Savvy Summers runs Essie’s Café, a soul food restaurant on Chicago’s southside using her Aunt Essie’s recipes, especially her Sweet Potato Pie. When Grandy Jaspers dies in the café after eating her pie, her reputation, restaurant and her dreams are all in peril. When the police aren’t interested in investigating the death of Grandy, Savvy along with her sous chef, Penny Lopes, become amateur sleuths to solve the death.

This is a delightful cozy mystery, the characters are enjoyable, the mystery has genuine intrigue and I enjoyed the secondary characters as well. The relationship between Savvy and her ex-husband is sweet, the back & forth between Penny and Savvy reminds me of close friendships and even the antics of Grandy are fun to read. Don’t miss this cozy mystery with recipes included for some yummy fun.

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes was a whole ride! From the very first chapter, this thriller had me hooked. Savvy is sharp, bold, and just the right amount of nosy, and watching her unravel this twisted mystery was pure entertainment.

The pacing was solid, the plot twists were juicy, and there were moments that genuinely had me gasping. I especially loved how the story balanced suspense with personality—Savvy’s charm and wit made it all the more fun to read.

If you’re into thrillers with clever leads, unexpected turns, and a bit of Southern flair, this one’s definitely worth a spot on your TBR.

This cozy mystery took a bit to get going, but once Savvy dove into the sleuthing, I was hooked. The murder method? Wild. The characters? A mix of fun, frustrating, and shady. Savvy’s dynamic with her ex-husband Fanon was a highlight—I’d read more of them solving crimes together.

Definitly entertaining. A solid pick if you like your mysteries quirky and set in a big city.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC!

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is a good cozy debut novel. I enjoyed the characters that Sandra Jackson Opoku created for the most part.
Savvy thinks she’s a great detective though she gets herself into situations when I just wondered… really?
I think Penny her friend and go worker was my fave.
I enjoyed the setting of in Chicago for a cozy mystery in a big city.
The story and who the killer was did surprise me to a point but it did take me a while to finish this as at times kept me interested and at other times I had to force myself to pick it back up.

Thank you to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well-written, I really enjoyed this book! Great mystery; also loved how all recipes are included at the end of the book. I might try one of the recipes from the book.

Savvy Summers, proprietor of a soul food café on Chicago’s south side, knows her community well – and they know her cooking. When 75-year-old womanizer Grandy Jaspers dies in her café, she feels compelled to investigate. Not only is her café’s reputation on the line, but she also knows something shady is going on. She and friend/employee Penny Lopes come up with a list of suspects. They also find an ally in Savvy’s ex-husband, Fanon, who is a cop.

The story starts with a flurry of action – Savvy is catering the 50th anniversary party of Grandy Jaspers and his long-suffering wife, Mattie. There’s a cast of characters flying at the reader fast and furious, and it took a minute to get my bearings. But it certainly set the stage for what was to come.
I really loved Savvy. She’s smart and caring, but she doesn’t suffer fools (for the most part). I also liked that she was a little older and had already Her sidekick, Penny, is feisty (like any good sidekick) and maybe into some shady dealings of her own (maybe that will be investigated later in this series). I also liked the conclusion of the story and how it all came together.

I think the book could have used one more edit before, or even just a proofread. A few things seemed a bit repetitious. Despite that, I would definitely read another book in this series.

I finished the book wanting to give it a chance but the victim and everyone's casual cheating ways ruined the story. On the plus side I am excited to try the recipe included in the book.

Great mystery! I'm so glad much of the story revolved around food. The sweet potato pie on the cover is what made me pick up this book and everyone appreciating Savvy's cooking kept me interested. Each time I thought I had the mystery figured out someone else would step in and make me change my mind. Savvy is lucky to have someone like Essie whispering in her ear along with a jazzy musical soundtrack. Fun characters.

Reading this made me feel like it was 90 degrees out and I was sitting on a stoop. The atmosphere was so well done; it would be a great addition to your summer bag. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but I didn’t try too hard at it. The important ones come up again and, in a cozy, it’s about the snooping not the ultimate solution!

Savvy, her assistant, Penny, her ex-husband, Fanon, and some other characters have extensive backstories, so I think this was the exposition-heavy start to a series and future novels can build on it with brisker plots.

Thank you so much to Sandra Jackson- Opoku and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the eARC of this. It is a good debut novel that took me a little longer to get through. It's worth a read if you love food and mysteries.

Thank you to Minitaur Books and the author for this free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

When I picked up *Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes*, I was expecting a lighthearted mystery with just the right dash of Southern charm—and Sandra Jackson-Opoku delivered! The book feels like sitting down with an old friend who’s full of secrets, quirks, and irresistible humor.

