I enjoyed this book very much. If you like the Golden Girls from the 1980’s then this one is for you. While reading I could literally hear the characters voices in my head. This is a quick fun mystery read. Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue. This is my own opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc copy of this book. I grew up on golden girls and I expected this book would be a cozy mystery with old friends. It delivered! What a cute book!

If you are a die-hard Golden Girls fan (which I am) and The Case of the Libertine Belle is one of your favorite episodes (it is one of my top three), then you will likely enjoy this cozy mystery starring Blanche, Rose, Sophia and of course Dorothy. When I found out there was a Golden Girls cozy mystery coming down the pike, I must admit I jumped on it faster than Blanche on a sailor at the Rusty Anchor. I was so excited! Cozy mystery? Yes! My beloved Golden Girls? Yes!!
This foray into the Golden Girls universe has Dorothy doing what Dorothy does best, going on a lousy date and then finding herself at the center of a murder mystery. Rose also features prominently, as she finds herself trying to pull off a wedding which will not only impress a wealthy Miami family but more importantly, prove to her fellow St. Olafians that she is still a farm girl through and through. Blanche and Sophia are there more for comic relief and to provide moral support, to be quite honest. And that's where the story felt a little weak to me; we get glimpses into what Dorothy and Rose are really feeling and going through, their worries and stresses. Sophia and Blanche came across more as two-dimensional caricatures of their characters: Blanche was the sexy one with a younger, hunky (potential) beau and Sophia had all the snappy comebacks and one-liners but beyond that, we don't see any of their thought process or feelings. Apparently, this is supposed to be a series. I hope each of the girls gets her chance to shine.
Let's face it, nobody reads a cozy mystery for in depth character development or gritty realism. This is a fun (and funny) nostalgic romp into the world of those 1980's mature gals we all know and love. I'm just glad to have had one more story about my favorite girls. For us diehard GG fans, this is a very welcome return to Miami Nice.

Rachel Eckstrom Courage knew what she was doing when she wrote her debut Golden Girls cozy mystery series… capturing all the GG fans attentions and hearts. Delivering a piece of nostalgia for the fans beloved sitcom.

Murder By Cheesecake starts off perfectly… each characters voice rang true to how they were on the show. It felt like I was reading a script from a past episode. The humor and wit were spot on. The book follows the formula of a cozy mystery, and the fun really picks up when the body is discovered. I loved this book! Yes you will crave cheesecake, giggle at Rose’s love for St. Olaf, reminisce about Persian Melon Lipstick, and enjoy being back with the gang sipping lemonade on the lanai!

Thank you Hyperion Avenue Paperback

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As a big Golden Girls fan (I literally have a dog named Blanche), this was a bit of a let down for me. It felt overly descriptive to the point of excess. I feel like it spent too much time talking about St. Olaf wedding traditions and not enough time on the plot. It also annoyed me that the inheritance was a focus in the first half of the book, but then never received a resolution. I do feel like the author captured the essence of each girl very well! It was on the right track, but the execution was lacking.

What a cool concept. Cozy mysteries featuring the Golden Girls. Capturing the witty crisp writing of the series is impossible. A murder at Shady Pines would have been a better setting for the mystery. There’s just too much St. Olaf in here even though the story never sets foot there. Perhaps over time with less set-up these stories might get into a more entertaining groove.

If you're a fan of cozy mysteries, culinary fiction, or amateur sleuths, then "Murder by Cheesecake" is an absolute must-read. Courage's writing is engaging, entertaining, and utterly captivating. So grab a slice of cheesecake and settle in for a deliciously deadly mystery!

This was not good. I was prepared to suspend a lot of judgment as I love the Golden Girls but the writing was atrocious and I was unable to finish more than two chapters.

This felt just like watching an episode play out in my hands! It's clear the author knows the show and the characters we all love very well complete with jokes about Blanche's extracurricular activities, Sophia's stories of Sicily, Dorothy's lack of gentleman callers and of course, at the heart of this story, Rose's St. Olaf stories.

I have been a fan of the Golden Girls since I was a kid. I blame the show for my sense of humor and probably a fair chunk of my personality. So when I saw this cover, I was super excited but also a little worried about whether the characterizations and dialogue would be right. It absolutely was! The girls are all true to what we all know and love and there was even little ties to bits on the show in specific episodes. It was a fun, relaxing mystery and everything I hoped for.

In true episode fashion, the ladies are helping Rose plan her niece/cousin’s wedding and things go astray when a dead body shows up in the freezer with Rose’s cheesecakes at the groom-to-be’s family hotel, and the victim looks like the guy Dorothy just met on a date from a VHS dating service. Hijinks and hilarity ensue and it’s all wonderful.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Rachel Ekstrom Courage and Hyperion Avenue for letting me read and review this book!!

When I first saw this book, I knew I needed to read it. I love the golden girls and this book didn’t disappoint. I loved every minute of it. Getting to solve a mystery alongside Dorthy, rose, Blanche and Sophia!!! I can’t wait to read the second book.
My favorite part was learning about so many St. Olaf traditions. You learn so many due to Rose helping to organize a wedding.

