Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. But none of that seems so terrible when she's already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a train.

Before fleeing the scene, the murderer shouted two words: bat eater.

So the bloody messes don't really bother Cora—she's more bothered by the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of a stranger, the hidden viruses in every corner, and the bite marks on her coffee table. Of course, ever since Delilah was killed in front of her, Cora can't be sure what's real and what's in her head.

She pushes away all feelings and ignores the advice of her aunt to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open. But she can't ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenes, or the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women.

As Cora will soon learn, you can't just ignore hungry ghosts.

How I heard about it

I read Japanese Gothic and loved it, so I wanted to read another book by Kylie Lee Baker. Bookstagram friends, @k.elyse.reads and @bessandbooks also recommended this to me.

The Story

Cora Zeng doesn't know who she is. She's always looked to others to direct her, like her white aunt or her Chinese aunt, but especially her sister, Delilah. But in the midst of COVID-19 shutdowns, when a racist murders Delilah with the acerbic accusation, "Bat Eater," Cora is unmoored—haunted by bare spidery hands.

Months later, Cora has taken up a job cleaning up murder scenes with Harvey and Yifei. The fact that many of the victims are Asian women with bats shoved into strange places in the crime scenes soon becomes impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, Cora starts questioning her sanity when things start going missing from her apartment and bite marks appear on her furniture.

Is Cora being haunted by her dead sister? Is she losing her mind? Could her aunt be right about the Ghost Festival? Cora, Harvey, and Yifei transition from cleaning up crimes to trying to solve a crime, but they may find they're in over their heads.

What I liked

I was in London in February, shortly before COVID-19 shutdowns happened, and it was there I experienced my first taste of the anti-Asian hate that was already spreading like the virus they accused us of bringing. Loud whispers of "Chinese virus," and "COVID" followed me down the streets in a city supposedly diverse and once known as polite, if not particularly friendly.

Highlighting the blatant racism during this period in recent history makes this book an important one, if only because six years later, collective memory likes to pretend it never happened. It's easy to forget how quickly society turns on those they deem outsiders when afraid.

The emphasis on how little authority figures cared that Asians were being murdered, as well as their indifference to Cora and her friends trying to tell them about it, hit close to home. Such stories are always a bitter reminder that a crime isn't taken seriously unless it happens to someone "important."

I appreciated the author's note at the end, which gave insight into why Kylie Lee Baker wrote the book. It feels personal because it is.

I loved Cora's character development, especially as she learned to reach out to her coworkers-turned-friends. Always happy to read about friendships.

What I didn't like

While I can appreciate what the book is trying to do, I personally don't enjoy books set during or about COVID-19 times. I find that these books tend to lean too far into preachy territory, which this one did after a while.

Throughout the book, Cora wrestles with her identity as someone who is half-Chinese, half-White. In the end she chooses her Asian identity and rejects her other half. I typically dislike this racial identity trope, because I think it's overdone and usually poorly done. I felt the same here, since the conclusion Cora comes to doesn't seem to be one that integrates all aspects of her identity.

On a similar note, none of the characters had much depth. Most read like caricatures that fit specific stereotypes, rather than well fleshed-out, multi-dimensional people.

Overall

Bat Eater got me out of a reading slump, for which I'm grateful. It was a good binge-read that I finished in two days. I enjoy Kylie Lee Baker's writing. However, this is not one I would revisit.

Who would like this: readers looking for a thrilling, fast read with a side of social and political commentary, who don't mind gore.