Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes

Author: Sandra Jackson-Opoku
Series: Savvy Summers #1
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: July 29, 2025

Many thanks to Minotaur Books for a complimentary arc of this title for review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine
 
A sparkling debut mystery set on the south side of Chicago, featuring the quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, proprietor of a soul food café.

Review:
SAVVY SUMMERS and the SWEET POTATO CRIMES is a well-crafted, cozy murder mystery with a unique, middle-aged protagonist whose talent for serving the best soul food and sweet potato pie has made her restaurant on Chicago's south side famous. Business is booming . . . until seventy-five-year-old Grandy Jaspers drops dead while sitting at table two eating Savvy's to-die-for sweet potato pie. While police rule the death as accidental, the bad press spreads like wildfire and just like that, the business is in trouble. With suspicions and rumors flying, Savvy decides to go uncover as an amateur sleuth and find out what really killed Grandy. She knows it wasn't her sweet potato pie. Joined by sidekick assistant manager Penny Lopes, Savvy cooks up a plan to clear her name and keep her restaurant afloat. 

Author Sandra Jackson-Opoku's debut novel is a cozy mystery with a ton of laughs, soul food, and murder all tossed in a pot and served up as a deliciously entertaining whodunnit that's highly entertaining. Savvy is a strong, spunky character that readers will identify with as is her quirky sidekick, Penny. They play off each other in a manner reminiscent of Lucy and Ethel of I Love Lucy fame which is hilarious. I enjoyed the introduction of a middle-aged main character with a sharp mind unafraid to stand up for herself. A large, convoluted cast of characters seem a bit confusing at first, but roles are soon claimed, and the story is off and running. A sea of red herrings threatens to spoil the stew, but Savvy Summers won't stop until she sifts through facades and unearths the truth. Afterall, her reputation as a chef and her famous sweet potato pie are at risk.

 SAVVY SUMMERS and the SWEET POTATO PIE is an entertaining cozy mystery with charismatic characters serving up a plate full of soul food. Armchair detectives will enjoy figuring out whodunnit while rolling on the floor in laughter. I'm looking forward to seeing what's next for Savvy and her crew.  Highly recommend to fans of cozy mysteries.

 Synopsis: 

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.

Sunday, July 27, 2025

We Are All Guilty Here Review

Author: Karin Slaughter
Series: North Falls #1
Publisher: William Morrow
US Release Date: Aug. 12, 2025

Many thanks to the publisher for a complimentary arc of this title for review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

First published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

The gripping and exciting first book in a brand new crime thriller series from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author.

Review:
Author Karin Slaughter returns with a new crime thriller series set in a small town where everyone knows everyone, or do they? WE ARE ALL GUILTY HERE is a highly addictive, well-crafted suspense thriller that's impossible to put down, featuring flawed characters with a ton of baggage that bears a closer look. Slaughter draws readers in from page one and doesn't turn them loose until the final shocking revelation slaps them in the face. Take care of business and find some alone time before settling in with this masterpiece. 

 WE ARE ALL GUILTY HERE explores the many layers of life in a typical small town in the south. On the surface, everyone's life is an open book. No secrets, right? Peel back a layer or two and you'll find almost everyone has nasty little secrets, something they'd do anything to keep hidden. These dark secrets begin unraveling after two teenagers disappear on the night of the town's annual Fourth of July celebration. Police Officer Emmy Clifton and her father Chief Gerald Clifton are on the scene working the case from the start, and they follow the evidence eventually putting the bad guy in prison despite Emmy's lingering doubts. Over a decade later, another girl disappears under similar circumstances. Emmy is now Chief of Police and faced with the possibility they may have put the wrong guy away. To uncover the truth, Emmy and Jude Archer, a retired FBI agent and psychologist, work together in a race against time. It's soon clear the small-town neighbors Emmy thought she knew are hiding secrets that could destroy them if revealed. How far would they go to keep them hidden? With a few skeletons rattling around in her own closet, Emmy is forced to face her own demons and the complexity of relationships within her own family when her personal and professional lives clash.

