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Dorothy Gentleman #1
Murder by Memory
A Memory Called Empire meets Miss Marple in this cozy, spaceborne mystery, helmed by a no-nonsense formidable auntie of a detective.
Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.
Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.
Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…
Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.
Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.
Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…
112 pages, Audible Audio
First published March 18, 2025
274 people are currently reading
28136 people want to read
About the author
Olivia Waite
19 books1,228 followersOlivia Waite writes queer historical romance, science fiction, and fantasy. She is the romance fiction columnist for the New York Times Book Review.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,082 reviews
June 23, 2025
spectacular give me 14 of them right now
November 11, 2025
ARC provided by TOR - thank you so much
i feel like right now i am just craving queer scifi stories - and most of the time, they end up being new favorites! so when i heard sapphic scifi murder mystery i knew i had to get my hands on it. and friends, i loved this a lot.
this is the start of what i hope and pray will be a new series that follows a spaceship and the adventures taking place on it. and the fairweather is an extra cool ship because it has a library that holds a copy of every passenger’s mind. so whether you are living with your physical body on board, or digitally getting rest on your shelf while you are waiting for a new body, the book of your mind is being stored, and you are able to update it.
and this story starts out with dorothy gentleman waking up during a magnetic storm, sooner than expected, in a body that is not hers. she is also one of the ships detectives, and it has been two years since she went into rest mode! but now she has four items on this new body, and the ship quickly quickly informs her that there is a dead body in a passenger cabin, so it’s time for her to start investigating what is happening!
i really did adore this. it’s beautiful queer, extremely heartfelt, with conversations about autonomy and community, and so so very immersive. i truly felt like i was right beside dorothy, navigating this ship, exploring all of these neighborhoods and different places on board, and meeting so many passengers. i would happily read 100 more novellas following dorothy and more adventures on the fairweather.
trigger + content warnings: talk of death in past (sibling / parent), talk of dementia, talk of dementia caregiving in past, death, murder, attempted suicide kind of / kind of accidental, minor talk of abuse in a relationship
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♡ The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics ★★★★
i feel like right now i am just craving queer scifi stories - and most of the time, they end up being new favorites! so when i heard sapphic scifi murder mystery i knew i had to get my hands on it. and friends, i loved this a lot.
this is the start of what i hope and pray will be a new series that follows a spaceship and the adventures taking place on it. and the fairweather is an extra cool ship because it has a library that holds a copy of every passenger’s mind. so whether you are living with your physical body on board, or digitally getting rest on your shelf while you are waiting for a new body, the book of your mind is being stored, and you are able to update it.
and this story starts out with dorothy gentleman waking up during a magnetic storm, sooner than expected, in a body that is not hers. she is also one of the ships detectives, and it has been two years since she went into rest mode! but now she has four items on this new body, and the ship quickly quickly informs her that there is a dead body in a passenger cabin, so it’s time for her to start investigating what is happening!
i really did adore this. it’s beautiful queer, extremely heartfelt, with conversations about autonomy and community, and so so very immersive. i truly felt like i was right beside dorothy, navigating this ship, exploring all of these neighborhoods and different places on board, and meeting so many passengers. i would happily read 100 more novellas following dorothy and more adventures on the fairweather.
trigger + content warnings: talk of death in past (sibling / parent), talk of dementia, talk of dementia caregiving in past, death, murder, attempted suicide kind of / kind of accidental, minor talk of abuse in a relationship
blog | instagram | youtube | wishlist | spotify | amazon
♡ The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics ★★★★
December 1, 2024
I IMMEDIATELY need this to be a successful series!! Cozy sci-fi murder mystery with a sapphic aunt investigator who likes to knit? Yes please! Murder by Memory was a delight and I want more.
On a thousands-year space flight to a new planet, the residents of the HMS Fairweather are able to upload their memories to a digital library, and then awaken in newly grown bodies when they die. Permanent death is only supposed to occur when they reach their destination. But when Dorothy Gentleman awakens in a body that is decidedly not hers, she must investigate. Because it seems that by erasing memory banks, a true murder has occurred...
I cannot tell you how happy I am that cozy sci-fi mysteries seem to be a thing we're getting more of. This novella was wonderful, and if you're looking for more I suggest the Mossi and Pleiti series by Malka Older, or The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal (which I desperately want turned into a series as well!!) If you are also a fan of this niche subgenre, definitely pick this one up when it releases in March. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
On a thousands-year space flight to a new planet, the residents of the HMS Fairweather are able to upload their memories to a digital library, and then awaken in newly grown bodies when they die. Permanent death is only supposed to occur when they reach their destination. But when Dorothy Gentleman awakens in a body that is decidedly not hers, she must investigate. Because it seems that by erasing memory banks, a true murder has occurred...
I cannot tell you how happy I am that cozy sci-fi mysteries seem to be a thing we're getting more of. This novella was wonderful, and if you're looking for more I suggest the Mossi and Pleiti series by Malka Older, or The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal (which I desperately want turned into a series as well!!) If you are also a fan of this niche subgenre, definitely pick this one up when it releases in March. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
February 24, 2025
4.5 stars - Love the premise, love the characters, and very excited that this is going to be a series! This is just my kind of cozy. You know, in spaaacceee with memory bending sapphic lady detectives who knit
December 18, 2025
I'm in love with this sci-fi cozy-adjacent murder mystery sub-genre - and to get even more micro about the subgenre, I love sci-fi cozy-adjacent murder mysteries on space ships/space hotels/space cruises/space living. It hits all the right buttons for me, and Murder by Memory is an excellent example of what I love about it.
