Murder by Cheesecake is a delightful cozy mystery packed with humor, intrigue, and just the right amount of trouble—reminiscent of the misadventures you'd expect from the Golden Girls. With a charming cast of characters, witty dialogue, and plenty of delicious desserts, this book keeps you entertained from start to finish. A perfect treat for fans of lighthearted mysteries!

I enjoyed this book but it did take me a bit to get into it. I could picture the characters from the golden girls while I was reading it.

This was a cute quick read, it was like watching a longer episode of the show. I feel like the author captured the characters (and all the St. Olaf references perfectly) It was a little more wedding focused than mystery but overall was fun and I enjoyed it! 3.5 stars!

“Tonight, on a very special episode of The Golden Girls…”

Rose wants to host her niece’s wedding, but wouldn’t you know it, Dorothy becomes the number one suspect in a murder at the wedding venue! Now, the best friends must clear Dorothy’s name and save St. Olaf wedding traditions all under the scrutiny of family and Miami detectives. (Not *those* Miami detectives)

What a kick. It’s like we’ve unearthed a lost, extended episode with the same ol’ broads we used to be friends with. Rose is still hilariously innocent with the sweetest heart, Dorothy is as sarcastic and level-headed as ever, Sophia continues to deliver her sharp one-liners, and Blanche is still after those romantic and steamy escapades.

The novel is mawkishly sentimental which is exactly what we expected and wanted.

Hat’s off to Rachel Ekstrom Courage for writing the gals' charms as close to their characters as possible.

If you like a cozy mystery and you miss The Golden Girls, this title is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the opportunity to read Murder by Cheesecake (A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery) by Rachel Ekstrom Courage in exchange for my honest review.

As a huge Golden Girls fan, the thought of our favorite ladies solving a mystery in Miami had me excited to dive into Murder by Cheesecake. The premise is fun—Dorothy’s disastrous date winds up dead in a hotel freezer, and the girls must solve the mystery while navigating an over-the-top St. Olaf–themed wedding. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite live up to the potential.

The biggest issue is that there is too much wedding and not enough murder. I understand it’s a cozy mystery, but you still need the mystery. The St. Olaf traditions, which are typically funny in small doses, became overwhelming. The mystery felt secondary, with the dead guy in the freezer almost an afterthought. This mystery veered too far into wedding chaos for me.

That said, the author absolutely nails the character voices. Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia are exactly as we remember them, full of wit, charm, and perfectly timed banter. You will hear their voices in your head as you read. The references to past episodes were a treat, making it feel like an extended episode of Golden Girls—for better or worse.

While parts of the book dragged with unnecessary description, it still worked as a lighthearted, nostalgic read. If you’re looking for a deep mystery, this won’t satisfy. But if you just want to spend some time with the girls, grab some coffee, tea, or even some cheesecake and enjoy the ride—just don’t expect a whole lot of detective work along the way.

If the Golden Girls could have a movie version, this had all the makings for that and I was all over it. The idea of taking those feisty seniors and their crazy combo of personalities helping Rose to plan a wedding for her young cousin with all the St Olaf traditions and then to throw in a dead man in a freezer full of Rose's cheesecakes who looks very much like the man Dorothy met on a blind date (which ended badly), was as crazy as they come!
When the St Olaf wedding venue burns to the ground, the wedding relocates to Florida where the groom is from and luckily the groom's family owns a high end hotel, perfect for the wedding. As Rose and the girls begin to follow up gathering all the traditional things to bring St Olaf to Miami, Dorothy decides to find a plus-1 for the wedding and uses a dating company which provides a VHS tape with recorded intros to men interested in meeting someone. Dorothy finds who she believes is a perfect match, and after a few phone calls, they meet up for a date at a local lunch spot but he seems very distracted and excuses himself to the restroom and never returns to the table. Understandably, Dorothy returns home feeling rejected and sad. The hustle-bustle of the wedding preps keeps her mind occupied until one morning, the girls go to the hotel to check on Rose's desserts and what do they find but Dorothy's date dead with his head in a cheesecake and a knife in his hand!! Because of Dorothy's connection to the deceased and the way her date ended, the cops consider her a person of interest and besides the wedding now occupying the girls' time and energy, clearing Dorothy's good name also fills their days as they defy the cops warnings of getting in the way and do some detective work for themselves.
There were some delightful moments in the story... Rose's crazy Norwegian, the wild traditions, the twists of the bride's inheritance and status within the St Olaf community, the banter between the roomies as the author did a great job keeping their personalities like the tv show. But for me, the story was too wedding heavy and not enough of the mystery of the man in the freezer. Since the title is Murder by Cheesecake, it should have been more of that and less of the wedding and all that went with it.
I liked the cover art and for fans of the 80s tv show, the book will provide some happy nostalgia.

I knew I needed to read Murder by Cheesecake as soon as I heard about it. The Golden Girls is my ultimate comfort show and this book captures the feeling of the show and its characters so well. Murder by Cheesecake is just the first in what I'm sure to be one of my new favorite series. This was just so fun and cozy. I'll be telling absolutely everyone about it.

