Ugh very disappointed.
I was really looking forward to this and it came across pretty flat. The Girls playout much better on screen than in print.

Murder by Cheesecake is the first in a cozy mystery series inspired by the beloved Golden Girls, and it brings the iconic foursome back to life with a nostalgic, 1980s Miami setting. The story kicks off when Rose decides to throw her cousin a St. Olaf-themed wedding in Miami after the original venue falls through. Meanwhile, Dorothy, hoping to find a date for the big event, turns to a dating video service—only for her disastrous date to turn up dead at the hotel hosting the wedding.

The author captures the vibrant atmosphere of 1980s Miami well, creating a strong sense of place and time. Unfortunately, the characters and plot take a while to find their footing. The first half of the book feels slow, with much of the focus on the wedding rather than the murder. The dialogue is occasionally stiff, and the characters come across as flat, lacking the spark and wit that fans of the original show might expect. Although the murder occurs relatively early, the investigation doesn’t gain real momentum until about halfway through the book—once Dorothy becomes the prime suspect.

However, the second half of the book is a noticeable improvement. The story picks up speed, the characters become more engaging, and the classic Golden Girls charm starts to shine through. Once the investigation begins in earnest, the plot moves quickly—perhaps a bit too quickly—but it's undeniably entertaining. Shenanigans ensue, and fans of the original series will appreciate seeing the ladies back in sleuthing action.

While Murder by Cheesecake stumbles in its setup, the payoff in the latter half offers enough fun to satisfy cozy mystery lovers and Golden Girls fans alike. Here’s hoping future installments build on this foundation with stronger pacing and more balanced character development.

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This cozy mystery held all of the humor and love that fans of the Golden Girls would expect. Watch the girls get themselves far too caught up in a murder investigation in Miami in the 80s, while continuing to support and razz one another. The mystery itself takes a back seat to the wedding-planning chaos, but includes enough twists and turns to keep the pages flipping. Dorothy herself would have absolutely loved this book!

So much fun so much fun sooooo much fun! This book reads like a bunch of related episodes of the Golden Girls. Rose is planning a wedding for hee niece in Miami but with all of the St, Olaf traditions. Dorothy is tired of not having a date for events, and tries dating by video. Blanche and Sofia aren’t in it as much, but help solve the mystery- Dorothy’s date ends up dead at the potential wedding venue.

Everything you love about the show is here. It really feels like you are hanging out with the characters in the 1980s in Miami. I sincerely hope this becomes a series with manty installments!

3.75 stars
This book is the first book in a new Golden Girls mystery series. It's such a clever idea to create a cozy mystery series based on the beloved television show. Many of the elements of a cozy mystery were already there - an interesting setting, likable characters who are close friends, and humor. All it needed was a crime to solve to make a fun cozy mystery and the author did just that!

There are two main storylines in the book. Rose is planning a traditional St. Olaf wedding in Miami for her cousin (and honorary niece) against the wishes of the groom's parents. Dorothy goes on a date with a man she met through a dating agency and it goes sour. When the man's body is found dead in the freezer at the venue where Rose is planning a wedding event, Dorothy becomes the prime suspect. Dorothy, her mother Sophia, Rose, and Blanche are determined to find the real killer and make sure Rose's young relative gets her dream wedding.

You don't have to be a Golden Girls superfan, but I think you will enjoy this book more if you've at least seen a few episodes of the TV show. I could hear the actresses as I read the book and it elevated the dialogue and made it more fun. There could have been more mystery and less of the silliness surrounding the St. Olaf wedding traditions, but it was a quick, fun read. I think the series has a lot of potential and I would definitely read more if the series continues.

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Hyperion Avenue Books and NetGalley for review consideration. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

As a fan of The Golden Girls, I was excited to read this. The vibes are spot-on! The author does a great job capturing the energy and essence of Rose, Dorothy, Sophia, and Blanche, and the dialogue sounds like it came straight from the TV show. It is very easy to picture the iconic characters, and in many ways, this reads like watching the show, complete with lots of humor and banter.

The story starts with a fun set-up. Rose is hosting her niece's wedding in Miami, and all the St. Olaf traditions must be upheld. But a body found in the freezer threatens to overshadow the festivities unless the four friends can solve the case.

While this has many elements you would expect in a cozy mystery, the wedding aspect of the story overwhelms the mystery, which ends up more like a minor subplot. This could be because it is the first book in the series, but I wanted more of the mystery. It is still a fun concept and an enjoyable read brimming with nostalgia. Golden Girls fans will want to check this out!

Also, the cover is great!

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and Netgalley for the gifted ARC

Man, what a ride. This book is not good. Haha. But it’s also amazing! If you read the book for the plot, you may be disappointed, but if you read it for the love of the Golden Girls, you’ll have the best time. All of the little nuggets of details that were imbedded into the characters, the details of the lanai, of the mannerisms and little pulls from the era were genius. There were small things that the author added that if you didn’t know the show well, may pass you by, but if you pay attention to the details of the show, you’ll catch them.

I’ll definitely be purchasing this when it comes out and will certainly reread it when I need a bookish hug!

Cute and funny ! Enjoyed the story. It felt like i was watching the show . Rose as always was my favorite character ! Look forward to the next book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC!

I ended up rating this one 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the sake of Goodreads.
I think the author did a phenomenal job at nailing the each of girls' personalities and the banter between them all. It genuinely felt like I was watching an episode of the show while reading this book. However the book fell a little flat for me in the middle 1/3 or so. I feel like it leaned way too heavily on Rose planning the wedding and stressing over the St. Olaf traditions and not enough on the murder itself. I forgot I was even reading a murder mystery at times. That being said, I'm still very excited for the next book and to see where this series takes us!