In this novella, we're introduced to Dorothy Gentleman, who wakes up in a body that is not her own. On this space habitat, humans can save their minds in a great library, and can be put in a new body. But usually they make that choice, and stumbling into the middle of a murder mystery is not normal. Mostly. Dorothy is a detective, after all.
I'd like to leave the summary at that, because this is so short. What I will say is that there's a great amount of world exploration done in such a short amount of time, and Olivia Waite does it well. Dorothy explores the mystery at hand, and we get to learn so much about this space habitat and how it works and the people who live in it, and there is a YARN SHOP and I loved that almost as much as Dorothy did. It's charming and warm despite the murder. People comping this to Miss Marple or similar are not wrong.
I enjoyed the entire experience of reading this, and I can't wait for more. Couple this with Malka Older's The Mimicking of Known Successes series, The Spare Man, or Floating Hotel, and you'll see what I mean by this sub-genre. I really love it.
In this novella, we're introduced to Dorothy Gentleman, who wakes up in a body that is not her own. On this space habitat, humans can save their minds in a great library, and can be put in a new body. But usually they make that choice, and stumbling into the middle of a murder mystery is not normal. Mostly. Dorothy is a detective, after all.
I'd like to leave the summary at that, because this is so short. What I will say is that there's a great amount of world exploration done in such a short amount of time, and Olivia Waite does it well. Dorothy explores the mystery at hand, and we get to learn so much about this space habitat and how it works and the people who live in it, and there is a YARN SHOP and I loved that almost as much as Dorothy did. It's charming and warm despite the murder. People comping this to Miss Marple or similar are not wrong.
I enjoyed the entire experience of reading this, and I can't wait for more. Couple this with Malka Older's The Mimicking of Known Successes series, The Spare Man, or Floating Hotel, and you'll see what I mean by this sub-genre. I really love it.
March 19, 2025
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!
The interstellar passenger liner the HMS Fairweather has been traveling for over 300 years. One night, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in someone else’s body just as another passenger is murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, she learns that not only is someone killing bodies, but also deleting minds from the Library. If one desires rest between lifetimes, their mind is carefully reserved in glass on the Library shelf. Unfortunately, the ship’s mind “Ferry” is unable to provide her with any information since it is drunk from a magnetic storm. Dorothy must use the body she woke up in to solve the murder.
The premise of this cozy sci-fi novella is super clever. While I would have enjoyed more time getting to know the characters, the mystery is solved quickly by a sapphic aunt who loves to knit. Need I say more? It appears this novella will become a series and I am definitely here for it. I enjoyed this quirky murder mystery!
3.5/5 stars rounded up
Expected publication date: 3/18/25
Thank you to Tordotcom publishing and Edelweiss for the ARC of Murder by Memory in exchange for an honest review.
The interstellar passenger liner the HMS Fairweather has been traveling for over 300 years. One night, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in someone else’s body just as another passenger is murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, she learns that not only is someone killing bodies, but also deleting minds from the Library. If one desires rest between lifetimes, their mind is carefully reserved in glass on the Library shelf. Unfortunately, the ship’s mind “Ferry” is unable to provide her with any information since it is drunk from a magnetic storm. Dorothy must use the body she woke up in to solve the murder.
The premise of this cozy sci-fi novella is super clever. While I would have enjoyed more time getting to know the characters, the mystery is solved quickly by a sapphic aunt who loves to knit. Need I say more? It appears this novella will become a series and I am definitely here for it. I enjoyed this quirky murder mystery!
3.5/5 stars rounded up
Expected publication date: 3/18/25
Thank you to Tordotcom publishing and Edelweiss for the ARC of Murder by Memory in exchange for an honest review.
July 6, 2025
Near the topmost deck, in a small lift with glass walls and flickering buttons, I, Dorothy Gentleman, ship’s detective, opened a pair of eyes and licked a pair of lips and awoke in a body that wasn’t mine.
Murder by Memory follows Dorothy, a volunteer ship's detective on a millennium long voyage to another planet, as she tries to solve a murder that wasn't permanent and digs up a white collar crime that might be legal given the ship's rules, all while adjusting to the leap of her mind and memories from an older body with aches to a younger and healthier body in her twenties.
The novella is a cozy, low-stakes sci-fi mystery, with some interesting world-building where a person's minds/ memories can be stored and restored in their own or other bodies. This inadvertently made the mystery low-stakes, as the people develop a cavalier attitude towards deaths, unless, as it happens in the plot, the memory book is destroyed at the same time as the corresponding memories in a person disappear or die. The plot moves quickly, but the white collar crime held little interest for me, the murder only a bit more so.
The world-building and plot aside, the character sketches have potential - the description of a Miss Marple like older woman with a penchant for solving mysteries intrigued me. The potential wasn't completely satisfied here however - age and love for knitting aside, Dorothy didn't display much understanding of human nature and emotional intelligence, which are the real functional descriptors of Miss Marple's character. And the real issue is that Dorothy's character sketch doesn't reveal more than her interest in knitting and maybe nosiness for crime solving, and no growth. The ship's non-existent police force with ship's detectives who merely volunteer for the posts weren't easy to get past either.
Then the habits of my career—and my own considerable nosiness, let’s be frank—came to the fore.
On the whole, a low-stakes cozy sci-fi quick read, recommended for maybe light sci-fi generation ship fans but not Miss Marple fans.
