Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes: A Mystery

🙌🏻 What worked for me: • Savvy's fierce, no-nonsense attitude and her drive to save her café. I absolutely loved her! • Fanon (Savvy's ex)... is that a rekindling I sense? My heart says yes! 🫶🏻 • Penny's gossiping had me laughing out loud. She truly knew everything about everyone. • The overall charm of the book. Set in Chicago, but the tight-knit community gives it such a wonderful small-town vibe. • The intriguing side-plot about gentrification in the community was a great touch. • The summary of Great-Aunt Essie's Epithets at the end. 😂Pure gold!🚫 What didn't work for me: • The murderer's revelation was a little "meh." I guessed the killer early, so the surprise wasn't there for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤜🏻 Would I recommend: Yes! This was a fun read filled with charm. Even though I guessed the killer, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment.

The plot is more complicated than your average cozy mystery. But you get the full flavor of the diner, its food, and its people, on the south side of Chicago. Savy is both world wise and inexperienced in the ways of crime, which propels the plot without seeming artificial. Forced retirement is a hard pill to swallow, but her sweet potato pie is not.

I love cozy mysteries that have a culinary setting, being that I am a foodie. Savvy Summers is the owner of a soul food restaurant that is doing pretty good until a customers dies at one the tables. Of course, Savvy takes it up on herself to solve the mystery along with her business partner. The plot was nicely paced and kept my attention, and Savvy was such a lovable character. I hope this is the start of a long series set in this world!

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is the first book in the Savvy Summers Mystery Series by Sandra Jackson-Opoku. The amateur sleuth is Sapphire (Savvy) Summers, the proprietor of Essie's soul food cafe on the south side of Chicago.Savvy and her infamous sweet potato pie end up at the center of a murder mystery when one of her customers (the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer) drops dead in her cafe. To clear her name and protect the reputation of her cafe, Savvy starts sleuthing.I am a huge fan of culinary cozy mysteries. It is my favorite cozy subgenre, so I always look forward to starting a new series that centers around food. I particularly like it when the food is lovingly described and when there are several tasty recipes included at the end of the book. Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes delivers in both of these areas.Savvy is a solid protagonist. She is a strong female character with a healthy dose of sass and wit. She is supported in her investigation by a snoopy assistant (Penny) and her police officer ex-husband (Fanon).The setting and the murder weapon are both unique. This is the first time I have seen either one of them in a cozy mystery. The cast is also more diverse than the average cozy cast. All of these things help the book stand out in a crowded field of culinary cozies.I'm looking forward to trying the recipes from the book. I'd also like to give the audio version of this a try. It is narrated by Karen Chilton, an experienced and award-winning audiobook narrator.

What a fantastic debut! This book is a delight to read, with Savvy being a truly enjoyable character. The urban cozy mystery setting on Chicago's south side is filled with witty and charming characters, plus plenty of sweet potato pie! Multiple mysteries are woven throughout, keeping you guessing. The twists and turns are told in a heartwarming way, making you laugh and feel like you're part of the story. The ending is unpredictable, and the suspects are cleverly misleading.

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is a new cozy series with a sassy and interesting protagonist in her fifties. Savvy Summers opened Essie's soul food cafe in Chicago and serves up some tasty sweet potato pies to her customers. When not one but two of her regulars drop dead and people try to link it to her sweet potato pies, Savvy begins to investigate for herself to save her business from ruin. The characters are fun and feel like your real people you want as friends. The mystery catches your attention and keeps you hooked for an entertaining cozy debut. This is definitely a series I would check out future books in. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

3.5 stars. I struggled getting into this book to start with. It just wasn't holding my attention all that well, but it did get better as it went along. The book is a cozy mystery set around a woman, Savvy Summers, and her soul food cafe. It had a lot of characters and many of them were hard to feel anything for, but it is a mystery where you are meant to suspect people of murder. Most of the characters are of the "in your face" type--very upfront about what they want and feel.I did end up liking this book. It won't rank up there at the top of my list, but it was entertaining!Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital copy. All thoughts are my own.

Savvy Summers opens a soul food restaurant, Essie’s” in Chicago’s south side. When an elderly womanizer dies after eating at her establishment.I had a hard time when first starting this book. It moved slowly but gave so much information that it was hard to remember who was who. However, at around the 25% mark, I really started to enjoy the story. I skipped over some words that I didn’t understand but I think I still got the gist of them. It was a good mystery with a whole panel of people who may have wanted Grandy dead.The characters were well written and I like the personalities of the main characters. I will definitely read the next book.

