As soon as I saw this cover I knew I needed to read it. The Golden Girls were a big staple of my childhood and adding some crime solving made this a true delight. Ekstrom Courage showed her deep knowledge of the GG lore as there are so many show shout outs throughout that fans will get but also readers who have never seen a single episode can also have a good time! This book is the perfect escape read…and will definitely have you craving so me cheesecake so I was thankful it came with a recipe at the end!

"Murder by Cheesecake" by Rachel Ekstrom Courage held a lot of promise. As a fan of the Golden Girls, I was excited to receive an ARC of this book, the first in a new cozy mystery series. The concept of Dorothy, Sophia, Blanche, and Rose solving a murder at a St. Olaf-themed wedding in Miami is undeniably appealing.

Unfortunately, the execution didn't quite live up to the premise. While I was expecting a simple, enjoyable cozy mystery storyline, the plot felt somewhat uneven. The mystery itself took a backseat to the wedding preparations and character interactions, which, while occasionally humorous, didn't provide enough suspense or intrigue.

My main issue was the imbalance in character focus. Dorothy and Rose took center stage, while Sophia and Blanche were relegated to supporting roles. This was disappointing, as the strength of the Golden Girls lies in their ensemble dynamic.

Despite these shortcomings, I'm not entirely ready to give up on the series. The potential for a fun, lighthearted mystery series is there, and I would consider reading book two to see if the author can find a better balance and deliver a more compelling mystery.

★★☆☆☆

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2.5 star read

I love the Golden Girls and this book read exactly like an episode but I realized I prefer to watch this humor.
Even though I could hear the characters in my head, reading the quips and descriptions of their physical comedy fell flat for me.
I would watch this episode in a heart beat but it lost some of their charm in the format of a book.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

"Murder by Cheesecake" is a light, easy, fun and nostalgic cozy mystery.

**Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**

If you are a Golden Girls fan & you love cozy mysteries! This book is for you!

It truly felt like I was watching an episode! Seeing the girls solve a mystery was everything I didn’t know I needed!

☆ARC REVIEW☆
Publication date: Available now.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy in exchange for a review!

'Murder By Cheesecake' was a really fun and cozy mystery with tons of nostalgia! Sophia, Dorothy, Rose and Blanche's characters were depicted pretty accurately! I found it did move a little slowly at times and if you aren't an avid Golden Girls fan then I wouldn't recommend it because you probably won't get their humor.

"There's no use crying over smashed cheesecake."

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this great book. I felt like I was watching a Golden Girls movie! She nailed the characters and I read the entire book in their voices. It starts with Rose’s cousin getting married in Miami. Rose is determined to incorporate all of the St. Olaf traditions despite many challenges. When Dorothy becomes a suspect in the murder of her potential date, the girls have to solve the murder to keep Dorothy out of jail.

This was a cute, humorous mystery and I’m thrilled this is the first in a series!

The Golden Girls fan fiction? Sign me up. It's so funny to read characters that I have so much context for written by someone entirely different. I enjoyed the story lines and the author's obvious commitment to the original characters. This is a very laid back read, great for someone who is looking to kill time on a flight, may not recommend otherwise unless you're a diehard fan.

I’m ridiculously excited about this cozy mystery series starring the Golden Girls—honestly, it’s everything I didn’t know I needed. If this first book is any indication, I really hope it turns into a long-running series.

Reading it feels exactly like watching an episode of The Golden Girls, complete with two intertwining storylines. Rose is helping plan her cousin Nettie’s wedding with all the quirky St. Olaf traditions (now unfolding in Miami, of course), while Dorothy’s just trying to find a halfway decent date to bring to the ceremony.

And then—of course—chaos: a dead body turns up in the hotel freezer, right where Rose left her cheesecakes. I’ll stop there before I give anything away.

What really worked for me was how spot-on the character voices are. You don’t just read this book—you hear it. The dialogue feels like it could have been lifted straight from the show, and the author absolutely nails the tone and personality of each of the four women.

The mystery itself is fun and well-paced, but it’s the charm of the characters that makes this a five-star read. If these were original characters, I might’ve rated it a solid four—but with The Golden Girls at the center? It’s an easy five. I’m already counting down to the next one, and you can bet I’ll be getting the physical copy when it drops.

An excellent debut of a Golden Girls cozy that manages to capture the best of what GG fans loved, the interactions between the "girls". Pulling in the St Olaf characters let Rose shine as her innocent(?????,) interactions kept everyone on their toes. When Dorothy's dating site date face plants in the cheesecake, the race is on to keep the wedding party clueless. I'm looking forward to Courage's next episode of one of my favorite shows.

Yikes, this was not good. The Rose character was ridiculous. I think you need the charm of Betty White to pull her off. But, then again, the amount of St. Olaf references was so over-done and silly, that that might not even have helped.

This was the book I didn't know I needed. Murder mystery and the Golden Girls. It was such an enjoyable ride of a book.

For those of you that loved that Golden Girls, this was a great way to feel like you’re watching a new episode. There are many things in this novel that you can see- I absolutely loved imagining them creeping around places trying to solve a murder. Sophia was always my favorite on the show and her sass shines in this book.

