I read this so quickly and found it so hard to put down. Again, it's a genre I rarely read but what a book! Cora, daughter of a Chinese man and a white American mother, lives in New York with her half-sister Delilah, who is beautiful and arty and dreams of becoming a model, when Covid begins. After Delilah is pushed under a subway train by a stranger, Cora becomes a crime scene cleaner and starts noticing a huge number of murder victims seem to be young East-Asian women, and as strange events keep happening, her and her two colleagues Harvey and Yifei start to investigate.

In the afterword, Kylie Lee Baker writes that the pandemic has changed the world because of "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 as a country still haven't learned not to scapegoat an entire race of people in times of fear". Of course she is writing about the US but it feels true in so many countries.

I tend to avoid COVID content like the plague (sorry), I avoid novels set during COVID, I hate TV shows that tried to show us their version of COVID. The COVID episodes of Grey's Anatomy are the absolute worst.

But in a gory, graphic horror novel about racism and ghosts and alienation, with a heroine who suffers from OCD and cleans "people's entrails for a living" I found that it felt like a more sincere and a more genuine depiction.

Free ARC sent by Netgalley.

This book was one of my favourites of last year and I've already lost track of how many times I've raved and recommended it online. Seriously, read it!

4.5 stars!

4.25 STARS!

This was brutal from start to finish. From the racism endured by the asian characters to the vivid body horror, this book did not let up with it’s dark content.

Pros
• The writing was stunning and I found myself highlighting A LOT
• The main character. The fact that she wasn’t a typical selfless hero but a struggling girl who was just doing what she could to get by
• Exploration of grief I think was done with sure care in this story. I won’t mention too much as I feel like that is part of the story you need to witness for yourself

Cons
• The only downside to this story for me was how cartoonish the ghosts felt in a couple of places.

This was such a good read. Set during the COVID pandemic, this is a horror, and as well as the more fantastical elements, the all too real horror is the racism displayed towards the Chinese community in the US at this time.
I found the character of Cora and how she deals with trauma and grief incredibly compelling.
Overall a creepy, well-written read and one I would recommend.

4.5 stars

Bat Eater is gory, creepy and utterly horrific, in the best way.

“Many people think that death is the end. The ending of pain, of hate, of love. But these things are not so easy to erase. Any kind of wanting leaves a scar. The living are good at forgetting, the years smoothing out memories until all the days of their lives are nothing but rolling planes of sameness. But in Hell, it is always just yesterday that everything was lost. The dead do not forget.”

It’s Summer 2020 and Cora Zeng is working as a crime scene cleaner in New York. Just a few months ago she watched as her sister came head to head with a train (yup, this is page 1 folks), so kneeling in a bathtub of brain matter on a Tuesday morning certainly isn’t going to be what breaks her. No, Cora feels safest in her hazmat suit and rubber gloves, because she knows how unsanitary other people are, yet most people in the street act like *she’s* then one who’s a COVID risk, because Cora’s half Asian - *a ’Bat Eater’*. Soon though, Cora will have bigger things to fear than her own intrusive thoughts, as mutilated bats start showing up at an alarming number of crime scenes. What’s more, hungry ghost month is approaching and … are those bite marks in her coffee table?

This was a highly anticipated release for me, and it delivered on more fronts than I could have hoped. It offered a unique perspective of the Chinese American experience in the US during the pandemic. It was packed with blood and guts, hungry ghosts lurking in shadows, and a serial killer who was hella creative with his methods, but you know what was most horrific? The inspection of how Asian people were treated during the pandemic. The stares, slurs, misinformation, abuse and violence that stripped a sense of humanity and belonging from a whole community of people.

“The white spider in Cora’s dreams was a million different people - the man who spit in Cora’s face, the one who grabbed Yifei’s arm, the ones who called Delilah a Chink and threw garbage at her, the quiet ones on buses who glared at Cora for wearing a mask, who crossed the street to avoid her like she was a living breathing virus even though she was cleaner than any of them, the words ‘China virus’ like a poison promise, go back home, repent for killing Americans.”

The writing in this was hard hitting and eerie throughout, but the characters and the relationships between them brought moments of joy. I did not expect the characters in this novel to be my favourite part of the book, but they were by FAR. It contributed to the horror in a way. I got to know these people. I understood them. I loved them for, not in spite of, their flaws and they seemed so unique, complex and real. Then I watched them suffer, and I was angry and I was sad and it made the monsters so much scarier; they were trying to strip humanity from these characters that felt so inherently human.

