They haven’t been seen on TV since 1992, but now the Golden Girls are back.
Golden Girls Murder Mystery
This time Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia are on the page though, instead of the screen, in a “heartwarming” murder mystery tale.
Author Rachel Ekstrom Courage has returned to her Golden Girls Mystery series with her second novel, titled Death on the Lanai.
In the tome, the quartet receives a “mysterious invitation,” which then leads them onto a murder they have to solve.
In Alexandria Ingham’s review for Parade, she praised the writer for featuring some of the characters’ most favourable features – such as Rose’s scatterbrained behavior.
No Red Herrings
However, when it comes to the tale itself, she noted that “the mystery itself is relatively easy to guess,” despite a “small twist” which she “did appreciate.”
She wrote, “Usually, there’s some sort of red herring in murder mysteries, but not in this case. Ekstrom Courage does try, but we know that the women are smart.”
“They’re able to read between the lines, and we can easily believe them when they know the red herring is completely false, so it doesn’t quite have the weight and excitement that it should do.”
“Beautiful and Bittersweet Reveals”
Ingham did continue to say there are “some beautiful and bittersweet reveals at the end,” involving some more details about Blanche, as well as the other guests, which offer some background as to why the women received the invitation in the first place.
She continued, “There’s even a spark of romance at the end, and not for the woman that you would expect. However, the final moments made me grin, as once again, it proves that these women will always stick together.”
“They may get on each other’s nerves at times, but they are best friends at heart, and there’s no reason to ever doubt that.”
An Enjoyable Read
Ingham concluded her review by calling the book a “cozy murder mystery” that will “warm your heart.”
She said, “It captures everything you could possibly need from the world of The Golden Girls, and my only wish is that we could see it play out on the screen.”
Sadly, that isn’t possible due to the passing of stars Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty.
But the book will undoubtedly make you want to go and rewatch The Golden Girls, Ingham promised.
Death on the Lanai follows the first book in the murder mystery series, Death by Cheesecake.