Book Review: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee

Title: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

Author: Kylie Lee Baker

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Adult Fiction

Pages: 304

Publisher: MIRA

Year Published: 2025

Format: Ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

"Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. The bloody messes don't bother her, not when she's already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister being pushed in front of a train.

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

Months pass, the killer is never caught, and Cora can barely keep herself together. She pushes away all feelings, disregards the bite marks that appear on her coffee table, and won't take her aunt's advice to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open.

Cora tries to ignore the rising dread in her stomach, even when she and her weird coworkers begin finding bat carcasses at their crime scene clean-ups. But Cora can't ignore the fact that all their recent clean-ups have been the bodies of East Asian women.

Soon Cora will learn: you can't just ignore hungry ghosts."

My Rating: 4/5

I'm not sure exactly what I just read, but I liked it. I think the author did a great job of combining mystery, folklore and the everyday horror that were present during Covid. The racism, the hate crimes, and the death that surrounded New York (as someone who wasn't there and only saw the news). That being said, I didn't expect many of the twists, which were great, but also felt unsettling in a way that took me out of the story at some points. I would be curious to learn more about the folklore and beliefs in hungry ghosts in the future if anyone has recommendations for nonfiction works surrounding these beliefs. 

Thank you for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: All Together Now by Alan Doyle

Title: All Together Now

Author: Alan Doyle

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Adult

Pages: 200

Publisher: Doubleday Canada

Year Published: 2020

Format: Audiobook

"One of Newfoundland's funniest and most beloved storytellers offers his cure for the Covid blues.

Is there a more sociable province than Newfoundland and Labrador? Or anywhere in Canada with a greater reputation for coming to the rescue of those in need?

At this time of Covid, singer, songwriter and bestselling author Alan Doyle is feeling everyone's pain. off the road and spending more days at home than he has since he was a child hawking cod tongues on the wharfs of Petty Harbour, he misses the crowds and companionship of performing across the country and beyond. But most of all, he misses the cheery clamour of pubs in his hometown, where one yarn follows another so quickly you have to be as ready as an Olympian at the start line to get your tale in before someone is well into theirs already. We're all experiencing our own version of that deprivation, and Alan, one of Newfoundland's finest storytellers, wants to offer a little balm. 

All Together Now is a gathering book form- a virtual Newfoundland pub. There are adventures in foreign lands, including an apparently filthy singalong in Polish (well, he would have sung along if he'd understood the language), a real-life ghost story involving an elderly neighbour, a red convertible and a clown horn, a potted history of his social drinking and heartwarming reminiscences from another past world, childhood- all designed to put a smile on the faces of the isolated-addled."

My Rating: 5/5

I think that even years after Covid has left us less isolated but still changed as a society, this book still reads perfectly. This brought many laughs, smiles and just general giggles. I would highly recommend Alan Doyle's books to everyone. If you're looking for great storytelling, a laugh and just a general good outlook, you've found the author for you.

Sidny