The Seekers of Deer Creek: A Novel

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, Mystery, Art, Literary Fiction, France, Contemporary, Adult

Audible Audio

First published 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

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seekers of Deer Creek by the multi faceted writer Thao 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.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"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."

"Some humans come with a price. You accept them in their entirety, because learning to love their flaws is easier than not loving them at all." - Thao Thai, The Seekers of Deer Creek 🦌

Vivian and Calla Nguyen are sisters who couldn't be more different. Vivian is an art curator whose life is ordered and predictable. Calla is a free spirit who is an artist and will disappear for long stretches of time. In the aftermath of their father's death, Calla arrives on the steps of Vivi's museum with a letter and a sketch identical to the painting Blue Mirror by renowned artist K.P. Ly that she found in their father's belongings. Vivi's examination of the painting leads the sisters' to search and return to their past. From the Wisconsin woods where they grew up to a beautiful French estate, to their ancestral home in Vietnam, The Seekers of Deer Creek is a beautiful journey of love, loss, ambition, sisterhood, and the unbreakable bonds of family across generations. Brilliantly told through the lens of an art mystery, this was riveting and impossible to put down! With stunning prose and thought-provoking musings, this book is a five-star stunner! Perfect for fans of family sagas and books about sisters.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Mariner Books and Thao Thai for the gifted advance reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

[Amy Broman]

Two sisters inherit from their father both a sketch that appears related to a well-known painting and a letter that may have been written by the artist. With their skills as an artist and an art conservator, respectively, the sisters set out to uncover why their father had those items in his possession and what they might signify. While the premise was interesting, I found the story overly complex and ponderous. Others may enjoy this literary fiction, but I DNFed at 35%.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

[Olive Fellows (abookolive)]

I know many of you were all about Banyan Moon when it came out a few years ago. But the fact that this novel appears to blend a sweeping, slightly mysterious family story with art is what caught my attention. 👀

Click here to hear more about this book and my other anticipated releases of the upcoming quarter over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Some humans come with a price. You accept them in their entirety, because learning to love their flaws is easier than not loving them at all."

I read the synopsis of this book when I first saw it at the bookstore, and it immediately caught my attention. Lately, I've been a fan of books that include art, history, family, self-discovery, and mystery. This book had it all. The Seekers of Deer Creek is a beautiful journey of love, loss, ambition, sisterhood, and the bonds between family from different generations. Told through the lens of an art mystery, this was impossible to put down! With this being my first book from the author, I'm very interested in reading her other works and future ones as well.

[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!

[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.

[A_Stylish_Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a story about the two sisters that are completely different and goes on an adventure to find mystery of a letter and a sketch found in their recently deceased father's belongings.

They travel to France and Vietnam to seek answers. While there we see more of their distinct personalities and how they are dealing the death of their father but also find out things about their mother who left when they were young.

I really like the story when they get to Vietnam and learn more about their father as well as getting to know their family.

Quyen Ngo did a good job with the narration. I appreciate the various accents for the countries they were in and the tension she builds during the rainstorm scene.

Thank you @marinerbooks @libro.fm for the gifted hook and audiobook.

[Keri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivi and Calla are sisters who are very different - Vivi is an art conservator and Calla is an artist who lives by her own rules. After their father dies and leaves them with a letter and a sketch that is an exact replica of a painting that Vivi has been restoring, the two become convinced that the painting is part of their family lore. The sister go on a journey to learn about the artist, the painting and their family history in Vietnam.

I love this author’s past work (both her literary and her romance) and so I was very excited to read this one. It did take me a bit to get into (which was really about my mood rather than the book, the writing, or the story) but once I did I could not stop reading. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the two sister’s personalities and how that played into their dynamics, and as an only child I always find sibling dynamics intriguing. There were some wonderful parts of the novel that flashed back to the artist’s life and the addition perspective added depth to the story. While I liked the audiobook and ended up listening to about half, I enjoyed it more when I could sit and read.

4.25 stars

[Chrissie Whitley]

August 2026, DNF at 70%. Thoughts to follow.

[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 the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

arc-provided-by-publisher

[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!

[Allison Olawsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

a beautiful story of sisterhood and forgiveness. thank you to mariner books for the early copy!

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early review copy.

Was it possible to experience déjà vu with someone you’d never met, an artist long dead? Or was déjà vu nothing more than a metaphysical extension of a wish? The desire for connection creates inevitability, maybe. It is a way of scumbling the past with the intentions of the present.

