A singularly compelling debut novel about a desert where people go to escape their past and a
truck driver who finds himself at risk when he falls in love with a mysterious woman. Ben Jones
lives a quiet hardscrabble life working as a trucker on Route 117 a little-travelled road in
a remote region of the Utah desert which serves as a haven for fugitives and others looking to
hide from the world. For many of the desert s inhabitants Ben's visits are their only contact
with the outside world and the only landmark worth noting is a once-famous roadside diner that
hasn t opened in years. Ben s routine is turned upside down when he stumbles across a beautiful
woman named Claire playing a cello in an abandoned housing development. He can tell that she s
fleeing something in her past a dark secret that pushed her to the end of the earth but despite
his better judgment he is inexorably drawn to her. As Ben and Claire fall in love specters
from her past begin to resurface with serious and life-threatening consequences not only for
them both but for others who have made this desert their sanctuary. Dangerous men come looking
for her and as they turn Route 117 upside down in their search the long-buried secrets of
those who ve laid claim to this desert come to light bringing Ben and the other locals into
deadly conflict with Claire s pursuers. Ultimately the answers they all seek are connected to
the desert s greatest mystery what really happened all those years ago at the never-open desert
diner? In this unforgettable story of love and loss Ben learns the enduring truth that some
violent crimes renew themselves across generations. At turns funny heartbreaking and thrilling
The Never-Open Desert Diner powerfully evokes an unforgettable setting and introduces readers
to a cast of characters who will linger long after the last page.
