4.00 stars
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This was such a fun read! If you're a Golden Girls fan this would be the perfect book for you, the author does an amazing job at portraying characters we all know and love. There's so much banter and witty jabs in the conversations, it made me fall in love with these girls all over again!

In Murder by Cheesecake, Rose is tasked with planning the wedding (including several St. Olaf) traditions for her cousin Nettie's big day. Everything is going as swimmingly as possible, that is, until a body is found dead in the hotel freezer. To make matters worse? Dorothy recognizes it to be the man she went on a date with a few days ago - making her a prime suspect.

I was cackling while reading, I can only imagine the group getting up to their antics while trying to solve the murder all while trying to prove Dorothy's innocence. If you're looking for a solid mystery, you may not find it here, but I think the characters make up for it. I can't wait to continue on with this series, and I hope that the others bring just as many nostalgic vibes as this one did.
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I would like to thank Hyperion Avenue, Rachel Ekstrom Courage, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Murder by Cheesecake in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions formulated are my own. Murder by Cheesecake is scheduled to be published on April 15th, 2025. You can pre-order your copy today.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this cozy Golden Girls themed mystery. Many times I was reading it, it took me back to a specific episode and mixed right in seamlessly with the show. The characters were accurately portrayed and the murder mystery theme was perfect! Highly recommend if you are a Golden Girls fan!

2.75

This cozy murder mystery brings together two of life’s greatest joys: cheesecake and Golden Girls. As a fan of true crime and the sassiest seniors on TV, I was SO pumped to get my hands on this ARC. But alas, like a cheesecake left out in the sun, this one didn’t quite set.

The premise: Rose’s niece is getting married, and in the midst of planning the nuptials, a dead body turns up in a freezer full of cheesecake. Unfortunately, what starts as a promising whodunit turns into a plodding tale that’s heavy on St. Olaf folklore and light on the actual crime-solving.

Let me be clear: I love Rose and her quirky St. Olaf stories as much as anyone, but by the 57th recounting of Scandinavian wedding rituals, I felt like I was in a hostage situation. Meanwhile, the murder itself was treated like a party guest no one invited—barely acknowledged and shoved to the back. Murder She Wrote this was not.

And for a book that drags through 90% of its runtime, the ending felt like it came hurtling at me like a pie to the face. One minute, I’m drowning in filler; the next, the mystery’s wrapped up with all the care of Blanche shoving her latest date out the door before dawn. Bye y’all!

That said, I do think there’s potential here, tighter editing and a better balance of murder-to-wedding ratios, this could be a delightful series. I’ll keep an eye out for book two and hope the kinks get worked out.

Final grade: C-, not enough murder or cheesecake

Giving it a 2.5 out of 5. I really wanted to love this book more than I did! It’s funny and easy to read, and the characters are very wholesome. However, I just felt like it took too long for the main characters to decide they were even going to solve the murder (~40% in) and so many side characters were just so cruel to Rose it made I the story even less believable than it was to start. It was also kind of difficult to understand how the 4 women were related or their age differences. Overall it was a cute story but I don’t think I’d necessarily recommend it to anyone over other murder mysteries.

I started off the new year by reading what is allegedly book one in a series featuring that delightful quartet of women of a certain age from the 80s sitcom, namely, the Golden Girls. The book is called Murder By Cheesecake and was written by Rachel Ekstrom Courage. To be honest, when I requested this book from NetGalley, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. While The Golden Girls television show still holds up even today, I wasn’t quite so sure that would translate into book form. Surprisingly and happily, it does, and quite well.

The author has perfectly captured each one of the delightful ladies in fine fashion. In the doing, she also provides us with a solid mystery, making this book enjoyable reading from beginning to end.

The story surrounds Rose’s niece, Nellie, and her upcoming nuptials to her outsider husband, Jason, who is far more interested in keeping to the St. Olaf traditions than is Nellie, all of which need to be done in proper St. Olaf fashion in order for her and her future husband to inherit the trust they deserve. They journey to Miami for the nuptials and Rose’s help in making sure that everything goes smoothly. Anyone who has watched this series can imagine that much comedy ensues in the process, while trying to rustle up herring, a donkey, a clown for the bridal shower…I’ll let your imagination run wild from there.

Meanwhile, Dorothy, who has found her ideal match online ends up becoming a suspect in his murder when he is found in the freezer face down in the cheesecake. It takes all of the girls much time and effort to make sure that not only the wedding comes off smoothly, and Nellie becomes hitched to her beloved Jason, but also to ensure that Dorothy is no longer a suspect in the murder of her one time date.

In addition to a fun story and solid mystery, there’s even a recipe for cheesecake at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A bit of lighthearted mystery and revisit to Miami was just what I needed.

Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this delightful book

I was truly looking forward to reliving the days of the Golden Girls with this quirky little novel called "Murder by Cheesecake". The author did a pretty good job of maintaining the idiocyncracies of the characters. The story, however, seemed to fall flat for me. There was a lot going on with the wedding and the odd traditions of Rose's family, along with a murder. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. I received a copy for free and I give this review voluntarily.

Nailed it!

Wow, this was a wonderful read. I grew up watching the Golden Girls and this really captured the characters, friendship, and heart of the show.. I felt like I was right back in the 80s watching this with my grandma. An absolute must read Golden Girls and cozy mysteries.