Two sisters struggle to free themselves from the lingering trauma of their childhood. Their mother left when they were little girls, barely old enough to remember her, and their father was never the same after that.  The family ties in this story are fraught, tangled, and delicate, just as in Banyan Moon.  I love Thao Thai's writing, her characters are always full and rich (and a little bit prickly), her settings are gorgeous, and I sink right into the story effortlessly.  I feel like I've been on a world tour!

Vivi, the older sister, always saw herself as the staid caretaker of her younger, wilder sister, Calla, but both sisters have so much lingering trauma after being raised by their abusive father.  They both struggle to live authentic lives, they desire to love and be loved but they do not seem to know how.  Their actions are often irrational and their choices are not always well thought-out, sometimes destructive.

Both sisters struggle to view themselves as lovable, and they both struggle with how to communicate and how to prioritize things in their lives and to determine what it is they really want to do in life.  After their father dies, Calla discovers notes in his shed that seem to be connected to a new gallery show Vivi's museum is organizing.    This book is basically watching them both make some really bad choices and then figure their shit out as they travel from Chicago to small town Wisconsin to Arles, France, to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, following clues to unravel the secrets of the artist.

There are family secrets to discover, of course, but the reveals are all fairly well broadcast beforehand, so I never found myself shocked by any of it.  In fact, I was a little annoyed that the characters did not consider some of these things beforehand (for example, if someone uses initials, perhaps they are concealing their gender due to unfair pressures of a patriarchal society ... But no one considers this possibility?)  I also found myself wishing that MY family was that interesting!

Most of the story is told in the present day, although there are some diary entries and letters set primarily  in the early 1930s and 1940s. 

There is a lot of family trauma and inherited trauma in this story, but it never dwells on the trauma.  This never becomes "trauma porn."  I found it was well balanced with stories of love, hope, and strong family bonds.

The gorgeous cover is perfect for this story, designed by Ploy Siripant.  More info from the author is here: https://thaothai.substack.com/p/the-s...

4.5 stars rounded up to 5


TW for: drug and alcohol abuse, mania, child abuse, spousal abuse, parental abandonment, infidelity, forbidden romance, and rape.


words I looked up:
(most of these words, except "visconti" and "stovepipe jeans," were obvious from context and did not need to be looked up, but I was curious)

Visconti - a fancy pen
pentimento - the visible traces of an earlier image, brushstroke, or sketch in a painting that an artist has painted over and changed
oneiric - dream-like, relating to dreams
Vinacafe - Vietnamese Instant Coffee
stovepipe jeans - high-waisted, true straight-leg denim style. Cut straight from the hip to the ankle without tapering  
phin - a traditional Vietnamese slow-drip coffee brewing tool
Sông Sài Gòn  - Saigon River
sinh Tố - fruit smoothie
tenebrism - artistic painting technique characterized by extreme, violent contrasts between light and dark.
Muối Ớt  - Vietnamese chili salt
palmyra - a tall fan-leaved palm

[meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“she was the protector. that role, thrust upon her at an age when she could not offer consent, had demanded everything of her. this new round of sacrifice—her job, her love, the life she knew—was the price to pay.”

“the only constant had been calla. over and over again, vivi pledged that she would never leave her sister.”

“what did we owe to the men and women who came before us? the protection of silence or the cold and uncertain arena of public judgment? how could any person make that decision for another? when so many hands could lay claim to a story, who did that story ultimately belong to?”

“within a lifetime of pretzeling herself into different roles—steady sister, dependable daughter, supportive best friend—she understood how to give people what they wanted…’art is the only home i’ve ever known…i grew up in a fractured house. the adults in my life couldn’t save me. but art could. every time my heart broke, art filled in the rifts, like kintsugi. making the cracks meaningful and mine, something i created, rather than a thing that another person did to me.’”

what a beautiful and heartfelt story about the complexities of sisterhood, family, love, and belonging told through a gripping mystery of art and its legacy, power, and story (& who ultimately gets to tell it?). (i honestly highlighted soo many quotes and had such a hard time choosing which ones to highlight in this review)

i finished this a couple of days ago, but i had to take some time to reflect a bit bc it made me so emotional in so many ways. if you know me, you know i love stories about families and their complexities, but as an eldest daughter/older sister myself, i absolutely LOVE stories about the unique beauty of sister relationships - no matter how estranged sisters may be, there is a special closeness and bond that will never be broken.

