Lullaby Road

Written by James Anderson

Narrated by Graham Winton

Ben Jones, protagonist of the glowingly reviewed Never-Open Desert Diner, returns in a devastatingly powerful literary crime novel about parenthood, loss, and the desert in winter. Winter has come to Highway 117, a remote road through the Utah desert trafficked only by oddballs, fugitives, and those looking to escape the world. So when local truck driver Ben Jones finds an abandoned, mute Hispanic child at a lonely gas station along his route, far from any semblance of proper civilization, he knows something has gone terribly awry. With the help of his eccentric neighbors, Ben sets out to help the kid and learn the truth. In the process he makes new friends and loses old ones, finds himself in mortal danger, and uncovers buried secrets far more painful than he could have imagined. Author bio: 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 first novel was The Never-Open Desert Diner. His short fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews have appeared in many magazines, including The Bloomsbury Review, New Letters, Solstice, Northwest Review, Southern Humanities Review, and others, and he previously served as the publisher and editor in chief of Breitenbush Books. He currently divides his time between Colorado and Oregon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781501971112

James Anderson

James Anderson (CSP) is an Australian-based international speaker, author and educator who is passionate about helping everybody become better learners. Originally a teacher and school leader, for the past 20 years James has been working with schools to make classrooms more thoughtful places. His previous books are Succeeding with Habits of Mind, The Mindset Continuum, The Agile Learner and The Learning Landscape.

Reviews for Lullaby Road

[shazjhb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Satisfying book. Liked the people - weird and strange. Wish I had read his first book.

[kbranfield-837433 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars.

Featuring many of the same people  from The Never-Open Desert Diner, Lullaby Road by James Anderson is an intriguing mystery starring independent trucker Ben Jones who once again finds himself caught up in the lives of the eccentric people along his delivery route.

Set against the backdrop of the Utah desert and lonely highway 117, Ben finds himself swept into drama of other people's making.  Unable to refuse a virtual stranger's plea, he reluctantly takes young Juan into his care temporarily. His day gets even more complicated when Ginny, the teen mom he has been helping, asks him to take her baby Annabelle for the day since her sitter canceled. With an early winter snowstorm on its way, Ben sets about making the day's deliveries but every time he turns around, he is distracted by the problems that manage to find the people along his route.

Ben remains a complex man who has left his boozing and brawling days behind him. Despite his reluctance to take young Juan with him, the alternative is turning the young boy over to social services which is something Ben will only consider as a last resort. His admiration for how Ginny pretty much singlehandedly turning her life around also makes it impossible to tell her no when she finally asks for help. Ben's interactions with the various people along his route really showcase how kind-hearted and compassionate he is.  He is respectful for his customers' desire for privacy but he does not hesitate to push them when he needs answers.

The novel  is a little busy due to a number of secondary story arcs but the various storylines all play out rather neatly.  Ben is quickly distracted from his quandary over Juan after itinerant preacher John is severely injured in a hit and run accident.  Ben also faces the loss of someone dear to him but he also realizes that he must not interfere with their decision. He is also somewhat troubled by new information about diner owner Walt Butterfield but he avoids finding out what is going on with the elderly veteran.  Then there is the stunning double homicide that takes the decision about what to do with Juan out of Ben's hands once and for all.

Lullaby Road is another intricately plotted character driven story that also features a perplexing mystery. Ben is a complex protagonist whose troubled past does not disguise the fact that he has a heart of gold. The desolate, beautiful and harsh desert is the perfect setting for the unfolding drama and James Anderson brings the novel to a somewhat hurried but satisfactory conclusion.

[viviennestrauss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such great writing!Favorite quote "If I was going over a cliff I didn't need someone to show me the way. I prefer to do stupid alone. It's more efficient."

[sleahey_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Driving truck on a deserted desert highway delivering to other isolated folks seems like the perfect job for Ben Jones. Having led a hard life himself, he understands and respects his customers, odd and anti-social as they are. His life takes another turn (following the story of Never Open Desert Diner) one day when his friend Ginny leaves her 5 month old baby in his reluctant care, and then on his first stop he finds a mysterious 5 year old has been left in the snow for him. During the next few days, Ben's experiences become more sinister and dangerous while he attempts to do the right thing for the people he cares about. Anderson's writing and character development make this a special and memorable novel.