My goodness I love these girls. 😍 This book was funny, it had cozy spooky vibes, and it perfectly captured the girls personalities! I really enjoyed reading this one and visiting americas grandmas in Miami again. 🥰☀️

Are you a Golden Girls Junkie like me? Socks, mugs… t-shirts? Well if you are then this is for you. Thank goodness this book came to me in December the month that the Hallmark Channel decides to punish us fans and remove it from circulation, so I was still able to have my girls with me and keep me sane amid the holiday season.
My favorite part of the book, not only from the description of outfits, to playful witty banter was Roses family and bizarre storyline that was ultimately so heartwarming. I can’t wait to share this story with friends…. Stay Golden People

Murder by Cheesecake was so fun! It combined by favorite comfort show with a cozy murder mystery! If you routinely sing the GG theme song to yourself you need this book!

As a HUGE fan on the Golden Girls and cozy mysteries, I knew I had to read Murder by Cheesecake and I'm so happy I did. I laughed out loud so much reading this it felt like I was actually watching the show! The author did a great job writing this book. Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a fun cozy mystery about the Golden Girls solving a crime so Rose's cousin's wedding could happen without any issues. Of course that doesn't happen and the girls find themselves in various situations around town. It was like a little Golden Girls movie. The banter between Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia is great and sounds just like them. There were funny parts, some shady characters, friendship and cheesecake.
I'd recommend this to Golden Girls fans, fans of cozy mysteries and fans of the author. It comes out in April of 2025.
I received a copy of this for free from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am a HUGE fan of the Golden Girls. I loved the show when I was little, even though I didn't get any of the jokes, and I love it even more now that I do. There is just something about those ladies that pulled me in from the very first episode I ever saw. When the seasons first came out on DVD I didn't have cable so I bought season 1 and watched it on repeat until season 2 came out, etc. I've got Golden Girls magnets, fake drivers licenses, I've crocheted the characters, I've won every Golden Girls trivia contest I've entered, and I've seen the live play and gotten a backstage pass to meet the actors and get their autographs and photos.

All that being said, when I picked up this book I knew I would either love it or hate it, there could be no in between. Well... I loved it! Throughout the book I was constantly picking up references to episodes and I could just see the characters as I was reading. The author did her homework and this book really stayed true to the characters and plot lines of the show. Kudos!!! [Clapping enthusiastically]

Rose's niece, Nellie, has come to Miami to get married. While Nellie isn't really into the traditional St. Olaf ways, her outsider husband, Jason, is ALL IN. While Rose is scrambling to fit every bit of St. Olaf culture into the wedding ceremonies, Dorothy goes on a date with a mysterious man she met through a dating service. When that man ends up dead in the cheesecake at the hotel, Dorothy is suspect number one. Can the girls investigate the murder and clear Dorothy's name, and still pull of the wedding in such a way that qualifies the newlyweds to collect Nellie's inheritance?

This wild Miami romp is everything a cozy mystery fan desires and everything a Golden Girls aficionado could dream of! A must read for anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries and anyone who loves Golden Girls!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

As a GG fan, I was so excited about this one! What a fun, cozy little must read for anyone who loves the Fab Four! ❤️😍

This book follows the four Miami friends who now find themselves mixed up in murder, with Dorothy being the primary suspect. The book follows the television show faithfully in the conversations, how each of the women talk, dress and their love of cheesecake. The mystery is well written, couched in the red herrings of a St. Olaf wedding taking place in Miami. I enjoyed this book and look forward to what lies ahead in the series. I hope the author goes beyond what we know about these characters and gives them new dimensions.
I was given an advanced copy of this book in return for a review.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I found the characters to be more caricatures than anything else. The storyline felt almost like an SNL-esque skit making fun of Rose and her hometown. I really wanted to like the story because I loved Golden Girls, but this just fell flat for me.

While obviously this is about the golden girls from the beloved tv show; I have actually never watched an ep. That being said I was not the tended audience for this book so others who are may love it. For me there was so much prior character knowledge needed that I was so utterly lost for the majority of the story. The plot line and mystery were cute but the pacing was way off (again, could be a me thing)

Cute and cozy mystery with all the wit and banter of the Golden Girls. This book captured their personalities perfectly.

One thing I didn’t love was the writing style. There were several times I just skimmed over what was happening because of this.

Thank you to Rachel Ekstrom Courage, NetGalley, and Hyperion Avenue for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book free from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I am a huge fan of The Golden Girls so I was really excited to read this one. I’ll be honest though, cozy mystery is not really my genre.

The author did a great job capturing the voices and humor of the four ladies. It felt like watching an episode. There were many funny one liners and quips. The characterization of each lady was spot on.

However, I felt that the plot could’ve been a bit tighter. Also, I know this is an uncorrected proof ARC, but there were many typos and errors, such as spelling characters’ names wrong and repeating the same sentence twice with slightly different wording.

In the end, I would recommend this book to fans of the show! ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Oh friends, many parts of this book reads just like an episode from the great tv show. Here’s a snippet of the plot…..Dorothy joins a dating service, goes on her date and he ends up dead at Rose’s kinfolks wedding. I won’t spoil it for you, but fans of the show will love this.