I clearly need to read more books with crime scene cleaners in it - i absolutely loved it!
So many elements came together beautifully to make this an amazing read: the job itself, the racism, the covid times etc it all made for an excellent story.
A definite 5 star and I'll be recommending it.

4.5 stars

Wow. This one hurt. But it needed to.
What I love is that you can see a similar vibe to her first series; the creepy, haunting descriptions, the emotions that that pack a punch.
Such important topics and a devestating empitional turmoil that made it hard to read at times, but makes me also hope for a new book of this outstanding author as well.

This was so unbelievably good! I know most people aren’t super into reading pandemic / covid related stories, but if you were to read one, this is the one to read!

Bat Eater may be horror (and what horror it is!) but it’s also deeply rooted in the real horrors of anti-Asian sentiments. It’s foundational to the story and adds the depth necessary to create the layered horror story that it is.

This book is probably in my top 2025 books. It’s written exceptionally well, the story is one that’s impossible to put down, and I loved the flawed nature of Cora — and her relationship to the world and the people around her. The found family that is Cora, Harvey and Yifei was also a favourite part of the book and these characters really broke my heart. It’s honestly an extremely sad book when you peel away the terrifying fleshy layers. I also did not expect the very real take on ghosts and it just added to the suspense of it all.

I don’t know if the ending is for everyone and it may leave some people unsatisfied. But I think it was a pretty solid and grounded ending.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is THE book of 2025 and I hope as many people as possible will read it. It took me an embarrassingly long time to get to my ARC of it, but I’m so glad I got to read it and I’ll definitely be recommending it to literally everyone. Especially people who want their hearts shattered into pieces 💔

/// ARC courtesy of Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley.

This was brutal and angry and angsty, and a great horror read. The author analyses the COVID pandemic in a terrifyingly realistic way, discussing how the pandemic fueled racism towards Asian people, particularly Chinese people, and also brings in a horrifying ghost story. This is extremely gory - I had to close the book at times to take a breather! The author does a great job at character dynamics - Cora is in pain, and you can feel it, but you can also feel the safety that comes with her friendships. Dread ensues throughout this story, building up and up and up, and the ending of this book is extremely dark, but I had a really good time reading this, and think it's very important to look back on the pandemic with this perspective.

5★

I saw many great review for this book before picking it up, so was already expecting it to be good. But this still manages to surprise me. I loved it.

I read this as a audiobook + physical book at the same time - aka immersive read - and I’d definitely recommend doing that. The audio was great and the narrator did a very good job.

The writing was really good. Sometimes it was funny and made me laugh, other times it was pretty sad.

Cora was an amazing character to follow. I pretty much instantly liked her. And her friends - but not really but also kinda maybe a little bit - were such fun characters. I could read just about them. The banter, the chemistry they had with each other. I really enjoyed all of them. And their job being what it was, crime scene cleaners, was a cherry on top.

The story was pretty touching and sad. It’s set during Covid so it might not be for everyone, but I personally didn’t mind. I also liked the added Chinese folklore and the sprinkle of serial killer on top.

Simply said, this book had everything I might like and it definitely delivered.

I’d definitely recommend for any horror lover.

It’s March 2020 and Chinese American Cora Zeng and her half sister Delilah have ventured out in New York at the height of the pandemic to find toilet roll.
At the mostly-deserted Subway station, a white man in a mask grabs Delilah’s arm, spits out ‘Bat Eater’ and pushes her into the path of an incoming train, decapitating her.
The book starts as a harrowing read and doesn’t let up from then on in.

A few months later and we see Cora at work as a crime scene cleaner. She seems to be mainly cleaning up the corpses of Asian women, which at first, she thinks is just coincidental, but then becomes far too systematic and regular to be anything other than a crazed Chinese-hating serial killer, whose calling card is leaving live bats at the murder scenes.
Cora is a germophobe (which makes her choice of work a strange choice in some ways, but then obvious in others). But she is also suffering from trauma, mental health issues, abandonment issues and the huge raft of issues surrounding what it must be like to be a young Asian woman in America - particularly at the onset of the COVID pandemic.