Savvy Summers is the owner and operator of a soul food cafe in Chicago and when the death of an elderly gentleman who was a regular customer of her cafe, occurs after he has eaten at her cafe, people begin to question whether or not her food was involved. She and her assistant, Penny, know that is not the case so they begin to investigate on their own. Another murder occurs not too long after the first and occurs in the same manner as the first. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book and it makes for a very interesting read. Don’t want to give away any spoilers so I won’t say anything further, just recommend that you read.Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Essie’s is a popular soul food eatery on Chicago’s South Side. Savvy Summers is the proprietor of the highly regarded diner. She’s taken her Aunt Essie’s recipes and made them her own. When not one but two customers die after eating her sweet potato pie, suspicion falls on Savvy. Police dismiss the deaths as accidental, but Savvy thinks otherwise and is determined to root out the killer.This charming cosy has likable characters you can relate to. I absolutely loved all Aunt Essie’s epithets. She was one wise, and funny, role model for Savvy. The author has thoughtfully included a list of all of them in the back of the book along with recipes for the sweet potato pie as well as others featured in the story. I liked Savvy and her sidekick Penny too. Penny is not afraid to speak her mind! This is fun, solid entertainment wrapped in a mystery. 4 stars

What a fun murder mystery, but mostly I loved the relationships in this book, I think the way everyone was connected and had long-term relationships with all the characters down to their teens and the characters are now in the 50s really adds a different level connection between the characters and the reason to do a murder investigation when one of Savvy’s customers dies in her store. I loved the real view of relationships of someone in their 50s with multiple marriages and how as time passes those relationships change and adapt and we really see that with Fanon and Savvy as he helps her navigate this murder.The murder revolves around Savvy and her food, especially as the murderer uses Savvy’s desserts as a scapegoat for the reason of death, which ends up hurting her business and the whole reason she starts investing to begin with, and then it happens again with another customer. The way the murder is all connected to a ton of little things through the book way written so well and I would read another book by this author!

This is totally a new author for me. It's definitely a cozy mystery. I'm not sure if it is going to be a series or not. It definitely could be, but there were some major changes in store for the MC at the end of this book, so I am not sure. This mystery was all about immersing yourself in a place and time. This book takes place at Essies, a soul food restaurant in Chicago, and the atmosphere, characters, and setting take you to that place and keep you there. Savvy Summers is an interesting character, an educated woman who opens her restaurant after she retires from teaching and administration after the death of her second husband. Starting over in her late 50s, she finds cooking to be relaxing. Unfortunately, after catering a fiftieth wedding anniversary that blows up, the groom shows up the next morning at the restaurant only to keel over after stuffing his face with sweet potato pie and dying. What continues is Savvy's attempt to save her restaurant's reputation and to actually find out what killed the man. What follows is a good, but maybe a bit too long, mystery that gives you plenty of suspects and motives. It was an interesting mystery, and I definitely got caught up with the characters and setting. Thank you to #Netgally, #Minatour, and the author for the introduction. #SavvySummersandtheSweetPotatoCrimes, #SandraJackson-Opoky #bookreview #bookideas #retiredreader

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is the first mystery in the Savvy Summers series. Savvy Summers owns Essie’s, a soul food cafe, in Chicagoland. She never expected to become part of a murder investigation, but when a costumer dies in her cafe she’s pulled into the case whether she wants to be or not. In order to clear her name and her cafes reputation Savvy starts looking into the case, unwilling to stop until she gets to the bottom of it.I am a cozy mystery fan and am glad I got a chance to read this first book in this new series. I enjoyed Savvy and thought she was a great lead. Her background was well built out and she is a great, in-depth character that was so easy to love. I was pulled into this mystery from the beginning and found it easy to get through. The mystery kept me guessing until the end and I enjoyed the ride this book took me on. Overall, this was an enjoyable cozy mystery read and a good start to a promising new series.