It felt like a long build up before any real plot got rolling, which is the only down side for me. I do appreciate that we spent much of the first building suspense and atmosphere, and laying ground work for the action to follow in the second half, but I could have used some more points of intrigue to keep pulling me through the beginning. There were also some elements that I had to stop myself thinking about too hard, or the narrative might’ve unravelled, but I was happy to wear the blinkers and plough ahead because I was having a good time.

Ultimately, I commend KLB’s ability to balance the many elements poured into Bat Eater. Our main character alone was experiencing grief, mental health struggles, trauma from abandonment, racism, an identity crisis, and a total lack of belonging - and that’s before we get to the fact she scrapes flesh off of walls for a living and is maybe looking for a serial killer. Oh, and she’s being haunted by the hungry ghost of her dead sister who creeps out of the shadows, so she’s not slept in weeks and can’t even close the shower curtain. What a ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read Bat Eater.

I had high expectations going into this book, and I can safely say that all of those expectations were met and then some. From the very first chapter, I was mesmerised by Kylie Lee Bakers writing, especially her use of descriptive writing and gore, which was incredibly well utilised and her exploration into anti asian racism during the covid 19 pandemic and beyond. As for the story itself, I was hooked by both the overarching mystery and Cora's own character arc dealing with her grief, relationships, exploration into the idea of belonging somewhere, experiences with racism in her life and her struggles with her mental health, it felt so sureal to see a character with such similar thought patterns to my own and follow her journey throughout the book. Bat Eater, at its core, is an extremely emotional book from the fear, grief, disgust, and empathy for the characters it enovked when reading to the point where I cried at several points. Bat Eater is so much more than your adverage run of the mill supernatural horror story.

Overall, I am very impressed with this book, and even though this year has just begun, I can safely say it's one of my favourites of the year.

I loved this so much!

The book starts with a bang and settles into a very lit-fic tone. The characters are well developed and we get a real feel for who Cora is, and for her life as a crime scene cleaner during the covid pandemic.

The horror creeps in and it’s wonderfully subtle and surreal, before escalating as the story progresses.

The themes of racism, belonging, and grief (amongst others) are well explored, and are woven naturally through the plot.

I don’t want to say too much because I went into the book knowing very little about it and I thoroughly enjoyed every new turn the story took, so I wouldn’t want to spoil that for anyone picking up this book.

It’s only my second read of the year, but it’s going to be a hard one to beat!

My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this advance copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Bat Eater is a horror novel about Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner in New York City, set during the COVID pandemic, who watched her sister being pushed in front of a train and is haunted by her hungry ghost.

“The dead do not forget.”

I was so intrigued when reading what this book would be about, I really wanted to give it a try! I don’t normally read horror books, but still, I was glad I did read this one!
The book opened with a banger, reading about the murder and how it happened was a shocking opening and one that got me invested. At the same time it felt like the start was really slow and I did need a bit more to truly get sucked into the story.
The plot progression is subtle and it took me quite a while to really understand in which direction this book was going. I think the slow start didn’t help, despite the writing being super imaginative and descriptive. I think I just wanted a bit more clarity about the book and maybe a bit more about what to expect.
Cora is an interesting character. She washed blood and gore for a living and doesn’t really have anything going for her in life after her sister’s death. While is isn’t the most likable, the way she is written is beautiful.
The friendship blooming between Cora and the two she cleans up with was a light in the darkness of this story. Their bickering and friendship was quirky and fun and gave me the Ghostbusters vibe mentioned in the story as well!
The last part of this book is just absolutely brutal in every way! The rising dread that is wonderfully woven into the book really hits towards the end. I just couldn’t put this book down and was shocked by the direction this story went in the end! Very dark and heart breaking but so fitting to the book!
Overall, Bat Eater is a beautifully written dark horror story. Once you get halfway you won’t be able to put this book down!

Blood and gore, incisive social commentary, ghost story and literary thriller all meet in this pretty sensational adult horror novel by Kylie Lee Baker.

I am just about the furthest thing from a horror novel/ghost story fan you could find, but Bat Eater got me good. It’s the sort of book where you immediately want to write a review upon finishing it for a combination of reasons - because it leaves you reeling, because you hope that writing a review will purge you of nightmares about it (consider yourself warned: it is deeply disturbing in parts) and because it’s really just a very good book that deserves to be read and discussed.

If this was a pure horror novel it wouldn’t have worked for me but it’s not. There are depths to it, exploring online discourse, the pandemic, grief and loneliness, the fetishisation of Asian women and endemic racism against the Asian community in the US, all of running seamlessly through tales of hungry ghosts and bloody crime scenes. It’s playful at times too, despite the horror.

