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. 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. 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. Watch my son. His name is Juan” And then at the bottom, a few more hastily scribbled words. “Bad Trouble. Tell no one.”.
Despite deep misgivings, and without any hint of who this child is or the grave danger he’s facing, Ben takes the child with him in his truck and sets out into an environment that is as dangerous as it is beautiful and silent. From that moment forward, nothing will ever be the same. Not for Ben. Not for the child. And not for anyone along the seemingly empty stretch of road known as Route 117.
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Interesting story line. I wish I had read the Never Open Desert Diner first. Action and characters highly entertaining. I may have a personal bias since I lived out west for many years, and am familiar with the lonely roads.
I couldn’t get enough of this book!
I absolutely love the authors style. Can’t wait to read another book by him. This story was unique and very entertaining as well as gripping and very clever. Really enjoyed it and I totally recommend it to everyone!
I liked the remote setting and quirky characters and the writing is solid. And I did finish the book but I kept thinking I should have bailed after the first challenge given to the hero is added to by yet another ridiculous complication. Ultimately there were simply too many random deaths and unresolved plotlines.
Eye opener to the way some of us choose to live our lives. Believable.
So many life lessons and horrors between the towns of Price and Rockmuse. Savage human happenings wrapped in lyrical prose. Luv Ben
It was so original I have never read another like it ,it carried me right along from one thing to the other and I didn’t want to miss a thing. i really enjoyed it from beginning to end. SMG
I wanted to like this book more than I did. The concept was original but the way it was written made the story kind of confusing & the ending was not satisfying. I needed to know what really happened to the little girl in the end.
James Anderson has writtent a timely and original story revolving around a man, a note, and a mysterious young boy left alone at a most undesirable truck stop. The decision to take the boy on a journey to find his story leads the main character Ben Jones into areas that are dangerous and unforgiving. His resolution to find answers will lead to an ending that no one would expect & changes that will alter his life and outlook forever.
Second in the series. First being The Never Open Diner. LOVE the way this author writes. He can really hold my interest. Makes me feel like I am there and I know these people.
Lullaby Road is that wonderful genre of fiction where the people, especially the main character, guide the story rather than having them as secondary to the plot. We follow the main character – Ben Jones – whose simple and solitary life of driving a rig in the lonely desert to make deliveries to “desert rats” takes a decisive turn right that the start. In chapter one, he has a mystery young girl with her dog and his tenant’s baby thrust on him as he begins his daily run. What follows is a complex plot that only begins to become clear near the end.
There are two literary descriptions that come to mind for Ben, an anti-hero and a tragic hero. In looking up the definitions the second is most accurate – “…damaged emotionally; it’s someone who has lost everyone and everything that have mattered to him; became a recluse and avoids getting attached to anyone or anything anymore in case he may lose them again.” As we get to know him more, we do find out he has lost his love tragically and gets comfort from his long hours on the road, alone in the desert.
Ben is pulled out of his comfort zone as he is drawn in to not only the mystery of the young girl and her dog, but the disappearances (and deaths) of several key men who might have answers and the hit and run attack on another desert character who is a staple in his life. As he struggles to find answers, his interactions with the other characters helps them to come alive. They are not your everyday people. They all have pasts and secrets that have drawn them to the desert.
This is a great read, but in many ways a sad one. It is full of interesting, but damaged souls living fairly isolated lives. The beauty and unforgivable nature of the desert is also made clear, especially when Ben is out all night in it looking for the mystery girl who has fled. And there are a few violent passages to be aware of.
I really enjoyed this reading this book. I did find out after reading it that it is the second in a series. While it does stand alone, I wish I had read the other book first.
Lullaby Road is the second installment from James Anderson’s Ben Jones series. Ben Jones is driving his truck on Route 117, a remote highway in the Utah desert. On break at a gas station discovers an abandoned little Hispanic boy. The child has a note attached to him, addressed to Ben, from his friend, the boy’s father, Pedro. Pedro wants Ben to take his son and take care of him. This is a problem for Ben as he is not able to take care of the boy. He must find Pedro, who has disappeared. What a mess!
Lullaby Road has a few twists and turns that I had not expected to happen. Ben gets himself into some danger that he never would have expected. There is some mystery and suspense that kept me wanting to know what was going to happen to Ben next. I had a hard time putting the book down. I only intended to read a few pages when I first sat down for a couple of minutes, but wound up finishing it hours later.
