*******Happy Publication Day!*****
This fun filled story stars everyone's favorite foursome, the Golden Girls in a laugh out-loud adventure centered around Rose's niece's upcoming wedding. When Rose is put in charge of coordinating everything for her quirky family visiting from St. Olaf, Minnesota, chaos and comedy naturally follow. Between the over-the-top relatives, a mountain of mishaps, and plenty of classic one liners, Rose does her best to keep things on track with the help, and occasional hindrance of Dorothy, Blanch, and Sophia. This is a charming, hilarious romp that captures the warmth, wit, and wonderful unpredictability we love about the Golden Girls. Recommend for those who enjoy a cozy mystery or a laugh-out-loud story.
Thank you NetGalley, and author Rachel Ekstrom Courage for the advance copy of this fun story for my honest review.

If you love the golden girls on TV and you love a good cozy mystery, this series is for you! I absolutely adored it and thought it was cute and well written. I can’t wait for more in this new series.

** “I couldn’t have done it without my friends.” **

Rachel Ekstrom Courage brings the dynamic Golden Girls foursome to the page with “Murder by Cheesecake,” a delightfully fun cozy mystery.

When the wedding of Rose’s much-younger cousin Nettie is threatened after St. Olaf’s hotel burns down, Rose offers to host the wedding in Miami with the help of Blanche, Dorothy and Dorothy’s mother Sophia. But even though Rose knows this wedding must feature the many quirky traditions involved in a St. Olaf wedding, the ladies are willing to take on the challenge.

The family of Nettie’s fiance Jason owns a hotel in Miami, so they generously offer the location and resources for the wedding. But can the two families come together and agree upon what to include in the wedding? And when a tragic event occurs at the hotel, will the wedding ever take place? And will one of the Golden Girls be accused of a horrific crime?

The author does a great job of creating the world everyone loves from the beloved TV show. Readers can experience the well-known banter and interactions between the ladies, all while enjoying a fun mystery filled with drama and exciting occurrences. The story celebrates the power of friendship, never giving up, and the importance of traditions, and even includes a recipe for “St. Olaf’s Kiss Cheesecake.”

Of course, fans of the Golden Girls tv show, as well as fans of cozy mysteries and stories featuring strong and plucky women, will love “Murder by Cheesecake.”

Four stars out of five.

Hyperion Avenue provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I’m such a big golden girls fan that when I saw this book I knew I had to read it! The author did such a good job capturing the characters personalities that I could hear their voices in my head. It was like watching an extended episode! I highly recommend this one if you too are a fan of the Golden Girls or just want to read a fun and cozy murder mystery!

"Thank you for being a friend..." and traveling to Florida for a wedding! St. Olaf meets Miami in this Golden Girls cozy mystery based on the beloved characters from our favorite television series.

I admire Rachel Ekstrom Courage's courage in being able to write a good mystery for our Girls to solve, especially working around the technology changes in the past forty years! But she does a good job.

Positives: The characters and dialogue! She really did a great job with all of them, without pulling too much from the series. The mystery plot was also well-done.

Negatives: videotapes of dating? I didn't even know this had been a thing, and yet it was. It felt almost too overdone, and also, I'm not 100% sure Dorothy would have had the patience for this. But it works for the story. Also, all the St. Olaf traditions around weddings were really over the top.

I went back and forth on star rating on this book. I originally gave it 3 stars, but upped it to 4 for accuracy in depicting our Golden Girls on the page.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

As a major Golden Girls fan I had to read this. I used to love cozy mysteries and kind of swayed away these last couple years. Murder by Cheesecake has reignited my love for cozy mysteries. I forgot how fun they are. I loved going revisiting the Golden Girls and the 80's era. The funny banter and giggles were so nostaligic to watching the show when I was young. The mystery was cozy that kept you reading and finished up just like that. I loved it though. Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read such a delightful book.

What a great way to return to the 80's and 90's! I remember watching the Golden Girls every week when it first aired and many times in reruns. This book was such a great way to remember the characters. The author did a fantastic job in keeping the characters' personalities true to how they were portrayed on the TV series.

Throwing in a murder mystery in with the characters is inspired. I found the whole book to be fun. The characters are perfect for the cozy style mystery. There were plenty of suspects and hidden agendas. The pacing was good. The wedding planning sideline was full of laughs. The mystery was solved with a satisfying ending. I found the story to be a great way escape reality. The book was well written and easy to read.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was such a cute book!
I loved the throwback of Golden Girls with the added aspect of a murder. I could picture each of the actresses in the roles on the set acting out this book in mind, and I enjoyed it so much.
My old thing is that there were times there were things that were over described and kind of took me out of the book. But other than that it was a fun, quick read.