🌟🌟
[1/4 star for the premise and the whole book; Zero stars for the world-building; 1/4 star for the characters and their growth; 1/4 star for the plot and themes; 1/4 star for the writing - 2 stars in total.]
Murder by Memory follows Dorothy, a volunteer ship's detective on a millennium long voyage to another planet, as she tries to solve a murder that wasn't permanent and digs up a white collar crime that might be legal given the ship's rules, all while adjusting to the leap of her mind and memories from an older body with aches to a younger and healthier body in her twenties.
The novella is a cozy, low-stakes sci-fi mystery, with some interesting world-building where a person's minds/ memories can be stored and restored in their own or other bodies. This inadvertently made the mystery low-stakes, as the people develop a cavalier attitude towards deaths, unless, as it happens in the plot, the memory book is destroyed at the same time as the corresponding memories in a person disappear or die. The plot moves quickly, but the white collar crime held little interest for me, the murder only a bit more so.
The world-building and plot aside, the character sketches have potential - the description of a Miss Marple like older woman with a penchant for solving mysteries intrigued me. The potential wasn't completely satisfied here however - age and love for knitting aside, Dorothy didn't display much understanding of human nature and emotional intelligence, which are the real functional descriptors of Miss Marple's character. And the real issue is that Dorothy's character sketch doesn't reveal more than her interest in knitting and maybe nosiness for crime solving, and no growth. The ship's non-existent police force with ship's detectives who merely volunteer for the posts weren't easy to get past either.
Then the habits of my career—and my own considerable nosiness, let’s be frank—came to the fore.
On the whole, a low-stakes cozy sci-fi quick read, recommended for maybe light sci-fi generation ship fans but not Miss Marple fans.
🌟🌟
[1/4 star for the premise and the whole book; Zero stars for the world-building; 1/4 star for the characters and their growth; 1/4 star for the plot and themes; 1/4 star for the writing - 2 stars in total.]
May 12, 2025
Many cool ideas in here, but I don't think that they came together to create an intriguing story all too well. The murder mystery never once had me hooked, sadly. (And I'm sorry, but it's insane that the retail price for these Tor novellas starts at 22 USD. This is a 100 page story …)
April 7, 2025
Actual rating: 2.4123121141 stars.
So I guess the blurb refers to this book as Miss Marple meets A Memory Called Empire because a) the MC is a 50+ female detective who enjoys knitting and b) the word "memory" is in both titles. And the similarities stop right there, thank you very much.
Indeed she is. The characters are meh, the story is meh, and the mystery is meh. I couldn't bring myself to care about anything or anyone. The world has potential but the author spends more time explaining it than showing it, so 💤💤💤.
Also, Dorothy Gentleman (don't get me started on her name) is one of those 50+ female protagonists who has the aches and pains of a 90+ woman. I mean, really? 🙄🙄 Younger authors really need to do their research before creating "older" female characters. Being30+ 50+ doesn't necessarily mean being ancient and decrepit, you know.
See what I mean?
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): Want to read a super entertaining Mystery Type Thingie (MTT™) packed with older-yet-scrumptious-and-kick-ass female characters? Forget this book and read Killers of a Certain Age. You're welcome.
So I guess the blurb refers to this book as Miss Marple meets A Memory Called Empire because a) the MC is a 50+ female detective who enjoys knitting and b) the word "memory" is in both titles. And the similarities stop right there, thank you very much.
Indeed she is. The characters are meh, the story is meh, and the mystery is meh. I couldn't bring myself to care about anything or anyone. The world has potential but the author spends more time explaining it than showing it, so 💤💤💤.
Also, Dorothy Gentleman (don't get me started on her name) is one of those 50+ female protagonists who has the aches and pains of a 90+ woman. I mean, really? 🙄🙄 Younger authors really need to do their research before creating "older" female characters. Being
See what I mean?
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): Want to read a super entertaining Mystery Type Thingie (MTT™) packed with older-yet-scrumptious-and-kick-ass female characters? Forget this book and read Killers of a Certain Age. You're welcome.
Read
March 6, 2025Personally, I'm fully on board the cozy SFF train, especially when it comes to cozy queer SFF. This sci-fi mystery novella promises to be Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple. On the HMS Fairweather, minds are stored in the Library until they are provided with a new body. When Dorothy Gentleman awakens in a new body, she learns she's been woken to solve a murder mystery. Worse, the culprit is also deleting minds from the Library. To make things more complicated, one of Dorothy's top suspects is also her ex-girlfriend—or, at least, the ex-girlfriend of the body she's borrowing.
—Danika Ellis, 11 Must-Read New Queer Books Out in March 2025
—Danika Ellis, 11 Must-Read New Queer Books Out in March 2025
June 17, 2025
A very intriguing and quick read. Spaceship utopia with utopian technologies and the common faults of the human mind… and lesbianism! We live
3.5
3.5
April 4, 2025
Oh! The Mickey7 of it all! PLEASE, IF YOU LOVE MICKEY READ THIS BOOK!! The vibes are there, PLUS, we have a sapphic detective solving crimes, what more do you need?
I know what I need, MORE OF THIS WORLD!! The audiobook was so good you guys, I finished it in the blink of an eye, and I really liked the world too, and the casual rep we got.
I do wish it was longer so we could have more time with the characters and so the mystery could've taken a while longer to solve, but maybe I'll get that in the next book. It was still so worth the read/listen.
I know what I need, MORE OF THIS WORLD!! The audiobook was so good you guys, I finished it in the blink of an eye, and I really liked the world too, and the casual rep we got.
