Synopsis
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!
Review
When I saw this book on a “Coming Soon” screen a couple of months back, I was hyped. I am a big-time Golden Girls fan. I’m sure I saw a few episodes before I met and married my wife, but in the quarter-century of our marriage, I estimate that I’ve seen each episode at least twice and some perhaps a handful of times. I have had moments in my life where I could relate to each of the characters in some way or another and now, over 30 years after they ended the series, the show has achieved cult status with many people, most notably for me — my wife.
I don’t know if there is a set “canon” for Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia. They didn’t really worry about a ton of TV show continuity back in the late 80’s — but the show ended with Dorothy getting married and leaving her friends and mother (Spoilers for a show that ended before Bill Clinton became President). Murder by Cheesecake definitely takes place sometime before that. There’s nothing to pinpoint exactly when the book takes place, but Push It by Salt-N-Pepa is mentioned, so…between 1986 and 1992?
Anyway, this book is tons of fun, especially if you’re a fan of the show. The four main protagonists were so clearly defined as characters throughout the seven seasons of the sitcom that reading through Rachel Ekstrom Courage’s book felt like an episode of the show in many ways and I could hear the characters in my head as I read their lines.
But that is also what dings this book a little for me. By the end of the seventh season, the characters were so concrete that they were almost becoming caricatures and the book sometimes leans into that. The title dessert is referenced so many times it gets a little distracting (I know it was a late night favorite of the girls, but it wasn’t the only thing they ate). And since the book feels like an episode, it gets a little long when the central mystery drags down the plot a bit. In 80’s terms, it’s like if there was a very special crossover episode of The Golden Girls and Murder She Wrote.
But if you love our elderly Miami residents, pick it up — you’re bound to have fun. One thing I missed — there’s no appearances by Dorothy’s ex-husband (“Hi, it’s me, Stan”) so that’s one thing I would love to see in the next book in the series based on this beloved TV show.
Thank you to Hyperion Avenue for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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