**I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

The television show "The Golden Girls" receives a cozy mystery twist in this adventure by Courage. At its core, this is a nostalgic read for fans. For cozy mystery lovers, this provides a fun escape into 1980s Miami, with references to contemporary issues and social customs. While readers do not necessarily need a connection to the television show to enjoy this, knowledge of the show does help, as Courage references moments that take place at times during the series--from Blanche singing at the Rusty Anchor to Rose's various St. Olaf stories to the diner Wolfie's. And while this does not quite capture the magic of the show's dialogue, it comes close. There are exchanges between the ladies in the novel that are akin to the show and can make one think of the actresses reciting the lines. Humor and heartwarming friendship anchor the story line.

Much thanks to Courage for bringing Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia back to life for fans. Even forty years after it started its run on television, "The Golden Girls" remains a classic icon for friendship, camaraderie, and strong female role models. One can hope that another adventure with these ladies appears quickly; they make fun amateur sleuths.

#NetGalley #MurderByCheesecake

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Murder by Cheesecake is a delightful kickoff to what promises to be a charming cozy mystery series—especially for fans of The Golden Girls. If you already know and love the characters, the slower-paced introduction may feel like a bit of a rehash. Still, it’s worth it to see Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia step into sleuthing roles that suit them hilariously well. The mystery itself is solid, the cheesecake-related murder is peak cozy, and the St. Olaf subplot adds just the right amount of quirky fun. It’s not a perfect debut, but it’s better than most first-in-series books—and definitely one I’ll be following. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the Girls, this one’s a sweet (and silly) treat.

I wanted to like this book. I REALLY REALLY wanted to like it. I am such a huge Golden Girls fan. The characters felt off to me. They just didn't feel the same as the Girls we have all grown to love. The story was slow. Two stars because this is a Golden Girls book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue Books for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I love how The Golden Girls has been embraced by the same people who would have made fun of me if they knew I watched the show with my parents every week. I guess it was a guilty pleasure for a lot of Generation X that we never spoke about. 😉I started watching the show again for the first time in forever (on Hulu in the U.S.) and dived right into this cozy mystery at the same time.

The spirit of the characters is portrayed pretty well, Blanche’s southern belle, Rose’s sweet and naive Minnesotan, Sophia’s snarky retorts, and Dorothy’s dry sense of humor, it’s all there on the pages. I’m not going to rehash the synopsis above, but imagine The Golden Girls meets Murder, She Wrote’s Jessica Fletcher. Two comfort shows melded together into a lovely cozy mystery.

If there is one complaint, it’s that Murder by Cheesecake is light on mystery and more on the St. Olaf type of wedding that Rose is trying to host. There’s plenty of nostalgia for a world without cell phones and streaming, where the latest dating trend is choosing someone from a VHS tape. But just because the mystery is lacking, it sure was fun to travel to the past and revisit these characters.

I really wanted to love this. I should have loved this. The Golden Girls on paper and solving mysteries?? What's not to love?

The author did a nice job of capturing the time period and the personalities of our four main characters. They set off to plan a wedding for Rose's niece from St. Olaf and end up needing to solve an unfortunate murder. I was a little sad that Rose had a tendency to blame her friends when things went wrong. The Rose I remember wouldn't have been so quick to say, "It's all your fault!" to her three closest friends. But what really killed this book for me were the pages and pages of over-the-top St. Olaf wedding traditions. They were SO ridiculous that it quickly quit being funny and became something I was forced to wade through to get on with the mystery.

I thought the mystery was the best part of this book. It's too bad that so little of the book was focused on solving it. I would, however, consider reading book 2 if it focuses on someone else and doesn't bring in the entire town of St. Olaf into it.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing me with an advanced reader's copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I loved the Golden Girls TV show and with this book having their characters, it was a fun book. I laughed in several places. The author really got their personalities in this book. It was a well written book. I would definitely recommend this book.

Murder by Cheesecake brings back the 80s friend group from The Golden Girls. In the book, they plan a wedding, try to find a date for the wedding (and life in general), and solve a murder.

The jokes (and the sarcasm) are still as funny as ever. However, I did notice a few missed notes with the characters. Rose seemed even ditzier than in the series. I don’t recall Dorothy wearing a skirt even once during the show. Both Blanche, the sexpot, and Dorothy’s mom, Sophia, do seem exactly as I remember them from the television series all those years ago.

The story had a great start with Rose trying to stuff all the crazy St. Olaf traditions into a Miami wedding. However, it just goes on and on well past funny. I enjoyed the 80s references to items long forgotten that were ubiquitous during that decade. Video (tape) dating, indoor malls, big hair, freakishly large shoulder pads, and Ovaltine (cocoa that tasted like the iron it was fortified with) are just a few that I enjoyed. The mystery was easy to solve without many red herrings distracting the reader from the who benefits question of motive.

Overall, Murder by Cheesecake will be fun for Golden Girls fans or anyone who remembers the 1980s. It is light on mystery but humorous throughout. 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing me with an advanced review copy.