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Abner Weaver drives an 18- wheeler long haul truck, “his foxhole against the world,” loading and unloading his cargo at regular stops. His load could be anything from 41,000 cans of dog food to frozen dinners and Abner quite enjoys the solitude of the lonely miles between drops. However, a distressed young woman, who he finds along the road made him think differently. He couldn’t pass her by and he finds that he actually enjoys her company. However, there is always the fear of another truck driver seeing her and reporting him as they travel miles and miles in all kinds of weather through Arizona.

She informs him that her name is Dawn. Was that really true and from whom was she running away?  One night they rescue an injured dog and that makes three of them driving in an aging truck as they pound the highway. Dawn enjoys her cigs and also a drop of sherry but, much to Abner’s delight, the dog takes her mind off the drink. 

She wants Abner to teach her how to drive a big truck in order to earn some money for herself. She is desperate and Abner wonders what is the money for.

After a while Dawn introduces him to her mother as well as someone else, Patricia, who is very important to her. Who is this Patricia?

Back on the road Abner is suffering from flashbacks, probably from his traumatic experiences in Vietnam. 

The language of a trucker’s life runs throughout 3 Aces but it does take some time to grasp and understand all of its meanings. In fact, it did “drive” me to distraction trying to decipher some of the terms. For a while the storyline was a bit monotonous and like a long truck journey, it was a long time in coming to make its point. Perhaps, that’s how the author intended it to read?  However, the descriptions of the vast terrain and the weather are truly atmospheric.

The section on the card game in the casino was wonderfully written. Vengeance was not far away after that and it resulted in tragedy, especially for Dawn, as Abner wants some answers. With £50,000 Dawn is dangerous but she is an expert at poker. I don’t want to give too much away and you will have to read the book to discover where she amassed the money and why? Abner  ends up in a hospital suffering physical injuries but the post- traumatic stress disorder is discovered and Dawn manages to track him down.

3 Aces has quite a political theme- essential to this brilliant rollercoaster of a tale. I can promise you a good ending to the ride.