I do wish it was longer so we could have more time with the characters and so the mystery could've taken a while longer to solve, but maybe I'll get that in the next book. It was still so worth the read/listen.
March 29, 2025
Well, it's 4.5/5 stars, but I'm rounding up because it's the queer scifi cozy murder mystery that I've been Waite-ing for! Not only is this a little book where there are no straight characters (well, episodic Mr. Halloran might be, but who cares?), but it's also so freaking inventive with its premise and the thoughtfulness with which it examines its themes. I want there to be like a million sequels and for sure there's a deeper mystery at play here, where we're left off.
This takes place on a ship travelling away from Earth and all the inhabitants have their memories scanned regularly and stored in sort of digital books in the Library. They live out their life in their bodies (which are not perfect & eugenics-y, a lot of them deal with disabilities, which I appreciated), then they die naturally and can choose to either retire for a while in their book or just get a new, slightly different body and carry on.
The politics of the world are super-interesting and thought out. Our main character, Dorothy Gentleman, had retired but finds herself in a random body. She is a detective, but the book carefully diferentiates between the job of ship detective and Earth policemen. The ship has a UBI sort of system with regulations in place against accumulating wealth, but not a perfect system. We have a lovely character mentioning not trusting authority. Marriage doesn't seem to be a thing (there is however a sign of deeper commitment when you shelf your book next to someone else's, which is my kind of commitment)! It's kind of amazing how many interesting details are present in such layered ways in this tiny novella.
And the way this plays with the idea of murder! What does it mean to die / be murdered when you can get a new body? How can that be circumvented? What does safety mean in this situation? What does trust? It's all pretty damn impressive and I've been a fan of Waite's for years, still I am impressed of what she could achieve in around 100 pages. Very excited to read the next installments in this world!
//
I love Olivia Waite's writing and I'm super pumped for this from the description, I kinda want it NOW.
This takes place on a ship travelling away from Earth and all the inhabitants have their memories scanned regularly and stored in sort of digital books in the Library. They live out their life in their bodies (which are not perfect & eugenics-y, a lot of them deal with disabilities, which I appreciated), then they die naturally and can choose to either retire for a while in their book or just get a new, slightly different body and carry on.
The politics of the world are super-interesting and thought out. Our main character, Dorothy Gentleman, had retired but finds herself in a random body. She is a detective, but the book carefully diferentiates between the job of ship detective and Earth policemen. The ship has a UBI sort of system with regulations in place against accumulating wealth, but not a perfect system. We have a lovely character mentioning not trusting authority. Marriage doesn't seem to be a thing (there is however a sign of deeper commitment when you shelf your book next to someone else's, which is my kind of commitment)! It's kind of amazing how many interesting details are present in such layered ways in this tiny novella.
And the way this plays with the idea of murder! What does it mean to die / be murdered when you can get a new body? How can that be circumvented? What does safety mean in this situation? What does trust? It's all pretty damn impressive and I've been a fan of Waite's for years, still I am impressed of what she could achieve in around 100 pages. Very excited to read the next installments in this world!
//
I love Olivia Waite's writing and I'm super pumped for this from the description, I kinda want it NOW.
June 26, 2025
Tordotcom novellas keep getting shorter and shorter and sho..
I know this is not a new accusation and I was actually defending tordotcom a few years ago, because things like All Systems Red or Elder Race while, yes, being shorter than full length novels still felt "book" like, and dense and with complete. But the length of stories tordotcom is putting out at a not inconsiderable price is getting ridiculous. This year The River Has Roots was a disappointment in length at least, particularly when you realize it is padded with another short story, and a long afterword. This is even shorter. And the problem is, it is too short for everything it tries to be, it is all kind of underserved but more on that later.
Tordotcom novellas are also getting to be a bit cookie cutterish, like they come out of a mould with ingredients. Sapphic (or f-x) love story? Check. 1920s kind of setting with cozy vibes but in sf? Check. Hobby which is very female majority? Check. And of course, of course, a scene drinking tea that is meaningful for plot purposes (do they put it in their contracts, that there must be tea? I am a tea snob and could get way didactic about tea to some of these authors but come on, this is getting to be a meme..). I complain about this mostly on principle, because so far this is more interesting, and the setting less unbelievable than a lot of previous examples, but I like new things for the sake of being new... Particularly in sf.
So, in a generation ship, people keep getting new bodies for the same minds when their old ones run out. For some reason the vibe is all 1920s, Wodehousian aunt and club references (Ruthie does not go all the way to a Wodehouse bright young thing but...), with a ship's detective investigating shenanigans while the ship's mind was incapacitated. And it's all worked out interestingly enough, not really thought provoking as science fiction, but it's just a set for the cozy 1920s vibes and it's fun, more fun to me than other Tor novellas of the same kind.
Olivia Waite was, is, a romance novelist, before writing sf and you can kind of tell that, in a good way, because of the focus in characters, they are interesting, there are dialogues. The romance part was basically just a hint of a developing relationship and it's a bit one sided love at first sight, and that hardly ever works for me particularly when the love interest is hostile. I do not care. The being a romance novelist might explain why the mystery part felt so off, jump to conclusions, complex plot solved too easily and simply because of insight, and it was really quite dull. I was actually more interested in the nephew, his club, his lover...
Fun and I might check more instances - but it also felt too short and too little for this kind of edition. And maybe it is just me, but tordotcom novellas are really not slapping as hard as they used to.
