Book Club “Murder by Cheesecake”
For May we chose the new Golden Girls Cozy Mystery “Murder by Cheesecake” because we have some huge GG fans who were eager to see how the beloved characters would handle a murder investigation.
Book
Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
Description:
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!
Club
Snack suggestions:
For this meeting, the most important food element is the cheesecake! It is most central to the story and iconic to the Golden Girls themselves.
This book includes a recipe for St. Olaf’s Kiss Cheesecake, which sounds delicious with a lingonberry drizzle, but don’t feel bad if you can’t make the cheesecake from scratch. We bought several different flavors of cheesecake slices and had fun discussing which flavor we thought matched each Golden Girl.
For the main course, you could choose between Southern food for Blanche, Italian food for Sophia, deli sandwiches for Dorothy (and her awful date), or herring and Scandinavian food for Rose. Or choose a bit some each type!
Check out Cozy Crimes’ book club questions that can be used for any mystery.
Here are our questions targeted to “Murder by Cheesecake”:
1. How familiar are you with “The Golden Girls”? How did that affect your reading and enjoyment of this book?
2. What did you think of having well-known TV characters portrayed in a book, and as investigators?
3. How did the characters’ quirks and strengths help them as sleuths?
4. What did you think of the wedding traditions in the book?
5. How did the time period affect the investigation and the story?
6. What did you think of the victim?
7. Did any twists in the story surprise you?
8. How did the Miami setting affect the story – both the wedding storyline with the families and the investigation?
9. What clues did you pick up on that could help you figure out whodunit?
10. What was the significance of cheesecake?
