ghosts, racist killers, Cora’s mental health issues, and her new job as a crime scene cleaner. And yet the story never feels overwhelmed by all of these elements, with everything slotting together perfectly.

Bat Eater leans hard into showing both supernatural and real world terrors. The descriptions of the horror elements—from gory bodies to creepy ghosts—are pure nightmare fuel in the best way. But amongst all of this is the story of a girl who is struggling and just trying to find her way in life. Cora’s story is often depressing and the racism she experiences is enraging, but there are moments of laughter, friendship, and hope too.

If you are looking for a really dark and intense horror read with blood, gore, body horror, rage and mystery, read this book. I love @kylieleebaker books and loved this one too.

The details are so dark and filled with blood and gore. This was unputdownable, terrifying and mysterious. Cora’s sister has died in front of her and it was terrifying to witness her death. There is a hungry ghost and Cora constantly feels her sister’s presence. Set against the backdrop of Covid Pandemic. Kora is an asian living in New York and trying to find the killer in the midst of that so many unthinkable things happens that turns her life upside down. Characters were so mysterious and the author has created such a powerful backstories. I felt deeply for some characters. Yifei’s character surprised me and their back story completely gripped me. The ending was so unpredictable. Author has also shared about China’s policy, culture and shared something about America too.

Thanks to the Publisher.

If I could give ‘Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng’ more than 5 stars, I would. An excellent book, one of the best books in this genre I’ve read all year.

It follows Cora Zeng, a Chinese American crime scene cleaner in NYC during the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Cora witnesses the racially motivated murder of her sister and through her work discovers that other Asian women are being killed at an alarming rate. Asian racism, ghostly goings on, gore and a touch of OCD are all very present in this equally meaningful and horrifying read.

The layers of horror in this book know no bounds, made more scary by them being very real things in the world; Asian racism, serial killers and something I have personal experience with, OCD and specifically OCD worsening during the COVID pandemic. The starting chapters which set the scene of Zeng’s germaphobia spiralling and general OCD line of thinking really got my heart pumping.

The language used for some of the gory scenes we get in the book is actually revolting (in the best way). It made me feel a little nauseous at times, which is quite a compliment.

2020 impacted us all across the globe in many ways, but this book really highlights the feeling of isolation many of us felt during that year. The anti Asian rhetoric that sprouted so easily and still lingers now, and I just think this books highlights something so important whilst doing so in an unnerving and brilliant way.

This book is many things intertwined, a ghost story with a murder mystery and a realistic review of how covid pushed an anti Asian rhetoric. I feel my review will never do this story justice because there’s still things I haven’t touched upon that were important; family trauma, friendship. The length was perfect, it didn’t overstay its welcome. It wrapped everything up, nothing is left unanswered.

You should read this book.

The horror is multi-layered in this incredible book.
First of all I got transported back to March of 2020, which was such a scary and unbelievably confusing time in and of itself.
Then we meet Cora and Delilah, both subject to incredible hate and discrimination just because they're Asian American and this made responsible for COVID19 by ignorant people.
And then things unravel and Cora is left alone in her fear and grief, prone to scrubbing her skin and soul raw.
Ultimately other aspects get added based on Chinese mythology, which gives this story yet another layer.
Add some side characters which are truly amazing and interesting, and you get a fully rounded book.

I do not enjoy reading about COVID but this book is both important and mind-blowing.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @hodderbooks for the eARC!

#BatEater #Netgalley #Bookstagram

Wow... Just, wow. This was such a surprising book.

Set in 2020, the story follows Chinese American Cora Zeng after an event that changes her forever. She becomes a crime scene cleaner after that and her life is dominated by anxiety and fear. She's obsessed with cleanliness not just because of her personal trauma, but also because of COVID.

In her work, they start noticing a pattern: all the victims are Asian women, and bats are left at the crime scenes. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is targeting Asian women and no one's doing anything about it. On top of all that, Cora starts getting haunted by a "hungry ghost," and things simply start unraveling for her.

This book combines mystery, horror, and social commentary so well. I couldn't stop reading.

Yes, this is a COVID book, but it's not just about the pandemic, it's also about grief, loss, Asian racism, white supremacy, violence, dehumanization, desensitization, and how broken the system is. It's gorey, bleak, sad, enraging, and, unfortunately, real. But there's also beauty, strength, and culture.

