Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

In this explosive horror novel,a woman is haunted by inner traumahungry ghostsand a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic. Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleanerwashing 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 sisterDelilahbeing pushed in front of a train. Before fleeing the scenethe 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 railingthe bare hands of a strangerthe hidden viruses in every cornerand the bites marks on her coffee table. Of courseever since Delilah was killed in front of herCora 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 Festivalwhen the gates of hell open. But she can’t ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenesor the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women. As Cora will soon learnyou can’t just ignore hungry ghosts.