If you’ve ever wished for The Golden Girls to star in their own cozy mystery, Murder by Cheesecake is the perfect treat. This hilarious and charming whodunit brings Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia back to life with their signature wit, sass, and an unfortunate case of murder-by-dessert.

The story kicks off when Dorothy’s terrible date turns up dead—face-down in a cheesecake—threatening to ruin both a wedding and a perfectly good dessert. Rose is juggling a high-pressure St. Olaf-themed wedding, Blanche is dealing with her usual romantic entanglements (and hot flashes), and Sophia, well… she’s just along for the chaos. With suspects everywhere and Dorothy under suspicion, the Girls take matters into their own hands to catch the killer.

Courage absolutely nails the humor and dynamic of the original show, making this mystery feel like an extended Golden Girls episode with a side of intrigue. The pacing is light and fun, the mystery keeps you guessing, and the banter is spot-on. Whether you’re a die-hard Golden Girls fan or just love a good cozy mystery, this book is a total delight.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, grab a slice of (hopefully murder-free) cheesecake, and enjoy this nostalgic, laugh-out-loud mystery. I can’t wait for the next one!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Murder by Cheesecake is the first novel in the Golden Girls Cozy Mystery Series and it’s everything I didn’t know I needed! From the hilarious dynamic between Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia to the quirky twists in the murder mystery, this story was such a fun escape. It brought back all the best moments of the beloved show, and it was a treat to see these iconic characters coming off the page in a fresh new way.

As someone who grew up watching The Golden Girls on reruns, it was such a blast to hear their voices and antics in this cozy mystery setting. The banter between them was as sharp as ever—whether it was Dorothy’s sarcastic remarks, Blanche’s flirtations, or Rose’s innocent humor.

The story itself was lighthearted yet filled with plenty of intrigue. I had a great time reading it and couldn’t help but chuckle at the antics of the Golden Girls as they navigated the mystery. It's a cozy, heartwarming read.

Thanks to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the ARC!

I love the Golden Girls. I use to watch it so much growing up and I still do at times. So when I seen this book, I got to excited! I liked the premise and how it started out. But I found myself getting bored with it pretty fast. It was hard to keep picking it up to read. This just wasn’t for me.

I want to thank NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue; an imprint of Buena Vista Books for the ARC of Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Murder Mystery by Rachel Ekstrom Courage in exchange for an honest review. -

Rose is planning a wedding for her Niece, Nettie in Miami Florida. All the St. Olaf traditions will be in place. During one of the many St. Olaf celebrations, a man is found dead in the freezer of the hotel. Can the girls solve the murder in time before it ruins the wedding?

What a cozy fun murder mystery story! Being a longtime fan of the Golden Girls television show, I was very excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint! The funny quips that the girls had in the television show translated seamlessly well into the story and I found myself laughing out loud. You can picture the girls sitting in the kitchen talking just like the television show with their banter and sarcasm. A great read for people who love the Golden Girls or anyone who likes a cozy murder mystery. My only problem with the book was I read it too fast! I just hope there are more stories to come.

This hit the cozy mystery spot perfectly. Oh, Rose! It was like watching an episode of Golden Girls play out in my head. Loved it! The essence of all four women came through.

Everything I hoped it would be and more! Perfectly captures the Girls' voices, the show's comedic vibes, and the pastel-tinged Miami of the 80s. I hope we get a million more books in this series!

If you absolutely love and adore the Golden Girls, you will love this story. Unfortunately for me, I am not as well versed with the golden girls so I found this story difficult to follow. The plot felt clunky at times and not progressing. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The first in a new cozy mystery about The Golden Girls.
🍰
Dorothy dips her toe back into the dating world again only to have her obnoxious date end up dead in a hotel freezer. Now the Girls must handle wedding preparations for Rose’s cousin, while also trying to figure out who would kill Dorothy’s date and ruin a perfectly good cheesecake in the process.
🍰
I’m not much for the cozies, but this was adorable for fans of The Golden Girls TV show. It’s set in the 80s, just like the show was, and the characters were spot on from Rose’s naïveté to Blanche’s promiscuity to Sophia’s wit to Dorothy’s sharp tongue. It took me back to the GG days of my youth! This is the first in a series and I’ll be reading more! This book releases April 15!

CW: death, murder, violence, kidnapping, abandonment, misogyny, fire, alcohol, injury

If you enjoyed watching the Golden Girls on television, then you will enjoy reading their zany antics in this book. From murder, to kidnapping and nefarious characters, the Golden Girls were led on a merry chase to get the niece of Rose to the altar. Thank you Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue Publishers for a copy of this cozy mystery. I voluntarily read and reviewed this enjoyable new series.