I have been a fan of the Golden Girls for as long as I can remember and when I saw a book was coming out about them, I HAD to try and get an ARC copy cause who doesn't like the Golden Girls?

I enjoyed everything about this book! I was laughing out loud, and feeling like I was watching another episode of another adventures the Girls were going on. To have the ladies all together to solve a Cozy Mystery with one of them being the number one suspect in a murder?! What more could I ask for!

Highly recommend!

🧁 Murder by Cheesecake🧁
by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

This was such a fun and cozy read! Imagine The Golden Girls meets a murder mystery with a side of delicious desserts, and you're halfway there. The vibe...Utterly charming. The mystery...Just twisty enough to keep me guessing. The characters? Absolute gems. You can smell the cheesecake in the air and hear the gossip flying around the neighborhood café. And I mean that in the best way.

Our amateur sleuth is equal parts spunky and relatable, and the supporting cast makes this feel like a warm hug—with a knife hidden in the apron pocket. 😂

Tropes & Treats:
Small town gossip & charm
Found family / close-knit community
Amateur sleuth
Foodie vibes
Cozy mystery with sass

Would I recommend?
Absolutely. This one is for the girlies who want a murder and a little sweet treat.

Thank you to Hyperion and Net Galley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review.

I’m a huge Golden Girls fan, I’ve watched the series more times than I can count. It’s my ultimate comfort show, I finish and immediately start again. So when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it.

What I loved: the dialogue between the girls was spot-on. It really captured their personalities and the iconic banter that makes the show so special. The title, the cover, and the cute little illustrations at the start of each chapter were adorable touches that I enjoyed.

That said, the writing itself left a bit to be desired. At times, it felt more like I was watching an episode than reading a book, which made some sections feel overly detailed and slow. There was a heavy focus on St. Olaf traditions and the wedding plot, which took up a lot of space and left the actual murder mystery feeling kind of flat.

The mystery wrapped up so quickly that I actually said, “That’s it?” when I finished. It could have used more suspense or twists along the way to make the payoff feel worth it.

Still, I’m glad I read it. I’ll definitely be grabbing a paperback for my shelf (obviously), and I’ll be checking out the next one when it comes out.

🌟🌟Four Golden Girl Stars for this cozy Mystery!🌟🌟

Full disclosure: I am not a die hard fan of the show. Betty White, though, is always a delight and I was thrilled that Rose was in all of her St. Olaf glory in this new mystery.

Here are four reasons to read this one:

⌛This is like time travelling back to the 1980's and the gift of a new episode -- with a mystery bonus.

🍰There is a recipe for St. Olaf's Kiss Cheesecake included.

💑Someone other than Blanche has a romance opportunity.

📚That cover is irresistible.

Been missing those Golden Girls and the Miami senior scene? Check this one out.

Happy Publication Day! Thank you to Hyperion and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really, really did not like this. It was torture. To be fair, I like the Golden Girls just fine but I am not a die hard fan. And honestly, I can't picture them as women who are trying to date and look better than each other. If it was about grannies trying to solve crimes I could get on board. But this was absolute torture. I will round up for the effort but I am so glad it's over. 1.5 stars.

This was a fun (and funny!) first book in a new cozy mystery series based on the Golden girls tv show characters. I love reading about quirky older dames kicking butt and taking names and this book had that in spades. Excited to see what comes next! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I went into "Murder by Cheesecake" hoping for cozy mystery nostalgia, and what I got was a time machine straight to 1980s Miami with Blanche in a silk robe, Sophia flinging insults like shurikens, and Dorothy suffering through men like it’s a full-time job. Basically? My childhood comfort show, but with a murder and a side of pickled herring.

The setup is peak "Golden Girls" chaos: Rose is throwing a St. Olaf–themed wedding for her cousin, which is already cursed considering it includes fish-based traditions and a full-blown Lutefisk Tea Social. Dorothy, in need of a date for said wedding, tries out a VHS dating service (bless her delusional heart), and ends up with a man so obnoxious even Blanche wouldn’t sleep with him—which, let’s be honest, is the real red flag. Then, just as everyone’s prepping for traditional events (St. Olaf's style) leading into the big day the big day and Rose’s handcrafted wedding cheesecake is chilling in the hotel kitchen, said date turns up face down in it. In the cheesecake. In the freezer. And just like that, we’ve got a corpse in the cake and four pastel-clad suspects with attitude and alibis that don’t quite hold up under a detective’s side-eye.