This book is everything you would expect and hope for when it comes to the Golden Girls. Full of heartwarming and hilarious moments with a bit of murder mixed in, it is the perfect read for anyone looking to reconnect with their favorite Miami ladies!

If you loved The Golden Girls, great news! They are solving a murder in their new cozy mystery, Murder by Cheesecake. (Of course there would be cheesecake involved.) Rose must bring all of the pomp, circumstance and herring balls of a St. Olaf wedding to sunny Miami. Dorothy, Sophia, Blanche and Rose get wrapped up in a murder mystery after they find a dead body. The author did a beautiful job of locking in the original characters causing me to laugh out loud on more than one occasion. Between the need for a wedding donkey and the "adult" clown at the bachelorette party in the gay club, this was a very enjoyable mystery. I look forward to more cozy adventures from The Golden Girls.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book and have left an honest review.

If you are a fan of the classic television show, this is more than worth a read! It’s delightfully nostalgic, with plenty of 1980s pop culture references and allusions to specific episodes of The Golden Girls. The author perfectly captures the voices of each character. I could hear each of the Girls’ voices as I read, and I could see their apartment during scenes set there. The story is laid out like any good episode, with two main plot lines that intertwine throughout—first, Rose is busy planning her younger cousin’s wedding; meanwhile, a dead body is found at the wedding venue, and Dorothy has a connection to it. The story is paced well, though the wedding storyline is perhaps drawn out a bit to fit the length of a novel. Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I was excited about this "Golden Girls" cozy mystery, but I expected the characters to be "like" the characters from the Golden Girls; not a direct copy of the TV show's characters. This felt more like fan fiction instead of a new novel. This may work for others, but I just couldn't make myself read past the 20% mark. I would suggest changing the character names and making it more relatable instead of a continuation of the TV show.
Thanks again and I am sorry it did not work for me, but it may work for readers wanting a more "fan fiction" telling of the Golden Girls.

This was a fun way to recaptivate the magic of the Golden Girls. Playing on that nostalgia helped the characters feel more developed than was actually done in writing. I think this story relies heavily on readers already knowing the characters and their lives to fill in the blanks in the story. The plot was hard to keep up with at times, pacing was jumping too far ahead at times and dragging at others. The book needs to be reedited for many typos. Overall it's a quick read, and it's fun to have a new adventure for these beloved characters.

Thank you Rachel Ekstrom Courage ( @rachelekstromcourage ), Hyperion Avenue Books ( @hyperionavebooks ), Disney Publishing Worldwide ( @disneybooks) and NetGalley ( @netgalley ) for allowing me to read Murder by Cheesecake early (out April 15, 2025).

If you are a fan of the Golden Girls, and who isn’t, you will LOVE this book. I kept telling people I was reading the script to a Golden Girls movie.

Rose’s cousin is getting married, and after a few issues in St. Olaf, the wedding becomes a destination event in Miami. Rose and the Girls work to make this the best wedding, with all the St. Olaf traditions, even though the groom’s parents want to take over the planning.

At the same time, Dorothy is looking for love, but her date doesn’t turn out the way she planned. And to further complicate things, Rose finds him dead right before a wedding welcome event—and Dorothy becomes the main suspects.

This was really such a fun book, full of 1980s references, and lots of cheesecake.

#MurderbyCheesecake #NetGalley #RachelEkstromCourage #HyperionAvenue #GoldenGirls

What a joy!!! My dear aunt was a huge Golden Girls fan and the show will always remind me of her. I’ve watched every episode so many times as comfort tv. This book was damn near perfect. Matched the tone of the show in every way. Character voices shone through completely for me. The plot is a little far fetched but I think it worked. I hope we get more of these books. It’s a great way to keep the show alive

I do not think this is the book for me. It was OK. Though I enjoyed The Golden Girls and picked this up for nostalgia, I think I am in a different place in life where the dynamics didn't appeal to me like I was hoping they would. The book was cute, and I definitely think it will find its audience; it just wasn't for me.

I was hesitant to pick up Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage--it sounds like (and, I suppose, essentially is) Golden Girls fan fic. After some initial hiccups, though, I was sold.

The plotline is soooo Golden Girls: Dorothy's blind date is found dead in the cheesecake-laden cooler of a hotel where Rose is hosting a good old-fashioned Saint Olaf wedding. Mayhem and hilarity ensue. Courage has nailed nearly all of the details, though there is an awful lot of inner monologues that may not be loved by die-hard fans of the award-winning show. Personally, I could have done with more Sophia action, but hopefully there's another book.

Yes, there are shades of Murder, She Wrote here, but if you're looking for a bit of fluff and a reunion with your favorite ladies, I think that Murder by Cheesecake is a good bet. You'll get through it almost as quickly as Blanche goes through men.

I’ve been wanting to read something light and funny, and I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about Murder by Cheesecake on Instagram.

This book was very light and silly. It captured the Golden Girls, and 80s sitcoms in general, perfectly. The characters were spot on, and it did make me want a slice of (vegan) cheesecake.

I think this could have been one of those 2-parter “very special episodes” that shows used to do back in the day, when we had appointment TV.

This book made me feel nostalgic for 80s TV. It satisfied my need for something light and funny, but it seemed a little too silly for my tastes.

3 1/2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the opportunity to read Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage.

I’m thoroughly impressed with the lengths of detail this author wrote of St. Olaf characters, language and the town information. She did a great job bringing the 4 main characters to life in this story. Capturing the chemistry and camaraderie of their day to day, as well as handling a big event.

I felt as if the scenes were unfolding before my eyes as I read. Truly recommend for anyone who loved the Golden Girls.