I repeat, a seriously harrowing read. But more than that, it’s a pretty terrifying read both for the real horrors in the world and the supernatural horrors. And it also manages to have dark humour too.

The Chinese Folklore of ‘Hungry Ghosts’ is a big part of the book. At times it’s hard to tell if it’s Cora’s traumatised imagination or a real phenomenon. (Although Hungry Ghosts seem very helpful in solving crimes!).Poor Cora - the horrors really do constantly torment her in so many ways.

Cora’s friendship with her co-workers Yifei and Harvey is just beautiful to read and for me, is the most uplifting part of the book.

Definitely one of the best books in 2025. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the chance to read the ARC.

This book was quite outside my comfort zone and it was definitely a challenging read at times, but it was absolutely brilliant and I loved it.

The way that the author interlaced the very real horror of racism with supernatural elements was outstanding and deeply unsettling.
The book was hard to put down and yet I sometimes had to because I was overwhelmed with the contents in the best way.

It was gruesome and grueling in a way I didn't expect it to be but it was all done so well.

I loved the main character and how her story was told. Even though my living reality is very far from the FMC's, I felt deeply connected to her and her emotions. You can tell that this was a personal story for the author.

Overall, this book was painful and it made me feel a lot of negative emotions, including anger at the ignorance of other people, but I loved it and highly recommend it, but check trigger warnings first as it gets rather dark.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved this. The development of the story and the timeframe of it being set during Covid really framed this story. The dynamic between the characters was so interesting and the ideas explored in the story were unique.

**🦇 BAT EATER** by Kylie Lee Baker tells the story of June, a young Asian woman in the U.S. trying to get by as a crime scene cleaner — a job that confronts her with death on a daily basis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian racism escalates: June is spat at, harassed, her friends are attacked. But what she discovers at work (remember, she's a crime scene cleaner) is even more terrifying — more and more young Asian women are being brutally murdered, yet the news remains completely silent.

As June digs deeper, she uncovers disturbing patterns — and a supernatural threat that may be more connected to her than she's ready to admit. 👀

This book really got to me. It's not only a dark, atmospheric horror story, but also a sharp, unflinching commentary on reality. The everyday racism June experiences is portrayed so raw and unapologetically that it hurts — and the fact that her very existence is in danger while the world looks away makes it all the more suffocating.

Kylie Lee Baker masterfully weaves social issues (including tons of insights into Asian culture) into horror in a way that kept me thinking about the book long after I finished it. A must-read — even for those who don’t usually go for horror! 🤌🏻

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
Dark, bold, and utterly original. Kylie Lee Baker crafts a beautifully horrifying world where power and pain go hand-in-hand. Lushly written and deeply mythological, this is fantasy at its fiercest—gripping from first page to last.

Dark, disturbing, scary with an undercurrent of black humour. It kept me on the edge and some parts made me feel really afraid as they were so near reality and you had not a lot o ffilter.
Well written and good storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The main protagonist is Cora, an Asian-American woman of mixed heritage. She recently suffered the loss of her sister Delilah after a hate crime and has severe PTSD. To pay her bills she takes on a cleaning job, which soon becomes a crime scene cleaning job. While at the job she notices a pattern of Asian women being murdered violently. Cora is at sea without Delilah and is on her own for the first time. She is struggling with her beliefs (Chinese religious customs and Christianity), this duality makes her unsure of herself, especially when she starts to sense a weird presence. Due to previous experiences, she is afraid of seeking help and its implications. This book is a great conversation starter, tackling Asian hate during the pandemic, the experiences of people of mixed-race, mental health and how intolerance can lead to violence. I would highly recommend to lovers of horror.

