The Creek, the Crone, and the Crow: A Novel

Summary

An outsider to the Carolina hills inherits a gift that could change everything for her village on the verge of dying, from the author NPR said “writes with a deep knowledge of the enduring myths of Appalachia … vividly portraying real people and sorrows.”

Welcome to Baines Creek, a humble hamlet hidden deep in Appalachia, where the last one-room schoolhouse in North Carolina is on the brink of closing. It’s summer 1980, and teacher Kate Shaw has lived in Baines Creek for ten years. A skeptic at heart, she rejects mountain superstition and Appalachian folklore, much to the disappointment of Birdie Rocas, a powerful and reclusive witch with a trove of secrets. Yet, as Kate prepares to leave, a sudden death, a shocking request, and a legacy that spans centuries throw her into a world that overwhelms her.

Enter Lydia Brown, a psychic with a curious birthmark whose visions stopped when she needed them most. Grief-stricken without her gift and desperate for spiritual guidance, she travels to remote Baines Creek in search of Birdie and answers.

This third novel by acclaimed author Leah Weiss is the tale of a powerful crone, two women cut from the cloth of loss, and a secret sisterhood of empowerment that may be the key to healing them all.

“With rich prose, an evocative setting, and intriguing characters, Weiss had me completely engaged in a world where the people are mysterious and the land holds its secrets close.”—Diane Chamberlain, New York Times bestselling author of The Last House on the Street

Includes original music written and performed by Nicky Sanders