Rose is super excited when she finds out her cousin from St. Olaf is coming to Miami to get married. Not only does this give her the chance to reunite with family, it allows her the opportunity to recreate a home away from home. After all, St. Olaf is something the homesick Rose has been missing for years, almost a much as she misses her beloved deceased husband, Charlie.

As Rose preps to reenact the St. Olaf experience, Dorothy goes on date with a good looking man she met through a dating service. But when the pair meet in person, the easy connection the two had over the phone just feels strained. Before Dorothy can probe further, her date vanishes. No stranger to heartbreak, Dorothy still can’t help but to feel a bit disappointed and deflated.

But as the ladies all pitch in on the nuptial preparations, the unexpected happens when Dorothy’s date is found dead in the cheesecake. They say good desserts can be to die for, but this is taking things entirely too literally. With no other suspects to speak of, Dorothy becomes the main focus of the investigation. Can the ladies come together to not only plan the perfect wedding, but to help clear Dorothy’s name?

Much like cheesecake itself, Murder By Cheesecake is a silly, guilty pleasure of a novel. Fans of the Golden Girls series will no doubt revel in the delicious combination of humor and mystery. Author Rachel Ekstrom Courage does a great job of capturing the essence and voice of the classic Golden Girls experience-the book itself feeling like one long unseen episode complete with quirky Rose-isms and Sophia’s sassy one liners.

The first in a new cozy mystery series, Murder By Cheesecake breathes new life into an old series with the promise of more delicious dilemmas to come.

I'm thrilled about this cozy mystery series featuring the Golden Girls! I can’t express how excited I am for this book and the series as a whole—I really hope there will be many more installments.

Reading this feels like watching an episode of The Golden Girls, which typically features two storylines. On one side, you have Rose, who is working diligently with the girls to plan a wedding ceremony for her cousin Nettie, following St. Olafian traditions in Miami. On the other side, Dorothy is on the lookout for a date to accompany her to the wedding.

What happens next is shocking for the girls: a dead body is discovered in the hotel freezer, right where Rose's cheesecakes were stored. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’ll leave it at that.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The characters are true to themselves, making it a story you should read rather than listen to; you’ll want to hear the voices of the characters in your head. The author has done a remarkable job of staying true to the personalities of the characters from the TV show. All four ladies are exactly as we’ve seen them on TV.

The mystery and adventure in this book were exceptional. Even if you've never watched The Golden Girls, I believe you will still enjoy this book. If the characters weren't based on The Golden Girls, I would have probably rated the book four stars. However, the humor and charm of the girls elevate it to a five-star read. I can't wait for the next book in the series, and once it is released, I will definitely get a physical copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

Just like watching an episode of golden girls.

Fit super well with the characters and the show. It dragged on a little, but overall was a really fun ride to take with some old friends!

Was so thrilled to have a book with the Golden girl ladies. The nostalgia of it all. The book did not meet my expectations. There was too much drawn out over the wedding and the dead guy. I felt I got bored with the writing style and wanted many times to DNF it. There were some cute funny parts but this book was not for me

⁕ 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐤𝐞 : 𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐳𝐲 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 | 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐄𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 ⁕
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ④ /𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜
𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜: 𝟹𝟹𝟼
••••

ＡＲＣ ＲＥＶＩＥＷ

💭 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:

🅟🅘🅒🅣🅤🅡🅔 🅘🅣!!!🅜🅘🅐🅜🅘…
𝒯𝒽ℯ 𝒞𝒶𝒷𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝒮𝓊𝓃 ℋℴ𝓉ℯ𝓁

HOLD ONTO YOUR PURSES & CHEESECAKE LADIIEESSSS!!!
because things go from crazy to worse when Dorothy is accused of murder and she, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia have to navigate family dynamics, St. Olaf wedding customs, and a seedy Miami Big Sugar underground to solve the murder mystery.

Classically witty and funny! A true cozy mystery!

Rose is overwhelmed and wants everything to perfect for her niece and her soon to be husband, but with his over controlling family things take a turn and an even more shocking turn when the body of a man turns up in the hotel freezer during the wedding party.

Through the chaos the girls must take the case into their own hands to save Dorothy once the man in the freezer turns out to be her date from the day before…

YIIKKKEEESSSSSS!!!

The book was everything I thought it would be and more. Full of Sophia’s over the top sarcastic ways, Roses mindless behavior, Blanches good ways to pull a man lol and Dorothy’s blunt honesty to chill everyone out!

I truly love the Golden Girls and receiving this advanced copy felt so special to me!

I felt as though I was watching the show as I was reading and enjoyed the humor and laughs it gave.
The Golden thing was that their love and friendship was brought out beautifully throughout the book as well.

I feel that Rachel Eckstrom Courage really executed the ladies well and that they all would be so proud of the product that was made.

I can’t wait to read the next 9!!

⁕ Publishing Date: April 15,2025
⁕ MURDER BY CHEESECAKE is brought to you by Rachel Ekstrom Courage and Hyperion Avenue Books!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book. I will never not love anything with the Golden Girls in it! The banter we all know and love is there and I can literally hear their voices as I read! The nostalgia is nostalgiaing! Not as for the plot, I was sad we got more of the wedding the the cozy mystery! For me the wedding should have taken back stage a bit more, yes it was important for the plot and story, however I felt like the cozy mystery should have been center stage. Will I read the next one? Yes!

