Book Talk | Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery

 The Golden Girls has to be one of my all-time favorite shows/sitcoms. I've been a viewer, probably since the womb and my little family and I are current;y watching it all the way through once a week-ish. It's a show that has, for the most-part, aged well with punchlines still hitting and the more serious subjects still ringing true today. My daughter has a few Golden Girls books on her bookshelf and now I can say the same for me. Here's my review of Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery.

About the Author 

Rachel Ekstrom Courage is the New York Times, USA Today, and American Booksellers Association bestselling author of Murder By Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery (Hyperion Avenue/Disney) and the Young Adult thriller Nothing Bad Happens Here (PRH/Delacorte). She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband (the children’s book author Nick Courage) and their family.

By day she’s the founder of Courage Literary, advocating for books and authors that make the world a better, smarter, and more interesting place. As a literary agent, Rachel has represented New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Best Sellers. Her clients include GoodReads Choice Award Winners, IndieNext Picks and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections as well as finalists for the Lambda Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and the ITW Thriller Award. 

 

About the Book 

Things are heating up, and not just because of Blanche’s hot flashes. Rose’s cousin is eloping to Miami, and Rose is playing host. If she can't balance the groom’s family’s snobbery against the traditional St. Olaf wedding week guidelines, her hometown may never accept her cousin again!

Dorothy quickly realizes she needs a date with whom she can exchange wedding-related wisecracks. Turning to a newfangled VHS dating service, she believes she’s found the ideal conversationalist. Unfortunately, what looks good on TV can actually be a total jerk in real life. It seems she’ll just have to enjoy the company of Sophia, Blanche, and whomever Blanche has targeted for a hookup.

As the Girls all pitch in, Rose is thrilled that the tea-and-fish-themed kickoff event is perfect, not a herring out of place. That is until Dorothy’s date is found dead—face-planted in an otherwise scrumptious-looking cheesecake. With every guest a suspect (especially Dorothy) and a marriage on the line, the four besties must ID the real killer, get the should-be-happy couple down the aisle, and make sure nobody from St. Olaf gets lost in the wilds of Miami. It’s up to the Golden Girls to sleuth out a way for friendship and love to win the day! 

 

Book Talk

Reading Murder by Cheesecake felt like stepping back in time and watching, in this case reading, a brand new episode of The Golden Girls. The beginning does feel like it starts off a little corny, but as we move through the story and get to the actual murder part, it feels like our author’s confidence in her characters grows with it.

Our author, Rachel, does a fabulous job of reintroducing us to our characters in book form, making their mannerisms and personalities come to life through the pages. I especially enjoyed getting to hear our characters’ inner thoughts, as that is not something they do all the time in shows. We get to really learn what the character is really feeling, and all the inner monologues felt genuine to our beloved girls. Everything was easy to picture, and not just because I’m an avid Golden Girls watcher, but because the author has a knack for painting the picture without overstating.

I loved that we got to see more of Miami through this book. I also loved that we got to see more of the people that Rose always talks about. We get to learn more about the interesting people from St. Olaf and their equally interesting wedding traditions.

Overall, fans of the Golden Girls will love this book. There was so much love and attention to detail that went into the book that I know the Golden Girl fandom will appreciate this book and any that come after. For those who aren’t Golden Girls fans, I don’t think this is the book for you, but if you like cozy mysteries, maybe. The author doesn’t go into much of the background of the girls, which is fine if you are familiar with the show, but if you’re not, then I’d say skip, but admire from afar.

Until next time, Happy Reading!