It's also beautifully written and hard-hitting. I highlighted so many lines and felt so much for the characters and the Asian community they represent. This story provides a lot of perspective and though it's a tough read, it's a relevant one cause even if the pandemic is over (?) racism and white supremacy prevail, so uplifting stories about marginalized communities will always be important.

I have always been a huge horror and thriller film buff, yet I don’t often delve into books within those genres. When I discovered that Kylie Lee Baker was releasing a new horror novel, I immediately added it to my reading list. Having been captivated by her Scarlet Alchemist Duo earlier this year, which was truly outstanding, was so excited to get another book so soon. With Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, Baker has firmly established herself as an auto-buy / read Author for me!

This story unfolds through the eyes of our main character, Cora Zeng, as she navigates her trauma and sorrow after witnessing her sister, Delilah, be pushed in front of a train in a hate crime. Just before this horrific act, the assailant whispers "Bat Eater" and vanishes without a trace. After a brief time jump, we find Cora employed as a Crime Scene Cleaner, meticulously cleaning up the violence and bloodshed left behind by her fellow New Yorkers. As she continues her work, Cora begins to recognise a troubling pattern: Chinese people, particularly women, are being targeted by a notorious serial killer who leaves bats as his signature.

Cora grapples with her circumstances in a city where indifference seems to reign, all while coping with the loss of her sister, whom she always felt overshadowed by. Additionally, she struggles with her own cleanliness and germ-related anxieties in the face of a Global Pandemic. Cora's family issues extend beyond her sister's death, revealing a strained relationship with both her parents: a mother involved in a cult and a father who has remarried and relocated to China. We also meet two aunts; one who brings Cora to church on Sundays and another who tries to help her fend off Hungry Ghosts and spirits.

With limited family support when Cora begins to see spirits and ghosts, she reaches out to her two colleagues, Yifei and Harvey, who quickly become her friends. The connection among these three characters evoked a whirlwind of emotions for me, and it was undoubtedly one of my favourite elements of the book. Each character was uniquely different, and it warmed my heart to see Cora proven wrong; instead of rejecting her or labelling her as crazy, they believed in her and offered their love and friendship. They each shared snippets of their own lives and personal traumas, deepening their bond.

The stark and authentic portrayal of racism, alongside the appalling Sinophobia during a global pandemic, seamlessly blended with ghostly elements and a chilling murder mystery, was executed flawlessly. This book struck a deep chord, as the real-life issues intermingling with the ghostly narrative felt even more horrifying than the presence of the hungry ghosts themselves. I found myself in tears through the last three chapters, and I sobbed while reading the author's note. I urge anyone who picks up this book not to overlook the final pages, as they truly enhance the overall narrative that Kylie conveyed.

I went into this book thinking it was a murder thriller, with Cora going on the hunt for who killed her sister Delilah and many other Asian women, leaving dead and living but mutilated bats by the corpses (plus calling them bat eater). Which is definitely awful enough to be horror (and sadly that kind of hate was and is so real towards Asian Americans as well as other races) but then it actually takes a bit of a turn after Delilah's murder and when Cora starts working as a murder scene cleaner (that is definitely not for the weak of stomach!) and adds in a nice supernatural touch as it mostly happens during the month when ghosts come back hungry for life.

I will not Cora weak, she is amazing, able to to still function and work after being a witness to Delilah's death and so even if she has germaphobia (which would make the pandemic time especially hard), I really liked her and the small group she had in Harvey and Yifei (fellow murder cleaners) and how they helped each other and tried to figure out who was doing all the killing of Asian women. There are shocking moments, a lot of bodily gore, and descriptions of gruesome deaths but also love, friendships, and family that can be relied on no matter what (I love Auntie Zeng with all he traditions that she tries to teach Cora).

So yes, this book is very dark and bleak but with good moments too, and has a very valuable lesson in sheep mentality and how bad Sinophobia ideas can blaze out quickly, leaving so many victims in its wake but someone (in this case Cora) can make a difference when they stand up against the bullies and killers. It was a good story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book.

Wow. I am gobsmacked and shaking.
Intensely gory and bloody. Rawly piercing and realistic. Profoundly descriptive and horrifying.