Now, the couple getting married? Adorable. Full-on sweethearts who genuinely made me believe love could bloom even under the looming shadow of a dessert-based homicide. And Rose? Bless her innocent little soul, she comes by her quirks honest. Every single “back in St. Olaf” tangent is so wildly bizarre it loops around to endearing—and I fully buy that she’d think lutefisk is a viable centerpiece. The real magic here, though, is the girls. No matter the murder, the mayhem, or the freezer-related trauma, they’ve always got each other’s backs. The ride-or-die loyalty is strong, the sass is weaponized, and yes—some truly hilarious times are had. Picture them undercover, a full-blown investigation montage, and Sophia threatening people with baked goods. It’s giving sitcom energy with a side of felony.

But—and it’s a cheesecake-sized but—the pacing is a problem. This isn’t a mystery so much as a wedding planning novella with a dead body iced in like an afterthought. It’s like the plot did a jitterbug: quick, slow, quick, quick, why are we still talking about the St. Olaf herring ceremony? Dorothy’s date getting freezer-murdered is supposed to be the juicy hook, but the book kind of forgets about the actual murder mystery for long stretches, which is a choice. A wrong one, but still a choice.

And Dorothy? Deserved. Better. The fact that her romantic plotline involves a sleazebag who dies mid-cheesecake is both wildly on-brand and a bit of a letdown. Wrapped up too neatly, too quickly, and honestly—girl should’ve gotten a martini and a spa day, not police questioning and public humiliation.

Still. I’ll give this series room to grow, because seeing these women back together is like popping on fuzzy socks and yelling at the TV in a language only your college roommates understand. Is it perfect? No. Is it comforting chaos with a murder crust? Absolutely. 3.5 stars, and I’ll be back for book two—just with slightly lower expectations and higher cheesecake security.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Who else read this book in the voices of the characters? I truly felt like I was watching the show while I was reading this. This author did an amazing job capturing all of the character’s quirks and mannerisms. Cut yourself a slice of cheesecake and get ready for a treat.
The ladies are planning a wedding for Rose’s niece. The plans are moving along until Dorothy’s date wind up dead. The ladies work together to catch the culprit.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series! Many thanks to the author, Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#MurderByCheesecake #RachelEkstromCourage #NetGalley #HyperionAvenue #TheGoldenGirls #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetInMiami

ARC review 🥮

Murder by Cheesecake
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Release: April 15, 2025

Dorothy, Sophia and Blanche are helping Rose plan and execute her cousin’s wedding. The first event goes great…until Dorothy’s date is found 💀. The Golden Girls must work together to find the culprit and save the wedding.

This was a cozy, low stakes mystery perfect for fans of the genre and fans of the Golden Girls. The author did a good job of capturing the personalities of the ladies, but also adding her own voice to their world. It was funny, but did try too hard at times, especially the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue Books for the arc of this book.

Felt like reading a Golden Girls episode with a murder twist—silly, light, and full of quirky charm. Fun in small doses, but not for everyone. If you like cozy chaos and don’t mind some cheesiness, it might just hit the spot.

As a huge fan of the series, of course I had to read this one and it was fun for all the nostalgia of the show. You can tell the author also loves the show as the details from what the girls wore to the lanai to Rose’s crazy St.Olaf stories, she gives the series the respect it deserves within the pages.
When Roses niece and nephew in law to be arrive in Miami for their wedding, Rose has to plan a St. Olaf style wedding with all the traditions that the families will expect when they come to town. The other ladies get on board to help. But things get off to a rough start when at the Welcome Tuna Teatime Dorothy finds a dead body in the walkin freezer and she is the main suspect because the body happens to be a man she went on a date with recently after being set up by a dating service and JT didn’t go well. The girls have to clear Dorothy and get the wedding to go off without a hitch in time amd not have any of the St. Olaf people know what’s going on behind the scenes.
I wasn’t sure if the sitcom ladies would work with the cozy mystery genre, but it did. The girls fell into the amateur detective roles easily and it wasn’t too over the top, except for all of Rose’s crazy wedding traditions.
Thanks to Hyperion Avenue Digital and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Overall it wasn’t for me sadly. It felt so disconnected from the golden girls to where it was a little bit distracting which makes me sad as a fan of the golden girls and cozy mysteries. I think it’s worth a try for golden girls fans but I personally didn’t love it