When a new cozy mystery series serves up a delicious cast of characters, a strong-willed, brokenhearted burgeoning detective, and enough food descriptions to make your stomach rumble through a storm, you know you have a winning recipe - and Sandra Jackson-Opoku has that in SAVVY SUMMERS AND THE SWEET POTATO CRIMES.

Sapphire "Savvy" Summers (formerly Franklin) is newly widowed, maybe not 100% over her earlier divorce, and navigating life with adult children living far away from her. She keeps herself busy with her soul food restaurant, known as Essie's, and she's surrounded herself with familial community, which is to say, people that love her, people that love to rib on her, and people that hate her guts. But when a catering client of hers drops dead (is the *first* to drop dead) from her sweet potato pie, Savvy realizes that, in order to save her business and preserve her sanity, she has to figure out who really would want to murder her client: An enraged wife, a jealous mistress, a slighted manager, a friend in debt, and shady government and business officials are just some of the suspects Savvy must consider, all while still cooking up the best food the South Side of Chicago has to offer.

Sandra Jackson-Opoku is decades deep into a rewarding career in literary fiction, poetry, and prose. That she's found a new chapter as a cozy mystery writer is quite the feat. It's that celebrated history that makes this story light to the tongue but rich in flavor. Savvy is a complex heroine, one who has understood the injustices she has experienced as Black woman business owner, navigating a gentrifying neighborhood and fragmented community. The author gives her plenty of grief to grapple with, elevating a straightforward mystery plot into a fascinating character study. Savvy narrates the novel, and she's a tough-but-fair type with great warmth for her community. The author also demonstrates excellent plotting for a cozy, wrapping the plot elements around the center of the story making it easy for the distracted reader to keep up with this vast cast of characters. The novel is wholly satisfying and accomplishes what many in her genre cannot: It doesn't just serve as a springboard for a whole series - it sticks the landing from the first jump.

I loved this book and the fantastic narration! I hope to read more about Savvy and her crew. The recipes at the end were the perfect touch!

I had the opportunity to receive an advanced audio copy of Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku. This engaging mystery follows a shop owner who unexpectedly steps into the role of amateur sleuth after two murders occur that she finds herself connected to.

The story blends culture, history, self-discovery, and suspense with a light, enjoyable tone. I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, and the narrator did a fantastic job bringing the characters and setting to life. The pacing made it a quick and satisfying listen.

The character development was strong, and I appreciated how the mystery unfolded while exploring deeper themes. I truly enjoy this genre and found this to be a fun and compelling story. I'm looking forward to more from this author in the future.

This book was fantastic. The characters were interesting. The setting was rich. The plot kept me guessing. I loved how this cozy mystery was so different but still evoked a close-knit community. Savvy and Penny were so great and I loved the romance and humor. The narrator was AMAZING. She reminded me of disco djs, kind of like The Warriors? She really made the book. Fantastic.

This is a Cozy Mystery, and this is the first book in the Savvy Summers series. I read this book by listening to the audiobook. I had a hard time getting into this book, but I did enjoy the last half of this book. There were a lot of characters in this book, and I found it hard to follow at times. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

"Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crime (Savvy Summers #1)" by Sandra Jackson-Opoku is the first book of a new series based in the south side of Chicago, mostly at Savvy's cafe. She has a soul food cafe and catering business. There's a real estate agent that is hounding her to sell, her business isn't doing great and it's mostly because two guys have died in close proximity of her sweet potato pie. Her ex-husband is a police officer and is sort of trying to help but he's not a detective. The detective on the case is icy towards her. So of course that means she has to do some digging.

This book has a more realistic time span for a homicide investigation. It seems to span late summer/early fall through Christmas and into a little later in the winter.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this audio ARC!

I enjoyed this cozy mystery. The character development and relationships were probably my favorite part. The vibes were great, the audio narration was very well done and felt like the narrator really got into the voice and perspective of the character. I would definitely read more from this author!

'Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes' brings an amateur detective investigation to a small town that is both Southern and Chicagoan. The story kicks off with a mix of big personalities—some charismatic, many downright unsavory—plus a healthy dose of local gossip and tension. The result? Practically anyone could be the culprit. This approach made it difficult for me to feel endeared to most of the characters at first, yet I remained genuinely intrigued by who might be responsible for the crimes.