Author Karin Slaughter slays it with this gripping, tension laden, tautly written thriller balancing smalltown dynamics with compelling, richly developed characterizations led by a flawed, yet likable protagonist burdened with guilt and regret. The dual timeline connects past crimes with the present setting a chilling tone of malice throughout. As the story unfolds, characters and readers are sent reeling with each shocking revelation until it becomes clear no one in North Falls is as blameless as they may seem . . . even Emmy.

We Are All Guilty Here is an emotional, gripping thriller that highlights how the past can dictate the path of the future while throwing open all the doors in a tightly knit town. As always, Slaughter excels at turning small-town settings into vivid, living elements that shape the story and drive the pace. Guilt, secrets, and family dynamics all collide and explode across the pages of this suspense thriller. No one does it better than Karin Slaughter. I can’t wait for the second book in this series. Highly recommended for readers who love a challenging whodunit and fans of mysteries and psychological thrillers.


Synopsis:
Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.

Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.

For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.

But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?

Monday, July 21, 2025

Roadtrip With A Rogue Review

Author: Kate Bateman
Series: Her Majesty's Rebels #3
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Release Day: July 29, 2025

Many thanks to St. Martins Press for a complimentary arc of this title for review. Opinions expressed are my own.

Mistakenly holding up the coach of the man who broke her heart is bad enough, but having to endure his sinfully alluring company all the way to Scotland is Daisy Hamilton’s worst nightmare . . . and her most secret desire.

Review:
ROAD TRIP WITH A ROGUE is the third and final book in 
the Her Majesty's Rebels series featuring three women operating a private investigation firm, King & Co., in London. Daisy Hamilton embarks on a mission to stop a young heiress from eloping. Pretending to be a highwayman, Daisy holds up a coach only to find it's occupied by Lucien Vaughan, a Duke, war hero and a rogue--one who broke her heart five years ago. Daisy has no idea that the eloping groom is Lucien's nephew, and he's determined to thwart her plan and see the happy couple married. With that in mind, Lucien talks Daisy into joining forces with him to catch the couple. She has no idea he's carried a torch for her all these years and will use any means to get closer to her. As they embark on a dangerous journey, the biggest threat may be to their hearts.

Author Kate Bateman excels at crafting historical romance books featuring spicy chemistry, steamy banter, stubborn heroines and to die for bad boy heroes. Daisy and Lucien's story sizzles from cover to cover, but it's also filled with laughable scenes that make it a delight to read. While this is book three, it does standalone with sufficient background information; however, I highly recommend reading the first two books - partly for the character development that occurs, but mostly for the fun reading experience. ROAD TRIP WITH A ROGUE is everything I love about historical romance where the hero falls first, and the heroine refuses to see what's right in front of her eyes. Fans of historical romance and romcoms will adore this one!

Synopsis:
A midnight mishap.

Daisy Hamilton’s new mission for King & Co., London's premier private investigation firm, is simple: stop heiress Violetta Brand from eloping. But her case is derailed when she mistakenly holds up the carriage of Lucien Vaughan, Duke of Cranford—cynical war hero, infamous libertine, and the very man who broke her heart five years ago.

A reluctant road trip.

Lucien’s determined to see his lovestruck nephew married to Miss Brand, but the unexpected appearance of Daisy— the one woman he’s never been able to forget—could ruin his plans. As they follow the runaway couple together, Lucien decides that delaying the headstrong Daisy by any means possible—including seduction—will be his absolute pleasure . . . and hers.

A dangerous desire.

After Daisy’s reputation is threatened, Lucien makes a scandalous claim, but when an unexpected enemy threatens her life, he realizes she’s the only woman for him. Their past encounters have made Daisy almost as jaded about love as Lucien himself, and it’s going to take action, not words, to convince this knife-wielding hellion to risk her heart on him again...

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

The Blue Horse Review

Author: Bruce Borgos
Series: Porter Beck #3
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Day: July 8, 2025

Special thanks to the publisher for a complimentary arc of this title for review. Opinions expressed are my own.

Review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

A controversial wild horse round-up in the high desert of Nevada results in two murders and too many suspects for Sheriff Porter Beck to deal with.