It is 2020 and Cora Zeng is a biracial Chinese American crime scene cleaner in New York during COVID after she is laid off from her office job. She is haunted by her dead murdered sister who was pushed in front of a train. Hunted by anti-Chinese prejudice. Spiralling as fears of cleanliness and COVID dominate her life.
As if this is bad enough, Asian women are being mass murdered, but the police and media refuse to investigate.

I was just so mad whilst reading this. That first chapter grabs you by the throat and the grip just tightens and tightens until you can barely breathe, barely flip the pages fast enough.

<b>Cora is used to terror, a worry that wrings your organs out and carves holes in you like termites in wooden furniture, but if enough of you is devoured, soon there's nothing left of you but what was, and Cora is starting to feel full of holes.
</b>
What was scarier?
The ghosts or the prevalent racism and treatment of East Asians? Cora’s seemingly descent into insanity or her unease of being around other people?
There is a strong aversion to authority, reminding us of instances of protests, police brutality, power abuse, and copaganda.

<b>And you know what the cops told me? They said that's not enough to go on. We can't just look for white men. You should have looked harder, they said. But white men are going after Asian girls, and that's all they have to go on, us being Asian. No one wants to look harder at us. To imagine that we're real people.
</b>
The character dynamics were great too!

The quirky friendship between Cora and the other two on the clean up crew gave me Ghostbusters vibes. They all try and handle their situations and trauma differently. Food, booze, bleach, sanitiser, rituals.
Also, the contrast between Cora’s White Christian auntie and her superstitious Chinese auntie was fascinating to see how Cora feels she has to shape herself to suit the moulds of others’.

The ending is relentless. Extremely dark. Heartbreaking.

This is supposed to be Young Adult. I would be hard-pressed to recommend this to younger readers. My mind is reeling.

Finally, the author’s note is a must-read. Just a section:

<b>For me, no needle-neck ghost can compare to the way the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world— the way we sacrificed the elderly and disabled on the altar of capitalism, the way trust in the government and the CDC swiftly dissolved, and the way we proved we as a country still haven't learned not to scapegoat an entire race of people in times of fear.</b>

This was a four star read, but I cannot stop thinking about it a week later…. Five stars for the impact.🌟

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for sending me the arc in exchange for a review.

I knew I had to write this review the second I finished reading Bat Eater because oh my god, I felt inexplicably scared while reading this. This is not just a horror book though; this is a deeply honest analysis of COVID-19 and how it severely exacerbated racism against Chinese people. The story will make you angry, but at the same time, it'll elicit sadness in you too. Because after all, this is a story about grief, love, family, and fear (especially fear that sinks deep into your bones).

Bat Eater is gory and bloody, exemplifying the sprit of the genre it sits within. There are several scenes, of stumbling upon bodies, of deadly violence that will leave you reeling and feeling a little bit more nauseous than you're expecting. I had to take some breaks while reading this, because I absolutely loved this book, I can be very faint-hearted sometimes. The book expertly shows the paranoia that developed (and still exists, I think) during the pandemic as people tried to make their way through a world that had completely halted.

Through our main character, Cora's eyes we get to experience this thing. At just twenty four, Cora Zheng has already gone through a lot. Her sister is murdered after being pushed in front of a train - that scene is more intense than you might think. Her father abandoned her in New York and returned to China to start a new family. She struggles between her two separate beliefs - being a good Christian girl or believing in the gods that her aunt believes in.

Months after her sister dies, Cora works as a crime scene cleaner, and haunted by ghostly shadows and a darkness that threatens to swallow her whole. The mystery slowly unravels as Cora realises that all of the recent crime scene clean ups have involved bodies of East Asian women. At this point in things start ramping up, as the hungry ghosts haunting her start to show themselves in the littlest of ways, but ways that are frightening. The fear Cora feels is palpable and it settles within you - almost like you are experiencing exactly what she feels in the same moment.

Kylie Lee Baker has crafted an extraordinary portrayal of gore and violence while giving us a skilful analysis of the impact of the pandemic - showing how it altered people's perception of everything in the world and the increase in Sinophobia in the wake of this deadly disease. The writing is thought-provoking and if I can say one thing to end this review, please read the author's note at the end of this book. It forms a very important part of this story.

