The Double Dorothy

Dorothy Gentleman #3

by Olivia Waite

Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in the third entry of this cozy sci-fi mystery series, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective.

As the Fairweather approaches the halfway point of its journey, Dorothy Gentleman may have reached the end of hers…

It’s been a long lifetime, and Dorothy’s current body is on its last legs. With a new terminal diagnosis from Medical, she’s counting the days until her next reembodiment. But then a young man with someone else’s face sits down and claims he is Dorothy’s next embodiment ― someone has triggered the system early, using the memory-book Dorothy last updated over a month ago.

Meaning that according to the laws, when Dorothy dies this time ― it will be permanent.

Now Dorothy and her doppelganger must sift through that last month of memories, looking for a secret someone’s trying to erase. And all the threads lead back to the very first murder that happened on the Fairweather, five hundred years ago. A case which remains unsolved ― and in which Dorothy was a witness, not a detective. All while an old enemy finally dares to step out of the shadows…

Genres: Mystery, Science Fiction, Novella, Fiction, Queer, Mystery Thriller, Adult

144 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 9, 2027

About the author

Olivia Waite writes queer historical romance, science fiction, and fantasy. She is the romance fiction columnist for the New York Times Book Review.

Reviews

[Melanie (meltotheany)]

1.) Murder by Memory ★★★★
2.) Nobody's Baby ★★★

so excited for this, and so in love with the colors on this cover <3

[M. Stevenson]

Really enjoying this series! They're the perfect bite-sized length while still raising fascinating philosophical questions.

I did find this one to be a lot heavier than the previous two in the series--if death and medical decline are sensitive topics for you, this is a challenging read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olivia Waite outdoes herself!! A mystery that has more layers than lasagna and plays with gender in a fascinating way. Can’t wait for the next one!!

[Roxana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest entry in the charming Dorothy Gentleman series, aptly described as Miss Marple meets Becky Chambers. In this third addition to the cozy sci fi mystery series, we get not one but two versions of our formidable aunt-detective protagonist - two for the price of one, as far as I'm concerned.

Two Dorothys at the center of this story might mean twice as much detecting, but it also makes for some added character complications, and some really intriguing questions of death, memory, and identity in ways that I found got a bit weightier in its exploration of these themes than the previous two books. It's a short and witty read, but rich with surprising depth; I can't wait for more Dorothy Gentleman (or Gentlemen, as the case may be) in the future.

Thank you Tordotcom for the advance review copy.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*, maybe. Still an enjoyable series. An interesting premise, well-executed.

[Aiyesha]

** THE VERSION OF THIS BOOK THAT I READ WAS AN ARC **

[Raquel Flockhart]

1. Murder by Memory ★★
2. Nobody’s Baby ★★★

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the eARC. My review represents my honest opinion.

Olivia Waite's jewelbox novellas in the Dorothy Gentlemen series just keep getting better. This book, the third volume of the series, takes place 20 years after the events of Nobody's Baby and 200 years after the events of Murder by Memory. Dorothy finds herself once again in the wrong body – but she has not even died yet. Someone has created a duplicate Dorothy. The mystery of how and why this happened soon sweeps up the two detectives, along with help from Ruthie, John, Peregrine, Violet, and, of course, the ship, Fairweather (Ferry). As usual, the Dorothys' investigation rapidly becomes more complex and centers on a recently discovered secret that Old Dorothy must have discovered, but that Young Dorothy does not know. The investigation spools back through the last 500 years of their voyage, multiple lifetimes, all sorts of secrets, and stretches back to the first murder on board the ship, in the first year of their 1000 year journey and even to the mysteriously forgotten history of the beginnings of their voyage on back on Earth.

While the mystery in this novella is completed within this book, many unanswered questions from the previous volumes are answered here, and relationships between the characters are developed further. Little page space is devoted to explaining each person's role on the ship, or even what they are all doing there in the first place, so I strongly recommend that readers start at the beginning before tackling The Double Dorothy. The world of the ship continues to be rich, lush, and luxurious, and the characters are sparkling and witty. Waite left some clues to possible future directions for the story, so I hope she will write more installments. After all, the ship still has another 500 years before the lively group arrive at their destination!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You would think that I would have been better prepared when I got the chance to be old a second time. Or a third, a fourth. But something about youth, even rediscovered youth . . . You clung to it; you were thrilled to stop thinking about joints and organs and digestive quirks; you let a functional body and a nimble mind become your default state of existence”

🪐🕵️‍♀️🕵️🚀❤️


Dorothy Gentlemen is back in the third installment of the Dorothy Gentlemen series. Dorothy has lived a long life in this body of hers, so when she gets diagnosed with an illness that cannot be treated, she is ready to get to her next body. However, something happened and her memories have already been transferred in a new body….meaning that when she goes, she goes. On top of that, someone is trying to kill her and her doppelgänger. Both Dorothy Gentleman’s must race against the clock to figure out what’s happened before there is only one Dorothy Gentleman.