Every page is a delight.

Murder by Cheesecake reminds me of why I fell in love with reading.

Filled with heart-warming banter and over-the-top silly St. Olaf traditions that kept me laughing and feeling good about being alive.

Wonderful wonderful. My only question is when will we see the next one?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this read!

This one was a really fast read for me. Great for a Saturday or Sunday read.

Enjoyed it and would recommend.

Four stars.

I wanted to love this. It just fell flat for me. As a lifelong lover of the golden girls. I was bored by the read. I had to DNF 20% in.

I started watching Golden Girls when it originally aired. I was a teenager babysitting on Saturday nights, looking for something to watch after the kids were in bed. My fascination for the girls continued, serving as a comfort show to watch and rewatch over the years. Murder by Cheesecake did not disappoint. From the first words on the page, it brought the characters and era to life--from cheesecake to St. Olaf, this book was true to the original Golden Girls.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this before publishing date. I was so excited to read a golden girls book but I will say this was just ok. It was fun and funny and points but it was hard for me to binge read it. Took a long time to get through it. Still cute and fun to hear more of these characters stories.

Murder by Cheesecake had all the makings of a cozy, nostalgic read, but unfortunately, that’s about where it ended for me. I loved being back in Miami with a Golden Girls-inspired setting, but the actual murder mystery took a backseat to an overload of other details. Instead of diving into a compelling whodunit, the book spent too much time on side plots and filler, leaving the mystery itself feeling underdeveloped. While the nostalgia factor was fun, it wasn’t enough to carry the story. I wanted more intrigue and less distraction.

Okay …this was exactly like an episode of Golden Girls, but longer. Lol. A cozy mystery where Dorothy’s obnoxious boyfriend is found dead, in a hotel freezer. We get to read about how Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia work together to try and solve the mystery of who the murderer is. The author really got these characters down pat, that's for sure. It started out so enjoyable and funny. But it started to fizzle out as I got more into it. I was wanting more mystery and less about the wedding that was taking place. Either way, I found it to still be entertaining and do think I will for sure be picking up the next in the series. I mean, the GG just make me laugh, and sometimes it's just what hits the mark when you need to escape the crazy world out there.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I feel like the author nailed the personalities of each of the Golden Girls and the plot was just as fun as any episode. Definitely recommend for any fans of the show

Murder by Cheesecake is a quippy murder mystery where our favorite Golden Girls find themselves caught in the chaos of a St. Olaf wedding—plus a murder, to wit!

As a lifelong fan of our Miami ladies, I thought this book would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite my plate of cheesecake. The dialogue pacing felt off at times; more than once, I found myself flipping back to make sure I hadn’t skipped a page. Some scenes dragged on, while others jumped abruptly from calm conversations to exaggerated outbursts. The author also leaned heavily on Golden Girls references—sometimes to the point of excess. What I always loved about the show was how naturally the humor flowed, with witty remarks sprinkled in at just the right moments. Here, it sometimes felt forced.

That said, the scene-building was fantastic—I could picture the ladies' house as if I were watching an old episode. And when the humor landed, it really landed. Fans of the show will appreciate the nostalgic charm, but the comedy doesn’t need to be so overdone to hit home. The heart of the idea is there, but for me, it just missed the mark.

As a huge Golden Girls fan, I was thrilled to learn of this book's existence. It felt like running across an entire episode I had somehow missed after years of binging reruns. I have to give major props to the author, who brought Bea, Rue, Betty, and Estelle back to life by perfectly capturing the voices of their characters and for reproducing the essence of the show's voice and setting. I even found myself laughing out loud at many of Sophia's on brand quips.

Anyone who knows the Golden Girls knows they are no strangers to amateur sleuthing (The Case of the Libertine Belle anyone?), so dropping them into a cozy mystery makes perfect sense. I enjoyed the fish out of water vibes of Rose's entire St. Olaf family in Miami (even if most of them were extremely harsh on poor Rose). Dorothy's inner struggle with her dating insecurities also resonated, and I felt for her when it all went south. My one minor qualm was that it took a little longer than I would have liked to get into the mystery itself, but that's a very minor issue when you get to spend more time with beloved characters. I look forward to the rest of the series and hopefully getting a mystery where Blanche is front and center next time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

I just loved this book from start to finish. I loved being able to hear their voices in my head while I read along. Golden Girls was a childhood favorite of mine and my mom's to watch together. It's definitely a classic. But this storyline was fantastic. I knew something was off from the beginning and I definitely didn't see the end coming. This book kept me wanting to read more all of the way through. This for sure needs to go on your TBR for this year!