I know this is not a new accusation and I was actually defending tordotcom a few years ago, because things like All Systems Red or Elder Race while, yes, being shorter than full length novels still felt "book" like, and dense and with complete. But the length of stories tordotcom is putting out at a not inconsiderable price is getting ridiculous. This year The River Has Roots was a disappointment in length at least, particularly when you realize it is padded with another short story, and a long afterword. This is even shorter. And the problem is, it is too short for everything it tries to be, it is all kind of underserved but more on that later.
Tordotcom novellas are also getting to be a bit cookie cutterish, like they come out of a mould with ingredients. Sapphic (or f-x) love story? Check. 1920s kind of setting with cozy vibes but in sf? Check. Hobby which is very female majority? Check. And of course, of course, a scene drinking tea that is meaningful for plot purposes (do they put it in their contracts, that there must be tea? I am a tea snob and could get way didactic about tea to some of these authors but come on, this is getting to be a meme..). I complain about this mostly on principle, because so far this is more interesting, and the setting less unbelievable than a lot of previous examples, but I like new things for the sake of being new... Particularly in sf.
So, in a generation ship, people keep getting new bodies for the same minds when their old ones run out. For some reason the vibe is all 1920s, Wodehousian aunt and club references (Ruthie does not go all the way to a Wodehouse bright young thing but...), with a ship's detective investigating shenanigans while the ship's mind was incapacitated. And it's all worked out interestingly enough, not really thought provoking as science fiction, but it's just a set for the cozy 1920s vibes and it's fun, more fun to me than other Tor novellas of the same kind.
Olivia Waite was, is, a romance novelist, before writing sf and you can kind of tell that, in a good way, because of the focus in characters, they are interesting, there are dialogues. The romance part was basically just a hint of a developing relationship and it's a bit one sided love at first sight, and that hardly ever works for me particularly when the love interest is hostile. I do not care. The being a romance novelist might explain why the mystery part felt so off, jump to conclusions, complex plot solved too easily and simply because of insight, and it was really quite dull. I was actually more interested in the nephew, his club, his lover...
Fun and I might check more instances - but it also felt too short and too little for this kind of edition. And maybe it is just me, but tordotcom novellas are really not slapping as hard as they used to.
December 8, 2024
everyone is immortal and gay in space and add in a quickly solved murder for a very fun time. loved the vibe of how memories are used and would def read more ngl
April 9, 2025
* 2.25⭐️ 0🌶️
* The jist of this 100 page sci fi novella is you have a book and a body. Your memories and thoughts are your book and your body is the vessel. When you die from regular aging or an accident you are allowed to take your book (mind) and transfer it into a new body based on your preferences. They call where all the “books” are stored the library and you can hang in the library for a little if you need a rest in between bodies.
* Our main character is a detective, Dorothy on board the fair weather which is a space ship. She woke up in a new body and her “book” erased. There was also a murder on the ship that she doesn’t remember anything about. But the body Dorothy is in now is somehow connected to the woman who was killed.
* Story was really confusing to follow at some times since they were all females and they each had romantic ties with eachother.
* I didn’t truly understand the story or get the ending but there was parts of the story that I did enjoy but I felt like I was missing the bigger picture or the plot completely.
* The jist of this 100 page sci fi novella is you have a book and a body. Your memories and thoughts are your book and your body is the vessel. When you die from regular aging or an accident you are allowed to take your book (mind) and transfer it into a new body based on your preferences. They call where all the “books” are stored the library and you can hang in the library for a little if you need a rest in between bodies.
* Our main character is a detective, Dorothy on board the fair weather which is a space ship. She woke up in a new body and her “book” erased. There was also a murder on the ship that she doesn’t remember anything about. But the body Dorothy is in now is somehow connected to the woman who was killed.
* Story was really confusing to follow at some times since they were all females and they each had romantic ties with eachother.
* I didn’t truly understand the story or get the ending but there was parts of the story that I did enjoy but I felt like I was missing the bigger picture or the plot completely.
December 7, 2025
futuristic scifi cozy murder mystery, and nearly every character is casually queer! what a time to be alive.
it took me a while to get warmed up to the structure of this world. aboard the enormous spacecraft our characters call home, consciousnesses can be shelves like books at a library when occupants are between bodies. it's an odd type of immortality. meanwhile, investigations are done by volunteer detectives rather than cops, there's a system in place to keep people from hoarding inordinate wealth across lifetimes, and having your memories shelves next to a loved one's is peak romance! is this utopian?
i also love that despite the futuristic setting, one of story's locales is a yarn store! and our sapphic protagonist loves to knit. it's so fun to see a scifi world infused with classic coziness.
this book is short and sweet and so interesting. i think i will probably enjoy future volumes more as i become more familiar with this universe.
it took me a while to get warmed up to the structure of this world. aboard the enormous spacecraft our characters call home, consciousnesses can be shelves like books at a library when occupants are between bodies. it's an odd type of immortality. meanwhile, investigations are done by volunteer detectives rather than cops, there's a system in place to keep people from hoarding inordinate wealth across lifetimes, and having your memories shelves next to a loved one's is peak romance! is this utopian?
i also love that despite the futuristic setting, one of story's locales is a yarn store! and our sapphic protagonist loves to knit. it's so fun to see a scifi world infused with classic coziness.
this book is short and sweet and so interesting. i think i will probably enjoy future volumes more as i become more familiar with this universe.
