The Seekers of Deer Creek

by Thao Thai

From the national bestselling author of Banyan Moon, a captivating, evocative story of two estranged sisters on a quest to find a painting by a forgotten Vietnamese artist that holds the truth of their family’s fractured past.

Aside from the fact they are sisters, Vivi and Calla Nguyễn have little in common.

Vivi, the eldest, lives an orderly and predictable life. She works as an art conservator at a museum in Chicago, carefully preserving pieces of the past, all the while refusing to examine her own dark history.

Calla leads a much bolder, if occasionally reckless, existence. She’s an accomplished artist with a flair for the dramatic, charming and intriguing everyone she meets. She’s also a recovering addict, constantly causing Vivi to worry.

Months after the two fall out in the wake of their father’s death, Calla appears on the steps of the museum with a sketch and a letter she found in their father’s belongings. The sketch is an exact copy of Blue Mirror, a striking painting by a Vietnamese painter named K.P. Lý. In the letter, Lý writes about a mysterious lost work of art. Calla is convinced it is meant for their family, and that it was their father’s deathbed wish for her and Vivi to find it together. Intrigued yet reluctant to follow her capricious sister, Vivi must decide whether she’s willing to face or shut the door to the past.

From the ghostly Wisconsin woods to a glittering estate in the French countryside to a sprawling ancestral home teetering on the edge of a ravine in Việt Nam, The Seekers of Deer Creek is a story of sisters, art, and the irresistible gravity of the past—how it endures across time and generations, always present even when buried.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication August 4, 2026

About the author

I’m the author of Banyan Moon, the July 2023 Read with Jenna title, Barnes & Noble Discover Pick, and Book of the Month selection. Banyan Moon was also selected by booksellers as an IndieNext pick. The novel was awarded the Crook's Corner Book Prize and longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. A recipient of the 2024 Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Award, my work has been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, WIRED, Elle, Lit Hub, and other publications. I live in central Ohio with my husband and daughter. My forthcoming novel, The Seekers of Deer Creek, will be released August 4, 2026.

Reviews

[Mai H.]

ANHPI TBR

I loved the generational trauma in BANYAN MOON so lfg, y'all ✌🏼

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seekers of Deer Creek by the multi faceted writer Thai Thai, was written as an art history based mystery, but develops as an ode to sisterhood and overcoming a tumultuous childhood. Set in the Midwest, we watch the Nguyen sisters Vivi and Calla set out to find out their mysterious ancestors history through France and Vietnam.

I can see Thai writing a mystery/thriller novel in the future, as this one had me on. the edge of my seat as it quickly dives into the mystery of a Vietnamese artist. By the middle, the book becomes more of a nod to sisterhood, as Vivi and Calla's strained relationship is delved into. I do wish the back stories between Vivi and Calla would have been more fleshed out, as there are very limited descriptions of what truly went awry in their past, but you get the idea throughout.

Thao Thai’s second novel after the stellar Banyan Moon is brisk, exciting, but also a passionate tale of hidden love, but overall Deer Creek is both heartfelt and exciting.

[Lizzie L · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Thai’s second novel, two sisters come together in a transcendent journey to understand a painting, its history, and one another. From the woods of Wisconsin, across the world to the French countryside and Vietnam, a story unfolds of both the past and the future, togetherness and independence, knowing and unknowing. What begins as a somewhat desperate pursuit for answers, progresses into a beautiful novel examining art, love, and character. Will Vivi and Calla find what they are looking for??

This would be a perfect read for book club! Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC!

[Brie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entire book feels like a love letter, a long-lost family heirloom. The Seekers of Deer Creek has the scent of your grandmother's jewelry box. Art that heals. People who have decided to change. The complex and intricate relationships that forms when the formative years are marked by trauma.

I don't think I have the words to describe how reading this book made me feel. My heart is broken, but it's also filled with so much hope.

The prose is enchanting, and the mystery keeps you intrigued every moment. The pacing is excellent.

Today is December 30, 2025, and this is one of the best reads I’ve had this year.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC!

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a really beautiful story centered around two sisters, family, and the things we withhold from others. While being a true novice around art history, I love reading about it and the details around Vivi’s conservation/restoration efforts and knowledge were a real treat. The author definitely already knew their stuff or did an amazing amount of research.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lyrical novel is an ode to sisterhood, family love and misunderstandings, identity, art and history. Thao Thai’s beautiful language draws you into the Wisconsin, Chicago, France, and Vietnam settings. The phrase that “narrative, after all that, was only a filter through which meaning-varied, contradictory, subversive-could soft” so aptly describes how people can see and experience the same event in myriad ways. I appreciated that the messy relationships were not all cleaned up, but that quiet forgiveness and understanding was a central theme. Adored the author’s first book also and look forward to reading her next books in the years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Thao Thai hits it out of the park again with this epic tale of generational trauma, sisterhood, and love. I loved each and every character in this tale, and the unexpected twists kept me reading long past my bedtime. A beautiful tale.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advance review copy. All opinions are mine.

[Viv · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

thao thai did it again with her sophomore book. i knew i wanted to read this book the moment i heard about it but the story was so much more than what i anticipated, what an ode to sisterhood, familial love, art and (cultural) identity. and just the same as the last time, i will be looking forward to whatever thao thai put out next.

[Mary Fabrizio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet tale but the ending felt anticlimactic. The clues they were given seemed very obvious and it was hard to suspend disbelief. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Samantha // fictionfigurine]

I CANT WAIT!!!!!!!