Another mommy issues book oh boy.

Also how could you do this to me I’m going to be thinking of this book every time I have Pad Thai….

Reading this book feels like we’re on a road trip with Bea driving and her mom keeps yanking the wheel to make pit stops. Bea resists for the sake of it but she had no other plans so tends to just follow along with things.

Their dynamic can be pretty frustrating. With years of unacknowledged issues and them taking turns redirecting when conflict does happen. It was a relief when they started to be more honest with each other.


The ending was sweet, glad they could stop chasing their tails and find peace.

3 cheers for Woody. :)

This book got me because of the cover. The artwork is so gorgeous. I went into reading it totally blind and it took me on a ride. I don't want to give too much away and I think it's well worth reading and going in blind.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! This book started strong, with a strained mother-daughter relationship taking place amidst a treasure hunt. Unfortunately for me, their inability to communicate with each other and their naivety really distracted from the book. I also found the vague ending to be quite disappointing.

*** 5/23/25 *** Thank you, NetGalley and Viking, for the opportunity to preview this January 2026 novel by Kathleen Boland.

After reading Scavengers, I imagine author Kathleen Boland has spent vacations in the Utah hills, hiking and staying in a cabin or small town, or possibly she studied anthropologic history in college, as the descriptions of the *places* were lengthy and vivid. There is a lot of historic detail about how the locations were settled, and while this may be compelling narratives for some, they were the least interesting parts of the book for me.

The main character of Scavengers is Bea, a young single 30-something woman working in a NYC finance-bro environment, but without the benefit of educated or even really involved parents from which to drive her ambition and life goals past the point of being thrilled to have enough money to live independently and even support her mother, Christie, as well as her grandmother for a while. Bea is a person hoping to find her people and figure out what her relationship with her mother should be and what her life should be.

The story has a "before" arc based in NYC where Bea struggles to connect to others, taking scraps from a booty-call man who she thinks of as a boyfriend despite all contrary evidence. Bea finds herself socializing with a group far beyond her social comfort zone, and she misreads cues professionally and personally, finding herself alone and adrift.

Circumstances lead to the "after" arc in which Bea joins her mother in Utah to visit, and then to join her in what she sees as a hair-brained scheme to find a million dollar buried treasure with the only clue being a poorly written poem with a message board full of fanatics trying to decipher it.

I came to this book for the personal journey aspect of Bea, as well as some 'adventure' reading as they sought the treasure. I was frustrated in the actual reading by the mostly super naive and highly worrisome behavior of Bea and her mother, drinking and partying with strangers - some very creepy ones - routinely. There is a lot of drinking in this book. I couldn't understand Bea's inability to speak even a little directly to her mother, or her ongoing support of her mother when she herself was running out of money.

I expected (hoped for) Bea's weather expertise to combine with Christie's map and notes on the treasure to take the book in a very different direction that had them both use their core skills to work together to accomplish something. But the side stories of Christie's weird boyfriend and the town hall meeting and the history of the locations seemed to dilute the core themes for me. The reader is given a resolution for Bea and Christie, but it was a little subtle for me versus expectations. I wanted a stronger outcome for Bea to allow her to rise victorious professionally, personally, and socially, and I got a little of that, but hoped for more. Despite these thoughts, I did empathize with Bea and felt her character was well written - I could feel her struggle quite viscerally.

I believe this is the author's first book, so kudos for that, and I give it 3.5* rounded up, and would read her next book to see how she evolves as an author.

This was an interesting read. It was hard to get into and follow at first, and the characters never really were fully developed, but I enjoyed the storyline. Rooting for the good guys, booing the bad guys, it was a nice read.

A million-dollar treasure. A mother with a map. A daughter with nothing left to lose. This mother-daughter treasure hunt is everything—funny, raw, and unexpectedly healing. Scavengers took me on a wild ride through the desert and straight into my heart. Five stars for this unforgettable journey.

Utah is weird as is, so a book about a cultish obsession with a treasure hunt set there? Right up my alley. I did get bored a few times but since it was such a short read I still ran right through it. I don’t think I’m the intended audience but I didn’t mind it.

