This was a cute, fun novella! I was very impressed with the worldbuilding done in such a short book and the mystery had me hooked from the start. I would read a longer book or even more in a series in this world!

A fun, fast-paced sci-fi cozy mystery with a clever twist—people can upload into new bodies, but someone’s deleting minds for good. The detective, Dorothy, is witty, older, and totally lovable. It’s short (just over 100 pages), but it packs in charm, mystery, and cool futuristic vibes.

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the ALC!

This novella is the perfect introduction to the DOROTHY GENTLEMAN series, and it makes me so excited to see what happens next! MURDER NY MEMORY by Olivia Waite is such a fun story that is described as a MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE meets MISS MARPLE in a cozy, spaceborne mystery. It follows a no-nonsense, formidable auntie of a detective, Dororthy Gentleman, whom I absolutely adored. She is one of the ship’s detectives and woke up in a body that isn’t hers, just as someone else is found murdered. Now she has to solve the case!

This was a short and entertaining listen. I adored Blair Baker’s narration as Detective Gentleman. Baker’s brought to life that character and all the side characters wonderfully! I hope they continue the narration with the next book in the series.

This story was so creative. I loved how it was both a sci-fi and a cozy mystery. It definitely had MISS MARPLE feels, which I loved, being an Agatha Christie fan!

This was such a fun novella! It’s a cozy, queer sci-fi mystery that manages to pack an impressive amount of worldbuilding, intriguing characters, and an entertaining mystery into a small, tightly written package. Olivia Waite does a brilliant job balancing detail, sprinkling in just enough about the society and tech to make the world feel rich and believable without ever slowing the pace.

Blair Baker was an excellent narrator for this story, capturing Dorothy’s wit and the book’s cozy sci-fi charm with warmth, clarity, and a delightful range of character voices.

I'm looking forward to future installments!

If you want to hear more of my thoughts—and get additional insight from the author herself—you can listen to my conversation with Olivia Waite on the Shit We've Read podcast.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little skeptical about the premise of this book: a sci-fi, cozy mystery set on an interstellar passenger liner with a ship detective who wakes up in a body that isn't hers. I admit, I was completely charmed by Dorothy Gentleman and the crazy setting. This is a novella to introduce the characters and world-building, but I sure hope it becomes a full-blown series. By the end, I was starting to understand how the body saving worked and how that could lead to many future stories.

Blair Baker was the perfect voice for Dorothy and the genre and tone of the book.

This is a short, cozy sci-fi mystery with an interesting concept. The idea of storing memories and how it changes crime is fascinating, and the world-building is strong despite the length. The mix of mystery and sci-fi worked really well, though the mystery itself feels a bit straightforward. The characters are fun and likeable, and the story has great queer representation. It’s an easy, engaging read that you will enjoy if you are a fan of light sci-fi and/or mystery.

Since I knew this one was short, I knew there wouldn't be a lot of character, setting, or theme development. It was meant to be a quick whodunnit type of short story, and it was done well. I just would have liked a little bit more background into the story before things go underway, personally. Even an extra paragraph or two just to do a little more explaining might have been enough. If this world becomes a full on novel or series, I would definitely be interested in reading it!

This was really short so I do not have too much to say except that I overall enjoyed it. I thought our main character was pretty sensible and we were given a lot of background about the ship and how things work. However, there was no way for me to put together this mystery since we were not given how the banking system works until it was relevant for the mystery. I always get a little disappointed when I am unable to put together mysteries as I read, but since this one was such a short little book I am not too upset.

The storyline is very linear and we put together things with our main character. All the things we learn either help us solve the mystery pretty directly or give us motivation into our detectives background. I think this will be a super fun series to continue to follow, I am simply hoping we can get just a bit more length in the future!! That way we can build a bit more suspense and can maybe have a little more time for our main characters plot and personal development too!

An inventive genre blendy mystery! I don't tend to expect sci fi or mystery from Olivia Waite, but I was delighted by the breadth of her range and ability. I hope there will be more stories like this from the author!

