Returning to the Creek
Nearly five years after Lynchburg Living first profiled author Leah Weiss, the Virginia writer is inviting readers back to the Appalachian world that first captured their imaginations.
Her newest novel, The Creek, the Crone, and the Crow, returns to the fictional community of Baines Creek, North Carolina, a place longtime readers will recognize from Weiss’s previous novels If the Creek Don’t Rise and All the Little Hopes. While the new release stands on its own, it also serves as a homecoming of sorts, revisiting familiar landscapes and beloved characters while exploring new mysteries hidden deep within the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Set during the summer of 1980, the story follows Kate Shaw, a schoolteacher who has spent a decade in Baines Creek but remains skeptical of the folklore and superstitions that shape the community. Her practical worldview is challenged when Birdie Rocas—a reclusive local woman often described as a witch—dies and leaves Kate an unusual inheritance: a collection of illuminated manuscripts, journals, and a mysterious Book of Truths that traces a lineage stretching back centuries to Scotland.
At the same time, Lydia Brown arrives in Appalachia carrying grief of her own. Once gifted with psychic visions, Lydia lost her abilities after the death of her parents and has come searching for Birdie in hopes of finding answers. Instead, she finds herself drawn into Birdie’s unfinished story and an unlikely partnership with Kate.
Together, the two women begin unraveling secrets hidden among forgotten graveyards, underground passageways, and mountain legends. What emerges is both a mystery and a meditation on grief, resilience, and the bonds that connect women across generations.
Weiss has long been celebrated for her ability to capture the complexity of Appalachian life without relying on stereotypes. Her stories are steeped in folklore and regional history, yet grounded in deeply human experiences. In The Creek, the Crone, and the Crow, she once again blends magical elements with emotional realism, creating a world where ghosts and legends feel as natural as the mountain landscapes they inhabit.
The novel also reflects Weiss’s enduring fascination with the stories communities tell themselves—and the truths buried beneath them. As Baines Creek struggles against decline, the characters confront questions about legacy, belonging, and what should be preserved when the past refuses to stay silent.
For readers who discovered Weiss through her earlier novels, the return to Baines Creek offers a welcome reunion. For newcomers, The Creek, the Crone, and the Crow provides an atmospheric introduction to a writer whose work continues to illuminate the beauty, hardship, and enduring mysteries of Appalachia. Â
