Review
SAVVY SUMMERS AND THE SWEET POTATO CRIMES
By Sandra Jackson-Opoku
The First Savvy Summers Mystery
In Chicago's South Side Savvy Summers is known for her soul food cooking and reasonable prices. Hired as the caterer for Mattie and Granderson's fiftieth wedding anniversary Savvy is witness to the bad behaviors of many a relative and the surprise when Mattie calls her husband out for all of his affairs. The party abruptly ends with Savvy wondering if she'll ever see the rest of the money she's owed. When Grandy comes to her cafe the next day claiming he's not feeling well she supplies him with his usual coffee and a sample of her new "veganish" sweet potato pie-after which he drops dead. They say trouble comes in threes and an older man keeling over dead in your cafe is definitely #1, unfortunately followed by the health department closing her down, and the widow suing her. When Grandy's death is ruled a heart attack Savvy is back in business, but a business the weaselly Noble McPherson is trying to buy out. Could he somehow be behind all her troubles?
I like Savvy. She's a smart no-nonsense woman with a big heart and generous spirit. I appreciate the soul food cooking that honors her Great-Aunt Essie, but also has a modern flair to it; collard green quiches, salmon croquettes, or veganish sweet potato pie anyone? I also really like her ex-husband, Fanon. Noble is a nasty piece of work and a good villain to hate. The mystery was fun with suspects whose lifestyles are quite colorful. While Savvy may get her South Side up, Shysteen is straight up ghetto.
There is no doubt that SAVVY SUMMERS AND THE SWEET POTATO CRIMES is a cozy mystery. It does, however, push the boundaries as the author herself admits in her acknowledgments. Savvy is definitely cozy, but the language and scenarios can be a bit more coarse that what some cozy readers may be used to. I had no problem with it because everything felt true to the environment.
With lots of soul SAVVY SUMMERS AND THE SWEET POTATO CRIMES is an intriguing start to a new series.