April 10, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
Another cozy mystery series I actually like! I love that they are going more mainstream, and becoming less formulaic and more creative as the genre expands. This one is set in space! Our main character is Dorothy Gentleman, ship's detective. She is awoken from a two year "sleep" (characters on this ship have their memories stored in books so when they die they can be reawakened in new bodies). This is a fun alternative to characters being in cryosleep or something similar while their ship journeys a thousand years to a new planet. It's also a great set-up for a murder mystery, where the victims don't always remain dead and can be murdered more than once.
This is a pretty short little book, even for a novella, but it packs a lot in there! Dorothy has to figure out who has destroyed her (and others') memory books, what the dead woman in her room has to do with it all, and makes full use of her new body, who turns out to be very much involved in the events of the plot. What better disguise?
Absolutely will be reading further books in this series, and I actually liked this a lot better than Waite's romance novels! Definitely recommend for mystery fans, sci-fans, and particularly for fans of cozy sci-fi mysteries. This hit the spot for sure.
[4.5 stars]
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2025: memory words
Another cozy mystery series I actually like! I love that they are going more mainstream, and becoming less formulaic and more creative as the genre expands. This one is set in space! Our main character is Dorothy Gentleman, ship's detective. She is awoken from a two year "sleep" (characters on this ship have their memories stored in books so when they die they can be reawakened in new bodies). This is a fun alternative to characters being in cryosleep or something similar while their ship journeys a thousand years to a new planet. It's also a great set-up for a murder mystery, where the victims don't always remain dead and can be murdered more than once.
This is a pretty short little book, even for a novella, but it packs a lot in there! Dorothy has to figure out who has destroyed her (and others') memory books, what the dead woman in her room has to do with it all, and makes full use of her new body, who turns out to be very much involved in the events of the plot. What better disguise?
Absolutely will be reading further books in this series, and I actually liked this a lot better than Waite's romance novels! Definitely recommend for mystery fans, sci-fans, and particularly for fans of cozy sci-fi mysteries. This hit the spot for sure.
[4.5 stars]
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2025: memory words
June 9, 2025
I had great fun with this queer science fiction cozy mystery, although it felt like it went by too quickly! (I barely had time to wonder who/how/why the crime had happened before all was revealed).
This book has a vividly realized detective character, unique world-building, and a twisty puzzle: what else could you want?
How and why does someone commit murder, when humans have been living in a spaceship for centuries, immortal due to their minds being saved in 'books' in the library until it's time to put them back in a new body, memories intact?
Everyone here is queer, gotta love it.
This book has a vividly realized detective character, unique world-building, and a twisty puzzle: what else could you want?
How and why does someone commit murder, when humans have been living in a spaceship for centuries, immortal due to their minds being saved in 'books' in the library until it's time to put them back in a new body, memories intact?
Everyone here is queer, gotta love it.
February 21, 2025
What a fun ride! This is for the reader who wants a cozy murder-mystery, with queer characters, and a sci-fi twist. It's also a novella, and the first in a series! The amount of world-building in such few words is some expert-level sh**. I can't wait to see where these characters go and follow along on the journey. Definitely recommend!
December 24, 2025
As I said when I started this, I only read it to earn one of those bookmark badge thingies from GR. And because I wanted a scifi mystery à la Murder, She Wrote (which is almost en par with a Miss Marple mystery). And that is pretty much what I got.
We are on a starship. Humans are no longer bound to their one bodily lifetime. Instead, their consciousness is copied into a "book" which is then shelved in a special library. When our detective, Dorothy, wakes up, she's not in a clone of her body but somebody else's. The ship is drinkenly informing her that there's been a murder. Yep, you read that correctly, the ship is DRUNK. Or as close as. There is a magnetic storm that is having this effect on it and providing the perfect opportunity for *someone* to not only have murdered the one person but to have erased several of the "books".
For a story this short, this was pretty nice. Maybe it was, in fact, the shortness that made the story work so well. Not sure if I will continue with this series, but I actually might since the atmosphere was quite cozy and the writing very nicely descriptive.
We are on a starship. Humans are no longer bound to their one bodily lifetime. Instead, their consciousness is copied into a "book" which is then shelved in a special library. When our detective, Dorothy, wakes up, she's not in a clone of her body but somebody else's. The ship is drinkenly informing her that there's been a murder. Yep, you read that correctly, the ship is DRUNK. Or as close as. There is a magnetic storm that is having this effect on it and providing the perfect opportunity for *someone* to not only have murdered the one person but to have erased several of the "books".
For a story this short, this was pretty nice. Maybe it was, in fact, the shortness that made the story work so well. Not sure if I will continue with this series, but I actually might since the atmosphere was quite cozy and the writing very nicely descriptive.
