Bat Eater

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!

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