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!

This was a delightful cozy mystery featuring the beloved Golden Girls. We two book clubbers couldn’t have asked for better. In fact, preparing for this book we binged several episodes so we can confidently say that Courage got the voices and characterizations of Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia just right.

There were a bevy of references to episodes and stories from the show as well as a bunch of new stuff. Most specifically the St. Olaf traditions and rituals for marriage like the Prayer of the Pajamas, the Happy Hangover Brunch, the donkey, the clown at the bachelorette party. I freaking loved that clown. My friend liked Big Sugar. Courage has a great imagination, but it helps that when it comes to St. Olaf, you could put in anything and you’d believe it because. . . well, it’s St. Olaf. Anything goes. Still, all in all, the new inclusions were funny.

The mystery was well-done too. I almost guessed who it was. My friend thought it was a bit chaste, but it is a cozy mystery so of course it won’t be as intense as her favorite Agatha Christie. Still, we both admired how Courage deftly tied the clues together. The little things that in hindsight lead to the real culprit but kept us guessing. It all tied together so well!

As mentioned before, the characters were well-done with little nods that fit their personalities like Dorothy’s teacher voice, Rose’s jealousy that birds prefer sitting on her sister’s head, Sophia’s jabs. Like the mystery it all fit together. But this book was primarily a Rose, and Dorothy book as they had the alternating POVs so I kinda missed some of Blanche’s outrageous tall-tales.

But this is supposed to be the first of a series so perhaps the next we’ll have a Blanche and Sophia POV.

Another thing was the surprising switch from sitcom to book is that I had to keep reminding myself that there can’t be as many jokes as there is on the show. It’s not the same format. My friend had her mind occupied with trying to envision the surroundings outside of their familiar house.

Overall, we had a blast reading this and hope its sales are good enough to warrant a sequel.

Next up is another mystery, played straight, the Magpie Murders!