I will not be adding this to my online review, but this book needs a serious copy edit. There are multiple instances where words are run together and several places where proper names are not capitalized. Additionally, there was one section of the book where Nettie called Rose to say her wedding dress was missing from the room. Rose promised to be there the next morning to help find it, but then the matter was not addressed again until almost the end of the book when the person who took it made a comment. This felt like a loose end. for most of the book. I will post the info below on Goodreads.

Murder By Cheesecake is a book based on the characters from the Golden Girls television program. The author did a great job with these women, maintaining the characters as all fans of the show knew them. I could almost hear the voices of the actors saying the words. The rhythm and tone felt completely true to them.

Rose is beyond excited at the prospect of the cousin she helped raise getting married. Rose has talked her into getting married in Miami when she learns the venue in St. Olaf has burned down. Of course St. Olaf has a multitude of unusual customs that must be followed for the young couple to live happily ever after in St. Olaf. Rose is determined to ensure this wedding is conducted following all of them! Upon learning that the prospective groom is a local Miami boy whose parents own a hotel, Rose is sure everything will be perfect and it is, right up until they find the dead body in the freezer where Rose's Welcome Tea cheesecakes are stored. Craziness ensues as Dorothy becomes the prime suspect the they all do everything possible to both investigate the crime to clear Dorothy's name and make certain the young couple has a wedding to remember.

The plot moved along, dragged down only a bit by the many customs of a St. Olaf wedding. I enjoyed the appeal of a Miami I have never visited, only seen on television and in movies, harkening back to the days of Miami Vice and Golden Girls. Additional nostalgia was provided by the midwestern folks from Rose's hometown visiting such an exotic locale for the first time. For anyone who experienced hosting company and trying to show off your town at it's best, this story provided more than a few laughs. I did determine who the perpetrator was fairly early on in the story, but questioned myself a few times before arriving at the confession. I have to say the big twist came as a complete surprise and here's hoping Nettie, Jason, the Golden Girls and all of the folks visiting from St. Olaf get their happy ever after!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy I was freely provided in exchange for my honest review.

Golden Girls Cozy Mystery--Need I say more?! Roses niece is getting married but after an accident with the venue the only option is a Miami Destination wedding for the Entire St. Olaf Community! But after a body is found the morning of the first pre-wedding events, it's up to our favorite leading ladies to solve the crime to before the wedding!
It was everything I wanted & more! kept me giggling at all the antics & banter. If you loved Golden Girls you will definitely love this one!

okay but the dedication at the beginning already had me in tears 🥹
This book was everything!! I had such a fun time with it and it was a breeze to get through! I loved the references to the OG show as well, it’s clear the author is a hardcore fan!! I can’t wait to read the next one!
Thank you to Hyperion Avenue for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love my Girls so much that I requested this ARC so fast. Sadly this book was just fine. I felt this wasn’t so much a mystery book than Rose being overwhelmed planning a wedding book. Most cozy mysteries clock in at 200 pages, and this book would have benefited by cutting out 100 pages of St Olaf wedding traditions. I will keep reading this series because it’s Golden Girls but this book didn’t quite hit for me.

I’ve only seen a few Golden Girls episodes, but Murder by Cheesecake was a fun cozy mystery. The characters’ personalities and witty quips shine just like on the show. Fans will love it, but it’s a treat for casual viewers too!

Such a fun story! I love that the Golden Girls make a comeback in a story. I felt like I was reading the script of a new episode. Can the Girls solve the murder and save the wedding? Lots of fun twists and turns in this story. And of course - lots of cheesecake!

I grew up watching the golden girls so I was really excited to see this book. The characters traits were kept true to the show and that made me really happy. I enjoyed the comedy and it just felt like a really fun cozy mystery with old friends that I grew up with!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read an arc of Murder by Cheesecake.
Being an arc there were some errors: no spacing between words or extra words added to the sentence that made it not make sense.
I really feel as if the author did a fantastic job with the characters. She really captured their personalities. I did feel as if rose was a little more smarter than how she was portrayed in the tv series. She didn’t really come off as the blonde ditz we all know and love.
Also I’m not sure if being a cozy mystery made it where some of the nicknames Sophia gave the girls couldn’t be written because of it being a cozy mystery. Like the nickname ( Dorthy) pussycat or ( Blanche) tramp.
The banter between Sophia, Blanche, Rose, and Dorthy was spot on! Reading this really gave you a nostalgic feeling!
Murder By Cheesecake I felt focused on Rosa and Dorthy more so I’m hoping next book we see more Sophia and Blanche.

Love how the characters remain true to the way they are portrayed in the TV series. The St. Olaf' wedding
traditions that Rose revealed reminded me of all the St Olaf stories the girls endured in the series
No matter what happens, they have each other's back.
#MurderByCheesecake #HyperionAvenue #NetGalley

🍪 Rating: 5 Stars (Honestly, can I just give it a Michelin star at this point?)

🧁 Praise: Well, well, well. Look what we have here—a book that managed to roll everything I love into one delicious murder mystery soufflé. Golden Girls? Check. Cozy mystery? Check. Sharp wit and sass? DOUBLE CHECK. Honestly, I don’t know how the author pulled this off, but it feels like she held a séance and summoned Rue, Estelle, Betty, and Bea to ghostwrite this masterpiece. Someone give her a medal.

📖 The Story: I requested this book thinking, “Sure, why not?”—and let me tell you, I was NOT READY for the comedic genius and nostalgia bomb it delivered. It’s as if Rachel took the iconic dialogue from the best show ever created and dropped it into a murder mystery blender. Every chapter served Golden Girls realness with a side of deadly intrigue. Oh, and the plot? Mwah! Chef’s kiss.