December 7, 2025
jumble-o-notes:
- bones described as 'long rocks' v funny
- I still don't understand why this particular subgenre has to always be so......early-40s silver screen but I guess it's in keeping with the whole 'transatlantic steamship' thing. world-weary sigh but this one was significantly better than lady eve's last con
- I think it is hilarious(ly wonderful) that waite has found a way to get around the ACAB problem inherent to the detective genre. olivia waite would like me to inform you that ship's detectives are NOT cops and in fact there are NO cops anymore in this universe, DON'T worry
- in this beautiful semiutopian universe where only the teensiest bit of murder still exists (oops! we tried) ("this safe, safe ship, where everything is provided and nothing bad ever happens," wink wink nudge nudge), everybody gets UBI but also some people get special extra important-people money and the most highly paid workers are custodians, medical staff, teachers, and librarians. olivia waite said I will dream the better tomorrow....and if we don't get it, SHUT IT DOWN
- I swear there's a moment where waite gets john singer sargent and john everett millais mixed up but honestly who gives a shit
- one curious thing about this radiantly cop-free and poverty-less universe is that there are people "of ambiguous gender" who get they/them'd but also gender is usually immediately identifiable on sight. I am dying to know what are the visual gender markers in this universe (I mean, they walk, talk, and are named like characters in a katharine hepburn number, so) and what it means for those markers to be obscured
- "you could get as wealthy as you pleased—you just couldn't do it alone" is absolutely, and I will repeat my previous verbiage here, hilarious. half of me wants to say 'you mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling' but half of me is just having a really good time at this party
to wrap up: I am so delighted that waite has been set free to romp around this particular sandbox. one part goofy but three parts charming. god bless. may we get one of these (perhaps even two!! they're short!!) a year for the next decade. I would also like to put it on record now that I do know who moriarty is and I look forward to being validated
- bones described as 'long rocks' v funny
- I still don't understand why this particular subgenre has to always be so......early-40s silver screen but I guess it's in keeping with the whole 'transatlantic steamship' thing. world-weary sigh but this one was significantly better than lady eve's last con
- I think it is hilarious(ly wonderful) that waite has found a way to get around the ACAB problem inherent to the detective genre. olivia waite would like me to inform you that ship's detectives are NOT cops and in fact there are NO cops anymore in this universe, DON'T worry
- in this beautiful semiutopian universe where only the teensiest bit of murder still exists (oops! we tried) ("this safe, safe ship, where everything is provided and nothing bad ever happens," wink wink nudge nudge), everybody gets UBI but also some people get special extra important-people money and the most highly paid workers are custodians, medical staff, teachers, and librarians. olivia waite said I will dream the better tomorrow....and if we don't get it, SHUT IT DOWN
- I swear there's a moment where waite gets john singer sargent and john everett millais mixed up but honestly who gives a shit
- one curious thing about this radiantly cop-free and poverty-less universe is that there are people "of ambiguous gender" who get they/them'd but also gender is usually immediately identifiable on sight. I am dying to know what are the visual gender markers in this universe (I mean, they walk, talk, and are named like characters in a katharine hepburn number, so) and what it means for those markers to be obscured
- "you could get as wealthy as you pleased—you just couldn't do it alone" is absolutely, and I will repeat my previous verbiage here, hilarious. half of me wants to say 'you mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling' but half of me is just having a really good time at this party
to wrap up: I am so delighted that waite has been set free to romp around this particular sandbox. one part goofy but three parts charming. god bless. may we get one of these (perhaps even two!! they're short!!) a year for the next decade. I would also like to put it on record now that I do know who moriarty is and I look forward to being validated
May 22, 2025
3.5⭐
I recently realized that I adore when there is a murder mystery combined with another genre, so I was hyped when I heard that this was coming out!
The idea of a murder mystery paired with the concept of uploaded memories was really fun. I really only wish this book was longer, and that the mystery took us on a few more twist and turns.
I recently realized that I adore when there is a murder mystery combined with another genre, so I was hyped when I heard that this was coming out!
The idea of a murder mystery paired with the concept of uploaded memories was really fun. I really only wish this book was longer, and that the mystery took us on a few more twist and turns.
June 4, 2025
2.5*
The comparison of this being similar to either Becky Chambers or Miss Marple is WILD to me. First of all, this was way too short. Then the world building was portrayed to be super special and magical, but it actually was... just really simple. People upload their memory, can update it and when their body dies, they get a new one.. or they lie dormant for a while. Ah, and we're on a spaceship. Sailing from earth to.. somewhere. That's it.
I did like the characters, although they felt somewhat one dimensional (I think that is to blame on the length of the book).
I did like the little twist, but at the same time the story just wasn't worth to be called a mystery at all - you couldn't guess anything and our detective just strolled through the ship without any problems and solved everything in one go.
Interestingly enough, I would give this author another try, but this book/novella really wasn't it.
The comparison of this being similar to either Becky Chambers or Miss Marple is WILD to me. First of all, this was way too short. Then the world building was portrayed to be super special and magical, but it actually was... just really simple. People upload their memory, can update it and when their body dies, they get a new one.. or they lie dormant for a while. Ah, and we're on a spaceship. Sailing from earth to.. somewhere. That's it.
I did like the characters, although they felt somewhat one dimensional (I think that is to blame on the length of the book).
I did like the little twist, but at the same time the story just wasn't worth to be called a mystery at all - you couldn't guess anything and our detective just strolled through the ship without any problems and solved everything in one go.
Interestingly enough, I would give this author another try, but this book/novella really wasn't it.
June 5, 2025
نمره من بهش ٢.۵، معمولی.
واقعاً همینطوره. شخصیتها معمولی هستن، داستان معمولیه، و معما هم معمولیه. نمیتونستم به چیزی یا کسی اهمیت بدم. دنیا پتانسیل داره اما نویسنده بیشتر وقتش رو صرف توضیح دادنش میکنه تا نشون دادنش، پس 💤💤💤.
واقعاً همینطوره. شخصیتها معمولی هستن، داستان معمولیه، و معما هم معمولیه. نمیتونستم به چیزی یا کسی اهمیت بدم. دنیا پتانسیل داره اما نویسنده بیشتر وقتش رو صرف توضیح دادنش میکنه تا نشون دادنش، پس 💤💤💤.
