The Chili Queen

The Chili Queen
By Sandra Dallas
St. Martin's Press, 2002. 292 pgs. Historical fiction

Addie French is a proprietor of a house of ill repute; on a train back to her establishment, the Chili Queen, she meets Emma Roby, who is heading to Addie's town, bound to wed a man she's never met because it will be better than staying with her domineering older brother, who has denied her her half of their inheritance. When they reach Naglitas, though, Emma's intended won't have her, and she turns to Addie for help--and even stays in Addie's home. Addie's lover, the bank-robbing Ned Pardner, comes around, and along with Addie's servant, Welcome, they hatch a plan to trick Emma's brother out of the money that is rightly hers. However, as the plan unfolds, it becomes clear that things are not exactly as they seem.

In a book where everyone seems to have some tricks up their sleeves, readers will be pulled along by the twists and turns and hints that something isn't quite right. In a book that I can only describe as a women's western, the characters are all flawed and yet endearing, readers will find themselves entertained but also reconsidering human nature and relationships.

AE