Murder by Cheesecake by Rachael Ekstrom Courage, is a Cozy Mystery staring everyone favorite ladies; the Golden Girls.

The story begins with Rose’s niece coming down to Miami with her new finance to elope. Aunt Rose insists on a traditional St Olaf wedding in Miami, and gets right to work. The couple decides on Miami hotel owned by the finances family. As the “Girls” scope out venue they wind in the middle of a murder investigation, and one of them just met with the victim …

As a long time Golden Girls fan it was wonderful to revisit with my favorite characters in new way. I could hear the voices of Dorothy, Sophia, Rose and Blanche as I read the story, and visualize them in my minds eye.

This is a definitely a “cozy mystery”. It’s a memorable book because of its premise - the Golden Girls. I would recommend this to anyone who loves the Golden Girls. My main critique is that some of the dialogue felt very true to the characters, however a lot of it did not. I found myself thinking quite a few times, Rose would never say that, etc. None the less , I would still read another installment in the series (if there are more), hoping the dialogue feels more true to the characters. I’m sure this is a hard thing to get perfect with an audience of fans like myself, who have re-watched the series so many times,

Thank you to Hyperion Ave for the advanced copy of this book through NetGallery.

I am a huge fan of the show, so I was excited for this one. I enjoyed this light hearted, fun, cozy story. I flew through it! Thank you NetGalley for such a great one!

If you are fans of the show, you will enjoy this book. It is fun revisiting all the characters and especially St. Olaf stories. This is a light hearted cozy mystery that is an enjoyable fast read.

This one was just okay. I love the Golden Girls and indeed named by dog Blanche, but this read a bit more like fan fiction than anything else. Too much time with random specifics that made me nostalgic for the show, but weren’t important to the plot line. It was a nice, quick read, but I probably will not continue reading the series.

I was so excited for this book and when I saw it on Netgalley I requested it right away. Then I got accepted to read it and was even more excited.

Murder by Cheesecake had a very strong start to it. I felt like I was reading an episode of the Golden Girls and who doesn't love that? Then unfortunately it became quite obvious that this book was not going to be for me. I struggled through it. It took me nearly a month to read it off and on. I kept putting it down after reading a chapter here and there and getting bored. The wedding details were so boring. Rose, usually my favorite character, felt terribly dull.

The mystery seemed to just not be there and was pushed off to the side. The poor guy was murdered and his death was just an utter inconvenience to everyone around.

I can see this book being a huge hit with other people (and seems to already be one) but, it just isn't there for me.

I will say that writing a cozy with the Golden Girls is an amazing thing though and kudos to Rachel for doing so!

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC of Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage. I enjoyed this book and I think the author did an excellent job of displaying the character's personalities and even their normal banter. It was easy to picture each of the characters acting and speaking exactly what was written in the book. I liked that despite a huge problem, such as a dead body in the freezer, the girls teamed up and helped Rose with her niece's wedding. I do wish the book had more to do with the murder mystery aspect and less of the wedding though. The book is more focused on the wedding and the murder solving is just a side piece. Overall, it was an easy and entertaining read! I will probably read the rest of the series upon release as well!

Golden Girls and cozy mystery = match made in heaven! Murder by Cheesecake is nostalgic fun for any Golden Girls fan and might even draw some new fans in with the atmospheric 80s Miami vibes. The story is over-the-top silliness at many turns, but it's all part of the fun and I hope the series will continue with more mysteries for the ladies to solve!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Murder by Cheesecake
by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
Cozy Mystery
Fan Fiction
The second I saw this I ran to NetGalley, I absolutely love the Golden Girls. Cozy Mystery and my favorite golden ladies?!
I loved this story, the characters were spot on, and I could visualize this as an episode. I love it even more hearing it is a series and I am 100% here for it!

I always found the Emmy Award winning TV comedy series “The Golden Girls“ entertaining, with quirky midwesterner Rose, sarcastic divorcee Dorothy, Southern belle Blanche, and straight-talking Sophia from Sicily. Thus, I was interested in reading this book. However, as much as I enjoyed this wacky action-packed mystery set in Miami, its target audience seems to be fans of the TV show.

If you have never watched “Golden Girls,” I suggest that you try a couple of episodes first. Then you can determine whether “Murder by Cheesecake” is a good choice for you.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this very funny story, whose characters were alive in my head — as though the original actors were performing on my screen.

A cozy mystery with wonderful characters! Loved the mystery, the friendships, and the story. Definitely a fun book that I would get for friends and fans of the Golden Girls!

When I saw this book on a “Coming Soon” screen a couple of months back, I was hyped. I am a big-time Golden Girls fan. I’m sure I saw a few episodes before I met and married my wife, but in the quarter-century of our marriage, I estimate that I’ve seen each episode at least twice and some perhaps a handful of times. I have had moments in my life where I could relate to each of the characters in some way or another and now, over 30 years after they ended the series, the show has achieved cult status with many people.

I don’t know if there is a set “canon” for Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia. They didn’t really worry about a ton of TV show continuity back in the late 80’s -- but the show ended with Dorothy getting married and leaving her friends and mother (Spoilers for a show that ended before Bill Clinton became President). Murder by Cheesecake definitely takes place sometime before that. There’s nothing to pinpoint exactly when the book takes place, but Push It by Salt-N-Pepa is mentioned, so…between 1986 and 1992?

