I’m a huge Golden Girls fan, I’ve watched the series more times than I can count. It’s my ultimate comfort show, I finish and immediately start again. So when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it.

What I loved: the dialogue between the girls was spot-on. It really captured their personalities and the iconic banter that makes the show so special. The title, the cover, and the cute little illustrations at the start of each chapter were adorable touches that I enjoyed.

That said, the writing itself left a bit to be desired. At times, it felt more like I was watching an episode than reading a book, which made some sections feel overly detailed and slow. There was a heavy focus on St. Olaf traditions and the wedding plot, which took up a lot of space and left the actual murder mystery feeling kind of flat.

The mystery wrapped up so quickly that I actually said, “That’s it?” when I finished. It could have used more suspense or twists along the way to make the payoff feel worth it.

Still, I’m glad I read it. I’ll definitely be grabbing a paperback for my shelf (obviously), and I’ll be checking out the next one when it comes out.

🌟🌟Four Golden Girl Stars for this cozy Mystery!🌟🌟

Full disclosure: I am not a die hard fan of the show. Betty White, though, is always a delight and I was thrilled that Rose was in all of her St. Olaf glory in this new mystery.

Here are four reasons to read this one:

⌛This is like time travelling back to the 1980's and the gift of a new episode -- with a mystery bonus.

🍰There is a recipe for St. Olaf's Kiss Cheesecake included.

💑Someone other than Blanche has a romance opportunity.

📚That cover is irresistible.

Been missing those Golden Girls and the Miami senior scene? Check this one out.

Happy Publication Day! Thank you to Hyperion and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really, really did not like this. It was torture. To be fair, I like the Golden Girls just fine but I am not a die hard fan. And honestly, I can't picture them as women who are trying to date and look better than each other. If it was about grannies trying to solve crimes I could get on board. But this was absolute torture. I will round up for the effort but I am so glad it's over. 1.5 stars.

This was a fun (and funny!) first book in a new cozy mystery series based on the Golden girls tv show characters. I love reading about quirky older dames kicking butt and taking names and this book had that in spades. Excited to see what comes next! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I went into "Murder by Cheesecake" hoping for cozy mystery nostalgia, and what I got was a time machine straight to 1980s Miami with Blanche in a silk robe, Sophia flinging insults like shurikens, and Dorothy suffering through men like it’s a full-time job. Basically? My childhood comfort show, but with a murder and a side of pickled herring.

The setup is peak "Golden Girls" chaos: Rose is throwing a St. Olaf–themed wedding for her cousin, which is already cursed considering it includes fish-based traditions and a full-blown Lutefisk Tea Social. Dorothy, in need of a date for said wedding, tries out a VHS dating service (bless her delusional heart), and ends up with a man so obnoxious even Blanche wouldn’t sleep with him—which, let’s be honest, is the real red flag. Then, just as everyone’s prepping for traditional events (St. Olaf's style) leading into the big day the big day and Rose’s handcrafted wedding cheesecake is chilling in the hotel kitchen, said date turns up face down in it. In the cheesecake. In the freezer. And just like that, we’ve got a corpse in the cake and four pastel-clad suspects with attitude and alibis that don’t quite hold up under a detective’s side-eye.

Now, the couple getting married? Adorable. Full-on sweethearts who genuinely made me believe love could bloom even under the looming shadow of a dessert-based homicide. And Rose? Bless her innocent little soul, she comes by her quirks honest. Every single “back in St. Olaf” tangent is so wildly bizarre it loops around to endearing—and I fully buy that she’d think lutefisk is a viable centerpiece. The real magic here, though, is the girls. No matter the murder, the mayhem, or the freezer-related trauma, they’ve always got each other’s backs. The ride-or-die loyalty is strong, the sass is weaponized, and yes—some truly hilarious times are had. Picture them undercover, a full-blown investigation montage, and Sophia threatening people with baked goods. It’s giving sitcom energy with a side of felony.

But—and it’s a cheesecake-sized but—the pacing is a problem. This isn’t a mystery so much as a wedding planning novella with a dead body iced in like an afterthought. It’s like the plot did a jitterbug: quick, slow, quick, quick, why are we still talking about the St. Olaf herring ceremony? Dorothy’s date getting freezer-murdered is supposed to be the juicy hook, but the book kind of forgets about the actual murder mystery for long stretches, which is a choice. A wrong one, but still a choice.

And Dorothy? Deserved. Better. The fact that her romantic plotline involves a sleazebag who dies mid-cheesecake is both wildly on-brand and a bit of a letdown. Wrapped up too neatly, too quickly, and honestly—girl should’ve gotten a martini and a spa day, not police questioning and public humiliation.