Thank you Viking Penguin for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own! 🤠

This book has everything a girl could want:
- Someone leaving their job and heading into the unknown
- Characters with questionable decision-making skills
- A treasure hunt with a cult-like following
- General Utah beauty and weirdness

Bea has just been fired from her high-stakes job in NYC after making a huge mistake. Burned out after being overlooked for promotions (and by the man she’s interested in), she heads west to visit her eccentric mother, Christy, in Utah. Christy’s favorite hobby is obsessively following a forum dedicated to finding a mysterious treasure that once belonged to the “Poet.” When Bea arrives, she keeps her job loss a secret, not wanting to burden her mother (since she’s paying Christy’s rent). But when she finds out Christy is planning to meet a fellow treasure hunter in a small town to do some research, Bea decides to tag along.

The author’s writing is vivid, bringing each scene to life in a way that feels immersive but never drags. I especially appreciated how well-rounded the characters were, how they were introduced, and how bits of their backstories and motivations were revealed at just the right moments. The story balances strong character development with an engaging plot, and I found myself eagerly trying to piece things together. It made me feel like I was scrolling the forum myself, trying to figure out who I could trust and where the treasure might be.

This was a five-star read for me, and I’m excited for its official release. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy light mysteries, a bit of adventure, humor, eccentric characters, and the American West. 🤠🌄🐴

I loved this novel. It tells the story of Bea, a young woman recently fired from her NYC position in the commodities market, and her visit with her largely absentee, free-spirit mother (Christy), who has been living in a Utah rental home thanks to funding from Bea. Bea is broke and her mothers on the edge of being evicted from her home. But her ever-optimistic mother has a plan. She has been obsessively frequenting a chat room for people hunting for a mysterious buried treasure. The clues to find the treasure are embedded in an odd poem. Christy has spent months (years?) making an odd map of where she thinks the treasure is. She has been working in Tandem with a mystery man from the forum ("Bob") and they have planned a long weekend together in a small Utah tow=n to zero in on the treasure. Bea's arrival jostles those plans, as she accompanies her mother on the weekend getaway. What ensures is mesmerizing. The characters in the novel are fascinating, and the novel had me staying up late at night reading well beyond my bedtime. The backdrom of the Utah desert was also wonderfully rendered--so much so that the desert was almost a character in the novel. Highly recommended!

After Bea’s carefully curated life unravels, she flees to Salt Lake City—nominally to check in on her mother, but really to regroup. She finds Christy mid-obsession with an online treasure hunt, prepping for a meet-up with a fellow sleuth in the desert town of Mercy. Bea is skeptical, weary, and reluctantly along for the ride—but what unfolds is so much more than a quirky road trip.

The novel thrives in its dual tensions: between logic and belief, responsibility and freedom, daughter and mother. Bea and Christy’s dynamic is the story's heart—complicated, layered, and painfully honest. Their opposing worldviews clash hilariously and movingly as they trudge through scrubby landscapes, decode cryptic clues, and fumble toward understanding.

The writing is funny, insightful, and emotionally generous. There’s a hint of screwball comedy, a dose of mystery, and a lot of soul. But what sets the book apart is its refusal to settle for easy transformation—it embraces the messiness of reinvention, especially for women who have been boxed into roles for too long.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In Scavengers, Kathleen Boland delivers a wild adventure through the Utah desert—and straight into the messy heart of a mother-daughter relationship that's been unwinding. When Bea Macon’s career derails, she has no choice but to find her mom in Salt Lake City. Christy, her unreliable, unpredictable mother who’s currently consumed by an online treasure-hunting obsession and convinced she’s about to strike gold and find a million dollars.

What begins as reluctant visit turns into something dangerous, as Christy ropes Bea into a desert mission with a man she met in a chatroom. Bea has always been the one to swoop in and clean up her mother’s chaos—but this time, the consequences may be more than either of them can handle.

Equal parts darkly funny, suspenseful, and emotional. Scavengers is an exploration of loyalty, family, and what we’re willing to risk to prove something to ourselves—or the people who stopped believing in us.

#VikingBooks #Scavengers #KathleenBoland