thai paints (haha see what i did there) a perfectly imperfect story of two estranged sisters, calla and vivi, who come together to solve a family mystery but end up with more than that. along with the two sisters, the reader truly embarks on a journey of reconciliation, grief, love, and navigating family history. i felt like i traveled the world, yet also had an intimate look into the complexity of calla and vivi’s relationships with each other and with their respective family members. i related so much to vivi as an eldest daughter/older sister myself. i literally saw myself through her in so many of her thoughts and thai really accurately captured the essence of an older sister (and for the younger sister through calla as well).

i loved thai’s writing style/prose and definitely need to read her first novel BANYAN MOON next. she writes both beautifully and with suspense; i was on the edge of my seat! i also love books about/or set at museums/art and you can definitely tell that thai put in a lot of research to write about conservation/restoration efforts through vivi, who’s an art conservator. the level of detail for each art piece was also so well-done; i could picture each painting/sketch in my head and i felt like i was inside the artist’s mind while reading!

thank you so much to Claire at Terrace Publishing for sending me an e-ARC and a finished copy of the book. this was such a beautifully written, immersive, and enchanting story and it will sit with me for a while.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a rare delight in this heart-wrenching, distracting world to become so lost in a writer’s work that you lose track of time entirely, but Thao Thai’s lush prose transported me elsewhere. A balanced novel with equal parts character-driven work and plot, it’s a magnificent pick for any reader eager to get their training wheels on for their first literary fiction adventure this summer.

Her latest novel unfolds the story of two estranged sisters—each shaped by different temperaments and wounds—drawn together by their father’s passing and the promise of an inheritance that just might alter their futures.

Calla, restless and creative, lives with a wild streak that has fueled both her art and her struggles with addiction. After a long stretch apart, it’s the discovery of an 8-by-10 sketch and a 1940s journal entry tucked among their father’s things that brings her back into the orbit of her older sister, Vivi. Vivi, ever the cautious guardian, can’t help but greet Calla’s return with wary eyes, scanning the air for that telltale trace of Pinot Noir even as old loyalties tug at her heart.

When Calla hands Vivi the drawing she found, the trajectory of these sisters’ lives changes entirely. A sketch of two women staring from the surface of a mirror, with a charcoal fissure separating them, is so distinct that it makes Vivi quaver. The faces are blank, but the work in progress delivers a nearly perfect replica of an elusive Vietnamese French Surrealist painter named K.P. Lý. On the cusp of launching the biggest exhibit of Vivi’s career, she has devoted herself to this very artist whose early sketch they now seemingly hold. The drawing seems to be in conversation with a painting titled Blue Mirror, scheduled for delivery the next day.

As Vivi examines this painting upon its delivery, she’s struck by the rich blues with brushstrokes heavy like clay, tactile and gluttonous. Her gaze is drawn to a tapering red streak down the middle, and she begins cleaning the painting. As varnish breaks and peels, another layer is revealed with hints of hidden faces. One who is Vietnamese with cropped hair, winged brows, and a freckle beneath her eye. A freckle that identically matches the one on Vivi’s own face.

Readers are launched on a quest from the forests of Wisconsin to sunlit French estates, and finally to Việt Nam, to learn more about their family’s rich history with this painter, to uncover the secrets of their past through journals, and, hopefully, to restore order to the sisterly relationship they once shared.

Thao writes, “The tragedy of the human experience is how avidly we each resist translation even as we yearn to be understood.” That longing—to be seen and known—ripples through every page of this novel. It’s a story that asks us to look again at our parents’ paths, to sift through the complexities and prejudices they navigated, and to approach each other with renewed gentleness. In the end, we’re all seekers, carrying our own burdens, hoping for understanding as we journey forward.

How lucky we are to live in a world with Thao Thai as a storyteller!

**Thank you to Mariner for the review copy- I'm very excited to share Thao's writing journey on the Book Gang Podcast this summer.**

[Quill (thecriticalreader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

Thao Thai’s sophomore novel contains her signature stunning prose and emotional storytelling, but suffers from plot conveniences and mawkishness.