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed The Never Open Desert Diner. You could say it was a surprise hit with me. The best kind of surprises. Thus I could not wait to check out this newest book from Mr. Anderson. First off, let me tell you that this book is kind of a follow up to the Never Open Desert Diner. I didn't put the connection together right away from the summary or the first couple of chapters. Once, I did, I was happy to see Ben again. So, if you have not read the prior novel, you must get a little lost reading this book. Although, sadly the presence of Ben was not enough to really sustain this book for me and keep me interested. The story is good but there were a few potholes and the characters missed the mark for me. They were not as engaging and thus I found myself struggling some to connect with the overall storyline. Additionally, there were some unanswered questions left hanging in the story. So, I am one for one with Mr. Anderson regarding his books. I do hope the next one is as good as The Never Open Desert Diner, which I recommend readers try.

[vicki_weisfeld · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this, as in Anderson’s admirable debut novel, The Never Open Desert Diner, you share the adventures of short-haul truck driver Ben Jones, who drives a hundred-mile stretch between two small towns in the high Utah desert. If the town of Price is next-to-nothing, Rockmuse, at the other end of his route, amounts to even less.These are literary novels, yet they encompass mysteries and crimes of many kinds, including crimes of the spirit. Anderson sets you down, unmistakably, in the high desert—with its sunrises and sunsets, the brilliance of its stars at night, its smells, the amazing quiet, and its deadly hazards, human and otherwise.In his new book, half-Jewish, half-Indian Ben and his cast of oddball desert dwellers are as reclusive and tetchy as ever. They live far from ordinary conceptions of civilization for a reason, generally. Ben delivers their groceries, water, auto parts, horse feed—whatever they need. In hot weather, it can be a brutal job. In winter, it may be worse. Blinding snowstorms barrel over the mountains, scouring the land and hitting the mesa to the east, only to ricochet back for another strike on the inhabitants.Ben is in a tricky situation. On a not very good morning, winter weather-wise, he fuels up at the Stop ‘n’ Gone before starting a run to Rockmuse, and finds a Mexican child and a suspicious dog, sitting by one of the pumps. A child not dressed for the freezing temperatures. The station owner has locked up and won’t respond to Ben’s pounding. Ben has “no choice”—a phrase he particularly loathes—but to take the child inside the warm truck cab and sort things out later. The child doesn’t talk. Eventually, Ben finds out why.This is bad enough, but his neighbor stops him before he can drive away and hands over her infant daughter. She has “no choice” but to deposit her baby with him for the day. Like it or not, and he definitely does not, he’s left holding the diaper bag. So now you understand the book’s title.The child, the protective dog, and the infant Belle turn out to be good travelers. That’s lucky, because the day turns dangerous and requires all Ben’s concentration. With the road margins indistinct in the blinding snow, it’s like driving into oblivion. And that’s just the weather. Author Anderson does a great job describing the difficulties Ben runs up against trying to help the people living in such a remote place—their scant resources and limited access to communications, helicopter airlifts, and other take-for-granted trappings of modern life. Much as Ben hates it, “no choice” often is the choice, and everything cannot turn out well. The book is generous in acknowledging that good people can make bad decisions, it is sincere in grieving for the innocent, and it leaves open the expectation that bad people may yet get what’s coming to them.

[sandrabrower · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lullaby Road is a lyrical story about a man, a small girl and the journey they take through terror, and mystery all on a road I myself have driven, HWY 117. A road of desolation. This book, Lullaby Road is a novel that shows the depths of relationships someone can make even between so many strangers. This book will break your heart, scare you and make you think about the interactions you have on a daily basis. I thoroughly enjoyed James Anderson’s writing style. I definitely will be picking up another one of his stories if they are as wonderfully intriguing as this book. I had a hard time putting down Lullaby Road. *I found out after reading there is a prequel to Lullaby Road is The Never-Open Diner. As I read Lullaby Road I got this vibe that there were a few things I didn’t quite understand. Now I know why. I want to thank Blogging for Books for the ability to read this book in lieu of my honest review. I am really sad they are no longer in business. :(**As a writer, if you ever wonder what a single setting can inspire, you should read this book. The story HWY 117 tells is a yarn spun so well, that I almost believed that the town, the diner and the people were part of a non-fiction novel and not fictional. Incredibly well written. This is a great way to learn the trade.