SAVVY SUMMERS AND THE SWEET POTATO CRIMES is the debut mystery by Sandra Jackson-Opoku. Set in Chicago, protagonist Savvy Summers is the café owner of Essie’s and is famous for her sweet potato pies. Her right-hand gal, Penny Lopés, brings humor and attitude to the pages, while assisting Savvy at the café and in her amateur sleuthing. There are great one liner zingers and lots of sassafras and fun as the pair interact. The author writes a very clever “death by Viagra” murder mystery… who knew such a popular drug could kill? The mystery is well-plotted, but the pace was a bit sporadic as there are so many characters (some very unlikeable) to keep track of. With one of the murders taking place during a fiftieth blowout anniversary celebration, there were suspects galore, and I was kept guessing until the very end. I enjoyed the subplot of a developer trying to take over Savvy’s café and all the surrounding businesses and how it united the characters. Overall, this was a good start to what could easily become a great series!I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was entertaining, engaging and made me hungry.The story opened at a wedding anniversary party which caused my stomach to rumble. I wanted to taste a little bit of everything: mac and cheese, chicken, perch, green salad, coleslaw, squash casserole, green beans, red potatoes, biscuits and cornbread. And then the desserts: pineapple upside down cake, peach cobbler and sweet potato pie. I would have been filling up my plate.It was a cozy crime mystery with a glimpse of living in Chicago. The first chapter exploded with characters but after that, it got down to business with Savvy at her beloved café of scrumptious sole food. She was busy with her catering company but also involved in investigating two possible murders. She encountered crooked politicians and lawyers working on their own agendas.Savvy made this book just like an actor becomes the star of a show. I could hear her voice. I could see her working at all hours in the café. I could feel the cold air when she was shivering. Savvy and many of the women were strong in the story. These were women in all sorts of situations who learned from a young age to stand up for themselves.Much of the soul food and language came the Southern Black roots when they moved to Chicago. It was lively and vibrant filled with energy.

I love a cozy mystery, especially when they are food-centric. Of course I couldn't resist one set in a soul food cafe in Chicago. Savvy Summers is a likeable protagonist. I appreciate that she's not created to be a idealized version of womanly perfections (as more than a few cozies tend to do.) She's real, she's down to earth, and she tells us her story in her own voice, acting as the book's narrator.Our victim du jour is a distasteful older man who's hard to like. He meets his demise in Savvy's cafe, which places her hip-deep in the mystery of who made him faceplant in a plate of sweet potato pie.I found Grandy Jaspers, the victim, to be quite unlikeable and secretly cheered when he was gone. I was baffled by the townsfolk that stood up for him and mourned his passing... at least at first. As people finally showed their true colors, it all made more sense.A bonus to reading foodie cozies are the recipes that are often included. The author did not disappoint! She's given us a generous selection of recipes at the end of the book.My thanks to Sandra Jackson-Opoku, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

This is the first cozy mystery in a possible series set on the south side of Chicago. The book description doesn’t cover the complexity of the storyline surrounding Grandy Jaspers. The police don’t think that Grandy’s death is murder or the further death that follows.There is a large cast of people to meet and keep track of. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator does a good job with the culture of the south side of Chicago.This book felt long. Savvy keeps looking into things even when there is no real evidence that the deaths were murder. There is little to go on until the climax of the story reveals the culprit.This is a very different sort of mystery than I’m used to. I didn’t really connect with the characters. I did have enough curiosity about the outcome to finish the book, but I’m not sure that I would pick up the next if this is a series.Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book.