Cora is a biracial Chinese American woman who works as a crime scene cleaner. She’s also a germaphobe with mental health issues, not least because she witnesses the gruesome death of her sister Delilah. In the aftermath, Cora is haunted by the hungry ghost of her sister while her aunts (one Chinese and one American) cajole her into turning to their gods (one Chinese and one Christian) to help direct her life. As violence against Asian women ratchets up during the Covid pandemic, Cora is faced with hunting down a serial killer and assuaging her sister’s hungry ghost.

The book reaches a thrilling and terrifying climax that I could not look away from. Anyone who knows me on here knows ghosts are not my thing so it takes a good ghost story to grab me. This is one such one. I can see this one on prize lists perhaps. Haunting. 4/5⭐️

Many thanks to the publisher @hodderbooks for the arc via @netgalley. As always, an honest review.

"The living are good at forgetting, the years smoothing out memories until all the days of their lives are nothing but rolling planes of sameness. But in Hell, it is always just ysterday that everything was lost. The dead do not forget."


Kylie Lee Baker's novel is about Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner in Chinatown. She has witnessed some of the worst things possible, but the one that she can never forget is when her sister was pushed in front of a train. The person that did this whispered "Bat Eater" before they left. Months go by where the killer isn't caught, strange things appear to Cora, she is frightened and trying to make sense of what is happening. She doesn't take her aunt's warnings of preparing for the Hungry Ghost Festival seriously. Until things take a turn and now more than ever she needs help.


This book was a tough one to read. In the sense that it was a horror novel and the one which it depicts accurately is the racism and hate that spread across the world during Covid. It grasps and makes the readers relive those times in great detail and brings to light what was being experienced by many people.


With this very real portrayal of Covid which Cora worked through bringing her to a job cleaning up crime scenes, the story introduces us to a possible serial killer, the way in which the victims are left is disturbing, the visuals alone would make most uncomortable.


The author manages to tell a gruesome story whilst touching on folklore and the very real events of the pandemic. I could not put this book down. As much as it infuriated me reading it, it also told a gripping horror tale that I haven't forgot about since finishing this book.

4 stars.
Set during Covid-19; Cora is being haunted by something, she is dealing with grief and there seems to be a serial killer targeting Asians.
I loved this, the pacing was perfect! The cast of characters is small but it helped to keep the relationships and characterisation smooth. I loved the culture added into this, it was explained very well to a novice through Cora as she is Chinese American and is a bit lost between the divide in cultures. This is a perfect horror to lick up for someone who doesn’t read much of that genre. You can really feel the unravelling that is happening to Cora, a little psychological horror. With the plot uncovering a “serial killer” there is a little mystery/crime thrown in.
I’ve read Kylie Lee Bakers scarlet alchemist duology and loved it but she can write horror just as well!
Thank you to NetGalley and hodder & stoughton for the opportunity to read this.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm not the biggest fan of horror, but this book had such an amazing story and characters, that I got pulled in! The ending left me a bit sad, but overall a very strong story!

4.5 stars

Rating – 4.5⭐️

This is such a powerful story! Adult horror isn’t a genre I would usually pick up because I’m a big scaredy cat and this one DID creep me out but in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE!!! I read some of it at night and immediately regretted it so I had to continue reading only during daylight😂.

I’ve read this author’s The Scarlet Alchemist Duology and loved how dark it was. Bat Eater takes it up to the next level with how dark and gruesome it was.

I loved Cora as a protagonist! From beginning to end, I was rooting for her! She’s a coward, she feels worthless, powerless and the type to hide behind someone else. But she’s also just trying to survive during the pandemic and faces lots of discrimination as a biracial Chinese woman whilst also dealing with the murder of her sister, who may have returned as a hungry ghost to haunt her🫣.

I also really loved the side characters, Harvey and Yifei🥹. They’re her crime scene cleaner coworkers and they each have dark pasts that haunt them. They end up forming an unlikely friendship that I adored😭🫶🏻. However, they realise they’ve been cleaning up more and more crime scenes of Asian women murdered by a serial killer on the loose👀.

This was definitely one of the more interesting books I have read recently, it solidified my love of body horror.

I’ve had this on my list for a while and the opening chapter really hooked me in!

There was definitely a spate of pandemic novels just after the pandemic which felt too soon, but this felt long enough ago to serve as a reminder of exactly what it was like.

There was a lot I liked about this. I loved how gory it was and not afraid to go there. I thought the perspective was really engaging and I really liked the crime element of the plot.

Though the ghosts part, which is pretty much the entire second half of the book, completely lost me. I just wasn’t interested and wasn’t engaged which was a shame.

Started out as a 4, ended as a 3 so a 3.5 all in all.

I think this could be the book that gets a cult like following this year. It’s 3 books in one, part reflection on 2020 from a Chinese-American woman’s perspective, part supernatural horror, part crime thriller. All parts are written so well and blend seamlessly into an excellent book.