Thao Thai’s debut Banyan Moon was one of my favorite books of 2023, so I was delighted to receive an ARC of her next release, The Seekers of Deer Creek. This book follows Vivi, an art historian and museum curator who cannot quite let herself trust in her good fortune. She has her dream job and an adoring partner, but she holds herself on guard for the other shoe to drop. Her sister, Calla, is an addict, and Vivi has felt responsible for her sister ever since her mother left them alone with their abusive alcoholic father as children. As Vivi’s museum prepares to open an exhibit featuring the mysterious K.P. Ly, a Vietnamese painter who disappeared in the 1940s, she discovers that the exhibit’s central painting has a hidden layer underneath it. Vivi risks her career to strip the painting’s top layers to reveal what lies underneath. Even more surprising, this painting seems to have some connection to her recently deceased father—and the investigation of this connection leads Vivi and Calla toward discovery, familial secrets, and confrontation with their inner demons.

The Seekers of Deer Creek features some of Thai’s beautiful prose that I loved in her debut. I also appreciated the emotional momentum of the plot. Despite the issues I had with much of the book, I still found it compelling as I followed the emotional highs and lows as the two sisters navigate a family mystery and their relationship with each other.

Unfortunately, there was much about this book that didn’t quite work for me. For one, I found it hard to suspend my disbelief at many moments. Since Vivi is an art historian, there are lots of references to academia, art curation, and historical research. It became clear that Thai doesn’t have a solid grasp of how these fields work. She describes the career of an art historian as an “attainable” and stable career path compared to artistry, which is laughable for anyone who has any experience in this field. This was just one of many comments and moments about historians/academia that pulled me out of the story.

For another, the mystery unfolds too neatly and too quickly to be believed. Everything falls into place without hardly any effort on the main characters’ part. There’s also a frame narrative portion to the story that I found hard to swallow, as I often do with frame narratives. While I understand that this needed to happen for Thai to reach the hard-hitting emotional beats she wanted, it irritated me.

Finally, the book’s sentimentality frequently borders on the mawkish. All of the characters are constantly having deep heart-to-hearts with each other in dialogue that is way too philosophical and sentimental to be believable. It was overdone and prevented me from fully investing in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Mariner Books for the gifted physical ARC. This one is kind of lengthy and I apologize in advance.

I have some complicated feelings about this book. There are certain aspects that I really loved, and others that I really struggled with. I think the story itself was beautiful, it had a lot of depth and layers of forgiveness and sisterhood and the complexities of that relationship at times. The family mystery was really interesting too. But I struggled with some of the writing choices and the pacing. But I'll start with what I enjoyed first. I'm also going to give this a 4 star here on Goodreads, but I would give it a solid 3.5 stars.

If you have any relationship with art, I think you'll find certain aspects of this book really gripping. The descriptions of paint, painting style, the feeling that art can give you, it's spot on. I actually went to school for Art Management and am an acrylic painter myself (non professional), I absolutely loved those aspects of this story. I also enjoyed that this story showed how two people (sisters in this case) can grow up in the same environment and home and experience the same things, but have different perceptions and emotions about the events. I felt like it was really true and relatable.

The things I struggled with. I think this is purely a "my experience" with the art world issue, but the author portraying any part of the art industry as more attainable or comfortable to get into is just kind of false and it stuck out to me, again I think because of my experience. Some people may have an easier time for sure, there's always outliers, but in my experience it is incredibly competitive whether it's being an artist or being behind the scenes in some capacity.

I also struggled with the pacing of the read, and I think the dialogue played a big part of that. The words that were chosen really expanded my vocabulary, which is fantastic, but it also made it tough to believe that there was any kind of casual relationship with the characters. And maybe that's a specific choice, it could have been formed that way because the sisters are so stilted to each other. One of the sisters is very rigid and has a hard exterior and the other is a bit softer and more relatable. So I could totally see the verbiage being a specific choice and it just landed wrong for me in this case. But the overall pacing was really slow, if this had been longer I'm not sure I would have finished it, but it's only a little over 300 pages so I pushed through.

My overall takeaways, this story is good. The sisterhood, the forgiveness, the family trauma and mystery of the painting/letter, it all works really well. My main criticisms are all structural and nitpicky about a certain aspect of career choice. This releases August 4th, if you want a layered story that's a bit on the slower side but still a solid read, I would recommend this for sure.

*This ARC was given by Mariner Books through NetGalley and a gifted physical copy, all opinions are my own.*

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her sophomoric novel, author Thao Thai follows the story of two Vietnamese-American sisters who've grown up in the woods of Wisconsin but whose lives have split once they entered adulthood. Eldest daughter Vivian Nguyen has long struggled with the self-imposed burden she's placed on herself to be the responsible, practical one; since the disappearance of their mother May when they were younger, she's taken on the informal role to be a stand-in mother to her younger sister Calla, who she regards as her complete opposite. Vivi works as an art conservator in Chicago, in a long term relationship with Samuel who has a young daughter named Phoebe while Calla is an artist who recently divorced Wayland, a childhood friend of both sisters. The two haven't spoken in years, but the passing of their father Tuan brings the two back together, but after discovering their father's unknown connection to a surrealist Vietnamese painter known as K.P. Lý, the two begin a journey that neither could have predicted.

