The invite delivered to 6151 Richmond Street was short on details, only promising to celebrate “the greatest artist of the century” and accompanied by a jewel-encrusted brooch—the whole package a brand of mysterious opulence that another Saturday night of gin rummy just can’t match.

Blanche Devereaux’s passionate dalliances are as plentiful as hot Southern nights, and surely one can’t be expected to remember all of one’s suitors. But when the Girls disembark the party’s ferry at a small Biscayne Bay island and meet their secretive host, the memories come flooding back: she a Radio City Rockette in her twenties, he the poor artist who could offer her nothing but his love. Fate drove them apart, but Declan, now a famous artist El Toro, professes that Blanche has always been his muse.

Featured prominently in his artworks and central to El Toro’s return to the apex of the art world, Blanche is thrilled to have been such an inspiring figure to this man. But looking around at a party filled with those who have made their livings off the artist’s fame—his assistant, his art dealer, his greatest critic, and more—Dorothy isn’t so sure they’re welcome on the island after all.

When a tropical storm knocks power out across the island, an optimistic Blanche proclaims that everyone looks better by candlelight anyway. But when Declan is found dead the next morning, all eyes are on her, his supposed muse of thirty-plus years. Trapped at the estate with the other guests—suspects all—the Girls must band together to find the true killer and get back to pleasant evenings of card games and cheesecake.

Another delightful mystery. This one was possibly filled with even more references and inside jokes to the show, even including mention of Coco. Yes, Coco! Super-super fans know who I’m talking about.

The mystery described above has Then There Were None vibes that Courage delicately balances with the light-hearted humor of the Golden Girls franchise. The supporting character aka the suspects are distinct with interesting potential to be the murderer although my friend and I quickly figured it out.

The other secrets the guests were hiding were less easy to guess which keeps the novel compelling along with the humor. Courage was excellent in depicting the girls’ original personalities with Rose’s goofy St. Olaf stories, Sophie’s sass and Dorothy’s analytical mind piecing together the mystery. Blanche got the real spotlight in the novel as Courage demonstrates Blanche’s lusty asides with the emotional weight of Blanche’s fragility when faced with tough situations like death and mortality.

My friend and I initially thought Sophie was going to be the co-lead as Dorothy and Rose were the protagonists of Murder by Cheesecake, and it seemed to lean to that in the first second, but Dorothy took up the second POV. We believe this is because Dorothy is just a natural narrator for a mystery as she’s always been the serious, smart one who would notice the small things that others wouldn’t. Makes sense but hopefully a third one will come out, and Sophia can take the lead.