The Chili Queen

Can't really review this one without giving it all away, but this is now my favorite Sandra Dallas book. She's done a total about-face from her usual tales involving salt-of-the-earth types persevering through hardship, with families and communities bound together by the strong female characters who inhabitat them.

Suffice to say, there are drifters and grifters and plenty of twists in this sprightly western. The observant reader will see some of them, but I'd bet money that they won't see them all.

The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas is a fun, colourful and engaging story peopled with some of the most colourful characters that I have read about in some time. Re-inventing oneself was an easy thing to do out west in the late 1880’s, people didn’t ask a lot of questions and were prone to accept what they saw and heard at face value. There were many reasons to take on a new identity, some were simply discarding a used up life, others were concealing their true identity out of concern for family left behind, and many were simply on the run from the long arm of the law

As Addie French travels from Kansas to New Mexico, she meets a meek mail-order bride on the train. Being far from meek herself, she surprises herself with the protective show more instinct this Emma arouses in her. When Emma’s prospective bridegroom refuses her, Addie takes her under her wing and into her home which happens to be the local brothel. Wanting Emma to think the best of her, she tries to disguise the nature of the house, and introduces her lover, wanted bank robber, Ned Partner, as her brother.

As Emma settles into Addie’s home, it isn’t long before secrets are unveiled and schemes are hatched. Soon we have Ned and Emma riding off to rob a bank in another town, and all of them, including Addie’s outspoken black housekeeper, working on a plan to con Emma’s brother out of her rightful inheritance that he is keeping from her.

The Chili Queen is an unforgettable, humorous, and extremely readable story of love, friendship and loyalty. With it’s many twists and turns the story pulls you along and you find yourself slowing putting the pieces of the puzzle together, but always remember, re-inventing yourself was an easy thing to do in the old west. show less

I don't read many books that have a main character as a madam of a whorehouse. I sure enjoyed this story, another memorable book by a favorite author.

Well, I love Sandra Dallas, but I was disappointed in the writing - certainly the first half didn't measure up. But the story! Oh, what a tangled web we weave! Delightful twists and turns, plots and subplots. Honor among thieves? Hardly! Simply a great yarn.

Thought this was just going to be a chic story set in the old West but it was way beyond that. Lots of plot twists as another character adds their point of view to the story. Funny how Emma thought that Addie ran a boarding house instead of a whore house. Knew that Emma was more worldly than she appeared but she ended up being way more than I anticipated. Figured there was more to the story about her brother but not in the way it turned out. Enjoyed Addie and Ned as sensitive people although not altogether nice. Plots at end totally surprised me.

Addie meets Emma on a train going to New Mexico. Emma is going to become a mail order bride. Addie is a madam, although she pretends to Emma that she is a refined lady. Emma's marriage fall through and she ends up at Addie's "boardinghouse" or what she thinks is a boardinghouse. Addie is tired of Emma after several weeks of her staying there. It's bad for business, so Addie gets her lover, Ned to take her out for a ride. Ned and Emma hatch a plan to rob a bank. Not everyone is in favor of this plan, but Ned and Emma agree to split the money with Addie and her housemaid, Welcome. On the day of the robbery things do not go as planned. By the end of book, everything you thought you knew is different than your thoughts at the beginning of show more the book. If you enjoy stories of the old west and outlaws you will enjoy this story. show less

I enjoyed this book immensely. It was very tightly plotted, with lots of twists and turns. I only saw one of them coming. It's the story of Emma, a seemingly naive mail order bride; Addie, a worldly madam; Welcome, her cook; and Ned, an outlaw. It takes place in 1880s New Mexico. Sandra Dallas really kept the surprises coming and I was hooked.