🍨 Extra Details: The mystery was clever, but nope—this one got me. I didn’t figure out the murderer until the big reveal, and when I did? Jaw. On. The. Floor.

Bottom line: This book was an absolute BLAST. If you’re not reading this series, are you even living? I will devour every sequel that comes out from this series. Bring on book two, three, or a million—I’ll be here, cheesecake in hand, ready for more snark, sass, and murder. 🖤

I really wanted to love this book, but was quite disappointed. Most of the time it felt more like a summary of an episode than a novel. And while the characters were true to the show, it felt like we were being hit over the head with their personality stereotypes (especially Rose as St. Olafian traditions were a huge part of the book, but not actually a plot driver in anyway). It might be a fun walk down memory lane for fans of the show, but it's not a series I'll continue to read.

This book is exactly what you expect it to be! This first book in a series mainly centers on Rose as she plans her niece's wedding with all of the crucial St. Olaf traditions when suddenly a dead body is found in a freezer of a hotel amid the cheesecake. Even worse the man has just recently been on a date with Dorothy!

Positives:
Perfect nostalgia of our Golden GIrls
The dialogue works well with the characters we know and love. The author did a great job of capturing their identities.
Great mix of humor and charm
Great cover

Negatives:
Only that it probably could have been a bit shorter.

I will definitely be buying a hard copy of this book and reading the rest in the series.

This book was cute and cozy. It definitely felt like a golden girls episode. The descriptions of clothes and Miami scenes really helped make the book well written!

Someone had a great idea—bring back the sassy ladies from an eighties TV show that still has a big fan base and have them solve mysteries like the seniors from the popular Thursday Murder Club. Rose’s young cousin Nettie and her fiancé Jason are going to elope, which means there will be no St. Olaf wedding traditions. When Rose learns that Jason is from Miami, she offers to plan the wedding, including all of the unique pre-wedding traditions. Unfortunately, there is a murder, and Dorothy is a prime suspect. Will the St. Olaf traditions fall by the wayside as Jason’s snobbish parents, who own the hotel that is hosting the out of town guests at no charge, try to take over? Will Dorothy’s name be cleared? The author has a very good knowledge of the characters, offers us lots of great eighties references, and provides an entertaining read for fans of the series. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you for the ARC copy!

I’m a huge Golden Girls fan, have seen every episode multiple times, to the point I can quote every episode almost word for word 😂

With that being said, I did enjoy this story and felt the author overall got the feel for the characters of the show. I felt the story could’ve been shorter with the same affect. There were a lot of references to things that happened in the show, but a few were incorrect.

I think any GG will enjoy reading this!

The Golden Girls have been a part of me for pretty much my whole life. As an 80's baby, I spent many weekends with my grandmother and together we would watch The Golden Girls. Obviously I didn't grasp a lot of the humor until I was older, but they have remained a constant source of comfort through the years.

I was thrilled to find out this book exists and felt like it was written for fans like me. It was like an extended episode fit to page and the author really captured the nuances of each character. The murder took somewhat of a backseat to the wedding plot, but I enjoyed the St. Olaf wedding traditions. A couple of decent twists were thrown in for good measure. Overall this was a charming read and I would absolutely recommend it to fans of the show. I look forward to the next slice of cheesecake in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for being a friend and for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Picture it: Miami. 1986. It was time for a wedding, St. Olaf style and Rose is planning it. The problem? A body was found in a freezer full of cheesecake and Dorothy Zbornak is the prime suspect! Could there EVER be a better premise for a cozy mystery? Not a chance? I spent far too many evenings as a little girl in the 80s and early 90s watching Golden Girls and really haven’t stopped watching the show since. I’m a lifelong fan. And I read cozy mysteries constantly, so when I heard of this book, and then got approved, I audibly gasped, and LET ME TELL YOU: I loved it, Pussycat! I love everything about it. I want to spare the details. I want to spare spoilers. I have one critique: just one that keeps it from being a 5 star:

We didn’t get to the girls deciding to be sleuths until we were 50% into the book. The majority of the first half of the book was spent with Rose planning the wedding, which was so fun because I love the characters and I’m familiar with them. But with book 2, I would love to see these sleuthing start so much sooner.

I highly recommend!!! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hyperion for this ARC! 4.5 stars

Murder by Cheesecake (Golden Girls Cozy Mystery #1) by Rachel Ekstrom Courage is a cozy mystery that is based on the characters of one of my all-time favorite TV shows - The Golden Girls.

The author is obviously a fan of the show and includes nuggets from the TV show as well as references to events from the TV show that fans will recognize. She has captured the voices of each of the Girls and I could hear their delivery as I read the book. There are also plenty of 80s references to other TV shows and products sprinkled throughout the book

Thank you Hyperion Avenue for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Super fun tie with with the Golden Girls! Not the biggest mystery out there but it was like hanging out with some of my Grandma's old friends! Entertaining and fun - all I can ask for in a book!

I will admit right away that I've watched some Golden Girls episodes, enough to know who the characters are but have little of the in-depth knowledge. I thought it was intriguing that an author was chosen to write books based on a popular tv show. I'm a reader much, much more than a show watcher.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher through Net-Galley. It was a quick read for me. I could easily visualize the characters, 'hear their voices' and imagine facial expressions as I read the book. It was like a longer story that a one episode viewing. I liked that idea. The author had the characters down pat. She caught Sophias quips, Blanche's flirty ways, Dorothy's reaction to unexpected trouble and Rose's heart for St. Olaf. The cheesecake recipe was a sweet bonus.
The story itself was just ok. I think it needed a little more explanation as to why Gustave was being so contrary. The actual mystery, well, the wedding details did kind of push it into the background.
I am sure true fans will be happy! I give it a 3.5 rating.