Rating: 
Summary: Nothing like The Diary of Mattie Spencer
Review: Having read The Diary of Mattie Spencer, I was anxious to read another of Sandra Dallas' books. The Chili Queen was a huge disappointment. It was not even close to being believable. The characters were shallow and the plot was even worse.
Rating: 
Summary: con artists in the old west
Review: I am a lover of Sandra Dallas' books, especially _The Diary of Mattie Spenser_. Those who love western novels written in the 1800's should check out her work. _The Chili Queen_ takes place in Nalgitas, New Mexico in the 1860's. It is fairly evident from the start that someone is trying to swindle someone. The roof over most of them is called The Chili Queen, which is basically your standard bed bug infected whorehouse. The characters are colorful and entertaining enough to keep the novel lively. There is Addie, a buxom madame in charge of her "girls'" in the house of compromised repute. Meet Ned Partner, her lover and known outlaw/bankrobber/hustler-but nice guy. Also, pathetic Emma, a gawky helpless spinster left at the altar by a mail order husband and her abusive brother, John, who apparantly has sold her to some guy and likewise cheated her of her rightful inheritance. Most notable, a black slave employed as the housemother of the Chili Queen named Welcome reigns considerable authority over the group. The ultimate question is that something is going on, and someone is doing something not right, but who is it, and is it a he or she? A purely entertaining novel, this will not change your life or be the best book you have ever read, but it is fun and worth the time. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: con artists in the old west
Review: I am a lover of Sandra Dallas' books, especially _The Diary of Mattie Spenser_. Those who love western novels written in the 1800's should check out her work. _The Chili Queen_ takes place in Nalgitas, New Mexico in the 1860's. It is fairly evident from the start that someone is trying to swindle someone. The roof over most of them is called The Chili Queen, which is basically your standard bed bug infected whorehouse. The characters are colorful and entertaining enough to keep the novel lively. There is Addie, a buxom madame in charge of her "girls'" in the house of compromised repute. Meet Ned Partner, her lover and known outlaw/bankrobber/hustler-but nice guy. Also, pathetic Emma, a gawky helpless spinster left at the altar by a mail order husband and her abusive brother, John, who apparantly has sold her to some guy and likewise cheated her of her rightful inheritance. Most notable, a black slave employed as the housemother of the Chili Queen named Welcome reigns considerable authority over the group. The ultimate question is that something is going on, and someone is doing something not right, but who is it, and is it a he or she? A purely entertaining novel, this will not change your life or be the best book you have ever read, but it is fun and worth the time. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Great by Sandra Dallas
Review: I just can't get enough of this author's books. This was another good one & one with very surprising twists. I liked all the characters & could almost taste the chili. You won't be disappointed by this book, even if you don't like westerns.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great by Sandra Dallas
Review: I just can't get enough of this author's books. This was another good one & one with very surprising twists. I liked all the characters & could almost taste the chili. You won't be disappointed by this book, even if you don't like westerns.
Rating: 
Summary: A wild read of the old west
Review: I read many years ago The Persian Pickle Club and loved it. For some reason, I never picked up another by this author so when I saw her latest on the new book shelf I grabbed it. And what a delightful fun read it is. It took some time to gain momentum and when it did it took off like a rocket. Set in the 1880's in New Mexico, Addie is a madam for a run down brothel. She takes in strays noone else wants or needs anymore. Her right hand
woman is named Welcome and is free with her opinions. Her female workers have more rocks in their brains than common sense. And then we meet Emma. She has come from back east to meet her new husband and start a new life. Instead she is befriended by
Emma and left all alone at the train station. One last character is Ned who is a bank robber and a con artist. After Dallas gets the characters into place the plot picks up and one thing after another goes on. Ned decides he needs one last bank robbery and he will then settle down with Addie and be respectable. Emma decides to con her brother out of money so she can buy her land and be respectable. Addie decides she will go along with these lives so she can quit the business and retire. All these characters have an agenda of their own and watching them accomplish it is funny. This is where it gets hard to tell the
story without giving away the ending. So I must stop this review as you will want to read yourself to see who is the con artist, who gets respectable and who just rides off into the sunset.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly good-far exceeded my expectations
Review: I'm not much of a fan of the Western genre and under normal circumstances wouldn't have bought this particular title had I had any real time to think about it. However, I ran out of reading material thanks to several seriously delayed flights and had to grab something on the run at IAH and this was the most likely thing immediately available. I still probably won't be much into Westerns but I certainly expect to give Miss Dallas another look. The Chili Queen is a book that completely'and very pleasantly'surprised me. The book works on several levels. The characters are thoroughly and affectionately drawn, Miss Dallas has an engaging and absorbing writing voice and'most unexpectedly'a wickedly complex and deceptive sense of narrative and plotting. Although ostensibly a 'western', the Chili Queen slowly but surely devolves into a bit of a psychological thriller cum detective novel while maintaining its 'western' character and setting. This evolution into the thriller realm is deftly and skillfully managed is such a way that one is as surprised by many of the turn of events as are the characters'which is the way a thriller is supposed to work. The end result is a book of many facets, colors and subtle complexity that far outstrips the dynamics and construction of what I think of as the prototypical 'western' novel. This is an excellent novel that would appeal to a very wide audience. I can heartily recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: It kept me laughing out loud at times.
Review: If you are a previous reader of Sandra Dalla, get ready to enjoy this fast paced book with many surprises at the end. Addie French is the raciest character yet to grace the pages of a novel by Sandra Dallas. She could be her own Lifetime movie special. Once again Sandra Dallas paints a detailed picture of the basis of this book. You can literally taste the chilly and feel the heat and dust. She is one of my favorite authors because of her use of detail. Great book for a road trip or lying at the pool. I think everyone should read it. It's a quick read that teaches a little history while still giving you a juicy plot. But, I would suggest reading one of her earlier books first. Persian Pickle Club is a great place to start. Chili Queen will intrique it's readers. But, don't be surprised if you throw the book down at the end mad like I did. The ending really does surprise you. If anyone can see the end coming then they should think about writing their own book.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly good-far exceeded my expectations
Review: I�m not much of a fan of the Western genre and under normal circumstances wouldn�t have bought this particular title had I had any real time to think about it. However, I ran out of reading material thanks to several seriously delayed flights and had to grab something on the run at IAH and this was the most likely thing immediately available. I still probably won�t be much into Westerns but I certainly expect to give Miss Dallas another look. The Chili Queen is a book that completely�and very pleasantly�surprised me. The book works on several levels. The characters are thoroughly and affectionately drawn, Miss Dallas has an engaging and absorbing writing voice and�most unexpectedly�a wickedly complex and deceptive sense of narrative and plotting. Although ostensibly a �western�, the Chili Queen slowly but surely devolves into a bit of a psychological thriller cum detective novel while maintaining its �western� character and setting. This evolution into the thriller realm is deftly and skillfully managed is such a way that one is as surprised by many of the turn of events as are the characters�which is the way a thriller is supposed to work. The end result is a book of many facets, colors and subtle complexity that far outstrips the dynamics and construction of what I think of as the prototypical �western� novel. This is an excellent novel that would appeal to a very wide audience. I can heartily recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: read and then fix a bowl of chili!
Review: My first read by Sandra Dallas and I was most impressed. I picked up this book a few times and it didn't 'take' but I'm happy to say I tried it again and read it nearly in one sitting! The characters in this story are not as they seem; there are several twists in the novel that make it a most satisfying one.
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