The Chili Queen: A Novel

by Sandra Dallas

Overview

Life may have been hard on Addie French, but when she meets friendless Emma Roby on a train, all her protective instincts emerge. Emma's brother is seeing her off to Nalgitas to marry a man she has never met. And Emma seems like a lost soul to Addie-someone who needs Addie's savvy and wary eye. It isn't often that Addie is drawn to anyone as a friend, but Emma seems different somehow. When Emma's prospective fails to show up at the train depot, Addie breaks all her principles to shelter the girl at her brothel, The Chili Queen. But once Emma enters Addie's life, the secrets that unfold and schemes that are hatched cause both women to question everything they thought they knew. With Sandra Dallas's trademark humor, charm, and pathos, The Chili Queen will satisfy anyone who has ever longed for happiness.

The Chili Queen is the winner of the 2003 Spur Award for Best Western Novel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781429903394
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/10/2003
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	510 KB

About the Author

Sandra Dallas is the author of Buster Midnight's Café, The Persian Pickle Club, The Diary of Mattie Spenser, and Alice's Tulips. She is a former Denver bureau chief for Business Week Magazine and lives in Denver, Colorado.
Sandra Dallas is a New York Times bestselling author of nearly twenty adult novels, several children's novels, and numerous works of non-fiction about Western subjects. Her work has won numerous awards and prizes including the Colorado Book Award and, in 2021, she was inducted into the Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame. A former bureau chief for Business Week magazine, Sandra lives in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado with her husband.

Reading Group Guide

Life may have been hard on Addie French, but when she meets friendless Emma Roby on a train, all her protective instincts emerge. Emma's brother is seeing her off to Nalgitas to marry a man she has never met. And Emma seems like a lost soul to Addie-someone who needs Addie's savvy and wary eye. It isn't often that Addie is drawn to anyone as a friend, but Emma seems different somehow. When Emma's prospective fails to show up at the train depot, Addie breaks all her principles to shelter the girl at her brothel, The Chili Queen. But once Emma enters Addie's life, the secrets that unfold and schemes that are hatched cause both women to question everything they thought they knew. With Sandra Dallas's trademark humor, charm, and pathos, The Chili Queen will satisfy anyone who has ever longed for happiness.

Editorial Reviews

Dallas’s sixth ... is as satisfying as a John Ford movie, with just the right touches of humor and period detail.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Dallas weaves a beguiling plot and creates engaging characters and dialogue.... The zesty, offbeat charm of life among these undesirables in the seedy West keeps this tale moving smartly.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher