Death on the Lanai: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Death on the Lanai is the latest installment to the Golden Girls Cozy Mystery series from Rachel Ekstrom Courage.
I had a lot of fun reading the 1st-book, Murder by Cheesecake, so had been highly anticipating this release. I’m happy to report, I enjoyed this one even more!
In this installment, REC brings a classic murder mystery set-up to the page for our GGs. The ladies receive a mysterious invitation to attend a dinner party at a remote island estate. Even though they have no clue who the invitation is from, there could be single men there, so they’re definitely going to attend.
Dressed to the nines, the ladies climb aboard a water taxi to be ferried out to the island prepared for a glamorous night. The possibilities are endless of what the evening could hold, but they couldn’t imagine what would actually go down.
Once they’ve arrived, the ladies are introduced to their mystery host and owner of the estate, Declan, a famous artist known as El Toro. Quickly, memories of her time as a NYC Rockette come flooding back to Blanche.
Declan was Blanche’s beau during her short time in NYC, before she was swept back to Georgia by her family. She’s had no contact with him for years. How did he possibly find her, and what is the intent of this unexpected reunion?
The dinner guest list is small, and as the evening progresses the ladies get to know each of the other attendees and their basic connection to Declan. The majority of them are closely tied to his career as an artist, and as it turns out, even Blanche has a connection she never knew about.
As is expected in situations like this, a ferocious storm ends up battering the island, knocking out the power and stranding the guests there overnight.
The next morning, Declan is found dead in his studio and all eyes are on Blanche. The ladies know that Blanche is innocent, meaning someone else on that island is a killer, and they’re trapped there with them. It’s up to the ladies to suss out the real killer before they’re able to kill again.
This was so cute. I loved the classic set-up for the mystery and laughed so many times as the ladies tried to solve the whodunit. I love them all so much.
I feel like Rachel Ekstrom Courage is really settling into writing their personalities and bringing them to life. She’s honed in on their dynamic so well and it definitely translated better onto the page this time. Their vibe felt much more natural than it did in the 1st-book.
The mystery was also more intriguing to me, and I loved having this set cast of possible killers. There were red herrings, and at times, it was a real head-scratcher.
I’m so in love with this series at this point. I’m really hoping we get more. Miami is a busy place, and our girls are good at getting themselves into, and then out of, sticky situations.
As I said with the 1st-book, I would recommend it to any Golden Girls fan. The GGs were handled with grace, and I think it’s quite nostalgic for any long-term fan of the television show.
Personally, I don’t think it would hit quite the same for people who haven’t watched the show, but I could be wrong. As a Cozy Mystery, it’s still solid, regardless of who the characters are.
Thank you to the publisher, Hyperion Avenue, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m so invested in this series now, I’m already anxious to hear news of what’s next!