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!
Murder By Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage is the first in a line of Golden Girls cozy mysteries. It will be published April 15, 2025. Hyperion Avenue provided an early galley for review.
I was a big fan of the Golden Girls sitcom (would watch it with my grandmother). So, when I saw this title I felt I had to check it out.
That is not to say this book isn't without its challenges. For a cozy mystery, the mystery needs to be central to the plot. This one is, sort of, in that a vague connection between the victim and Dorothy exists. This should be a priority but takes a backseat to all of the wedding chaos (which adds in a rom-com element to the story). It is not to say that these two elements mixing can't make a good working story, but then mixing in the most identifiable element - known and established sit-com characters - then it just is juggling too much and failing to give each the proper care they need.
As someone who dabbled in fan-fiction circles for years, I know that character voice is key. Of the four characters, Courage seems to have the best ear down with Sophia and Blanche. Her Rose and Dorothy, however, very often stray from the mark. And is the challenge as those two are the primary drivers of the plot. There are hundreds of hours of the show for comparison of the mainstay cast, and this show was written by some of the masters of the medium (like Susan Harris).
The character recognition will pull in the eyeballs. The story may or may not satisfy them though.
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