I'm a huge fan of cheesecake and the Golden Girls but this book didn't quite meet my expectations. There was a lot of background info and little details that could have been left out. Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review Murder by Cheesecake!

Reading this felt just like watching an episode of The Golden Girls.
The author did an amazing job at capturing their personalities and Sophia’s sassy remarks had me cracking up.
It was such a fun and entertaining read.
The mystery aspect kept me interested and guessing until the end.

-cozy murder mystery
-Golden Girls sleuthing
-family drama

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for my eARC.

I am a huge Golden Girls fan. I have watched the series several times and I adore it each time. So, I was extremely excited about this one. Mystery solving and GG, yes!

I appreciated seeing the girls on paper but this just didn't work for me. There was a mystery. It wasn't great but the storyline was there. It felt secondary to the other plotline.

However, the big detractor for me was the writing style. It felt like someone fed all of the GG screenplays into an AI and asked it to write a mystery with the same characters. There were odd large blocks of description and overall it was a slog for me. I did a good deal of skimming.

Keep in mind this is just one person's opinion and you may love the book! So, if you love GG and enjoy mystery don't let my opinion stop you from checking this out. I hope you love it.

This book was the exact vibe I needed to get out of my reading slump. If you're a Golden Girls fan, you will not be disappointed. It felt like I was a kid again watching reruns of Dorothy, Blanche and Rose on TV after school. Laugh out loud funny at parts. Really enjoy this book!

Over all I thought this book was pretty good! If you like the original show it definitely has the same feel. Like you’re reading a script for a golden girls movie spin off! I was reading in the girls voices and everything.

There was a part near the end where it seemed there was some LGBTQ stuff forced into the story line. Obviously inclusion is a big factor in any books but you don’t want it to seem forced it should flow with the book. That part because of the way it was added felt like a sore thumb. It didn’t feel like it matched the rest of the book and felt far more “modern” like it was written in 2024 not when this book was supposed to be set. I think it should have been written in better or changed to fit the premise of the book.

Other than that everything else felt organic or campy but in the classic golden girls way. I will say if you’re not a fan of overly descriptive books that did make the story line drag out longer. It didn’t both me to much but I could see it being a little much for some.

Omg I absolutely loved this book. I felt like I was in it. Just amazing! Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this one

Thank you Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

Cheesecake alone would have been enough to get me to want to read this but when I saw The Golden Girls, I cannot tell you how excited I was and just knew I had to read it.
I applaud the author for taking on such a huge task of reviving the characters we love and miss so very much. They did a good job of sharing some of their background, describing their personalities and there was some of the old familiar ribbing but as much as I love the Golden Girls (and cheesecake), this just didn't give me the same loveable vibes as the old TV show. There were many times that honestly if Rose had talked about herring one more time I would have thrown my copy into the Scandinavian water the herring comes from. The details of the traditional St. Olaf wedding became redundant and tiring. At times, I felt the story was never going to come to an end and I needed it to, there was just so much filler.
It is the Golden Girls, the expectations are high and for me this just didn't quite reach it. To be fair, I didn't hate it, I just didn't love it like I thought I would and since this was the first in what I believe will become a series, I might be willing to give the second a try.

I snapped this up as soon as I saw it. I didn't grow up watching The Golden Girls, although I've been peripherally aware of them, of course. A few years ago, when I was approaching and at my sickest with my chronic illness, I binged the whole series. I'm not going to say that watching the show got me through it, but the show holds a little place in my heart, as does everything (that I can remember at least-- I've discovered that I don't remember a lot of details from that time) that helped me get through the days.

This is a sweet mystery, but the characters take the spotlight over the who-dun-it. Although most likely to be picked up by existing fans, enough details are sprinkled throughout that this could certainly be read by someone who had never seen any of the show.

Like a lot of cozy mysteries, there is a lot of detail incorporated in every scene. While this does set the stage for the 1980s with hair, clothes, make-up, and décor, there's so much details that the writer and editor(s) obviously got overwhelmed by it all-- there are several instances in which characters repeat actions, probably because the first instance was lost amid the descriptions of outfits and living rooms. The character picks up her purse and walks towards the door, continues her conversation, and then picks up her purse again; the characters retrieve their luggage and walk to the car, then stand at the baggage carousel and pick up their luggage again.

Although Sophia's character never felt quite right for me, but the other main characters were pretty spot on in their mannerisms and dialogue.

eARC from NetGalley.

The Golden Girls brought back to life by this author how exciting! I watched this show as teenager and I loved it so I was excited to see this book.
It didn't disappoint it made me happy to be back with them again! Wow! It was like seeing old friends again. I loved Rose more than ever! We got to see a special side that we didn't see in the show.
Sophia's still up to her wisecrack that drives Dorothy crazy. Blanche is being Blanche. I'm so glad the author didn't change their personalities.
These girls are a legend.
This was a great start to a new series! I can't wait to read the next one! The storyline was fantastic! It flowed smoothly and each girl got the fullest attention which I appreciated.
I love the mystery which was written so well I had a hard time guessing who did it.
Only flaw I had with it was some of the words do run together so it was sometimes hard to make out.
Still a 5 star read from me. I highly recommend this book if you love these lovely ladies.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.