The Never-Open Desert Diner

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 deserts 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 hasnt opened in years. . Bens 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 shes fleeing something in her pasta dark secret that pushed her to the end of the earthbut 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 whove laid claim to this desert come to light bringing Ben and the other locals into deadly conflict with Claires pursuers. Ultimately the answers they all seek are connected to the deserts greatest mysterywhat 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.