In the chapters that follow, we're taken across multiple mediums, time periods, locations, and perspectives as Vivi and Calla begin to unearth the true story of K.P. Lý, where he traveled to for respite after disappearing from the art scene, his true muse and their star-crossed relationship - and on the journey, begin to unravel the truth about their own lineage and family. For Vivi especially, her memories of her father as an alcoholic have tainted her memories of him, an animosity that's bled over into her relationship with Calla as she eventually reconnected with him before his passing. The sisters travel to France and eventually a small village in Vietnam to put the final pieces together - revealing not just the truth of the past but confronting the reality of the present.

I loved Thao Thai's writing in "Banyan Moon" and her lyrical and poignant prose shines just as brightly in "The Seekers of Deer Creek". In Vivi and Calla, she's crafted two complex, flawed, yet fully believable protagonists - two sisters who have been hurt by the other, but still deeply care for other and find common ground in their shared love of art. I loved as well the storyline focused on K.P. Lý, especially as it gave me insight to the art culture at the time and highlighted how taboo topics we take for granted today were treated back then. The novel centered on a number of weighty topics - generational trauma; the violence that Vietnam went through in the 20th century; the longevity but simultaneous brevity of art; and the complex, ever-shifting forms of love, especially between family members.

I hope others will love the breadth and depth of "The Seekers of Deer Creek" and can't wait until it's published in August 2026!

[Brice Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s the different between a secret and a mystery?

Thao Thai’s The Seekers of Deer Creek follows sisters Vivi and Calla Nguyễn as they answer that question through a hidden art history, simultaneously exhuming their own past for reasons they don’t fully understand.

Thai’s briskly paced novel borrows its globe-trotting shape from adventure films, which makes it immediately fun, but the author smartly foregrounds the emotional truth of her central relationship. We quickly get the sense that Vivi and Calla’s shared quest is little more than an excuse for them to address the unstated tension between them. They need a way to talk about what they can’t talk about.

The writing impressed me at every turn. Thai brashly and expeditiously resolves threads that most authors would save for the end, and her willingness to upend and challenge the book’s plot plays well. What’s more true-to-life than realizing that you’re seeking the wrong answers? Maturing as a person is the constant process of realizing we need to tell different stories about ourselves, and Thai captures that perfectly.

Many of the dramatic moments that fill the novel’s pages are familiar to the point of cliché, but Thai draws on them for a good reason. Vivi and Calla are well-written characters who respond the way any person would if they were caught in a movie—they either scrutinize the easy narrative convenience or adopt its form when it’s easier. In one particularly memorable scene, Vivi raids Calla’s suitcase and knows that it’s a shortcut to telling the story she wants. She invites crisis because it’s cathartic.

While The Seekers of Deer Creek is exceptional in its themes and plotting, it stumbles a bit in its motifs. There are countless references to the significance of the title, but they feel clunky, as if Thai wants to emphasize the importance of “seeking” without fully arriving at her own answer. Likewise, some of the conversations in the final stretch of the novel put in overtime to explain why certain images and conflicts recur, and it’s a rare lapse in the book’s authenticity. Then again, a huge part of life is re-narrativizing it so that it makes sense, and maybe that’s what Vivi and Calla are doing too.

Overall, though, Thao Thai has crafted a novel that is as entertaining as it is reflective, and I always admire an author with the skill (and guts!) to breathe new life into familiar story beats. This is an easy recommendation, and it feels like one that will reward multiple reads.

My thanks to NetGalley & Mariner Books for the ARC!

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of two sisters seeking a mysterious painting by a forgotten Vietnamese painter, exploring family secrets, sisterhood and the enduring power of the past.

Calla and Vivi Nguyēn are sisters but estranged. Vivi is precise and orderly, working as an art conservator. Calla is an accomplished artist and a recovering addict as well. Shortly after the death of their father and their estrangement, Calla shows up at her sister’s museum with a sketch of a painting by an obscure Vietnamese painter, K. P. Lý, called Blue Mirror, along with a letter from Lý about the painting. Calla is convinced the painting belongs to their family and that their father on his deathbed wanted his girls to find the missing painting. Vivi must decide if she can look to her past.