Anyway, this book is tons of fun, especially if you’re a fan of the show. The four main protagonists were so clearly defined as characters throughout the seven seasons of the sitcom that reading through Rachel Ekstrom Courage’s book felt like an episode of the show in many ways and I could hear the characters in my head as I read their lines.

But that is also what dings this book a little for me. By the end of the seventh season, the characters were so concrete that they were almost becoming caricatures and the book sometimes leans into that. The title dessert is referenced so many times it gets a little distracting (I know it was a late night favorite of the girls, but it wasn’t the only thing they ate). And since the book feels like an episode, it gets a little long when the mystery central to the plot drags a bit. In 80’s terms, it’s like if there was a very special crossover episode of The Golden Girls and Murder She Wrote.

But if you love our elderly Miami residents, pick it up -- you’re bound to have fun. One thing I missed -- there’s no appearances by Dorothy’s ex-husband (“Hi, it’s me, Stan”) so that’s one thing I would love to see in the next book in the series based on this beloved TV show.

As a Golden Girls lover since I was in middle school, I was so excited to see this book. The storyline centers around Rose and Dorothy, with Blanche and Sofia providing supporting roles. I enjoyed the storyline, and felt like everything wrapped up nicely, just like an episode of my favorite show. The only thing that drove me a little nutty, was it seemed like the author tried to put something from every episode of the show into the book; either a character was mentioned, a storyline referenced, or a place were constantly being referenced. It just wasn’t necessary, and sometimes felt clunky. The murder mystery part of the plot was decent, and had potential to be developed more. I think the author has an opportunity to continue to write murder mysteries with a side of cheesecake.

Side note: not sure if it was due to the file going to kindle, but there seemed to be a lot of items running together, whole sentences with no spacing between words. I also think the editor needs another pass at this because there were grammatical errors, and words out of place.

Thank you very much to Net Galley for an ARC of Murder by Cheesecake.

This is a case of a great novella hiding inside a book that is about 100 to 150 pages too long.

The author does a lovely job of staying true to the characters and the dialogue often has the same clever wry humor from the show. Unfortunately the murder mystery plot is not twisty enough to sustain its 300+ page runtime. Much of it feels like unrelated or unimportant filler that drags down the pace.

There's a fine line in cozy fiction between slow and comfortable. I do understand wanting a relaxed pace, but a more concise focus would not automatically turn this into thriller. There is space for a lovely story you can curl up to read with tea which doesn't need to feel like a huge investment.

This is going to be a strange comparison, but this made me think of those old Mary Kate and Ashley detective books I loved as a kid. Those were obviously very short, fun, and easily digestible. Comfort food, essentially. I had stacks of the things. A similar approach of short and sweet but geared towards adults would've worked better in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Murder by Cheesecake for my open and honest review. I really wanted to like this book, but to be honest, I couldn’t finish this. The sass and wittiness was there with the characters we all know and love, but the author missed the mark on this being a mystery. I was just lacking and slow in that department.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Murder by Cheesecake. I had really high hopes for this book. I grew up watching The Golden Girls and I was so excited for the nostalgia of being back with Dorothy, Blanche, Sophia and Rose. Honestly, the characters came off pretty well for the most part and there was a similar vibe to the show and a decent amount of sass and snark, but the book really fell off for me when it seemed to be too heavily involved with wedding details and not enough mystery. If there are further books, I will probably give the next one a chance but I really hope for a more solid mystery story and less filler.

This book is a delightful homage to the beloved TV series. The story captures the essence of the original ladies, delivering a nostalgic experience, but that is where it ends. The book prolongs the St. Olaf wedding traditions which overshadowed the actual mystery and solving of the murder. I would recommend the book to anyone looking for a taste of the Golden Girls and not so much the suspense of a mystery.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this book!

Thanks to Murder by Cheesecake, the Golden Girls are back. Rose is working hard at planning the perfect St. Olaf-style wedding for her niece and groom-to-be and someone ends up dead at the hotel the guests are staying at. I really enjoyed the set up of this story and couldn't help but hear the girl's voices in my head while reading. That really made this book a great experience for me. It was definitely a cute story that made me smile and laugh along the way.

Unfortunately, it had its pitfalls too. Some of the actions of the girls, especially Dorothy, seemed a bit out of character for me. It's a new situation for all of them so that is excusable. Also, there were a few things that were introduced but then weirdly brought up much later than I expected or never resolved at all. Finally, the wrap up regarding Dorothy's story fell a bit flat and didn’t feel satisfying. I feel like I wouldn't have rated this as high or liked it as much if it didn't involve the Golden Girls because I haven’t been into mystery much lately.

But it does! So overall, I would certainly continue reading this series.

Thanks so much to Net Galley and Hyperion Avenue for providing me with an advanced copy of this book! :)

I watch my Girls nightly, so I really wish I could give this a better rating, but I’m having to DNF at 40%. The characters just feel very one dimensional, and the St. Olaf experience is quite literally beaten to death in this cozy mystery. I’m so bummed out about this.

Thank you for an advance copy, Hyperion!

This book gave all the nostalgia feels. It was like watching an episode of Golden Girls but with a murder mystery to solve. I had a fun time with this book.