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Black Creek
As a child, Kate Stong Smythe drew castles. Now, at thirty-five, she’s found herself hard-edged and uncompromising, designing slick condos in Griffintown, a gentrified working-class neighbourhood of Montreal.
When Kate’s mother dies, she calls out five mysterious names from her deathbed, propelling Kate on a journey to unravel the mysterious dreams she’s had since childhood. She’s met with a shock when she finds the five names in her own family genealogy books, tied to faces she knows from her strange flashbacks. Who are these women, and why have they haunted her dreams since she was a little girl?
Kate’s unsettling visions take her from her home in Montreal to an abandoned farmhouse in the northern suburbs of Toronto, increasingly consumed by her ties to the past and the ancestral hardness that is holding her hostage.
When Kate’s mother dies, she calls out five mysterious names from her deathbed, propelling Kate on a journey to unravel the mysterious dreams she’s had since childhood. She’s met with a shock when she finds the five names in her own family genealogy books, tied to faces she knows from her strange flashbacks. Who are these women, and why have they haunted her dreams since she was a little girl?
Kate’s unsettling visions take her from her home in Montreal to an abandoned farmhouse in the northern suburbs of Toronto, increasingly consumed by her ties to the past and the ancestral hardness that is holding her hostage.
228 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 29, 2026
4+ “chasing family ghosts” stars!
A woman in search of her family history.
Kate is a hard working, career-focused architect. Partner in her architectural firm, work is her passion. When her mother dies, she is forced to face her emotions, grief and questions about her family’s past. She finds a genealogy booklet among her mother’s belongings that ignites a yearning to understand her family roots which takes her on a life changing journey.
This story unfolds mainly through Kate’s perspective. The author brilliantly weaves chapters throughout showcasing narratives from multiple generations of females in Kate’s family history. Dating back to 1568, Kate learns of the strong, steady and inspiring females of her family lineage. She has always felt a calling to understand them as they have lingered in the shadows and thoughts of her life since childhood.
I enjoyed how the author incorporated an old, crumbling family farmhouse threaded throughout the multiple timelines of this story. This farmhouse enveloped many important aspects of the family history. Family memories whispered throughout the abandoned rooms. Kate’s yearning for clarity of her familial history was sometimes answered through visions/imaginings within the walls of this house and on surrounding property. The atmosphere was palpable and brought an engrossing and vivid layer to the plot.
There is a romance element in the second half of the novel, but thankfully it didn’t overshadow the main storyline. I’m generally not a fan of romance themes but this one worked well for me.
Overall, this was a captivating read that I loved from start to finish. The changing narratives kept the story fresh and interesting. I really liked the main character and felt fully invested in her journey. I recommend this to all historical fiction fans.
Thank you to the publisher for my finished copy!
A woman in search of her family history.
Kate is a hard working, career-focused architect. Partner in her architectural firm, work is her passion. When her mother dies, she is forced to face her emotions, grief and questions about her family’s past. She finds a genealogy booklet among her mother’s belongings that ignites a yearning to understand her family roots which takes her on a life changing journey.
This story unfolds mainly through Kate’s perspective. The author brilliantly weaves chapters throughout showcasing narratives from multiple generations of females in Kate’s family history. Dating back to 1568, Kate learns of the strong, steady and inspiring females of her family lineage. She has always felt a calling to understand them as they have lingered in the shadows and thoughts of her life since childhood.
I enjoyed how the author incorporated an old, crumbling family farmhouse threaded throughout the multiple timelines of this story. This farmhouse enveloped many important aspects of the family history. Family memories whispered throughout the abandoned rooms. Kate’s yearning for clarity of her familial history was sometimes answered through visions/imaginings within the walls of this house and on surrounding property. The atmosphere was palpable and brought an engrossing and vivid layer to the plot.
There is a romance element in the second half of the novel, but thankfully it didn’t overshadow the main storyline. I’m generally not a fan of romance themes but this one worked well for me.
Overall, this was a captivating read that I loved from start to finish. The changing narratives kept the story fresh and interesting. I really liked the main character and felt fully invested in her journey. I recommend this to all historical fiction fans.
Thank you to the publisher for my finished copy!
June 6, 2026
I’m a sucker for ancestry and tales of family heritage, and as a Torontonian, I loved learning some local history!! Black Creek is a beautiful story of a woman slowly learning to rid herself of the trauma passed down from her ancestors, and learning to love.
The theme and general story would get 5 stars but there are some things that bothered me (spoilers!):
1. I enjoy the supernatural, but am unsure how I feel about the ghosts in this story being left without an explanation. And the mother’s final words in the beginning get no explanation either, I thought there would be something tying back to that as the book concluded. It was eerie and certainly got the book to a good start, but why would she say their names as she was dying?
2. Geographically speaking, it doesn’t make sense to me that Kate spent so much time going back and forth from Jane & Finch to Queen West. The Beverly is a cool hotel, but it’s not a quick drive.
3. This is probably petty, but you can’t go up Bloor or down Steeles when they’re east & west streets, so you go across. Some of the directions were wrong, like saying she went west on Finch when Finch runs north & south. So, maybe it’s silly that this bothers me but I’m from Toronto and went to York University to I expected a book mostly based in Toronto to get it right.
Overall though, as I said, I really really enjoyed this book!! 👌
The theme and general story would get 5 stars but there are some things that bothered me (spoilers!):
1. I enjoy the supernatural, but am unsure how I feel about the ghosts in this story being left without an explanation. And the mother’s final words in the beginning get no explanation either, I thought there would be something tying back to that as the book concluded. It was eerie and certainly got the book to a good start, but why would she say their names as she was dying?
2. Geographically speaking, it doesn’t make sense to me that Kate spent so much time going back and forth from Jane & Finch to Queen West. The Beverly is a cool hotel, but it’s not a quick drive.
3. This is probably petty, but you can’t go up Bloor or down Steeles when they’re east & west streets, so you go across. Some of the directions were wrong, like saying she went west on Finch when Finch runs north & south. So, maybe it’s silly that this bothers me but I’m from Toronto and went to York University to I expected a book mostly based in Toronto to get it right.
Overall though, as I said, I really really enjoyed this book!! 👌
January 8, 2026
Thank you River Street Writing for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!
I'm sorry, but I found this book very boring. I didn't care for Kate and was a bit confused about what type of generational trauma she was trying to break when she seemingly was in the process of breaking it at the start of the book. The book is well-researched and clearly a passion project of the author since both she and her protagonist are seventh generation Stong women, but I think a memoir may have worked better than a fictional book.
Read the full review on my blog!
Also, I am more active on Storygraph now so if you want to see what I'm read right away, follow me there!
I'm sorry, but I found this book very boring. I didn't care for Kate and was a bit confused about what type of generational trauma she was trying to break when she seemingly was in the process of breaking it at the start of the book. The book is well-researched and clearly a passion project of the author since both she and her protagonist are seventh generation Stong women, but I think a memoir may have worked better than a fictional book.
Read the full review on my blog!
Also, I am more active on Storygraph now so if you want to see what I'm read right away, follow me there!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews