ARC review; thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the access to this ebook. Pub date: 7 Jan 2025.  Thanks to Harlequin Audio for the ALC, the pub date for that is Apr 25, 2025. 

Wow... Just, wow. This was such a surprising book. 

Set in 2020, the story follows Chinese American Cora Zeng after an event that changes her forever. She becomes a crime scene cleaner after that and her life is dominated by anxiety and fear. She's obsessed with cleanliness not just because of her personal trauma, but also because of COVID. 

In her work, they start noticing a pattern: all the victims are Asian women, and bats are left at the crime scenes. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is targeting Asian women and no one's doing anything about it. On top of all that, Cora starts getting haunted by a "hungry ghost," and things simply start unraveling for her. 

This book combines mystery, horror, and social commentary so well. I couldn't stop reading. 

Yes, this is a COVID book, but it's not just about the pandemic, it's also about grief, loss, Asian racism, white supremacy, violence, dehumanization, desensitization, and how broken the system is. It's gorey, bleak, sad, enraging, and, unfortunately, real. But there's also beauty, strength, and culture. 

It's also beautifully written and hard-hitting. I highlighted so many lines and felt so much for the characters and the Asian community they represent. This story provides a lot of perspective and though it's a tough read, it's a relevant one cause even if the pandemic is over (?) racism and white supremacy prevail, so uplifting stories about marginalized communities will always be important. 

The audiobook was great! The narrator did a good job with this so it's a great way to consume the story.