What worked for me in this book was the globe hopping between Wisconsin (descriptions of Lake Michigan from that side of the lake) to France and the Mansion de Notre Réve (who wouldn’t want to wake up to Vivaldi’s “Summer”) as well as to Vietnam to visit the family’s crumbling estate at Long Xuyēn where they intend to spread their father’s ashes and meet their Vietnamese relatives. The descriptions are lovely.

I also liked how the sisters reforged their relationship. “The love between sisters is a sort of cosmic lace woven from tiny moments.” But then they are separated by a storm and Vivi leaves Vietnam taking home a painting of Deer Creek - you learn how the book gets its title. She also leaves behind the journal (excerpts of which are woven into the novel) of her uncle’s grandmother, Tǎm, and her great grandmother.

The discovery of mystery of the Vietnamese artist is a soulful and definitely interesting as is the return of and renaming of the painting that started the Nguyen sisters’ adventure. The book ends on such a poignant note. Some readers may want tissues on hand.

This is book for lovers of art and its mysteries as well enjoy a historical context for the art it anyone who enjoys a well written search for a secret of the past.

My thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for allowing me access to this ARC.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two estranged and flawed sisters, Vivi [elder] and Calla, with dysfunctional parents, reunite--two months after they fall out [again] in the aftermath of their father's death. Vivi is an art conservator at a Chicago museum--very controlled as opposed to Calla, a painter and much more of a free spirit.

"...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." And so it begins.

From the Wisconsin woods where Vivi and Calla grew up, then back in time to France [dual timeline here, through letters], to Vietnam where they seek to find answers. Of art and history and EMOTION. Family secrets.

Plus:
I learned much about the art world/paintings and especially conservation.

Minus:
slow
neat and tidy ending -- with some mush added in

Some words/phrasing just resonated:
"How much trouble would be saved, if they could all just say that they meant."
"His teeth seemed to glow like huddled white mice"
"ferocious determination"
"reached out and smacked it down as if with the nighty hand of Zeus"

I totally get the sisterhood storyline; those with siblings and [also other] complicated relationships may too.

I quite liked the story when the sisters went to Vietnam and reconnected with their family, but it was not enough and near the end of the novel.

3.5, cannot round up. In the distinct minority. Although I wanted to get to the end of the mystery/story, I had to plod thru and persevere.

[Hamad Naif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Booksfor this ARC.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vivi and Calla Nguyễn are sisters who've drifted into opposite lives, Vivi an art conservator in Chicago who's built her whole identity around order and restraint, Calla a magnetic, reckless artist who's spent years fighting her own demons. When their father dies suddenly, the two are forced back together, and what starts as grief unspools into something much bigger: a decades-old mystery involving a Vietnamese Surrealist painter, a missing masterpiece, and a family history neither sister was prepared to inherit.
What got me most is how the book refuses to be just one thing. It's a mystery, tracking a hidden portrait from the Midwest to Paris to a crumbling ancestral home on the edge of a ravine in Việt Nam. It's a family drama, unflinching about how grief and addiction and old wounds shape sisters who love each other and still can't quite reach one another. And it's a meditation on art itself, how a single image can outlive everyone who made it matter, carrying secrets forward across generations even when everyone involved is gone.
Thai's prose does the heavy lifting here. She writes place like she's lived inside it, the Wisconsin woods feel genuinely haunted, the Vietnamese scenes are steeped in history without ever tipping into lecture. And she never lets the mystery outrun the emotional core. Every reveal about the painter, about the sisters' parents, about what really happened to fracture this family, lands as character work first and plot twist second.

If Banyan Moon proved Thai could write grief and inheritance with real tenderness, Deer Creek proves she can do it while also building a genuinely gripping mystery around it. This is a book about sisterhood, about what we choose to bury and what refuses to stay buried, and about art as both wound and gift.
Absolutely one of my favorite reads this year.

[AK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real Rating: 4.5 stars

This feels like such a hard story to judge. Squarely in litfic, this story is about two sisters following clues to discover their family history, which is wrought with abuse, violence, death, and grief. The characters are so full of life and regrets, flawed and broken in ways that haunts them, and they carry that damage with them everywhere they go. It's a sad story, but it's also a story of growth and healing and love.

