The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson follows a trucker named Ben Jones, who delivers goods to people who live along a barren section of Route 117 in the Utah desert. Every day in Ben’s life is exactly the same: long, repetitive, and uneventful.
One day, Ben impulsively turns off Route 117 and comes upon an abandoned housing development that looks as though it once could have breathed life in that remote, quiet part of the desert. That’s where Ben meets Claire, a seductive, alluring half-Asian woman who plays the cello and stays low key to evade her dangerous husband.
Shortly after meeting Claire, Ben’s life becomes pure chaos. Strangers try tricking him into revealing sensitive information about his delivery route and goods, while the owner of The Never-Open Desert Diner—an old man named Walt Butterfield—follows Ben everywhere to keep a watchful eye on his activities.
When things start getting too dangerous, Ben sets out to solve a decades-old mystery involving The Never-Open Desert Diner with hopes of saving Claire and putting an end to the violence in her life forever.
Those desert crazies…
This book reminded me a lot of that 1997 movie called U-Turn featuring Sean Penn. In U-Turn, Sean Penn is en route to Las Vegas when his car breaks down in a small Arizona desert town called Superior. While he stays in town waiting for the shady auto mechanic (played by Billy Bob Thornton) to fix his car, Sean Penn gets beat up, robbed, seduced, and caught in an ugly web of violence and crime. Anyway, that’s what this novel reminded me of.
The story starts out great. It offers enough intrigue, mystery, and humor. But I started losing interest toward the middle of the book and I’m still trying to figure out why. I think I was hoping for more interactions between Ben and every character who wasn’t Walt or Claire, who were my least favorite characters. Despite everything we learn about Walt and Claire in this novel, I couldn’t relate to them and didn’t care what happened to them.
What I DID love about The Never-Open Desert Diner was James Anderson’s writing style. He writes well and he’s very witty in an understated way. Unfortunately, I can’t say The Never-Open Desert Diner will linger in my mind for too long after posting this blog.
The sequel to The Never-Ending Desert Diner is Lullaby Road, which released in 2018.
Did you read this novel, and if so, what did you think about it?
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.
Last Updated on November 15, 2025 by Sarah Ann
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