The author’s note at the end is heartbreaking and so poignant. Overall this book is a must-read.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng was the most horrifying and absorbing novel I read recently. Once I started, it was hard to put down. It perfectly blends the scary ghosts, murder mystery and pandemic paranoia to the point I wasn’t sure which part of the novel scared me more.

Cora Zeng is a complex and fascinating character, but not an exceptionally reliable narrator. She is overwhelmed by her sister’s tragic death, her own lack of ambition or goals and the fact she doesn’t feel like she fully belongs in either American or Chinese culture. With the first supernatural appearance, we are unsure what is real, as Cora questions her sanity.

This novel is a gory and terrifying horror but is also a thought-provoking exploration of the recent pandemic. As the events in the murder mystery subplot escalate, we also see more racism towards East Asians. I found this element of the plot as horrifying as the supernatural aspect.

About 6 months ago, give or take, a friend and I had a conversation about horror fiction. I had just read Anna Bogutskya's Feeding the Monster, and was once again fascinated by horror, and seeking media to feed that hunger. Yet I found myself repeatedly disappointed. Nothing, I told my friend, went far enough. Nothing was sufficiently gory whilst maintaining both readability, and literary style. No book had it all. Nothing I could find was beautiful and horrifying, terror filled and perfectly paced. I didn't even want to mention films, which were trope filled or blood-drenched. No, I would have to be dissatisfied for ever. And then Bat Eater.

I requested this book because it sounded fascinating, I am a huge fan of the ghost story (I very nearly did a PhD on them, alas life) and I am an even bigger proponent of reading diversely, diving into new points of view, understanding the world, and, perhaps most importantly, of totally excellent covers. Bat Eater ticked all of those boxes. I was delighted by request got approved, and began reading this right away. It took me some time to get through thr first few chapters. It was intense, compelling, gory and creeping, and (I realised quite quickly) it would require my full attention. I hit pause, finished out my last few essays for the year (postgrads are not for the weak of heart, or short of time) and wrapped up the other books I had on the go, and then I tried again. I devoured this, racing through it in record time, pouring over it, staying up late to finish it, and then sitting with it for a few days. Letting it settle into me.

Bat Eater goes far enough. It goes further. It is the perfect balance of style, suspense, and character. This novel is unlike anything I have ever read before, because it is the horror novel I have been dreaming of when reading others. Something which never sacrifices commentary for the sake of gore, nor shies away from character development for the sake of the plot, or vice versa. To share the details of this book, any plot element really, would be to detract from its impact, so instead I will say this: Baker has penned some of the most sympathetic, genuine, engaging and loveable characters I have ever encountered, she has also penned some of the most brutal, soulless and (horrifically) mundane characters I have ever read of, and she has held them all together in a plot that is as fast and sharp as it is carefully plotted and suspenseful.

This novel is described in many places as being wickedly funny, and it absolutely is. I was pleasantly surprised by the banter and sharp sudden humour throughout. I was equally delighted by Cora's caustic wit, even if it is largely internal, and the way in which she viewed the world. The juxtaposition throughout of the modern and the traditional also added elements of humour, which added to the sense of unreality in places. This is a horror novel that is not funny in spite of itself, but which melds humour throughout, intensifying both through that juxtaposition.

I would mention here, because it is worth mentioning, that there are elements of this novel which will be deeply distressing to some. It is a horror novel, so no surprise, but it is one that is rooted in racism, specifically in Asian hate. We all know that Covid resulted in a significant uptick in hate crimes against people of broadly East Asian heritage, and it is against that backdrop that Baker writes this novel. I am a white woman, and my experience of reading this can only be through that lens. My responses will be, unconsciously, tempered by my whiteness, and I cannot say with any authority whether or not this is triggering more than it is cathartic, or representative more than it is sensational. What I will say, is that I found this to be a novel that cares for and explores the bothness of Cora Zeng, a woman who is both Chinese and American, and the way her cultures intersect, and fail to intersect. This novel also explores OCD in depth, another thing that some may find difficult to read, and touches on various incidents of child abuse / neglect.

I am hugely grateful to have been given a galley of this in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars.

Absolutely loved the genre blend of horror, mystery, literary, and even comedy in this book. Definitely a tough read but all the more rewarding with the ending. It's a timely discussion of BIPOC racism following the pandemic but I loved how Kylie Lee Baker positioned the story as a compelling, supernatural story.

Went into this book expecting a great horror and I was given that and some more!
This is an incredibly refreshing take on body horror and I really enjoyed how the author did not shy away from hard topics.
The female rage in the book will fuel me for years!