I received this ebook ARC from NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for a free and honest review

cora zeng, a young chinese american woman, is living with her half-sister in new york city when covid-19 hits and turns her world upside down. laid off from their jobs, her sister decides she wants to go and live with their dad in china for a while. or at least, that was her plan. she unfortunately never made it to china, having been pushed by a white man into the path of a train— right in front of cora.

riddled with anxiety, her ocd at an all time high, and struggling to make rent payments, cora ends up taking a job as a crime scene cleaner. she can’t help but notice an alarming amount of the crime scenes they are called to are for asians, and what is with all the bats? someone is killing these people and cora and her friends are determined to get word of this out there.

what follows is an incredible story of grief, faith and resilience in the face of insurmountable turmoil. baker is an incredible writer. the way she was able to weave such strong supernatural elements into a tale that started off so grounded in reality was so well done.

this book has it all, you will be scared at times and grossed out at others. highly recommend.

‘Father Thomas points to several empty spaces in the walls, where there is only gaping darkness instead of doors. “For the children they never had,” Father Thomas says, his voice low. “Imagine if all of us built crypts for our dreams.”

I have NEVER in my life related to a character like I did Cora Zeng. Think of that what you may but my god I honestly found myself nodding and agreeing with some of her thoughts and found myself thinking yep, exactly.

Cora Zeng is a germaphobe with OCD who works as part of a crime scene clean up crew during the 2020 COVID pandemic and she's being haunted by hungry ghosts.
After a devastating even Cora finds herself adrift in life, the pandemic changed everyones world but the death of Delilah brought Cora's world crashing down around her. The sisters bond gave the impression they were twins, they had a complex relationship but the bond and the love they held for each other was undeniable but it did have the feel of one of those obsessive girl friendships.

Cora suffers with mental health issues which have only gotten worse since the death of her sister, now the lines of reality are becoming blurred and she can't quite figure out what's real and what's not.. although the bite marks on the coffee table definitely weren't there yesterday.

With the help of her clean up crew mates, Cora tries to figure out how to get her sister to stop haunting her.. but the hauntings aren't the only thing that's going on. with each clean up the crew are sent to it's clear someone is killing Asian women in gruesome and terrifying ways. There's a serial killer on the loose and no Asian woman is safe, the prejudice and blatant racism towards to Asian community is another level of horror added to an already horrific tale but it is also a slap in the face of reality and shows once again that humans are the really horror of this world.

This book had so many layers, from Cora's mental illness to Hungry ghosts, living in a global pandemic a city rife with hostility and racism topped off with a serial killer? this book consumed me and had me white knuckling my Kindle. The author created the heavy and claustrophobic atmosphere of the unknown during the pandemic reminding us of how people really were unhinged hoarding toilet paper and the like it brought 2020 crashing back around me.

This is an exceptional horror book and narrative of Asian racism that I recommend to everyone- provided you can handle the gore. It's so unbelievably gory and terrifying at the same time it will have you cringing but also the friendship between the crew was the shining light of this story brining a hint of laughter and a smile in the darkness.

The twists had be SHOOK and I could not believe somethings that happened, my heart was broken and I did not see some of the events of this book coming what so ever.

Beautifully written, impactful and terrifying Iv'e struggled reading anything since I finished it.

What could be a more fitting read than a horror novel filled with death and fear, inspired by the author’s own experience of the 21st century's largest pandemic – COVID-19? Drawing from the devastation of the outbreak and its related societal aspects, Baker has crafted an impressive and spine-chilling story that radiates unease.

The book follows Cora Zeng, who tragically loses her sister in a train accident. A mysterious stranger pushes the girl in front of an oncoming train, leaving chaos in its wake. Just before the fatal moment, two ominous words echo through the station: “Bat eater.” As Cora struggles to move on, she finds work at an Asian-owned cleaning company. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, the firm’s primary business shifts to cleaning up crime scenes. Once the forensic team has taken their photos and evidence, and the bodies have been removed, it’s Cora’s job—along with her team—to scrub away everything that remains.
However - it soon becomes clear that the victims are predominantly Asian women, and at every crime scene, there’s a bat left behind. Is there a serial killer on the loose? Or is something far more sinister at play?

