A popular soul food eatery on the South Side of Chicago is the scene of a possible homicide in Sandra Jackson-Opoku's action-packed mystery, Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes. The unforgettable narrator and cafe owner, Sapphire "Savvy" Summers, is a former English teacher with a knack for whipping up delectable dishes, including her famous sweet potato pie. Things start to go wrong, however, when she concocts a vegan version of her famed dessert.
The cafe, known fondly as Essie's and inspired by Savvy's beloved late great-aunt, is a cheerful gathering spot for an assortment of locals and is a flourishing enterprise until the unfortunate day that a customer, Grandy Jaspers, drops dead at his regular table. The cause of death is a heart attack precipitated by an overdose of Viagra, but all anyone remembers is that the deceased sampled Savvy's new vegan pie before keeling over.
Jackson-Opoku (The River Where Blood Is Born), a Chicago native, is an award-winning poet and writer. She has created in Savvy a charismatic woman who has survived a myriad of losses and is determined to be the author of her own story. Savvy's lively narration often veers into a Black vernacular and she liberally quotes her great-aunt Essie's wise proverbs. The plot, brimming with comic relief, finds Savvy fending off an unsavory developer who wants to buy her cafe while she tries to resurrect her struggling business after Grandy's sudden demise frightens away customers.
Convinced that the death is no accident and eager to redeem her new signature dessert, Savvy and her nosy sous-chef, Penny, set out to do some amateur detective work. The suspects on their list include the corrupt alderman Delbert "Do-Right" Dailey, Grandy's much younger girlfriend, Shysteen Shackleford, and his grieving widow, Miss Mattie. Savvy's handsome ex-husband, Fanon Franklin, is a police officer who still carries a torch for her and his presence adds a charming dash of romance to the action.
Savvy's "devious yet delicious plan" to track down Grandy's would-be murderer might be far-fetched but it's perfectly harmless, at least until the fateful night she realizes--almost too late--that it would be safer to leave the sleuthing to the real detectives.
Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is an entertaining, suspense-fueled crime drama with a bonus chapter featuring recipes for dishes served at Essie's, including Savvy's infamous and subsequently prize-winning vegan sweet potato pie. --Shahina Piyarali
Shelf Talker: A Chicago soul food cafe owned by a charismatic teacher-turned-chef is the scene of a possible homicide in this action-packed crime drama that includes a recipe for vegan sweet potato pie.