This book follows the same vein of a cozy mystery with a hint of romance, but takes it deeper. In this book we get some background information on some of the core characters, as well as some information on Earth, the Space program as well as some plot twists. In this book we get introduced to another Dorothy Gentleman, who is a younger man and though he is the same person, he is a bit different. It’s interesting to see how two of the same character diverge paths and choose their own paths to go on. We also get to see a more vulnerable side of each Dorothy and how they approach their love lives. I really enjoyed seeing the two different Dorothy’s become their own person, even though they are technically the same. The Double Dorothy brings the love of the cozy mystery as well as deepening the plot to keep the readers hooked, and i’m very excited for the next installment to see where the two Dorothy’s go.


Thank you NetGalley and Olivia Waite for the ARC!

[Rudi McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, a cozy queer romance, a little bit of mystery, and a whole lot of Dorothy-themed charm? Sign me up! The Double Dorothy was such a delightful read, and I loved how Olivia Waite balanced warmth, humor, and emotional depth throughout the story.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. There is something so appealing about a story centered around a beloved film, a community of passionate fans, and the unexpected connections that grow between people who may not have been looking for love at all. The Dorothy references and classic Hollywood atmosphere gave the book such a fun, distinctive personality.

The characters were definitely the highlight for me. I loved watching their relationships develop and seeing them navigate their own hopes, fears, and complicated histories. The romance felt tender and heartfelt, with plenty of emotional nuance. Olivia Waite is so good at creating characters who feel like real people, and I was completely invested in their journey.

I also really appreciated the sense of community throughout the story. The friendships, shared interests, and feeling of belonging added so much warmth. Sometimes the people you meet unexpectedly can become the ones who help you see your life—and yourself—in a completely different way.

The romance is at the heart of the book, but I also enjoyed the humor, the film-inspired details, and the way the story explores identity, reinvention, and finding happiness on your own terms. It was charming without feeling shallow and emotional without becoming overly heavy.

If you love queer romance, classic movie references, found family, witty characters, and stories about unexpected second chances, give this one a try.

Olivia Waite has given us a sweet, thoughtful reminder that sometimes the most wonderful surprises are the ones you never see coming. 💛✨

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fairweather, a generational ship is nearing the half way mark of a 1000 year trip into deep outer space. One of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy Gentleman, is nearing the end of the latest of her many lives and is looking forward to being re-embodied and receiving a new body because the one she has is old and seemingly becoming more decrepit by the moment. However, something is wrong - very wrong - there’s another Dorothy. The new Dorothy is in a male body, but has all the same memories as the original Dorothy has. That’s most definitely not supposed to happen. The Dorothys don’t have much time to figure out how it happened, and, equally important, why it happened.

This is a wonderfully creative cozy mystery series set in deep space and features a witty, intelligent woman. The series is well written, with the story moving spritely along its path, and enough twists and turns to keep the reader reading. There was a few pages early in the book, that seemed jumbled, but it, soon enough, flowed unimpeded. However, one has to hope that a multitude of issues with the formatting of the eARC will be corrected before it is published because it was often hard to read with those errors.

If you have read the first two novellas in this series, you will undoubtedly love this outing as well. If you haven’t yet read the first two books, you might want to take the time to read them before reading this one because you will learn a lot about Dorothy and some of the other residents on the Fairweather and will understand the characters better in this book.

My thanks to Tor Books and Edelweiss for an eARC.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is another appealing science fiction mystery novella by Olivia Waite. Once again, we meet the chief investigator Dorothy Gentleman on the HMS Fairweather, a generation ship on a thousand-year journey and they have just made the 500-year mark. It's a time of celebration although for Dorothy, it's a time for dying. As with all of the inhabitants, each person stores and updates their memories and when their body gives out, they are given a new one with their memories in it. Dorothy has done this a number of times but each time it is hard to die, and she is reluctant to take the next step. As she continues to worry about this next chapter of her life a young man joins her and introduces himself as Dorothy Gentleman! He is in the body meant for Arthur Cumberlane, but Dorothy's memories were given to him so at this time there are two Dorothy Gentleman aboard which is not only confusing, it's probably against the law. As the two Dorothys work to understand what happened they realize that it ties back to the one unsolved murder on the ship -- the first murder which was Dorothy's case and unsolved those many years ago. These relatively short books keep you reading and when you finish you start waiting for the next one.

[Karen Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually try for self-control and to save arcs until closer to release date, but this series is one of my MOST favorite little treats - I think the novella format makes me all the more eager to just inHALE them, and I absolutely did in this case.

So wonderful to be back on the HMS Fairweather, halfway through their interstellar journey, when inimitable ship's detective Dorothy Gentleman has the surprise of meeting herself - in a stranger's body. Somehow, her memory book, slightly out of date, has been uploaded into a stranger. Most irregular. Secrets, history, the ship's beginning, knitting... how is so much packed into such a short read?!