A fun read! What I needed to continue my obsession with the Golden Girls. This is a must read for those who love cozy, sometimes funny murder mysteries. I loved that they kept the personalities true to the Golden Girls.

fun cozy mystery that has a little bit extra cozy and a little bit less mystery but is still definitely a vibe. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

The Golden Girls is one of my all time favorite shows. When I saw there was a cozy mystery being released with my favorite ladies, I knew I just had to try it. I loved it! Rachel did a fantastic job keep each ladies' individual personalities . A dead body in a freezer, Dorothy a suspect? Can the ladies figure out the truth while also helping Rose plan a traditional St Olaf wedding for a relative? A must read for fans!

Fine. The author nailed the characters voices, but having to articulate interior monologues is what dragged the mystery down.
I was a bit bummer that the wedding planning overshadowed the actual mystery. The mystery was simple enough to spot from a mile away so no surprises there.
I appreciate the inclusion of the recipe at the end.

Perfect cozy murder mystery. The author did a great job of capturing the essence of each Golden Girl. I'm very excited to see what's next in the series. Thank you for being a friend.

Rose Nylund's cousin Nettie is getting married to her fiancé Jason in a traditional St. Olaf ceremony. When the town's big wedding venue burns down, Rose offers to hold the festivities at Jason's family's hotel in Miami, with all the quirky rituals included. The celebration is thrown into chaos when a body is discovered in the hotel kitchen's walk-in freezer, and fingers are pointed at Rose's roommate Dorothy Zbornak. With the help of their roommate Blanche Devereaux and Dorothy's mother Sophia, Rose sets out to clear her friend's name and prevent the wedding from becoming a total disaster.

NetGalley had me at Golden Girls! I loved that show and its kooky cast of characters. This felt very much like fan fiction, with all of the silliness and warmth of the series captured in this novel. It's your run-of-the-mill cozy mystery with a murder that's not at all graphic and a lot of crazy circumstances that lead to the big reveal of "whodunnit" and why. There's plenty of late '80s/early '90s nostalgic cheese(cake), too.

Maybe it's because this is the first book in a series, but there was a lot of banter that felt unnecessary regarding the wedding, the characters' backgrounds, etc. It was a fun book, although I'm on the fence about whether I'll read future installments.

3.5 stars.

As a lover of the classic sitcom, I was so excited when #Netgalley approved me for a copy of this book! It was full of twists and turns, the perfect amount of mystery, a twist or two you didn't see coming, and above all, the importance of one's chosen family as well as actual family.

This book is just as it reads - a cozy mystery. It's about the Golden Girls tv show but it's a murder mystery. It still has all the funny fun loving characters from the show. The author kept them as true to the show and just as funny.
Rose's cousin is getting married and eloping in Miami but Rose wants her to have a traditional St. Olaf wedding so she plans one for her. Dorothy decides to find herself a date for the wedding so she signs up for a dating service and gets left at the restaurant by her date. As the weeklong wedding activities are planned and Rose is cooking and baking they bring the food to store in the hotel freezer only to find a dead body in the cheesecake. So begins adventure of the wedding preparations and the murder mystery all the girls have pitched in to help and solve a murder in addition.

I loved watching the Golden Girls tv show back in the day and this book really kept the characters true to the show. It was very nostalgic and I enjoyed taking a trip down memory lane with the ladies.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5

I ran to NetGalley for this ARC. I LOVE the Golden Girls and I was so excited to read this. I could’ve believe it. A cozy mystery series to bring my ladies back! But unfortunately it fell short.

The author did a great job of bringing the ladies back to live again but it just felt like an episode that would never end.

Rose’s antics were dragged out and I can only take so much of the St. Olaf drama. I mean, yes it’s funny, but it gets old quick because none of it makes sense.

Yes, I will be purchasing a physical copy to have on my shelf.
Yes, I am still recommending it to everyone who is around me.
Yes, I will be continuing the series.

I am just hoping that we get less St. Olaf in the next books 🫣😅

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage is an enjoyable read that blends a quirky premise with some light-hearted suspense. Why is this dude in the freezer? But what about the wedding? While the concept is fun, the execution falls a little short at times. The pacing feels uneven, with some moments dragging, and the characters, though charming, aren’t as developed as I would have liked. Still, if you’re looking for a light and easy read with a bit of intrigue, this book delivers just that.

Alright, I am a Golden Girls girlie through and through. I have so much Golden Girls STUFF, I usually get at least one more item to add to my collection each birthday and Christmas. I JUMPED at the chance to read this since it combines reading and GG, two of my favorite things. It did not disappoint. It was fun and felt exactly like it could have been an episode of the show. The ONLY thing that was hard for me and caused me to read this at a much slower pace than usual was basically envisioning each character saying the line as they would in the show. I'm so intimately familiar with the show and the characters and the house and the costuming, that it just took me longer to read because my mind was visually putting the pieces together the entire time. That said, definitely would recommend.

I absolutely loved this book! I've already ordered my special edition copy from Barnes and Noble because I can't wait to add it to my library. While reading, I felt completely immersed in the world of the Golden Girls and found myself reliving the magic of the show. It's a fantastic book!

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book since it was Golden Girls. I have to be honest, I did a large amount of skimming. I think the wedding planning was starting off great but there was just too much of it and not enough of the mystery. Another thing I had a tough time with was the fact that I felt like the need to prove the characters were the actual Golden Girls was just pushed a little too much. The jokes were spot on in the beginning but then just seemed to fall off. All in all, the book was good for a relaxing read if you’re stuck at home with nothing to do.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!