Book Review: Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes: A Mystery by Sandra Jackson-Opoku
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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.