Haunting, horrifying, and truly terrifying, Bat Eater devoured me like a hungry ghost and will continue to haunt me for years to come.

Bat Eater is a novel about Asian women being killed, and one crime-scene cleaner trying to deal with the death of her sister. It's months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, and not long ago, her sister was pushed in front of a subway train from beside her. She's isolated from everyone, including her co-workers who also scrub blood away from the crime scenes of endless women in Chinatown, her Chinese aunt who wants her to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, and her White aunt who wants her to be a good church-going American. When a shadow seems be lurking around her, Cora starts to realise she cannot ignore what is going on.

I didn't know what to expect from this book going in, but it turned out to be a gripping horror novel that explores the pandemic, racism, corruption, mental health, and lurking ghosts. The novel opens with the shocking death of Cora's sister, really setting the tone for the gory, no-holds-barred story to come, full of horrible deaths and a protagonist struggling with not only grief and trauma, but also the impact of COVID-19 on her mental health as she compulsively cleans and fears contamination. The book is often heartbreaking and horrifying, but as Kylie Lee Baker's author's note says at the end, it also has moments of humour and comfort, particularly as Cora finds herself becoming friends with the co-workers she wanted to keep at arms' length.

Bat Eater is a memorable take on a COVID-19 novel, twisting the serial killer genre into something filled with emotion and the horrors of both the physical and ghost world, exploring anti-Asian racism in America at the start of the pandemic. Straddling horror and thriller boundaries with ghost and serial killer elements, it is perfect for anyone who likes hard-hitting, gory fiction that doesn't shy away from exposing the horrors of the world.

Bat Eater has to be one of the best, most horrifying books I've read in a long while. It's visceral, intense and filled with so many layers, you never quite know what the true horror of the story is.

2020, the start of the pandemic, a time when being East Asian meant being blamed for something completely out of your control. Enter Cora Zeng, a Chinese American crime scene cleaner, the only job she could get after her sister was pushed in front of a train by someone who accused her of being a bat eater. She pushes all her feelings to the side, trying to become better, become what everyone wants her to be, so she disregards the fresh bite marks on her furniture, her food going missing, and absolutely ignores her Aunt's advice about the upcoming Hungry Ghost Festival. Instead Cora spends her days cleaning up the mess left by only the most horrific of crimes, starting to notice that the majority of her clean ups have been East Asian women, and when Cora and her co-workers start finding mutilated bats at the crime scenes, they know something is horribly wrong.

I can't tell you just how good this book was, other than to say that it scared the shit out of me and I still read it in every free moment I had... even before I went to bed. This may not seem like a lot, but as a self confessed wimp, a book like this would have firmly remained a daylight only kinda read for me, but I had to read it, I had to find out what happened, because it's not just scary, it's thought-provoking, it's intense and it's wholly gripping. Baker asks the readers to sit firmly in Cora's shoes through the story, not an easy task, and see everything, the pandemic, the murders and the ghosts, through her unique eyes. It's a story that contains so many different layers of Horror. On the surface there is the pandemic, an event that affected the whole world, and also one where anyone who looked like Cora, anyone who could pass as East Asian, suffered an extra level of terror thanks to being blamed for bringing it on.

Underneath that we a murder mystery. East Asian women being brutally murdered throughout the city and bats being left at the crime scene. Cora and her coworkers know that it isn't a coincidence, and they also know that the police are not willing to name it what it is, a serial killing, claiming that the different styles of death don't fit with a serial killer. And the final layer, the ghost story if you will. Cora may have ignored her Aunt's advice regarding the Hungry Ghost Festival, but once her food starts going missing, and she starts finding teeth marks in her furniture, she knows that Delilah has come back, hungry for more than food. She isn't happy that her murder is still unsolved, and wants Cora to bring justice to the person who killed her.

All of these get woven together to create one of the most unique and visceral horrors stories I've ever read. You might think that there are a lot of moving pieces, and there are, but Baker makes it work, and that is because every single one of these horrors is something that Cora can feel, all are something that link to her East Asian heritage, and it is that that links all the parts together. Cora herself is someone who we learn deals with her own kind of horrors on a daily basis. Mixed heritage, she have never felt truly American or Chinese, never felt she was enough for either side of her family. Growing up abandoned by her father, and with a mother who gave Cora's college fund to a cult, the only person she has ever been able to rely on was Delilah, and even they had a complicated relationship, one we learn about throughout the story. All of this, as well as Cora's lingering feelings of guilt and abandonment, evolve into some mental issues, including OCD.

