Bat Eater by Kylie Lee BakerMy rating: ✨✨✨✨✨
I'm going to begin this write-up by saying something decidedly controversial: Bat Eater might just be my top book of 2024.
As is expected of me, this one was chosen based on its cover and a small blurb on NetGalley, and I was rewarded with an incredibly vivid tale that had tension, horror, and plenty of disturbing scenes. But Bat Eater is also incredibly poignant, emotional, and beautifully melancholic.
We all remember life in 2020, when COVID was fresh and the world stood still. For me it feels like a distant memory and yesterday all at once. Sure I didn't experience it in New York like Cora does in the book, but the descriptions of deserted streets, unattainable toilet paper, and the downright mindfuck of a time it was to live through brought it all right back.
Cora is a crime scene cleaner, a job she begins following the brutal death of her sister. She befriends her two colleagues, and they eventually realise they might be cleaning up the murders of a serial killer. The harsh reality of life is mixed with the supernatural as Bat Eater explores Chinese myths and culture, and doesn't shy away from the heightened racism faced by Asians during the pandemic.
Bat Eater maintained its eeriness throughout, it was perfectly paced, it felt so desperate and despondent at times - utterly heart wrenching even - and there was plenty of intrigue, so much so that I finished it in just a few sessions. The supporting characters were fully-fleshed out, and I found myself rooting for them just as much as I was for Cora. Bat Eater is not afraid to show flaws in people, though it's done in such a way that allows humanity to shine through and I only found that to be even more endearing.
Truly there is nothing I didn't like about this book, and I cannot recommend highly enough that you give it a read at first opportunity. Please please please check it out, if only so I have people to talk about it with.
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