Author: Sandra Jackson-Opoku
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Series: Savvy Summers Book 1
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Format: Audiobook ALC
Narrator: Karen Chilton
Length: 9 hrs 20 mins
No. of Pages: 336
Date of Publication: July 29, 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars
DESCRIPTION:
A sparkling debut mystery set on the south side of Chicago, featuring the quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, proprietor of a soul food café.
When Savvy Summers first opened Essie's soul food café, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie's reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.
Even as the police deem Grandy’s death an accident, Savvy quickly finds herself—and her beloved café—in the middle of an entire city’s worth of bad press. Desperate to clear her name and keep her business afloat, Savvy and her snooping assistant manager, Penny Lopés, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.
But with a slimy investor harassing her to sell her name and business, customers avoiding her sweet potato pie like the plague, and her police sergeant ex-husband suddenly back in the picture, will Savvy be able to clear the café’s name and solve Grandy’s murder before it all falls apart?
After all, while Savvy always said her sweet potato pie was to die for, she never meant literally.
When Savvy Summers first opened Essie's soul food café, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie's reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.
Even as the police deem Grandy’s death an accident, Savvy quickly finds herself—and her beloved café—in the middle of an entire city’s worth of bad press. Desperate to clear her name and keep her business afloat, Savvy and her snooping assistant manager, Penny Lopés, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.
But with a slimy investor harassing her to sell her name and business, customers avoiding her sweet potato pie like the plague, and her police sergeant ex-husband suddenly back in the picture, will Savvy be able to clear the café’s name and solve Grandy’s murder before it all falls apart?
After all, while Savvy always said her sweet potato pie was to die for, she never meant literally.
MY THOUGHTS:
With our female protagonist, Savvy Summers, being close to my age, I had a hunch that I would thoroughly enjoy this book. This is the first in a new cozy mystery series and it is a true delight. Amateur detective. Soul food. And my favorite, sweet potato pie. I literally could not wait to dive into this book.
When one of Savvy’s customers, Grandy Jaspers, drops dead after having a slice of one of her famous sweet potato pies, Savvy immediately decides to get to the bottom of this. Even though the police have ruled Grandy’s death as accidental, this was just not enough for Savvy. She knows without a shadow of a doubt that her pies were not responsible for his death. She needs to clear her restaurant’s name. Her name. And, of course, find justice for Grandy.
Sandra Jackson-Opoku is a new author to me, and this was the perfect book for me to become familiar with her writing style. I loved her character development and the intricate plot. It is a fun story, with our diehard amateur detective, Savvy. I love her no-nonsense approach. The banter and soul food (So missed that I pulled out a soul food cookbook I have had since I got married.) blend together to deliver a solid read, one that will no doubt draw many back to further books in the series.
Not only is Savvy a fun and delightful character, her best friend Penny is as well. They are the perfect team when it comes to discovering who was responsible for Grandy’s death. I loved the guessing game laid out to readers, allowing me to follow the clues that Savvy and Penny were unveiling. This engaging read will be continued in July, 2026, with Savvy Summers and the Po’Boy Perils. No doubt it will be just as hilarious and intriguing as this first book.
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio, Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment