I was waffling between 3 and 4 stars but I’m ultimately giving this novel 4 based on my enjoyment of the story and less on the actual writing.

I had never watched an episode of The Golden Girls in my life before requesting this ARC. I wanted to read it based on my love for cozy murder mysteries with an elderly cast that does some sleuthing, and against all odds and ailments, solves the murder. And that’s exactly what I got! I watched half of season one of the GGs before I was more than ready to jump into this story and it was a delight every step of the way. I am already wishing that there were more!

If you are a fan of the Golden Girls, murder mysteries, multi-POV, and sitcom humor, add this one to your cart and TBR immediately! You won’t regret it!

I would like to start off by thanking netgalley for the arc of this book.

As someone who watches golden girl reruns all the time I was so excited when this book became available to read. Cozy murders are not usually my first go to, but this changed my mind. It was such a cute fun read! When Dorothy's date is found dead in a kitchen freezer, it threatens to ruin rose's theme wedding she is throwing, also it ruined a perfectly good cheesecake. What then ensues is a perfect mix of golden girls sleuthing and cozy comedy that everyone knows and loves.

The author does take some artistic liberties, so if you are expecting episodic perfection this might not be the exact book for you. This book does however bring all the nostalgia as well as love of the golden girls

I am a diehard Golden Girls fan so I couldn’t wait to devour this read. Murder by Cheesecake is the kind of cozy mystery that wraps you in a warm blanket of sugar, sass, and suspense — then stabs you with a cake knife when you're least expecting it.

The mystery kept me guessing until the end, and the writing had just the right blend of humor and heart. I’m only knocking off half a star because the middle dragged ever so slightly — like the filling needed a touch more spice. But the ending was satisfying and clever, with just the right dollop of justice.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for this reading arc.
This book was a hoot. I am a huge Golden Girls fan and you can tell that the author is as well. The book felt very much like an extended episode of the Golden Girls which was what brought it home for me as a reader. It was a Rose episode, which was just delightful. I chucked outloud multiple times, felt nostalgia with the 80's references, and just enjoyed the experience. This is a great pallate cleanser book, light, funny, and cozy.
I don't know if a reader who didn't know Golden Girls would enjoy it as much and if the characters were not my beloved girls, I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much. If this is a series, I will most definately continue reading. Thanks again Net Galley.

If you are a Golden Girls fan, check this out!!

Murder by Cheesecake follows Blanche, Rose, Sofia and Dorothy as they all help plan Rose's neice's traditional St Olaf wedding, but in Miami. There's a murder, a clown, a donkey, lots of herring...

This was a well written cozy mystery that I will definitely be telling everyone about.

Love the golden girls and the author perfectly captured all their voices. This was a fun and nostalgic read and I loved getting more attached to these women more than I already am.

Ya'll when I tell you I wanted to love this book so badly, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. The combination of cozy mystery and four iconic TV characters was so promising. Golden Girls is full of amazing banter and timeless humour so there was so much potential here. Unfortunately for me, it fell very flat.

The first novel in the Golden Girls Cozy Mysery series, Murder by Cheesecake follows Dorothy, Blanche, Sophia, and Rose as they work togehter to solve the mysterious death of Dorothy's most recent date. At the helm of the investigation is Rose, who becomes borderline insufferable with her talk about St. Olaf traditions in the wake of planning her niece's wedding. In my opinion the mystery portion of this novel didn't have as much plot development as the St. Olaf wedding which made the cozy-mystery vibes lack.

Nostalgia-wise, I enjoyed reading about the four women together again and the banter that didn't center around St. Olaf was enjoyable. That said, the banter was not enough to save this book and I won't be continuing on with this series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion for this digital arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Anyone who was/is a fan of the TV series will want to pick up Murder by Cheesecake. Here they will find the familiar friends entangled in a murder mystery when Dorothy's date is found dead in the titular cheesecake. Will the group solve the murder? Will the wedding that brought them to Florida actually take place? Read this one to find out.

Here is a fun and enjoyable book that is not too long but has enough plot to fill up the pages. Even a reader with no prior knowledge of the GGs can enjoy this title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this book. All opinions are my own.

Such a fun book that was a great mystery. It had moments that I found myself thinking of Golden Girls the tv show, but this was a great mystery to read.

Death by Cheesecake is a cozy mystery featuring The Golden Girls. That’s right, I’m talking Rose, Sophia, Blanche, and Dorothy. And, I must say that the author has pegged the personalities on the page perfectly! The writing was so smooth that I could visualize everything just like I was watching it on television. There’s comedy, shade throwing, St. Olaf stories, and a death.

Rose is in the midst of planning her niece’s wedding. It’s taking place in Florida but She’s checking off all of the supplies on her shopping list to make the perfect St. Olaf wedding right there in Miami.

When the girls find a dead body at the sight of the wedding, it throws a wrench in plans. They are forced to become detective and wedding planners all at once!

If you are a fan of The Golden Girls, I highly recommend that you read this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this book for review. This book was so much fun and definitely captured the voices and spirits of the Golden Girls!! Cute little mystery and it was so great to be back in universe with Blanche, Sofia, Dorothy and Rose! I can’t wait for more adventures and cheesecake with the girls

3.5 stars

Though any devotee of cozy mysteries might enjoy this book, it's really for fans of 'The Golden Girls' (1985 - 1992) - a sitcom about four older women who share a house in Miami Beach, Florida. The show stars Bea Arthur as Dorothy, Betty White as Rose, Estelle Getty as Sophia, and Rue McClanahan as Blanche. To fully appreciate the comic aspects of the novel, readers should be familiar with each character's personality and quirks.

In this debut novel in the 'Golden Girls' mystery series, the ladies investigate a murder.

*****

As the story opens, Rose Nyland's cousin Nettie from St. Olaf, Minnesota is planning to elope with her fiancé Jason. Rose convinces the couple to come to Miami Beach to have a REAL wedding, and promises to make all the arrangements. Rose's cousin Nettie is a direct descendant of wealthy Heinrich von Anderdonnen, and the wedding must uphold ALL the St. Olaf traditions for Nettie to get her inheritance. The customs include things like the Welcome Tuna Tea, the Bridal Ribbon Ballet, the Sharing of the Soup, the In-Law Triangle Dance, a clown at the bachelorette party, a live donkey at the wedding ceremony, and more. Rose has to hustle, because the nuptials are one week away.

Dorothy would like to have a plus one for the wedding, so she uses a video dating service to meet a man. Henry Pattinson - a handsome, educated, well-spoken fellow - seems like a good match, soDorothy arranges to meet Henry at Wolfie's for lunch. Henry seems very nervous and sneaks off mid-date, which hurt's Dorothy's feelings.

Jump ahead a couple of days, and arrangements are in full swing for tomorrow's Welcome Tuna Tea, which will take place at the Cabana Sun Hotel owned by the groom's family. Rose makes enough cheesecakes to feed an army and platters of tuna sandwiches, and stores them in the hotel's food freezer for the party, when the guests from St. Olaf will meet Jason's relatives.

On the following morning, the ladies open the hotel freezer to retrieve the goodies.....and there's a dead man in the freezer with his face in a cheesecake. The festivities proceed as the police investigate, and it turns out the murder victim is Henry Pattinson, Dorothy's bad date. Dorothy becomes a prime suspect, and - to keep her out of prison - the golden girls are determined to prove Dorothy is innocent.

The remainder of the story involves the ladies searching for the real killer while simultaneously helping Rose with the wedding plans. So there's a LOT going on, and it's all very entertaining as the women disguise themselves; go to a disco club; cavort with a stripper clown; run into danger; etc. It's like a heightened episode of the TV show.

For fun, I'll include some of the book's 'Golden Girls' humor.

♥ Rose is very anxious to pull the wedding off perfectly, because "it would make up for the Butter Queen upset, losing the chicken singing competition, and all the other injustices she'd faced growing up."

♥ The girls arrive at the Cabana Sun Hotel for the Welcome Tuna Tea, and see a woman holding a dog. Dorothy says, "I'm surprised they allow dogs in here", and Sophia quips, "Don't worry Dorothy I called ahead to get permission for you."

♥ To prepare for the wedding activities, Rose dispatches Jason to get a goat horn, fifteen tubs of grass-fed butter, twelve yards of ribbon, at least sixteen white towels, loofahs, shower caps, suits for the groomsmen, a tin whistle, extra tubes of concentrated herring paste, a few willow branches, and twenty ounces of canned or jarred lingonberries. Jason has to do this to make up for his "rather tepid throwing of the hay during the last annual Hay Day - that really disappointed the elders."

