Aardvark Book Club Fan Club (Not Official) discussion

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner—but 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. The killer was never caught, and Cora is still haunted by his last words: "bat eater."

These days nobody can reach Cora: not her aunt, who wants her to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival; not her weird colleagues; and especially not the slack-jawed shadow lurking around her door frame. After all, it can't be real—can it? After a series of unexplained killings in Chinatown, Cora believes someone might be targeting East Asian women, and something might be targeting Cora herself.

6 chapters

wow (view spoiler)[ that first chapter was rough and horrible. what he said to them, and what he did. I hate that he hasn't been caught

and wow, now she's a crime scene cleaner but she's really struggling. I hate that she can't get counseling, sounds like she's been locked up in a psychiatric ward before. And she's been shuffled around. She feels like no one can help her and no one loves her. breaks my heart

I like her co-workers though

(hide spoiler)]

12 chapters

(view spoiler)[ I'm glad Cora spoke up and that Yifei yelled at those guys while they ate food
but everything feels dangerous. it feels so tough for those 2 girls to be safe

and now Delilah. she's definitely a hungry ghost - i wonder why she doesn't burn anything for her
I can't imagine going to look for her head. omg (hide spoiler)]

18 chapters

omg this book is so good
(view spoiler)[ the ghost. ate. the. roommates! lol that was wild but also so good! I love it

stealing the shredder paper was a good idea but woah, I can't believe she got away with it.

and now they have a list of names - but I can't imagine that meal actually made Delilah happy enough, right?

I hope they catch whoever did this to Delilah and I hope she eats them before she follows the lights (hide spoiler)]

and done

wow (view spoiler)[ what an ending. I was shocked when she lost both of her friends! in such horrible ways

and my heart just dropped when she realized it wasn't just one - it was all of them. OMG.

it's horrible what people said to them - the crappy bad eater comments and that the pandemic was their fault - shocking and terrible and I hate that although I don't know about a serial killer like this anywhere during that time - I do know that violence against Asian Americans increased during the time and that makes me so mad (hide spoiler)]

very tough but great read!