[csdaley-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This might be a case of a book that I read to soon after the first one. I loved the first one but his book felt repetitive and I was not engaged with the story. Closer to a 2 1/2 stars for me. I was really disappointed. The first one was one of my favorite books of the last few years.

[seeword · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When this title came up on Goodreads as a give-away I put my name in because I really liked Anderson's first book (The Never-Open Desert Diner). I was happy to win a copy though I usually avoid sequels and/or series books.This turns out to be further adventures of Ben Jones who delivers goods to various quirky characters in a remote section of Utah desert. I was not disappointed, the story seems fresh and the writing crisp. This bunch of loners trying to escape the past and "mind their own business" keep running up against the reality that, like it or not, they are part of a community. This aspect reminds me a little of the Monty Python hermit sketch, but while the book has some lighter moments it's not a comedy--there is serious crime and a tragic body count.Although there are many returning players and references to things that happened in the first book, each book can be read as a stand alone. This one leaves some unanswered questions and certainly hints that there will be a #3. If so, I'll want to read it.I received a free advance review copy of Lullaby Road. I read the earlier book on loan from a public library.

[arlenadean · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Title: Lullaby Road: A NovelAuthor: James AndersonPublisher: Crown Series: Ben Jones # 2Reviewed By: Arlena DeanRating: FourReview:"Lullaby Road" by James AndersonMy Thoughts...Now, this was quite a interesting read about Ben Jones who runs a tractor trailer delivery service [truck driver] that traveled on Highway 117 that was a desolate Utah desert making deliveries to people in isolated areas. Ben was known to deliver packages to 'desert rats, hardscrabble ranchers and other assorted exiles who chose to live off 117." Now, this route that Ben took I found it interesting to know that Fed Ex and UPS would not drive on this snow-blinding road.What Ben finds while on his journeys will definitely keep your interest as it seems he kept getting himself involved in bad situations like finding a note that leads him to take charge of a small child [mute] and a large protective dog and also ending up when a friend and neighbor who leaves their young [bawling] infant with him so she could go to work. Now, I really found this rather strange when Ben piles them all in his truck and takes off to work going his normal route however, he ends up in a snow storm. This story will continue on as this author gives the readers one intriguing and entertaining story ...from hit & run, bad weather [snow drifts], interactions with gun toting customers, abandoned child, child smuggling ring, preacher who carries a cross along the highway, accidents, three witches, Mexican women with food truck, and even some murders that happen along route 117. As every truck stop was made this author gives us a complete unfolded story with there being a lots going on with there being just a small group of people that are involved.To fully understand this entire story you will have to pick up "Lullaby Road" to see just how this author brings it out to the reader. Be ready for a story will some laughable, scary and sad twist and turn parts of the read that will definitely keep you turning the pages to see what was coming next in this good read where in the end you will also find it 'engrossing, heartwarming and heartbreaking.'I received a copy of Lullaby Road from the publisher through Blogging for Books.