Yet the terror isn’t confined to the city’s streets—Cora begins to sense that even her home is no longer a safe haven. At first, she suspects memory lapses. But when she discovers a hole gnawed into the couch and bite marks on the dining table, her doubts evaporate. Whoever—or whatever—is behind this, is no human.

How do you escape something that moves through walls, glides like the wind, and never makes a sound? How do you save your own skin when faced with a hungry ghost that shows no mercy?

This haunting story is a truly unsettling read that will send chills down your spine. While the book’s opening delivers a lightning bolt of action, the following 100+ pages adopt a slower pace. However, don't be deterred—the meticulous descriptions and rich backstory allow readers to understand Cora’s mindset, her family’s complex history, and their cultural traditions surrounding death and the afterlife.

Around the 200-page mark, the novel shifts gears into an adrenaline-fueled race against time, resembling a heart-pounding thriller where survival hangs by a thread. If you can endure the slower start (which some might find atmospheric rather than sluggish), the final act will more than reward your patience.

One of the novel's greatest strengths lies in its terrifyingly realistic social commentary. The pandemic not only brought sickness but also unveiled the ugliest sides of humanity—xenophobia, scapegoating, and unchecked hatred. In Baker’s world, life is cheap, and vigilante justice becomes the new norm.

Chilling, thought-provoking, and painfully relevant—Bat Eaters is a book that lingers long after the last page is turned. If you’re seeking a horror novel that blends the supernatural with unsettling reality, this one will haunt your dreams.

This is such a great horror story. but when you look past the guts and gore, ghost and bats you realise that the real horror here is the systemic discrimination, the horrors of the Covid 19 pandemic and the racism faced by Asian people when this was classified as the 'China disease'. I wouldn't say i 'enjoyed' this one - the imagery doesn't hold back on it's gruesomeness and the story is quite stressful., but i loved reading a horror based in Asian cultural beliefs and i think the underlying message of this book is an important one.

It feels odd that 5 years later the Covid 19 pandemic has been turned into fiction. It was a great book to read and the emotions that were portrayed through the book were easy to transport yourself back too (albeit a bit scary and surreal) but it’s fantastic accounts have been produced like this!

4.5 stars!
Very thought provoking - the racism the characters face breaks your heart. The cruelty done to the victims makes you feel sick that those humans exist.
Really well written, fast paced and harrowing story

A gory horror novel following a girl with mysophobia working as a crime scene cleaner after watching the brutal death of her sister. This mixed with a murder mystery story trying to find a serial killer, and tackling racism toward Asian Americans during the covid pandemic.

I absolutely loved this novel. The last half I devoured in an evening!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Genre: Horror
Tropes: Murder Mystery

‘The thing about hungry ghosts is they don’t care if you believe in them.’

‘She’s still Chinese and no one will let her forget it.’

‘They were never supposed to be her friends, but they didn’t give Cora a choice.’

There are many fears in Cora’s life, these are raised tenfold when a deeply traumatic event happens. Cora feels lost and alone, in a world where the Covid pandemic is at the forefront of the media, covering up all the other despicable things that are happening around her. Whilst at her crime scene cleaning job Cora & her co-workers start to see a pattern in the scenes… Bats…

A politicly charged and suspenseful horror story. This book had me in chokehold, I couldn’t put it down! It’s also relatively short, so basically you have NO excuse not to read it!

The underlying themes are hard hitting and incredibly effective, the writing also allows you to seep into the mind of Cora & understand exactly how she is feeling. Initially I was unsure how I felt reading about a Covid theme, but I actually felt quite seen with how the pandemic has affected Cora & her behaviours. I think it’s safe to say it’s affected most of us in one way or another.

The last third of the book, I felt like I losing my mind (Cora I feel you girl), WTF.
It’s one of those books that leaves you thinking about it long after you finish it.
I wish I could say more, but I’m at a loss for words.

PS. I also really appreciated the author’s note as the end 🫶🏻