Savvy Summers is a protagonist you can’t help but root for. She’s witty, resourceful, and just the right amount of nosy—qualities you need when you’re knee-deep in solving peculiar crimes involving sweet potatoes. I loved following her journey as she uncovered secrets that were equal parts intriguing and deliciously absurd.

The atmosphere of the story is where Jackson-Opoku truly shines. She has an uncanny ability to transport you to a town that’s alive with vibrant personalities, rich traditions, and a dose of hilarity. While the mystery itself doesn’t reinvent the genre, it’s engaging enough to keep the pages turning—and let’s be real, who doesn’t love a sweet potato twist?

If I have one critique, it’s that some of the subplots seemed to fizzle out without resolution. But that didn’t detract too much from the overall enjoyment. With its warmth, humor, and endearing characters, *Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes* is a delightful addition to the cozy mystery genre. Solid 4 stars—definitely worth reading with a side of sweet potato pie!

I actually really enjoyed this book and probably wouldn't have come across it otherwise. Good story and really well written

Savvy Summers has found success with her soul food cafe and catering business. Her sweet potato pie has always been the star of her menu, until one of her regular customers, Grandy Jaspers, dies while sitting as his usual table. Even though the police rule his death an accident, Savvy's business takes a hit and she starts to think there was more to his death than what the police uncovered. With the help of her assistant manager Penny Lopes, Savvy begins to uncover not only Grandy Jaspers' secrets, but secrets of other members of the community. As she gets closer to discovering the truth about Grandy's death, Savvy finds herself uncovering more secrets that certain people would rather keep hidden. A great cozy mystery and I hope there are more books about Savvy and her friends in the future.

I liked the premise of the book as well as the main character. Unfortunately from the starting point of the death by erection pill it lost me. There was too much focus on passages that felt like they were written purely out of trying to be funny rather than adding to or moving the plot forward. I also found that they story jumped around a bit and took too many liberties in what the author wanted to assume the reader already knew. I didn't really enjoy this one and if it were to become a series I don't think that I would press on.

Sometimes a book truly transports you to another time and place. Author Sandra Jackson-Opoku's debut cozy, foodie mystery was a delightful reprieve from our current national nightmares. Overwhelmingly enjoyed.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Such a fun and cozy debut! Liked how all the recipes from the story were included at the end of the book. There were times when the story slowed down a little bit and felt like certain parts could’ve been edited out. Also there were a few too many characters to keep track of and I had to write down who was who. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this digital arc.

When Savvy Summers, owner of Essie's Place, agrees to cater a 50th anniversary celebration, little does she know it will set off a chain of events that threaten to ruin her restaurant. When half of the anniversary couple drops dead after eating a piece of Savvy's sweet potato pie the morning after the party, rumors start flying, and she is determined to get to the bottom of the matter before she is run out of business.

This mystery is a lot of fun. There is a huge cast of colorful characters, and I appreciated the Chicago setting. Savvy's relationship with her ex-husband, a detective who is reluctantly dragged into helping her, is one of the more memorable parts of the story. There's a subplot involving a shady real estate deal which adds some tension to the story but has nothing to do with the murders.

Savvy is no sleuth, but she does manage to stumble onto a solution aided by a rather inept pair of murderers. I would file this under the cozy mystery, amateur detective category. Extra points if you're a fan of soul food. Recipes are shared at the end of the story.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Savvy Summers is an engaging heroine surrounded by well-developed supporting characters. As she investigates a sudden death in her restaurant, she comes across several mysterious circumstances that could have led to murder. Many characters have secrets and are up to no good. Savvy enlists the help of her ex-husband and her friend/employee to help figure out which secret led to murder.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with interesting characters, and I would read more about these characters if a sequel was released. I appreciate that it’s connected to food without being super kitschy about it. It also really feels rooted in Chicago, and I like books that are like love letters to their setting.
I would recommend this book for fans of contemporary cozy mysteries, especially those who are looking to read more Black authors.

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes was a fun, fast-paced cozy mystery that kept me entertained from start to finish. The humor, the food talk, and the dynamic between Savvy and Penny made the story shine. While a few moments dragged, the twists and lovable characters more than made up for it. If this turns into a series, I’m in! Solid 4/5—great read, just a little slow at times.

I don’t usually have such a difficult time reading books but this one really had me flustered. I think some elements of the story were lost in translation for me or I just couldn’t understand. There were too many characters for me to remember, so many different nicknames or explanations behind characters that were already introduced and I forgot what the plot of the story even was. I really wanted to enjoy this book like others and I was so excited to read something fresh as well as a new to me author but man am I confused. The writing also felt clunky and loaded with unnecessary detail which made it even harder for me to retain. I loved Savy Summers, her quick combacks and no nonsense attitude. I appreciated the plot and Savy as a whole but everything else was hard to get through. I’ll definitely try this author again but there was just so many different aspects of this book to take in it really lost the story for me.