Thao Thai's writing is beautiful. The world is built in layers and the writing flows so smoothly throughout. There were some lulls, moments of slowness and indecision, particularly within Vivi, that I felt dragged a little at the start, but as the sisters set off, the story kind of flies from there. Secret trysts, sisterly betrayals, deaths and grief explored in various ways, and at the center of it all, love.

I cried a lot, I highlighted a lot. I can't say too much without spoiling anything, so I will say that if you're looking for something a bit more melancholy, but with a lot of heart and a dash of mystery, this story is for you. I loved the little twists that had our characters fighting to understand their identity within a new narrative, and trying to put into perspective other people's stories as they made discoveries. It was enthralling, and sad, but I would definitely say it's worth a read.

TW: rape, child abuse, attempted murder, death, car accident, domestic violence, alcohol consumption, injury detail, infidelity; mentions alcoholism, addiction, drugs, drowning, suicide

Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

eARC gifted via Edelweiss by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

[Vania · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Seekers of Deer Creek by Thao Thai (e-arc)
Pub date: 4 August 2026

my thoughts:
The Seekers of Deer Creek is a gorgeously written, emotionally rich novel that drew me in right from the first few chapters. Before I knew it, I was fully invested in the mystery surrounding the hidden painting and its origins. The story follows two estranged sisters with vastly different personalities as they uncover family secrets while exploring Vietnamese history, identity, intergenerational trauma, and healing. I definitely had one of the best times reading this, especially because of the lyrical writing style that makes it so easy to get lost in. My only slight criticism is the plot towards the end. I'm not sure if this was the author's intention, but after such a compelling start, I found the conclusion a little anticlimactic. I think that's largely because I became so invested in the mystery surrounding the artwork and was hoping for a bigger revelation. Even so, I was still satisfied with how everything came together. In many ways, the ending felt more realistic, reminding me that this was never just a story about solving a mystery. At its heart, it's a story about sisterhood, grief, forgiveness, and finding your way back to yourself. If you're hesitant because the novel centres around art, don't be. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about art, yet I never felt lost. The artistic elements enrich the story rather than overwhelm it, making it accessible even for readers who aren't interested in the subject. Overall, this is a beautifully written and deeply moving novel, and I'd happily recommend it.

Overall rating:
⭐️: 4.5/5

Thank you to Claire from @terracepublicrelations and @netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her sophomore novel, Thao Thai is focused on the relationship between two sisters, Vivi and Calla, with Vivi being our narrator. Vivi is an art historian and restorationist, working for an art gallery in Chicago, prepping to show an exhibit about K.P. Lý, a surrealist artist who lived and worked in France in the 1930s-40s, but who originated from Vietnam. Vivi and Calla's parents are both from Vietnam as well, and when Calla discovers a sketch that exactly matches K.P. Lý's well known portrait, Blue Mirror, along with a mysterious letter written in Vietnamese, she begs Vivi to go with her to hunt down why their father had this sketch and letter, and how it relates to K.P. Lý. Their hunt for the connection between their father and K.P. Lý takes them from Chicago to Vivi's alma mater, to France, and eventually to Vietnam.
As with Banyan Moon, in Seekers of Deer Creek focuses on familial relationships, in this case that of two sisters who survived the same difficult childhood, by coping in different ways. Vivi feels that it is her job to protect Calla, and how that impacts their relationship is explored throughout the book, while also showing how they resolve their own internal conflicts about the flawed childhood they both experienced. How K.P. Lý connects to their family is revealed about halfway through the book, but the impact that has on their understanding of their family is explored throughout the book. Overall, I very much enjoyed this family drama and mystery, and the growth and development that both Vivi and Calla experience as characters.
Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seekers of Deer Creek is a beautifully wrought, deeply evocative novel — the kind that feels like opening a long‑sealed box of family relics and finding both tenderness and ghosts inside. Thao Thai weaves a story of estranged sisters, buried histories, and the magnetic pull of a past that refuses to stay quiet.

Vivi and Calla Nguyễn are wonderfully drawn opposites: one meticulous and guarded, the other bold, chaotic, and aching for connection. Their fractured relationship gives the book its emotional spine, and watching them circle each other — wary, wounded, still tethered by something unspoken — is as compelling as the mystery they’re trying to unravel.

The discovery of a sketch linked to the enigmatic Vietnamese painter K.P. Lý becomes the spark that forces them back together. What begins as a search for a lost artwork slowly becomes a journey through the fault lines of their family: grief, inheritance, addiction, silence, and the stories that shape us even when we try not to look.