Review:
THE BLUE HORSE, the third installment in the Porter Beck series by Author Bruce Borgos, checks all the boxes when it comes to exciting, unputdownable suspense thrillers. It's a taut, fast paced, action packed story with dynamic characters involved in a race against time to stop the bad guys. Borgos's expertise at maintaining a high intensity level while weaving multiple plotlines involving prevalent issues is impressive and highly entertaining. I found it extremely hard to stop reading once I started this one and now find myself anxiously waiting for the next one.

Sheriff Porter Beck returns along with several series’ favorites, including his adopted sister Brinley and his love interest Detective Charlie Blue Horse, in THE BLUE HORSE. Beck and his deputy are observing a wild horse roundup herded by a helicopter from a cliff above a Nevada canyon when he witnesses the copter crashing. Arriving on scene, they quickly determined the crash was the result of the pilot being shot. The leader of an anti-roundup activist group protesting in the area becomes a suspect, but when another tragic death occurs, Beck, who isn't primary on the case, follows his gut instinct looking beyond the obvious for motive. As he and Charlie work the clues, a disturbing, emerging pattern leads them to take a closer look at a Canadian Lithium mining operation buying up land in the area. The stakes skyrocket for Beck when Brinley goes missing from a wilderness camp as he suspects her disappearance may be tied to the killings. Time is of an essence, and Beck will move heaven and earth to find Brinley. Will he be in time?

Wild Mustang Roundups are controversial with strong emotions and reasonings on both sides of the issue, and Author Bruce Borgos taps into those often heated, contrasting points of view in the fictional THE BLUE HORSE. I found it interesting that Borgos states that after his in-depth research into the pros and cons of both sides, he's landed firmly on one side, but he sincerely hopes his opinion doesn't show in his rendering of this story. In my opinion, it does not. Having wild horses roaming free on the Outer Banks in North Carolina where I live, I've witnessed their majestic, breathtaking beauty but like Borgos, I won't disclose my opinion here. I will say Borgos has done a magnificent job at weaving the pros and cons into a tension laden plot line that kept this reader on the edge of her seat from start to finish. A menacing tone drives a pace that increases chapter to chapter to the explosive climax. The author incorporates the trials and tribulations we all experienced within the confines of the Covid pandemic, adding additional complicacies to the storyline. Complex characters are well defined both professionally and personally. Beck's continuous battle and insecurities learning to maneuver life with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a disease that renders him with extremely limited night vision, with the aid of a devoted dog is a lesson in perseverance while learning to cope with a handicap. The author also shines a light on groups helping troubled teens cope with PTSD with Brinley's work (herself a victim of childhood abuse) through the wilderness group, especially one troubled teen, Rafa.

As the story unfolds, various plotlines begin connecting like pieces of a puzzle. The result is a highly entertaining suspense thriller with a lot of heart highlighting some controversial, real-life issues. Beck's wry sense of humor lends a bit of comic relief to an otherwise serious subject as does his budding romance with Charlie. While this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone as the talented author flawlessly incorporates needed backstory into the narrative; however, I suggest you treat yourself by diving into the previous books. THE BLUE HORSE is a tautly written, intense, must-read thriller that fans of suspense thrillers will enjoy.

Synopsis:
A helicopter driving a controversial round-up of wild horses suddenly crashes and the pilot is found to have been shot. Then the person coordinating the round-up for the Bureau of Land Management is savagely murdered, buried up to her neck and then trampled to death by the very same wild horses. And there's no lack of suspects—with the wild horse advocacy group having sworn to protect the horse At Any Cost! Now the state and federal agencies are showing up looking for answers or at least a scapegoat.

Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days.

Porter Beck's new girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, arrives to help with the investigation, which leads them to Canadian Lithium mining operation near the round-up area that sets off Beck's mental alarm bells. Brinley, Beck's sister, is leading a group of troubled kids in a wilderness program, when one of them, Rafa, bolts one night. When Brinley catches up to him, they're just outside the mine—in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

With his personal life in turmoil, too many suspects and too many secrets, the feds pushing for a quick resolution, and his impetuous (if skilled) sister in the mix, one wrong step could be deadly for Porter Beck.