THE NEVER-OPEN DESERT DINER

A haunting, funny, and masterfully written debut crime novel, about a remote place in the desert where people go to escape their past, and one man must learn the enduring truth that some violent crimes renew themselves across generations.

Ben Jones lives a life of quiet and relative solitude, working as a trucker in one of the most beautiful and desolate areas of the Utah desert, which has become a haven for fugitives and others looking to hide from the world. But when he meets Claire, a mysterious woman he finds playing a cello in an abandoned housing development, he is drawn into a love affair that has serious and life-threatening consequences not only for them both, but for others who have made this desert their sanctuary.
Ultimately their passion reignites a decades-old tragedy at a roadside café referred to by the locals as The Never-Open Desert Diner. In this unforgettable story of love and loss, Ben must learn the enduring truth that some violent crimes renew themselves across generations.

The Never-Open Desert Diner is a unique blend of literary mystery and noir fiction that powerfully evokes an unforgettable setting and introduces readers to a cast of characters who will linger long after the last page.

JAMES ANDERSON was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He is a graduate of Reed College, and received his MFA in creative writing from Pine Manor College. His short fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews have appeared in many magazines, including The Bloomsbury Review, New Letters, Solstice Magazine, Northwest Review, Southern Humanities Review and others, and he previously served as the publisher and editor-in-chief of Breitenbush Books. The Never-Open Desert Diner is his first novel.