Quick Synopsis
The Golden Girls are preparing for Roses cousin to come to Miami and get married. However things go wrong when they discover a dead body in the freezer of the hotel where the wedding is taking place. The four must solve the mystery to clear Dorothy’s name and make the perfect St. Olaf wedding.

Review
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. As a Golden Girls fan, I really enjoyed this book. The writing was well done. The plot actually felt like it could have been an episode of The Golden Girls. Dialogue between the characters was also so similar to how the girls spoke. Personally this book was not a five star read. However, this book was still very good and I would recommend to those who are fans of The Golden Girls and mystery novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Rose wants her niece's wedding to be a perfect, traditional St. Olaf wedding. Which is why, when she finds a dead body in the freezer, face down in her cheesecake, she agrees to keep it a secret. That is until the police show up and start asking questions. Now Rose and the gang need to get to the bottom of this murder, to clear their names and save the wedding.

I thought by “Golden Girls Cozy Mystery” that meant the Golden Girls would go on a wild adventure to solve the mystery, not be at the center of the suspect list. The main goal of the plot is to complete the wedding nuptials, not solve the murder. Also, I get that Rose is very proud to be from St. Olaf, but gee-whiz is it overkill in this book. Considering this series is supposed to be all “mystery” novels, I was actually expecting the characters themselves to take up amateur sleuthing. They don’t actually start to try and solve the mystery until 50% into the book, and even then the "adventure" is kind of boring. A good mystery keeps you turning the page to find out what happens next, and I just didn't feel that in this book.

However, this was still very nostalgic, and like watching a Golden Girls episode in my head. The author stayed true to the characters and to the formatting of the sit-com’s plot. Fans of Golden Girls will love this!

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the opportunity to read this in advanced, in exchange for my honest review.

If you're a fan of The Golden Girls then you'll love this new first book in the cozy mystery series; the author stays true to the characters and writes as though this was a plot on an episode of the show. It's a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud kind of mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end while cheering on our favorite feminist heroes.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Murder by Cheesecake is a cozy mystery set in the always-silly but heart-warming Golden Girls TV universe. Though I’ve only seen episodes here and there, I was still fully able to enjoy and understand this novel and recommend it for anyone in need of an easy blast from the past, 1980’s Miami style! I appreciated that the main characters were very recognizable. Adorable cover as well!

Readers should know that a large majority of this book involves around the motif of Rose’s goofy, traditional hometown of St. Olaf (new to me, but present in the TV series) and the plot is primarily about the planning of a wedding.

The mystery aspect takes a bit of a back burner to St. Olaf and the wedding in my opinion, but I didn’t mind. It was still present, just slightly low-stakes and always in the context of the wedding madness. I stayed curious as to what was going on without being anything being too action-packed or dark, which does good on the “cozy mystery” genre.

Thank you to Netgalley (for being a friend) for this Advanced Reader Copy!

I honestly didn’t super enjoy the story. I didn't care too much about the wedding and it felt like there was a lot detail about the wedding and St. Olaf traditions but almost nothing about the murder. There was a main focus on two of the GG’s while the other two seem to be there as background characters?? i liked the idea but the execution wasn’t my fave :(

Very cute, light read. If you're a fan of Golden Girls you'll love hearing the characters voices in your head as you read. Seriously what is better than a lighthearted mystery with your favorite GG!

This was such a hoot! If you love the timeless Golden Girls sitcom, you will absolutely enjoy this book. From the first page, I could hear their voices as if they were reading to me!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! I grew up watching the Golden Girls (probably not the best show for a kid, but I watched what my parents watched) and have fond memories of it. Plus, who doesn't love Betty White? When this popped up as an available ARC, I jumped on it pretty quickly, hoping it would be great. The good things were that it was cute, lighthearted, and an easy read. I could also see little peeks of the Golden Girls themselves and their personalities in the narrative. I could see the series being able to continue as there was a lot of room to grow, and the novels can be stand-alone. The not-so-great things were that it was a little too silly at times, the St Olaf stuff was a bit much (I feel like the fun of it with Rose's character in the show was the little bits of random she would throw in whereas this was all through the book, even with real characters from St Olaf, so it lost it's fun), and I could not always picture those beloved TV characters doing and saying all these things. While the author did her best to include mannerisms and famous sayings, it is a really tough and, dare I say, iconic show to try to emulate. I think if the book wasn't being held to that Golden Girls level, it would be cute. It reminded me of something like the Janet Evanovich mysteries, just light and funny with some mystery and murder being solved as you go. But, I kept wanting more to the story that was not so far-fetched at times, and I wanted more GG feel. Overall, the book was cute, but if you want it to be pure GG, I think you are going to be disappointed.

Thank you so much to Rachel Ekstrom Courage and Hyperion Avenue for the eARC of this book. When I saw Golden Girls I knew I needed to read this. It was a great book with the perfect amount of humor and mystery. I felt like Rachel had the girls down to a tee. Highly recommend.

Oh My Word, The moment I saw GG, I knew I had to read this book.
And it did not disappoint. All of the girls were just as they should. Rose is planning a Saint Olaf wedding, Dororthy is the murder suspect (be honest, out of the four, she's the one who would commit murder), Sophia always has a comeback, and Blanche is worried about men. Nothing has changed. The girls still got it.
If you are looking for a cozy who-dun-it, you've found it.

I was so excited when I saw this book on NetGalley that I immediately requested the ARC. I am grateful for the chance to be able to read this, and I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read Murder By Cheesecake.

I used to watch Golden Girls while growing up and absolutely adored them, so I was thrilled when I saw that there was a cozy mystery book starring the four funny friends.

The characters stayed very true to those we watched on the television show, and that made for a fun time reading this book. I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of this story and the ladies working together to catch the true killer and clear Dorthy's name was hilarious.