Still. I’ll give this series room to grow, because seeing these women back together is like popping on fuzzy socks and yelling at the TV in a language only your college roommates understand. Is it perfect? No. Is it comforting chaos with a murder crust? Absolutely. 3.5 stars, and I’ll be back for book two—just with slightly lower expectations and higher cheesecake security.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Who else read this book in the voices of the characters? I truly felt like I was watching the show while I was reading this. This author did an amazing job capturing all of the character’s quirks and mannerisms. Cut yourself a slice of cheesecake and get ready for a treat.
The ladies are planning a wedding for Rose’s niece. The plans are moving along until Dorothy’s date wind up dead. The ladies work together to catch the culprit.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series! Many thanks to the author, Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#MurderByCheesecake #RachelEkstromCourage #NetGalley #HyperionAvenue #TheGoldenGirls #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetInMiami

ARC review 🥮

Murder by Cheesecake
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Release: April 15, 2025

Dorothy, Sophia and Blanche are helping Rose plan and execute her cousin’s wedding. The first event goes great…until Dorothy’s date is found 💀. The Golden Girls must work together to find the culprit and save the wedding.

This was a cozy, low stakes mystery perfect for fans of the genre and fans of the Golden Girls. The author did a good job of capturing the personalities of the ladies, but also adding her own voice to their world. It was funny, but did try too hard at times, especially the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue Books for the arc of this book.

Felt like reading a Golden Girls episode with a murder twist—silly, light, and full of quirky charm. Fun in small doses, but not for everyone. If you like cozy chaos and don’t mind some cheesiness, it might just hit the spot.

As a huge fan of the series, of course I had to read this one and it was fun for all the nostalgia of the show. You can tell the author also loves the show as the details from what the girls wore to the lanai to Rose’s crazy St.Olaf stories, she gives the series the respect it deserves within the pages.
When Roses niece and nephew in law to be arrive in Miami for their wedding, Rose has to plan a St. Olaf style wedding with all the traditions that the families will expect when they come to town. The other ladies get on board to help. But things get off to a rough start when at the Welcome Tuna Teatime Dorothy finds a dead body in the walkin freezer and she is the main suspect because the body happens to be a man she went on a date with recently after being set up by a dating service and JT didn’t go well. The girls have to clear Dorothy and get the wedding to go off without a hitch in time amd not have any of the St. Olaf people know what’s going on behind the scenes.
I wasn’t sure if the sitcom ladies would work with the cozy mystery genre, but it did. The girls fell into the amateur detective roles easily and it wasn’t too over the top, except for all of Rose’s crazy wedding traditions.
Thanks to Hyperion Avenue Digital and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Overall it wasn’t for me sadly. It felt so disconnected from the golden girls to where it was a little bit distracting which makes me sad as a fan of the golden girls and cozy mysteries. I think it’s worth a try for golden girls fans but I personally didn’t love it

Murder by Cheesecake has some significant room for improvement. In my read, it seems like author Rachel Ekstrom Courage relied on the nostalgia of Golden Girls fans to do most of the heavy lifting engaging reading. The action of the novel, the discovery of a body in a freezer full of Rose's cheesecake, takes a backseat to the ladies planning a traditional St. Olaf wedding for Rose's niece.

I know I'm being too picky here, but it also seems like this Rose had never actually stepped foot in Minnesota. On the show, Rose's Scandinavian Midwestern storytelling was goofy and overblown for comedic effect; in this novel, it's repetitive and cliche.

If this becomes a series, I think there is a lot of promise, but I will probably wait to pick up a sequel until I read the reviews.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 4/15/2025. Golden Girls is more than a show to many of us; it is a flashback to cozy blankets and chocolate milk and comforting snuggles. At lesat it is for me. I grew up with this pillar of American television and my very own Nana was (and still is) a dead-on Rose Nylund in looks and personality. By turns reassuring and hilarious and challenging and rebellious, the show and its four heroines always give you some kind of closure and, 98 times out of 100, it is very satisfying. So you can bet I was excited to get my hands on this cozy mystery featuring the Girls solving a crime. When I saw the cover, the excitement just went up further. You seriously could not get a more perfect design.

Then you open the book and get a baffling but hilarious mixture of a dead man in a freezer and a St Olaf themed wedding. Yes, there are goat horns and, for those of you who are coulorphobic, there is a clown. A stripper clown. In a gay bar. Which is pretty much on brand, really.

The book itself very nearly got there but, when you think about it, a lot of new series take a book to find their stride. I feel that's what happened here. The author knows the girls as well as you and I, writes their banter well, and does her best not to play favorites. She nails all of the local color - the fashion, the vibes, the decor. She also grabs the opportunity for ridiculousness in the St Olaf wedding traditions and the guests and goes absolutely HAM.

The weak spot are little things that I feel the series will smooth out as it goes on. Things like getting TOO far into the weeds with describing every outfit or getting a LITTLE too mean to each other. Edges to be sanded as the series grows. I also hope that will be true with the plot and pacing. It is a fast read and funny but the murder and the wedding are not well-balanced and you spend an awful lot of time with herring instead of Dorothy's plight with the terribly stereotypical cops. The ending comes at you fast, too, like a cow on roller skates going down-hill. Wham, you've fallen off your log into the resolution.