♥ The gals are discussing what talents they have to solve a murder, and Blanche speculates about investigating with Jorgen - a handsome young Norwegian man in the wedding party. "Like maybe if we're spying on someone, Jorgen could lift me up to peek in a window with his big strong hands around my waist. Maybe a stakeout on a secluded beach at sunset, huddled together for warmth as the sun dips below the horizon. Or if there's trouble, he could fight off some bad guys and catch me in his arms when I faint at the sight of blood...."

♥ When Sophia is in disguise to go undercover for the investigation, she decides on a cover story inspired by her great-aunt Neeta. "Picture it. A woman on the run from a ring of corrupt priests trying to take over the convent. She takes one donkey, a bottle of Communion wine, and the finger bone of St. Agatha and disappears into the the hills. She has seventeen children, becomes widowed, and is now on spring break from her job as a notary public. Look - I even brought the finger!" Sophia pulls out a small, dried out bone from her purse. "Don't worry, it's really a chicken bone."

There's much more like this, which people familiar with the TV show will really appreciate.

This isn't a deep dark mystery, and the gals kind of stumble onto a solution, but I enjoyed the story. If nothing else, the book is worth reading for the wedding ceremony, where Rose arranges for the minister to ring a bell, yodel, and wave his hands over two pairs of folded striped pajamas and say, "May these pajamas keep your marital bed as warm as your hearts." 😊

The book contains a recipe for St. Olaf's Kiss Cheesecake

If you like 'The Golden Girls' show, you'll enjoy this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Rachel Ekstrom Courage, and Hyperion for a copy of the book.

Am I a Golden Girls fan? Yep. Did I love the description of this book? Yep! Did it execute brilliantly? Eh, not quite. But did I enjoy it? Yes, definitely.

This is one of those stories that I think you will enjoy more if you have some nostalgia attached to it. So, if you've never watched Golden Girls, I think some of this will not quite make sense to you. Honestly, as Rose started rambling about her life in her small town, all I could do is picture Betty White pulling off the dialogue with her usual guilelessness. Similarly, I could almost hear Blanche's dry tone as she said something under her breath.

The mystery was not nearly as big a part of the story as I was initially expecting, but once I put that out of my mind, I was better able to enjoy the story as another episode of the Golden Girls but with a murder. Still, I think fans of cozy mysteries would still likely enjoy this book, but more so if they were fans of the Golden Girls.

Overall, I enjoyed this and I think it has potential. I would definitely be interested in reading a second book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I... sigh. I thought this would be fun but it was a caricature in every way possible. It somehow managed to be too seriously focused on the Golden Girls and not seriously enough. For every trait portrayed correctly, the next 5 we're all wrong.

I think my face was in permanent WTF mode the entire time and I really should have put the book down and walked away. If you're looking for a fun tribute to our favorite seniors from the 80s, look somewhere else because this is not it.

TL, DR: I got this book for free and I still paid too much.

3.75, rounded up

This was a lot of fun! The author nailed the personalities, & I appreciated the little callbacks to episode storyline.

The Golden Girls solving murders? Dreams come true!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the TV show Golden Girls, so I was so excited when I saw this book. I had very high expectations and the book definitely lived up to them. I really enjoyed it!

If you’re a fan of *The Golden Girls* and enjoy a good cozy mystery, this book is perfect for you. Dorothy’s romantic adventure takes an unexpected turn, leading to a not-so-romantic conclusion. The four friends take it upon themselves not only to help plan the best wedding in Saint Olaf but also to solve a murder. This reminded me a lot of the show; however, I was slightly disappointed that they missed a big opportunity to inject more of the humor that made the original series so beloved.

If you're a fan of Golden Girls, you will enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

📱𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠: Murder by Cheesecake, A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩: Kindle via Netgalley
𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨:

“𝑰'𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆 - 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔”

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I’m really not sure how to explain this book other than the fact that it was basically like reading an episode of them solving a crime together and it was absolutely hilarious. The characters' personalities were portrayed so well. I enjoyed reading about their antics as much as I love watching them on the TV.

Highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the show, it will not disappoint you.

I went in with high expectations, and it was really hard for me to get through. I found myself getting bored very easily. I felt like the plot was more focused on the wedding then solving the murder.