There are some truly well placed twists in this book, and plenty of white knuckle moments. It's not a happy story, it's dark and depressing in parts, but there is also some light. In the friendships we see Cora tentatively make, even in the return of Delilah in a way, even if she is a ghost. Bakers writing style really drags you into the story like it's the gates of hell itself. Atmospheric to the max, she puts a grey light over the city that never sleeps, showing that horrors that live there, and I enjoyed how the city itself almost became it's own kind of character.

When I say this is one of the best books I've read, I'm not lying, but it's absolutely not for the faint of heart. It's gore-filled, chilled me to the bone in places and there are some truly WTF moments that shook me to the core. But it also incredibly emotional and made me cry more than once, something that I didn't expect at all. Fair warning though, it's filled with triggers & graphic scenes that I would definitely be wary of before reading. But all of these things made it feel more realistic, more true to the time and the place, an NYC that is slowly changing as people try to make their way through the pandemic to the light at the other side. It's one of those books I'm going to be thrusting at people, because not only is it brilliantly written, but it's am important story that needed to be told, and boy did Baker tell it well.

Thinking of the Covid pandemic with all the testing and masks and everyone panic buying toilet rolls, it feels like another lifetime ago. I sometimes wonder if it actually happened at all!

In general, I don’t really like reading books set in the pandemic as it still feels a little too fresh, but when I saw the synopsis of Bat Eater I knew I had to pick it up. Focusing on the hate the Chinese population received from the ‘China Virus’, this novel is part horror, part crime thriller and I was hooked throughout!

The first thing I noticed when reading this book is how beautiful the prose is, it was simply a joy to read. The opening chapter set in the train station introduces you well to Cora and her sister Delilah and their complex relationship, before throwing in a shocking curveball which grabbed me instantly. This book does deal with a lot of sometimes disgusting and gory subjects (Cora is a crime scene cleaner after all), and the writing does such a good job of describing everything vividly and making you feel like you are truly there in the moment.

After the first chapter, the book leaps forward in time, focusing on Cora’s new job of a crime scene cleaner, where she starts discovering that a serial killer with a hatred towards the Asian population may be on the loose. This part of the book focuses on the friendships she has with her colleagues as they try and get someone to believe them or care about the killings. It’s truly sad in places and the hate that is pictured feels sadly believable in the context of the pandemic.

The book is also interspersed with Cora being haunted by hungry ghosts. I love a bit of horror, and this is done so well - the depiction of these apparitions is genuinely chilling and I was a little apprehensive reading with the lights off. This also brought into focus Chinese folklore as well, which I didn’t know much about but was very interested to learn.

Overall, Bat Eater is a fantastic book and a Kindig Gem for 2025. It’s part horror, part crime thriller - instantly gripping and so well written. Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was terrifying. I couldn’t sleep last night after reading it and I didn’t want to turn my back on the shadows. Highly recommend.

I read a lot of horror and I’m continually pushing the boundaries to find something that can freak me out. This succeeded. Cora, the main character, is just facing threats from so many angles, it makes this book feel claustrophobic. She’s a crime scene cleaner who notices a worrying trend of murdered Asian women with bats left at the crime scene. This is set during the covid pandemic and anti-Asian sentiment is rife where she lives in New York, with people calling her a ‘bat-eater’ and treating her absolutely disgustingly. Along with these worrying murders, a pandemic and the fear, ignorance and malice of people in the city, she also witnesses supernatural occurrences.

This book manages to pack so much in, it’s so clever, often sad, at times horrifically violent and totally and utterly compelling. The writing is just so sharp. Everything is essential. We really get the most frustrating and complete look inside Cora’s psyche. Understanding her constant fear, her need to clean constantly, her feeling split between different cultures, her confusion over her identity. A tragic event causes her to lose her anchor to this world and we watch her unravel. Whilst also seeing the power of friendship to give her hope.

