Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery

by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Have your cake and eat it too when amateur sleuthing meets The Golden Girls in this quirky murder mystery. Adding a twist to their usual antics, Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia deliver plenty of laughs, surprises and everything we missed from the TV show.

The first novel in the all-new Golden Girls Cozy Mystery Series!

When Dorothy’s obnoxious date is found dead in a hotel freezer, it not only ruins a gorgeous cheesecake but threatens the elaborate St. Olaf–themed wedding Rose is hosting.

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!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368102988
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/15/2025
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Rachel Ekstrom Courage is a writer and cheesecake enthusiast who lives in Pittsburgh with her husband (the children’s book author Nick Courage) and their dog, Chaely. A literary agent by day, she’s worked in the publishing industry for over two decades—with some of the world’s most beloved mystery authors—and is the co-founder of Littsburgh, a literary community in Western Pennsylvania.

rachelekstromcourage.com
Instagram: @rachelekstromcourage
Substack: @rachelekstromcourage

Editorial Reviews

02/10/2025

Literary agent Courage (Nothing Bad Happens Here) kicks off a new series with this breezy whodunit featuring characters from The Golden Girls. When Rose Nylund’s niece decides to hold her wedding in Miami, the eager to please Midwesterner’s Norwegian American family descends on Florida, spiking Rose’s anxiety. Rose and her friends soon find they have bigger herring to fry, however, when hard-nosed Dorothy Zbornak is arrested at the bridal shower after a man she met through a VHS dating service is found dead with his face down in a cheesecake. Horrified, Rose enlists Southern belle Blanche and Dorothy’s mother, Sophia, to help clear Dorothy’s name, while trying to keep the wedding plans more or less on track. Courage splendidly captures the voices and mannerisms of her much-loved characters, and wisely resists the impulse to modernize the show’s 1980s Miami setting. For Golden Girls fans, this is a nostalgic delight. Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

“[A] breezy whodunit … Courage splendidly captures the voices and mannerisms of her much-loved characters, and wisely resists the impulse to modernize the show’s 1980s Miami setting. For Golden Girls fans, this is a nostalgic delight.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Murder by Cheesecake is a nostalgic, fast-paced and hilarious escape. An absolute delight!”
—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of Love and Other Words

“Murder by Cheesecake is the real deal. It takes guts and serious talent to write jokes worthy of Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia, and author Rachel Ekstrom Courage has the goods.”
—The Audible Editors, an Editors Select pick

“It's murder most witty as the Golden Girls sleuth, spar and support one another in their irrepressible style. This escape to 80's Miami, complete with teal, coral, breezy palms and shoulder pads, contains more red herrings than a St. Olaf wedding. Will young love triumph? Will justice be served, Everglades-style? Will Sophia take off her compression hose? You'll love—and laugh—with every page-turning moment.”
—Julia Spencer-Fleming, New York Times bestselling author of At Midnight Comes the Cry

"If you were a big fan of The Golden Girls, as I was, you’ll relish this chance to join them again for this lighthearted caper.”
—Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child

“Murder by Cheesecake shows the Golden Girls at their best: being true friends—and having fun at any age!”
—Nancy Martin, bestselling author of Some Like It Lethal

“[A] sparkling cozy. . . Humor, plot twists, convincing portrayals of the Golden Girls, and the Miami setting add up to a satisfying cozy that will be relished by Golden Girls fans.”
—Booklist

“If you are a Golden Girls fan, even a casual fan, or if you are a fan of cozy mysteries like Murder She Wrote, The Maid, or Thursday Murder Club—Murder by Cheesecake is for you.”
—H. Alan Scott, Senior Editor at Newsweek and co-host of Out on the Lanai: A Golden Girls Podcast

“There’s no doubt author Rachel Ekstrom Courage is a true “Golden Girls” devotee. She takes the time to describe even the furniture in the women’s home to bring us fans back to that familiar kitchen and living room. References to plots and recurring characters from the show are sprinkled throughout the pages…. [An] especially pleasant, breezy way to have “the girls” back again for a little while.”
—Associated Press

From the Publisher