Only weeks ago, Avery pulled her best friend, Key, from the deadly black water. The cycle from her familyโs Kanyenโkehรก:ka (Mohawk) stories is finally broken, the black water is now a harmless lake, and her problems are far from supernatural: All Avery wants is a normal summer with Key, her now-boyfriend.
The trauma, however, casts a long shadow over the town. Some victims never returned. Terrifying memories threaten to resurface, but Avery pushes them down. Who sheโs really worried about is Key. The two are supposed to be closer than everโso why does he feel so distant?
Wracked by anxiety, Avery begins to see a chilling reflection in every mirror, one that moves on its ownโand sheโs not the only one. With her familyโs safety in the balance, Avery must decide: Run away to the safety of normal life with Key, or return to lakeโs edge and face her reflection, before her home is subsumed by darkness once and for allโฆ.
Cheryl Isaacs can often be found running through the Carolinian forests of Southwestern Ontario, where she has fearlessly enjoyed the trails for years. Her Kanienโkรฉha culture often appears in her writing. The Unfinished is her debut novel, though her work has appeared in numerous Indigenous publications.