I couldn’t stop thinking about this book after I finished it. It is completely gripping and brilliant.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced copy of Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker; a horror novel set in pandemic New York, delving into the heightened hate East Asians faced during 2020. Combining visceral horror with razor-sharp social commentary, this book doesn’t hold back.

This was a gripping read that actually made my heart beat faster—something horror books rarely do for me. The writing style was vivid and unflinching; just when you think you’re safe, the author yanks the rug out from under you and plunges you into the next nightmare. It’s intense, haunting, and unforgettable.

I highly recommend Bat Eater to fans of unsettling, thought-provoking horror that cuts deep into societal issues. I’m already adding Kylie Lee Baker’s other works to my reading list.

"Because a bat eater is the kind of person that white men want to hurt, the kind of person who tangles their fear and hate together and elicits their rage, the kind of person who scares them. And Cora knows all too well that you can’t fear someone who has no power over you."

Words can't accurately describe how good this book was but I'll try my very best to articulate it.

Bat Eater is a dark, gritty and gory exploration of grief, loss and Sinophobia (illogical hate towards people of Chinese descent and their culture).

Kylie Lee Baker has done a phenomenal job of creating a story that is relevant, engaging and gut-wrenchingly REAL.

Cora Zeng is living in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic and is trying to deal with the aftermath of a horrific event in her life - someone pushing her sister, Delilah, in front of a train. As the world has turned upside-down, she's now working as part of a crime scene clean-up crew to make ends meet. The bloody messes don't bother her as much as the germs and she's obsessive about being clean at all times.

Since the loss of her sister, she's struggling to differentiate what's real and what's not and things are made worse when her Aunt warns her to prepare for The Hungry Ghost Festival - where the gates of hell open and ghosts come out to feast. Food starts to go missing from her fridge, there's bite marks on her furniture and she's starting see Delilah's ghost. On top of that, bats are appearing at the crime scenes she's cleaning up and Cora can't help but wonder if everything is connected.

As someone who doesn't usually seek horror books, I was drawn in by the cover (the UK version) and the crime elements of the synopsis. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it and how NECESSARY it was that this book was told through a horror/paranormal lens because it added so much more to the story than if it had just been a literary fiction novel.

The most terrifying part of the story for me wasn't the ghosts or the gore, but the fact that the revelation near the end wasn't something paranormal or mystical, it was just a fact. That some people will only ever see others as less than themselves and will never see them as human beings. That the people who commit these very real crimes do not see their victims as anything more than objects and destroying them to an unrecognisable state shows how little they care for the sanctity of their body or the preciousness of their lives.

Kylie Lee Baker's words are sharp and direct but so powerful and I truly hope that this book doesn't get swept under the rug. It's a story that needs to be told, devoured and digested so that victims of this crime aren't ever forgotten; they deserve to be seen and remembered, not left to haunt the living as hungry ghosts.

I absolutely devoured this book! It was everything I wanted in a horror book and more.

Flawed but likable characters
Ghosts with unfinished business
Real life horror issues racism and COVID
Real life beliefs (Hungry ghost month)
A serial killer/murder mystery

Honestly this book had it all, the issues surrounding COVID and the racism towards people with an Asian background during this time added such a tense real world horror element that was just so well done, it showed the struggles many people went through during this time but also how many people had to deal with the pandemic and abuse on top! I was worried for Cora throughout the whole book but I didn't find her pathetic. She is a traumatised woman with people around her telling her she is worthless and not worth having around, but she was brave and loyal to her friends and I just loved her, flaws and all. As for secondary characters Harvey and Yifei were brilliant, they added a lightness to the story but they had their own troubles and personalities that were fun to discover. As for the ghost part of the book I did not want to turn my lights off, I could imagine the ghosts so vividly and I could see this being a horror movie too! And again taken from real life the hungry ghost month happens in August so I think I have found a new yearly horror read outside of October! I could go on forever about how much I love this book but I don't want to give any spoilers!

Overall the pace of this book was brilliant, the story flowed nicely and there were no dull moments I felt I wanted to skip over. There are gory moments but they are vital to the story not just for shock value. If horror fans want to start 2025 with a bang I would get this book when it comes out on the 7th January 2025, I will be getting this for my bookshelf as it will be one I want to revisit every year!