Scavengers

A mother and daughter search for a buried treasure in Boland’s rollicking debut. When Bea is fired from her New York City finance job and her life implodes, she heads to Utah where her wayward mother, Christy, has been obsessively tracking an online forum devoted to $1 million worth of antiques left in the desert by a late poet. Christy has created detailed maps to help her find the bounty, and when Bea arrives, unemployed and with no good prospects, she’s drawn into her mother’s dubious mission. They set out for a rural town called Mercy, where they stay in a cabin and meet Christy’s online boyfriend Bob, who also believes in the treasure. Then Christy and Bea get lost in the mountains while searching for the treasure, and they’re saved by outdoorsmen Tag and Hank, who join forces with them. Bea takes a liking to Tag, and their relationship develops over the course of the novel. Things take a sinister turn, though, when Bob vanishes. Boland blends genuine thrills with an affecting story of a mother and daughter’s restored relationship, and the narrative builds to a surprise ending. Readers will be delighted. (Jan.)