Thai’s settings are lush and haunting — from the mist‑soft Wisconsin woods to a glittering French estate to the crumbling ancestral home in Việt Nam, perched on the edge of a ravine like a memory about to give way. Each place feels alive, steeped in history and longing.

What lingers most is the novel’s quiet ache: its understanding of sisterhood as something both fragile and fiercely enduring, and its belief that art can hold truths we’re not yet ready to speak.

A moving, atmospheric story about family, legacy, and the irresistible gravity of the past — tender, haunting, and beautifully told.

With thanks to Thao Thai, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

[Amanda Bennett at passionforprose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivi and Calla Nguyen didn’t have the easiest upbringing. After their mother abandoned the family, the sisters were raised by their alcoholic father. To escape the hardships of daily life, they created an imaginative world in the backwoods of Wisconsin, where make-believe was free.

After graduating from Rathmore College, both women find careers in the art world, albeit on opposite sides of it. The vivacious Calla becomes a painter, while the more reserved Vivi works in art restoration. When Calla arrives at Vivi’s museum with a sketch she discovered in their late father’s barn, Vivi is stunned. The drawing is an exact copy of Blue Mirror, a painting featured in the museum’s upcoming exhibition. Why did their father have it, and what secrets had he been keeping?

What follows is an engrossing adventure as the sisters set out to uncover the sketch’s origins and their family’s connection to it. Their search leads them from France to Vietnam, revealing long-buried truths about both the mysterious artwork and their own heritage. Along the way, they are forced to confront the trauma of their childhood and the fractures that have shaped their relationship.

Despite the significant hardships Vivi and Calla have endured, this poignant novel is ultimately a story about sisterhood, healing, and the ways art can preserve both history and hope. Equal parts mystery and family drama, it explores whether the bonds of love can outlast even the deepest wounds.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mariner Books, and author Thao Thai for the advance review copy. The Seekers of Deer Creek is out on August 4th. All opinions are my own.

http://www.instagram.com/passionforprose

[Books Data · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Seekers of Deer Creek by Thao Thai is an atmospheric family mystery about two estranged Vietnamese American sisters, Vivi and Calla Nguyễn, whose painful history is unexpectedly reopened after their father’s death. Vivi, the older sister, has built a careful, controlled life as an art conservator in Chicago. Calla, a gifted but impulsive artist and recovering addict, lives much less predictably. Though they share a difficult childhood, they have grown apart and carry very different memories of their family.

Their fragile connection is disturbed when Calla discovers a sketch and a letter among their father’s belongings. The sketch is an exact copy of Blue Mirror, a mysterious painting by the forgotten Vietnamese-French artist K. P. Lý. When Vivi examines the original painting, she discovers evidence of another image hidden beneath its surface. The discovery draws the sisters into an investigation that connects their father, Lý, and their own family history in unexpected ways.

Their search takes them from the Wisconsin woods where they grew up, to France, and eventually to Vietnam and their ancestral home. Along the way, old journals, memories, artworks, and family secrets gradually reveal how much of their past has been misunderstood or deliberately left unspoken.

At its heart, the novel is less about finding a lost painting than understanding what families inherit: trauma, silence, love, and unfinished stories. Thai presents sisterhood as complicated but enduring, showing how confronting the past can become a path toward forgiveness, identity, and reconciliation.

[Sue - Recos and Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having heard so many wonderful things about Banyan Moon, I was excited to have the opportunity to read the author's latest book. This isn't my mainstream reading genre, but one of my favorite things about reading is discovering stories outside my usual preferences, and this one definitely piqued my curiosity.

The story follows two sisters who seem completely different on the surface, yet share an undeniable bond forged through their artistic talents and a turbulent upbringing. Part family drama, part mystery, the novel explores how childhood shapes adulthood, the lasting impact of the past, and the secrets families keep that continue to echo through generations.

The novel takes its time revealing the story, with the sisters' traumatic childhood often alluded to rather than fully explored and I found myself wishing for a little more insight into those formative experiences. The author's use of language was beautifully expressive, giving a poetic feel and making it the kind of novel that I wanted to savor rather than rush through. A few events wrapped up a little too conveniently for my liking, so an extra layer of suspense would have made the payoff even stronger.

If you enjoy beautifully written, character-driven family dramas with a touch of mystery, this is a book worth picking up. Its lyrical prose and thoughtful exploration of sisterhood, family secrets, and the lasting impact of the past make for a rewarding read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Terrace Public Relations for an advanced copy of this book.

This was a 3.5 read for me.