[veeshee-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't get into it. When I started reading this book, I was unaware that it was a sequel. I thought I might still be able to understand what was going on, but there were quite a few veiled references and allusions made that are probably referring to something from the first book, which is why I wasn't able to follow along. I would definitely recommend people read the first book before reading this one. I also didn't really love the writing style. I found it overly descriptive, especially when it came to automobiles (which I really have no interest in). I also found the plot very confusing: there were a lot of characters introduced and it wasn't always clear how everything was going to play out. I really wanted the story to focus on the child but that was not the case here. There have been a lot of positive reviews out for this book, but it just wasn't for me. I'm giving this a 2/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and Penguin Random House through the First to Read program for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[darcia_10 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Boo me if you must. I didn't love this book.To start, there are a whole lot of vague references to an event that I assume happened in book 1, 'The Never-Open Diner'. When I got this book, I didn't know it was a sequel. That was nowhere in the description. I didn't read the first book. And, rather than the author clarifying these references with an extra sentence or two, he's deliberately ambiguous. So, rather than intrigued, I found myself irritated. Don't make the same mistake I did. This is absolutely a sequel and the first book needs to be read - first.The absence of information isn't an immediate problem. And, even with that issue, I found myself drawn into the story. The setting is absolutely the author's strong point here. I felt what it was like to travel that desolate highway. The assortment of characters came to life, and I could almost see these people scattered about in this desolate setting.The child's part is compelling. I immediately wanted to know who this child was and why the father would abandon the child as he had. This, to me, should have been the main focus of the story. Judging by the book's description, I think it was supposed to be the focus. But, it wasn't. Not really. And, so, we drive with Ben up and down this highway, meeting random people and getting into a bit of trouble here and there. The child gets pushed to the side. We don't pursue the who and why of this situation for a very long time. It's almost as if the main character is disinterested or can't be bothered. The book's focus is all over the place. Rather than suspenseful, I felt it was ill-defined, with too many vague subplots overshadowing the heart of the story.Then, finally, close to the end of the book, we have a muddle of action attempting to solve the who and why of the child. Mostly, though, it's rushed and unclear. This part could have and should have been a powerful punch to the gut, but the absence of the narrator's interest in this throughout most of the book combined with the rush to explain at the end left it all feeling like a tangled mess. I kept reading because the setting and the cast of characters intrigued me. But, in the end, the story didn't move me as it should have.*I received an advance copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.*

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ben Jones is a delivery driver along a stretch of desert highway in Utah. Like many of his customers, Jones is a taciturn man with a past full of fighting and drinking. Although he has given up the second, the first never seems far away. He is also a man who likes his own company, a good thing since most of his customers prefer theirs. A nod is enough conversation for most. Every morning, he stops at the Stop ‘n’ Gone Truck Stop outside Price to gas up. This morning, however, he is told Pedro, a man who he barely knows, has left him a ‘package’ – his maybe five-year-old son, Juan, and his dog. There is a note with the child saying that Pedro is in ‘bad trouble’ and asks Ben to look after him. Only Juan is clearly traumatized, doesn’t speak very much and then only in Spanish, and turns out to be a girl.After some hesitation, Ben sees no other option but to take the pair. This is just the first of several events that Ben will encounter in the next few days including the hit-and-run of an itinerant preacher who carries a cross along the highway; a few fistfights, all of which leave him bruised and bloody but still standing; a meeting with three witches…er, Mexican women with a food truck; another deadly accident; several encounters with guns and, eventually, in an attempt to protect the little girl, a last and possibly fatal encounter with a gun. With all of these goings-on in Lullaby Road by author James Anderson, there is little time for either Ben or the reader to catch their breath. And although the short time period did stretch my willing suspension of disbelief, this is a compelling and exciting read. Thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

[auntmarge64 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ben Jones, first introduced in "The Never-Open Desert Diner", is a Utah truck driver who delivers along a 100-mile stretch on a minor desert highway. He knows most of the people along the way, including the state troopers and town residents, the hermits living off-road in old trailers and storage containers, and other oddities, such as Preacher John, who wanders the highway carrying a huge wooden cross and preaches in a deserted True Value store, audience or not. (There's a wonderful scene in which Ben, John, and a state trooper share an imaginary cigarette along the side of the road). In the previous book, Ben lost the woman he loved, and he is still mourning her and adjusting to the horror of her death. One morning he arrives at the local truck stop to gas up and finds himself tasked for the day to look after a baby, a young girl, and a dog - while on his route. He's not particularly pleased but sees no way around it, so off they go, despite forecasts of winter weather and Ben's bad feeling about the whole situation. His instincts are proven accurate, and for the next three days he travels back and forth along his route trying to find a missing parent and avoid entanglement with transient thugs (and the state police) while still making deliveries. And then there are the three Mexican ladies who run a food truck with some of the best cooking around, even as they silently communicate among themselves and warn Ben that he's in great danger. Just delightful.