One notable aspect is Savvy’s calm demeanor. She’s not itching to poke her nose where it doesn’t belong—she’s genuinely passionate about her work and is drawn into the mystery out of necessity. Her maturity adds credibility to her actions, keeping them from feeling overly impulsive or naïve. Additionally, Karen Chilton does a great job narrating this vibrant cast of characters.

While the plot and setup are engaging, readers expecting a sweet or whimsical cozy mystery may find this one a bit edgier. There’s some foul language and several vulgar moments from various characters, which could be off-putting if you're looking for something light and charming.

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for access to this audiobook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and alc.

This was a cute and funny debut novel. With that being said, I did think some parts of the book were slow, and I lost interest at times. Karen Chilton did do a good job with the narration. Even if I didn't LOVE this book, I would still recommend it to fans of Finlay Donovan (which is one of my favorite mystery comedy series).

If there was to be a second book about Savvy, I would consider reading it.

This one wasn’t for me in the end..

The positive: Loved the running commentary on black culture, the snark and overall feel of this cozy mystery.

The challenges: It feels unedited. The chapters are really disjointed and hard to follow with time jumping around. There seems to be a lot of unnecessary details that seems like the author is preaching to the readers. I nearly felt like there was going to be an advert for a new drug to prevent priapism, it was that detailed.

I consumed the audiobook and the narrator Karen Chilton was a good fit for the narrative. She spoke at a slower pace but in this case it added to the feeling the prose was trying to convey.

While it didn’t grab me (you don’t even have confirmation that a murder happened until 62% of the book is through) it may be just what another reader needs right now.

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My general rating system is below. Since I primarily read ARC books I rate according to how I think like minded readers will receive the book. I will round up or down depending on many factors and try not to let my personal wants affect a books ratings.

⭐️ Hated It but pushed through as so don’t DNF ARCs I have received.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, content issues, poorly edited.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but it had something that stopped me from rounding up. Usually the book may have much more potential than what was given. I recommend it but with reservations.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I Really enjoyed it or think others will. These are solid reads that I definitely would recommend for a variety of reasons.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! These are books that remain rent free in my head for well after unfinished the book. It can be for a variety of reasons from being very well written or just the vibes that captured my mind. These books are also ones I would probably read again.

3.75 stars

Few things bring me more joy than the start of a good series, and this book fits that bill.

Savvy Summers has cornered the soul food kitchen scene in her Chicago neighborhood, and readers will be dunked right into this space through gathering and food galore at the start of the book. Snack before reading. Otherwise, this is a little like going to Costco on an empty stomach. You will want to eat everything.

Though Savvy has a great reputation in her community and among those close or formerly close to her (ex-husband included!), there's only so much she can do to counteract the negative impression that a man's death after enjoying Savvy's sweet potato pie leaves. Savvy suspects that there is more to this story (murder?!), and she has a vested interest in making it so. Fortunately, she is surrounded by sus characters, so it seems likely she'll be believably relieved of her current rep by one or more of them.

While I did feel like the events of this novel were a bit slow to unroll, I instantly really liked Savvy and was intrigued by various side characters, too. Part of this can be attributed to stellar narration for the audiobook. This narrator absolutely brings Savvy to life, along with her various connections. I felt like I knew Savvy and wanted to go grab coffee at Essie's just to hang out with her.

I'm so glad that we'll be getting more from Savvy Summers and hopefully some of these other characters along the way. This is a charming cozy.

This review is for the audio version of this book, wonderfully narrated by Karen Chilton. She has a rich, clear, voice that was skillfully used to bring this story and these characters to life.

This was a solid debut into the cozy mystery category. Following Savvy Summers as she runs her cafe and catering business in Chicago's south side. After a regular to Savvy's cafe dies and she is implicated in the death, she sets about trying to figure out how the person actually died.

Savvy is an amazing character. She's confident, funny, smart, and she has no shame when it comes to standing up for herself and her ideals.

The story was kind of standard but what set it apart were the characters and the community.

Definitely worth the time to read.