I knew I was in for a good time when the victim dropped dead at table two, right after eating sweet potato pie, and our heroine’s first reaction wasn’t screaming but more like “...seriously?” Because that’s the exact kind of chaos I want in a cozy mystery. “Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes” kicks off its debut like someone tossed cinnamon, crime, and messy men into a stand mixer, and I loved every minute of it.Savvy Summers is 57, recently widowed, and running a soul food café named Essie’s on the South Side of Chicago like it’s her personal mission from heaven. She’s not here to play. She’s here to serve collards with a side of sass, cater community events, and maybe, accidentally poison someone? I mean, she didn’t, but try telling that to the neighborhood gossip mill once Grandy Jaspers (noted horndog and walking HR violation) keels over after a bite of her experimental vegan sweet potato pie. Murder by pie? Iconic. Immediately yes.Now, everyone thinks Savvy’s food is lethal, her reputation’s melting faster than hot butter on cornbread, and her ex-husband just slinks back into her life, all gruff police vibes with lingering chemistry and bad timing. And because the Chicago PD is out here acting like “heart attack” means case closed, Savvy’s got to put down the spatula and pick up the amateur sleuthing hat. Enter Penny Lopés: assistant manager, expert eavesdropper, chaos gremlin. I love her like a favorite cousin who’d absolutely text you “OMG I found a clue” from a crime scene.The plot gives cozy mystery vibes with just the right amount of WTF. There’s a shady investor pushing to buy Savvy out, a suspicious pattern of older men dying under bizarrely horny circumstances, and a neighborhood that will absolutely cancel you over dessert-based conspiracy theories. But what makes this sparkle isn’t just the whodunit, it’s the vibrant community, the unapologetically Black cultural richness, and the absolute flavor (literal and metaphorical) baked into every scene. Like, I would die for Savvy’s cookbook. I would sell secrets for that lemonade recipe.And can we talk about the audiobook? Karen Chilton understood the assignment. Her narration gives each character so much voice and personality that I honestly forgot I wasn’t eavesdropping on real people. I could hear Savvy’s exhaustion, Penny’s gleeful nosiness, even the flirty ex-husband energy oozing out of Fanon like a man who knows he’s still got it and regrets every choice that led to their divorce.Yes, the pacing gets a little soft in the middle, like someone left the cornbread in the oven just a few minutes too long, but the humor, heart, and wild twists kept me all in. Savvy isn’t out here running into danger like a reckless twentysomething. She’s methodical, mature, and motivated. This is her life’s work on the line. And watching her navigate grief, legacy, and trust while also maybe dodging a pie-based homicide charge? Iconic behavior.Honestly, this is exactly the kind of first-in-series chaos I want. A fierce, funny woman with a complicated love life, a lovable mess of a bestie, and a murder that brings out the nosy auntie energy in all of us. I’m already emotionally invested and planning my next visit to Essie’s. Solid 4 stars.Whodunity Award: For Turning Dessert Into a Deadly Weapon and Still Getting a Michelin Star in My HeartBig thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ARC and audiobook! Now please excuse me while I interrogate every slice of pie I meet.

For Fans Of: It’s Elementary, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for MurderersRating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕Genre: MysteryViolence: 🪓Spice: 🚫TW: infidelity, loss of spousePremise: When rumor spreads that a customer died from her cooking, restaurateur Savvy vows to solve the mystery & save her soul food cafe.Thoughts: I really enjoyed seasoned author Jackon-Opoku’s 1st foray into cozy mysteries & will definitely return for seconds. This series premier has all the right ingredients: characters brimming with life; memorable settings; & a pleasingly complex mystery. Savvy is a main character who lives up to her name: a whip-smart entrepreneur full of courage who takes no sass from anyone but consistently demonstrates a deep well of empathy. But Savvy is just a start to the delightful cast that includes her brand-name obsessed, true-crime loving sous chef, her teddy bear of an ex-husband, and an unpredictable roster of suspects. Evocative details make Savvy’s cafe burns bright in my mind’s eye, & I found myself salivating over the descriptions of her elevated take on soul food. But as always, I show up 1st & foremost for the mystery, and Jackson-Opoku does not disappoint. What at 1st appears to be a straight-forward question—who poisoned septuagenarian Grandy—grows more twisty as the novel proceeds. Let’s just say that Savvy’s community will be dishing on this revelation for years to come. If you like your cozies with great characters, a touch of comedy, & a complex puzzle, pick up Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes.

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is a fun cozy mystery by Sandra Jackson-Opoku. Savvy is a middle-aged divorcee who runs her own soul food café. When an eccentric old man dies in her restaurant, followed soon by another, Savvy and her best friend/café assistant manager decide to get to the bottom of it.I really enjoyed the location and vibe of this mystery. Savvy is pretty up front with her feelings, and she is old enough to know what’s what. She does some snooping but doesn’t do anything really stupid like running into dangerous situations. She’s more likely to get into trouble from helping someone and being kind to the wrong person. The closest side characters are pretty well fleshed out, and their conversations are often amusing.There are a lot of moving parts to this; along with the deaths, there is the question about why someone is so interested in franchising Savvy’s business, a potential romance, the backstories and motives of a fairly large cast of suspects, and how they all relate to each other. It’s handled pretty well but it does slow down the pacing in some parts.Overall, though, this is a very enjoyable mystery with some great references and even better Old Aunt Essie-isms tossed in. I’d definitely read another if this turns into a series.Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.4 stars