Since Lullaby Road is a second installment from the Ben Jones series, I feel like I should have read the first book, The Never-Open Desert Diner, before this one. I do look forward to getting my hands on that book to see what Ben had gone through previously.
I am giving Lullaby Road four and a half stars. I am hoping Ben Jones’ story is not over yet and there will be more books in the series.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
I liked the series. They were different and quirky. Both books are a great read.
Great follow-up to Never Open Desert Diner. Hope ther is a third in the works.
Lullaby Road by James Anderson is a hypnotic, mystical, tale of mystery quickened by murmurs of the transcendental in the form of Los Ojos Negros.
The protagonist Ben Jones is a quixotic hero who runs a one-man trucking business, delivering to Utah desert locations so dangerously remote that other companies refuse to service them. Sequestered in the cab of his truck, hunkered in his safe place, Ben rumbles from one insular location to another and introduces readers to a conglomeration of idiosyncratic inhabitants who live along Route 117. Each of them is a misanthropic work of art, most hiding from haunting backstories. Like the inhabitants of the desert, Ben is an imperfect character with an ill-stared past. However, he radiates warmth, bravery, and honor. He always tries to do the right thing, but sometimes makes fated, unfortunate choices.
“If you’re looking for trouble you will almost always find what you’re looking for, because it is also looking for you.” CLICK TO TWEET
James Anderson
The mystery begins when Ben is forced to take possession of a small, nameless, silent girl, thus thrusting him on a treacherous journey that could easily end with his death.
The otherworldly Utah desert is the setting for this remarkable novel. Jones is a master of illustration. His narrative is so painterly that when the wind kicks up, readers will feel sand on their teeth and shiver with the cold. In addition to highlighting the dangers, Jones never forgets to include poetic portrayal of the stark beauty of the desert, creating a unexpected, discordant unity. The various dessert rats Ben interacts with are just as contradictory as is the setting. They all seem to be hiding from or attempting to forget lamentable histories. Some are silent, some are odd, and some are dangerous.
The author’s style, arguably the most laudable aspect of the novel, is lyrical, intelligent, and easy to read. The first-person perspective of the narration allows total access into Ben’s mind, exposing his innermost thoughts, revealing a compelling philosophical analysis of human nature. Even the expert truck driving operations appear to act as tropes that comment on choices and other aspects of life. The facet of author’s style that differentiates Lullaby Road from others is his striking ability to interject hilarious, wry humor into just about every situation no matter how grim or grave.
The complex plot is studied, careful, and leisured. Lullaby Road is not a fast-paced novel. Instead, it could be said that the author privileges the characters over plot. Every individual comes alive upon meticulous, sympathetic description. This makes perfect sense since every character is an integral building block of the plot and narrative. Their stories become intertwined subplots that create labyrinthine tales of sadness and regret and quests for redemption.
Although Lullaby Road is the second of a series, it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone. The author includes enough backstory to allow readers to understand Ben’s past. However, most readers of Lullaby Road will opt to add The Never Open Desert Diner to the top of their reading wish list.
Lullaby Road is highly recommended. Readers will no doubt hope that there will be a third addition to the series.
Jump into the cab next to Ben, share a taco, and go on a treacherous, spiritual ride through the Utah desert.
Rougeski
From the synopsis, Lullaby Road sounded like a suspenseful thriller that I could sink my teeth into. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to that expectation. While I appreciate a good description for setting a scene, I found this book to be so overly wordy that it became tedious and so focused on those details that it left little room for the actual story. The only suspense for me lay in when the thriller part of this novel would start. As Ben travels up and down Highway 117 in Utah, we meet a rather odd mix of characters, but other than Ben’s interactions with them, they don’t seem to have much in common or any link to a mystery. On top of that, Ben is traveling with not one, but two children that belong to other people. That, in itself, had me scratching my head from the beginning. Who leaves their child to ride up and down treacherous roads with an acquaintance? There was also a number of rather ambiguous references to what turned out to be a first book that I assume leads into this sequel. Sadly, there is no reference to this in Lullaby Road’s information. I did muddle through out of sheer determination to finish this one and a hope that the story would improve. Had I read the first book in Ben’s story, or had there been a bit of explanation about those references to it, I may have been more invested in this one, but in the end, what I had was a tedious, long-winded story and a conclusion that was convoluted at best. There were also some unanswered questions that were possibly left for a future book, and I realize I’m in the minority here, but considering my experience with this one, I think I’ll skip it.