The second storyline was just dragged out too long, and I got bored at times reading all about St. Olaf and all the wedding rituals.

Overall, this wasn't a bad book by any means, and I can definitely read more from our goofy Golden Girls.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was generous with a 4 star. It's more 3.5ish stars.

Imagine my giddiness when I found this book. I've loved The Golden Girls since I was a child. My best friend and I would watch reruns all summer long. I wasn't too disappointed in this book, but I wasn't knocked over in a good way either.

The author definitely had the voice of the Girls down. I felt like I was reading an actual episode for the show. In my honest opinion though, I feel like she tried to hard. Sure, Rose has some outlandish traditions, and her own words she throws out, but they aren't as frequent as the book let's on. It was done too much, which made it feel unauthentic.

Overall, I didn't hate the book. I struggled to get into it some, but it once it picked up, it was better. Absolutely a cozy Golden Girls murder mystery. A true one time read.

Our heroine is a delight—clever, resourceful, and just stubborn enough to keep digging even when she probably shouldn’t. She’s got heart, smarts, and a knack for finding trouble in the most entertaining ways. The supporting cast is just as charming, from quirky townspeople to a love interest who adds the perfect pinch of romantic tension. Even the suspects feel fully fleshed out, making the mystery all the more fun to unravel.

The balance of mystery and humor is spot-on. Courage keeps things light and entertaining without losing the intrigue, and the food descriptions? Pure torture in the best way. You will crave cheesecake while reading this.

If you prefer dark, gritty thrillers, this one might feel a bit too fun. But for cozy mystery lovers? Absolute perfection.

If you love Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, Arsenic and Adobo, or anything by Jenn McKinlay, Murder by Cheesecake will be your new favorite treat. A huge thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy—now excuse me while I go bake something dangerously delicious!

This is a fun read. The characters are true to form from the series Golden Girls. You easily can hear and visualize each character. Laughed out loud at the antics and troubles that follow the cast of characters throughout the story. Enjoyed greatly and recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

Oh my gosh!! I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting. It was amazing.
I’d love to see more of the golden girls on books

I was super excited to start this read due to me being a fan for The Golden Girls for as long as I can remember. I feel like each characters quirks from the show were conveyed very well in the book! I didn’t like how there was so much wedding for so long, then the murder was focused on. This took me a while to read due to that. The wedding festivities and St. Olaf traditions discussions became a drag after so long. The ending redeemed things for me! Thanks so much, NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC!

As a longtime Golden Girl's stan I nearly broke my finger requesting this book and it didn't disappoint. The writing is fresh but the girl's are still recognizably the legends we've all grown to love. The mystery was interesting and fast paced enough to keep my interest. This is a must read for all GG fans!

I think the wonky formatting on the ARC made me read this slower than I would have liked. I tried my best to not factor that into my review.

This was a cute book. The plot was drawn out more than it needed to be and I got sick of the St Olaf random wedding customs, but it felt like a warm hug. The Golden Girls felt very true to character and their dynamic was a lot of fun. Despite my couple complaints about the plot it was still a lot of fun. It had a few fun twists and turns and I enjoy how it all wrapped up. Will definitely read more if this becomes a series.

This is a fun one...definitely for fans of The Golden Girls (obviously) and Jesse Q Sutanto's Four Aunties series. The book follows the four main protagonists of The Golden Girls--Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia--as they discover a dead body in the freezer of the venue where Rose's family member is getting married, Rose is trying her hardest to have a by the book St. Olaf wedding but of course things go haywire when the man Dorothy goes on one date with and invites to the wedding to be her plus-one is the dead man in the freezer. Hilarity ensues in the most Golden Girls way possible and the author did a great job of capturing the tone and voice of the four main characters. It felt like I was watching an un-produced/lost episode of the Golden Girls. There was a LOT of St. Olaf talk which somewhat took me out of the story from time to time, but not enough to make a larger more negative impression. I would recommend this book and look forward to more in the series.

I’m a huge fan of The Golden Girls and of cozy mysteries, so when I saw that this series was coming out, I was super excited (and maybe a little wary?). Having just finished; I can definitely say: Rachel Ekstrom Courage has done an fantastic job.
Now, the mystery itself is a good one, and the story is full of quirks and hijinks, but I think most potential reader are going to be most interested in how the ‘Golden Girls’ aspect of this Golden Girls Mystery plays out.
In my opinion, reading MURDER BY CHEESECAKE felt almost exactly like watching an episode of the TV show, just with a little more action – the sort of story that just wouldn’t be feasible on the shows budget. Courage does a really wonderful job of painting the girls, not just the easy-to-hit trademark catchphrases, but the speech patterns and attitudes, as well as the body language of the original actresses. I really think she had a great handle on the inner workings of each characters too, of the complex personalities they developed over the full run of the show, rather than simply relying of a snapshot/ archetype for each girl. For instance, it’s easy to make Blanche the flirty one, having hot flushes and eyeing up every eligible man – and that’s there! And it's a lot of fun – but we also see the insecurities that ballsy attitude sometimes covers; and the genuine, soft concern she feels for her friends.
Of the four girls, Dorothy and Rose are the main characters of this particular book: we spend the most time with them – as Rose problem-solves her niece's wedding, and Dorothy tries to clear her own name – and they do feel the most developed. Blanche and Sophia feature less but still feel very true to themselves. I imagine that as the series continues, we’ll see the girls take turns in the spotlight.
A great new avenue in The Golden Girls' world, and a fun cozy mystery. I really enjoyed all Rose’s St Olaf shenanigans, Dorothy’s dating drama, and Blanche and Sophia’s snappy comebacks. I’m really excited to watch this series as it develops.