Sweet, Sassy, and Full of Surprises!
Murder by Cheesecake is a fun, clever mystery with all the sass and charm of the Golden Girls. The characters are hilarious, the plot is twisty, and the cozy vibes are strong. I felt like I was watching this play out in real time with the girls! If you love witty banter, friendship, and a good old-fashioned whodunit—with cheesecake, of course—this one’s a must-read!
⭐️ ⭐️ Thank you Hyperion Avenue for allowing me to read my newest favorite book! ⭐️ ⭐️

3.75✨
This was a cute concept. I’ll definitely read the rest. The writing was a little off but I loved feeling like I was in an episode of The Golden Girls. I’m happy somebody decided to do this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

Before starting this book, I was a little hesitant. In the Golden Girls first mystery series, I wanted the characters to be true to the ones you see on television, I am a big fan of the series and they did not disappoint. There were several moments that made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed the pace of the story, and there was always some shady activity. It was a bit weird but still enjoyable to read about Rose and her St Olaf wedding traditions with her cousin. The fact that Rose blamed Dorothy for the murder of the victim did not sit well with me at the beginning of the story. There's no way Rose would react in that way and she would have supported Dorothy at all times.

Firstly this book was very on par and comedic for the Golden Girls. It was funny, silly, and a little bit serious when it needed to be. Every scene felt like it could've come directly from the tv show.

What a fun, engaging, cozy mystery! It brought all the personalities I've loved from the Golden Girls series, from Blanche's seductiveness and spontaneity, Rose's aloofness and authenticity, Dorothy's boldness and sarcasm, and Sophia's wit and insight. It then added a plot line that included a mystery. This storyline was a bit of a letdown for me however, as it fell a bit short overall, but it was a fun read regardless. I feel like I enjoyed it a bit more, being a Golden Girls fan.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Let me just start out by saying this was a great tribute to the Golden Girls tv show. As soon as I saw it was available I requested it. I grew up watching the show and loved every cheesy moment of it. This did not disappoint. It was just like watching the show again.

A wedding to plan, dating gone wrong, cheesecake, and a murder to solve. The perfect cozy mystery!

Golden Girls lovers rejoice! What a fun and cozy read that follows our beloved Golden Girls as they navigate a traditional St. Olaf wedding in Miami, video dating services, and of course a murder.

As someone who grew up watching and adoring Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia on my tv screen, I was skeptic about a murder mystery novel with characters I was so familiar with. That being said, I loved it! Reading this book was like watching an extended episode of the show and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The author did an amazing job staying true to the characters which helped keep me engaged in the story itself.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun, cozy, murder mystery!

Murder by Cheesecake is a really fun cozy mystery.
And Yes, it is those Golden Girls.
This was a really great cozy mystery with all the characters from The Golden Girls, but with them as amateur sleuths and murder and mystery.

Really well written and great characters!

I hope there is another book in the series!

This was a very entertaining cozy mystery that featured Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia from The Golden Girls television show as the main characters. In this book they weren't just roommates, they were also doubling as murder mystery sleuths! The writing was excellent ... it really sounded like you were watching an episode of the tv show. The author did an excellent job writing their lines to sound just like the characters! I have a feeling she's watched as many episodes as I have over the years! The story itself was well-written and played out with all the twists, turns, and surprises you would normally find in a cozy mystery. There were a couple of minor things written in that wouldn't have been said or done in the 80s but not enough to detract from the story. I am looking forward to reading more books in this series. I hope that the main focus shifts in each book to a different one of the lovely ladies.

This book was exactly what I was hoping it would be. It was like watching an episode of the golden girls with a side of murder and mystery.

My thanks to Net Galley and Hiperion for this delightfully charming cozy mystery.

The Golden Girls solve a murder mystery.....bring it on! The girls plan a wedding for a relative of Rose s and find a man dead in a freezer that Dorothy went on a date with.

Very comical. I can picture the actresses on tv delivering the lines. Please invite me to read more in this series!

Great twist at the end.

3.5 stars, but rounding up because this book is exactly what it is meant to be! It’s a lighthearted and comedic who-done-it that legitimately feels like watching an extra long episode of the show.

I felt as though the author very faithfully portrayed the characters, and their TV personalities really shone through in the dialogue and the banter. So if you were a fan of the series, then you’ll be a fan of the book!

There could have been a little more focus on the mystery, and a little less of Rose’s obsessing over wedding details, for my own personal taste, but again, it was a cute story that stayed very faithful to its source material.

All that said, if you want to jump into a Time Machine and take a journey back into the world of the Golden Girls, then I definitely recommend picking this book up! It’ll make a cute shelf trophy as well!

Thanks to the publisher for this early access version of the story - all opinions are entirely my own!

What a fun ride!

I was absolutely stunned by how well Courage captured the voice, mannerisms, and personalities of each leading lady. This truly felt like it could have been a (very weird) episode of the original show. It felt very true to each character, and that was the biggest obstacle Courage had to overcome: the intense nostalgia and protectiveness I and so many others feel for this show and these women.

There was a bit too much of the silly St. Olaf wedding traditions, and I wish there was more from Sophia, but who knew that it would feel natural for Dorothy and the others to go full-on amateur sleuth? I actually ended up wanting more of the mystery, which I hope to get in the next book.

Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage was so nostalgic for me. I grew up watching Golden Girls reruns with my mom or either of my grandmas. This story was fun and lighthearted, the perfect spring read.