Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng: A Darkly Funny, Gory, and Ghostly Horror Novel

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.