May 13, 2025
2025 reads: 104/300
i received a complimentary audio copy from the publisher as part of their influencer program. this did not affect my rating.
this book takes place on a spaceship, where dorothy gentleman wakes up in someone else’s body at the same time someone else is murdered. dorothy is one of the ship’s detectives, but when she discovers that someone is not only killing bodies, but also deleting minds from the library, she realizes that something sinister is at play. she sets out to find the culprit, knowing it will be no easy task.
this was such a fun, fast-paced cozy sci-fi murder mystery! i really enjoyed our main character, dorothy, as she’s not your average main character. i also thought the sci-fi elements were cool, from the ship itself to the way memories were stored (and how this played into the murder mystery!). i’m so excited for this series to continue.
narration: blair baker did a lovely job narrating this book. their voice suited the story well. i’d recommend this audiobook to anyone looking for a sci-fi x mystery novella!
i received a complimentary audio copy from the publisher as part of their influencer program. this did not affect my rating.
this book takes place on a spaceship, where dorothy gentleman wakes up in someone else’s body at the same time someone else is murdered. dorothy is one of the ship’s detectives, but when she discovers that someone is not only killing bodies, but also deleting minds from the library, she realizes that something sinister is at play. she sets out to find the culprit, knowing it will be no easy task.
this was such a fun, fast-paced cozy sci-fi murder mystery! i really enjoyed our main character, dorothy, as she’s not your average main character. i also thought the sci-fi elements were cool, from the ship itself to the way memories were stored (and how this played into the murder mystery!). i’m so excited for this series to continue.
narration: blair baker did a lovely job narrating this book. their voice suited the story well. i’d recommend this audiobook to anyone looking for a sci-fi x mystery novella!
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645808644i%2F7494844._UX200_CR0%2C6%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
May 16, 2025
Dorothy Gentleman wakes up and learns that her memory book has been destroyed, she's in a body that belonged to someone else, and there's been a murder aboard the generation ship she's lived on for three hundred years. What's a fifty-seven year-old knitting detective to do, but solve the crimes?
A little bit The Mimicking of Known Successes meets The Spare Man, with the technology of The Blighted Stars and A Memory Called Empireto add some interesting flair.
Those who have followed along know that I did not enjoy those books at all (minus Memory, which I LOVED), but somehow the brief nature of this one, with its light touch and quick pace and Miss Marple vibes, worked for me.
Anywho, it's an interesting murder mystery based on a really fascinating premise, and I think I might check out the next installment.
I received an ARC from NetGalley
A little bit The Mimicking of Known Successes meets The Spare Man, with the technology of The Blighted Stars and A Memory Called Empireto add some interesting flair.
Those who have followed along know that I did not enjoy those books at all (minus Memory, which I LOVED), but somehow the brief nature of this one, with its light touch and quick pace and Miss Marple vibes, worked for me.
Anywho, it's an interesting murder mystery based on a really fascinating premise, and I think I might check out the next installment.
I received an ARC from NetGalley
January 13, 2025
This is a 10-chapter SF noir mystery with a tiny little budding romance subplot, and I loved every bit of it.
Dorothy is a detective on a sentient spaceship. Immortality has been achieved, as the residents of the ship can record their memories in "books" and are reborn after their deaths in new, healthy bodies. Except that as this book takes place, Dorothy has just been reborn in someone else's body - someone whose memory book has been erased, and who can no longer be reborn. Dorothy does what she does best and investigates the crime, meeting the victim's friends and colleagues, discovering clues and reestablishing her own relationships, and even encountering the femme fatale to her noir PI.
I loved the melding of noir detective novel and SF tropes! Even though this was short form fiction, every word was perfectly chosen and the ending was very satisfying. I'd love to read another book set on the ship ... perhaps a series of detective stories featuring Dorothy? This was great.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
Dorothy is a detective on a sentient spaceship. Immortality has been achieved, as the residents of the ship can record their memories in "books" and are reborn after their deaths in new, healthy bodies. Except that as this book takes place, Dorothy has just been reborn in someone else's body - someone whose memory book has been erased, and who can no longer be reborn. Dorothy does what she does best and investigates the crime, meeting the victim's friends and colleagues, discovering clues and reestablishing her own relationships, and even encountering the femme fatale to her noir PI.
I loved the melding of noir detective novel and SF tropes! Even though this was short form fiction, every word was perfectly chosen and the ending was very satisfying. I'd love to read another book set on the ship ... perhaps a series of detective stories featuring Dorothy? This was great.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
August 10, 2025
The premise reminds me somewhat of Altered Carbon but if it was a cozy murder mystery with a queer auntie. Murder by Memory is a truly excellent novella - the world building, despite the limited pages, felt very fleshed out and Dorothy Gentleman, despite being in the wrong body, was an excellent guide and snooping aunt. The mystery itself wasn’t hard to follow and it could have had a few more surprises or twists, but this is a novella and space is limited. Well, page space. The expanse of outer space and the time it takes to cross it is practically unlimited…and wrestling with what that does to people who live long enough to make the trip is always interesting to me.
June 12, 2025
Murder by Memory is mercifully short. The mystery mostly concerns the motive, which is mired in the economic details of an interstellar starship on a millennial voyage. The nephew serves no purpose to the story as far as I can tell, and the web of romantic relationships only muddles the plot further. The random assortment of sci-fi elements are superficial and unsophisticated. The only real mystery here is how this story found a publisher and a spot on a Goodreads reading challenge list.
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