Reading this was an absolute DELIGHT, I recommend this series unreservedly, and the description 'Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple' does fairly well for luring in the right readers. More, pls. Or a TV SERIES! Oh, how I want one.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buckle up fans: we're doubling down into the existential horror of growing old and dying, yet not actually dying. If you've made it this far in the series you know, if you haven't; go start at the beginning. I felt like this book dove further into the semantics and morality of what life is like on the Fairweather, and thus focused a little less on the mystery of the whole affair. An evolution to how Dorothy novels go for sure, and not a bad one; just be prepared for more "what makes a person" questions rather than "whodunnit".

Overall, still a fun and engaging romp through deep space. I'm looking forward to what comes next!

[Emma Stevensby · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you liked the other two, you'll probably like this one, too. It's interesting to watch the Dorothys diverge; the different choices they make start shaping them fairly quickly. I would have liked more of Ruthie, who is my favorite, but this book made better use of some of the other characters (Violet, among others) we meet in the first two books. More cool worldbuilding, more weird moral quandaries introduced by this situation where characters are rembodied after death. Dorothy is a little sadder at the end of this lifetime, so the vibe is a little different than in the previous two books, but she's still the same clever, charming Dorothy deep down.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available for my review.

This series continues strongly, with this being my favorite of the three books published thus far. This time we get not one but TWO Dorothys. Was the new resurrection an accident? Not likely. Will it lead to new mysteries and relationships? Most definitely. While this book does tie up some loose plot lines (and relationships), it also introduces new information that brings even more mysteries into the fray. It's just fun.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are heating up on this interstellar space journey in many more ways than one! The stakes are higher, the murder is more cunning and deceptive, and the spice is spicier! So far this is my favorite of the series and it is becoming a classical cozy murder mystery series. I love the novella length as it’s fun to get little chunks of this world as puzzle pieces begin to shift into place. This world is still one of the most interesting and unpredictable I’ve read across any sci-fi sub-genre.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early access.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

**ARC provided by publisher for review consideration. All thoughts are my own**

Another darling entry to the series- many years have passed since the events of the last book, and Dorothy Gentleman finds herself- literally, she finds herself in another body.

Tantalizing glimpses into the world on board, as well as some interesting philosophical questions. I'm still confused by parts of the actual mystery, but the mystery isn't really the point here. A cozy sci-fi.

[Gretal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love this novella series! I think the way it's all unravelling is super interesting, and I love that it seems like we're checking in on everyone about every century. Uncle Dorothy was a great and intriguing character to add in this installment and I'm very excited to see where things go in the next one!

[Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in advance via NetGalley. (Thanks, Tor!)

Wow! I really enjoyed the previous entries in the Dorothy Gentleman series, but this third novella is a step above!

Between the reflections on aging and memory, to the added worldbuilding, this addition to the series makes the whole feel more substantial. Recommended!

[Kit Garton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this whole thing in a couple of hours (when I was definitely supposed to be doing something else). It was a great continuation of the characters and world, a compelling mystery, and a reflection on identity all in one small package that never felt crowded.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best to read this series in order. I always come away from these going, "uh, I guess the mystery was solved?" without having followed it 100%. I'm here for the ship, though, and the setting, so I'm not mad about it. Someday, when the series is finished, I'll sit down and reread them all together.

There are some bigger reveals here, and future installments now promise to have higher stakes. eee!

eARC from NetGalley.

[Gretchen Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to be absolutely enamored with this series. Best of all, this one has double the Dorothys with a system glitch (perhaps sinister) creating a bonus investigator. This one really builds on the previous two and is the most satisfying entry to date.

[Cathy Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great entry in the Dorothy Gentleman series. As Dorothy prepares to die yet again, she meets herself in someone else’s body. An engaging mystery.

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little mindbending, as you might expect from the premise. I love how this series questions so much about identity and memory and how they intertwine and diverge. I love the way the what ifs can lead to different happy endings. I’m astonished by the revelations in this installment and looking forward to where it goes next.

Advanced Readers Copy provided by edelweiss.

[letsreadwithliz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley, full review coming closer to publication date, but oh boy, was this good.

[Korie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this third installment of the Dorothy Gentleman series. It's been a few hundred years in the timeline and Dorothy is nearing another death in an old body before her rebirth again. She and Violet have remained good friends, but always at a distance. And while Dorothy has thought of her ex-wife who has no memory of her, she has purposefully stayed away from Celia for three hundred years. But everything changes when a second Dorothy shows up, and someone is trying to kill both versions of Dorothy. Both Dorothys need all the help they can get, and that means finally getting answers from the two loves of their lives.

While I always wish these novellas were longer, I also always feel I've read the complete story, which is satisfying. Mostly. I'll probably just read this book again before it goes away on my NetGalley account - that's how much I liked it.