“James Anderson’s unusually literary crime novel takes its atmosphere from the shifting power of the desert light on a quiet highway in central Utah.” You have not read a book like The Never-Open Desert Diner in a long time, if ever. Download the reading guide.

MYSTERY SCENE MAGAZINE

• “In this fine debut, James Anderson’s graceful prose and evocative look at the desert elevate this untraditional mystery that would be kin to novels by James Sallis and the late Jim Crumley…” – Read the Full Review by Oline H. Cogdill
• Local truck driver Ben Jones, still in mourning over a heartbreaking loss, is just trying to get through another season of treacherous roads and sudden snowfall without an accident.
• Ben’s job as a truck driver is more than a career; it is a life he loves.
• Winter has come to Route 117, a remote road through the high desert of Utah trafficked only by eccentrics, fugitives, and those looking to escape the world.

Ben Jones, the protagonist of James Anderson’s haunting debut novel, The Never-Open Desert Diner , is on the verge of losing his small trucking company. A great book for your library one you could read again and again only to gain just one more morsel missed in the first pass.” – Read the Full Review “James Anderson’s unusually literary crime novel takes its atmosphere from the shifting power of the desert light on a quiet highway in central Utah.” – Read the Full Review/Interview You have not read a book like The Never-Open Desert Diner in a long time, if ever.

PROSE & CONS MAGAZINE

“What’s James Anderson reading? “Effective…and unusual reading experience.” “…distills the heat and shimmering haze of the Utah desert into a fine first novel.” Read Entire Review Beautifully written with a delicate sense of humor…a book with this kind of subtly, lyricism, and quiet intensity isn’t just appreciated — it’s restorative.” Read Entire Review “Absorbing…an extraordinary debut.” Read the Full Review “…a delicious cast of colorful characters…Lullaby Road is a triumphant mix of landscape, character, wit and sagacity wrapped in a noir thriller.”

– Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

Read an excerpt from the book. It is a story that holds the reader and refuses to let go and will linger long after the last page. The Never-Open Desert Diner is a unique blend of literary mystery and noir fiction that evokes a strong sense of place. The orphan son of a Native American father and a Jewish social worker, Ben is drawn into a love affair with a mysterious woman, Claire, who plays a cello in the model home of an abandoned housing development in the desert.

WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

But then he finds a mute Hispanic child who has been abandoned at a seedy truck stop along his route, far from civilization and bearing a note that simply reads “Please Ben. Set in the 1930s, the action of the books takes place in a large fictional British estate, or stately home, belonging to George Henry Aylvin Saunders, the 12th Earl of Burford. “In this fine debut, James Anderson’s graceful prose and evocative look at the desert elevate this untraditional mystery that would be kin to novels by James Sallis and the late Jim Crumley…” Ben discovers the desert is relentless in its grip, and what the desert wants, it takes. Ben’s job as a truck driver is more than a career; it is a life he loves.

– WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

“”We are the trouble we seek,” says Ben Jones, the half-Jewish, half-Native American trucker who narrates this book. “Atmospheric…Arresting desert vistas and distinctive characters leave a lasting impression.” “A sweet ride” Click to read full review. “Keep Watch Over Your Children” Click to read full review. Local truck driver Ben Jones, still in mourning over a heartbreaking loss, is just trying to get through another season of treacherous roads and sudden snowfall without an accident.

James Anderson’s Followers (

Winter has come to Route 117, a remote road through the high desert of Utah trafficked only by eccentrics, fugitives, and those looking to escape the world. “Anderson’s first novel…is a great one…(with) genius in creating characters that stay with you…They creep into your brain and settle in for a lengthy visit. “The great tradition of hard-boiled crime novels finds new and promising territory in the Utah desert.

WUMN RADIO INTERVIEW WITH MITCH TEICH

“Anderson creates a world of his own and then offers you a chance to traverse it.” Read full review. “A beautiful and exceptional novel” Read full review. Click on name of publication to read For many years he worked in book publishing.

• “Effective…and unusual reading experience.”
• For many years he worked in book publishing.
• “What’s James Anderson reading?
• Inspector Wilkins books
• “We predict The Never-Open Desert Diner will be one of the best books you read in 2015.” Read Entire Interview and Review

Does James Anderson write books in series?

A single, thirty-eight-year-old truck driver, Ben’s route takes him back and forth across one of the most desolate and beautiful regions of the Utah desert. “We predict The Never-Open Desert Diner will be one of the best books you read in 2015.” Read Entire Interview and Review “Brilliant…Seldom has (this reviewer) read a novel more affecting (or) encountered such memorable characters.” “In this fine debut, James Anderson’s graceful prose and evocative look at the desert elevate james anderson author this untraditional mystery that would be kin to novels by James Sallis and the late Jim Crumley…” – Read the Full Review by Oline H. Cogdill

TAMPA BAY TIMES INTERVIEW

Inspector Wilkins books He is best known for his books featuring Inspector Wilkins. Other jobs have included logging, commercial fishing and, briefly, truck driver.