Like I said, nothing necessarily bad especially when you consider what one usually expects out of a cozy but it leaves room for improvement. Still the concept gives such warm fuzzies and the nostalgia kick is very very real so I'm on board to try the next one. Plus... there is a cheesecake recipe in the back and the book club packet offered as a download has bookmarks, an author interview, and drink recipes. Oh, and a "Which Girl are you?" quiz.

... Yes, I'm Rose and, before you make fun, go on and blow it out your tubenburbles.

A murder mystery with the Golden Girls
I grew up watching them in tv and I could visualize the girls doing their antics and trying to solve the murder
I enjoyed it and would like to read any future golden girl novels in the series when available

Such a cute and fun read. I am not truly a big enough golden girls fan for this book, but overall as a cozy mystery it was still enjoyable. I didn’t realize it was the actual golden girl characters and not just golden girl vibes when I started this book. Cozy mystery is maybe a stretch during some parts of book. The whole wedding ordeal sometimes became more important than the murder. But maybe with more background of the characters, I would be more invested also in the wedding stuff. Probably wouldn’t recommended unless a golden girls Stan.

This is a fun, cozy mystery perfect for fans of the Golden Girls. The characters jump off the page. Although Dorothy and Rose feature more heavily in this book than Sophia or Blanche, the dynamic between them is delightful. The plot feels like a cross between The Golden Girls and Murder She Wrote. I enjoyed the book. I wish it featured more of the snappy sitcom banter we are used to with these ladies, Overall, I had a fun time. I usually don't like cozy mysteries, but for the Golden Girls...I loved it.

This reads just like an episode of The Golden Girls! And I have to say I missed these ladies and was super glad to spend time with them. I'm so happy this is to be a series.
Rose wants to throw her niece, Nettie, a beautiful wedding with all the St. Olaf traditions. However, the event venue in St. Olaf burned down and Rose has to scramble to throw the wedding in Miami. WITH all the traditions to boot. No worries because she has Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia to help her out. However, when Dorothy's terrible date is found murdered in the hotel freezer (the hotel owned by the groom's family), all herring breaks loose! Will there even be a wedding with Dorothy being the lead suspect, and can Rose pull off a wedding and a murder investigation? With The Golden Girls (and cheesecake) anything is possible!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this digital e-arc.*

I love watching Golden Girls so this was a very entertaining read that brought the characters to life very vividly.

Rose’s cousin Nettie and her fiancé Jason are at loose ends when their wedding venue in St. Olaf has to cancel their reservation. When Rose promises to incorporate all of the traditional St. Olaf wedding customs, the two move the wedding to Miami, with Rose as host. When a body is found during the tea-and-fish themed kickoff to the wedding week and Dorothy is the prime suspect, all four Golden Girls set out to prove her innocence – and to ensure the wedding goes off without a hitch.

When I requested this book from NetGalley, it didn’t register at first that the Golden Girls in the series name were *the Golden Girls we watched on television back in the late 1980s. Once that sunk in, I couldn’t wait to read the book to see how the ladies were portrayed on the page compared to on the screen. The author stayed true to their characters – man-hungry Blanche, kind but air-headed Rose, cranky Dorothy and ‘tough woman’ Sophia, allowing me to see and hear them in my head as I read the book. I lost track of how many times I rolled my eyes or even thought “ewww!” as the St. Olaf wedding week traditions were explained, but they made me chuckle at the same time.

The murder victim had barely been introduced before the body was found, so we didn’t know much about him. The investigation didn’t turn up much either, until a point in the story that took me totally by surprise. From there, it was relatively easy to figure out both who (in a general sense) was behind the murder and the motive.

This book is described as #1 in a new series, so I will keep an eye out for book #2, if only to see what mystery these ladies come up against next.

THE NOSTALGIA! As an OG Golden Girls fan the premise for this had me so excited and the author delivered! While reading, I absolutely heard each character's voice as I went. The story stayed true to the GG vibes with a bit of sarcasm, Rose stories, and Dorothy's resting b*tch face. It truly was a perfect cozy mystery and such a light hearted read. I loved it so much I ordered a physical copy. I am hoping this will be a series because the world needs this escapism right now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this advanced copy!

If you’re a Golden Girls fan, I think you’re in for a treat! The girls are back together and you won’t be able to read this book without hearing their voices! If you’re not a Golden Girls fan or don’t know much about the show, this is going to be a strange book for you! It definitely plays on jokes from the show especially in this book that mostly features Rose and her St. Olaf quirks. It IS funny, but at times felt too long. There’s a lot of running around without much progress made in the story. Go into it knowing that this is going to be a very cheesy Golden Girls storyline and not at all a serious mystery and I think you’ll enjoy it!