Perfect for fans of Murderbot!

In Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite, we are transported to a sci-fi cosy mystery featuring Dorothy gentlemen after she wakes up in the body that isn’t hers! Not only is she in a different body, a murder has just occurred nearby and someone appears to be killing bodies and deleting peoples minds through the library! Dorothy set her site on unravelling this mystery before her book is closed for good!

Like I said, this is a very Murderbot cosy mystery vibe, and it was a lot of fun and very easy to listen to.

The audiobook narrated by Blair Baker does a great job invoking the sci-fi atmosphere with the cosy a small town mystery. Their voice work diligently portrays the human and non-humanoid characters in great variety and brings this book to life!

A unique and interesting story. Not what I expected and I am still deciding if I liked it. Definitely memorable and thought-provoking.

It seems like cozy mysteries set in space are truly having a moment, and honestly, I’m here for it. This story blends sci-fi and mystery in such a charming, original way that I couldn’t help but be drawn in.

The premise is fascinating: in this future, memories can be uploaded into a digital library, allowing people to transfer into new bodies once the old ones wear out. Another unique world-building element that adds to the story was that certain drinks can trigger powerful, almost cinematic memories.

The main character is an absolute delight. She’s curious, and she knits, which adds a lovely domestic touch amid the futuristic setting. The mystery itself was satisfying, with just enough twists to keep me engaged without feeling overly complicated. I’d gladly return to this world if it becomes a series.

And I have to give a special shout out to the spaceship’s AI, they were unexpectedly hilarious and charming, and honestly, I wish we had more scenes with them.

The narrator deserves praise, too. She did a fantastic job bringing Dorothy Gentleman to life, capturing both her wit and warmth.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

A storyteller must be a semi genius to make an entire world in less than 150 pages. In Murder by Memory we’re on a ship traveling through space for a thousand year journey. They have a library which contains every person’s memory that are re-added every time their body falls apart. Like any society, there is death and murder. A detective is woken from her chosen sleep to solve the newest murder isn’t a murder. This murder is not of the body, it’s a permanent murder of the memories in the library. Waking up in your own body is bad enough but waking up in another body that you don’t recognize and have no control over could be a great boon to a detective but also a great hindrance to the case. This book has ups, downs, heartbreak, and everything you could possibly want in 150 pages. It’s a sci-fi mini epic that I want more of. I need more stories of the ship, of the library, of the society. That is a great short quick read for anyone.

This book is stunning. I’m not usually a mystery reader and have never gotten into cozy mysteries, but I love a good sci-fi, and I adored Waite’s Celestial Mechanics, so I jumped at the chance to read this. The worldbuilding here, for such a short read, is so solid. It reminds me of more than a couple episodes of Doctor Who mixed together in the best ways, but with enough original elements that it could be its own world within that show. Dorothy is a wonderfully compelling protagonist and I hope Waite develops this into a series, because I would love to see where her story goes from here. Blair Baker was a new narrator for me and she does an excellent job, my only wish was that she’d made Dorothy’s nephew English— it’s implied and he was already giving goofy aristocrat vibes.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this to review.

Thank you to Tordotcom and Macmillan Audio for the review copies! If you’re looking for a quick genre-hybrid novella that’s easy to follow, I would recommend this one.

Murder by Memory is the first book in a cozy sapphic sci-fi mystery series. I thought the worldbuilding was clear and tight given how short the story was.

I am a very casual mystery reader - I never solve the mystery, and truly don’t even try most of the time. So the ending was a surprise to me - you may feel differently if you are a big mystery genre reader.

I thought there was going to be a romance and while there was a hint of one, but I definitely would have liked to see more. There is a meet cute, and it does feel like there’s going to be more to this relationship as the series continues, but at this point I wouldn’t classify it as a romance.

I read this by audio and felt like I could picture the world and keep track of all of the characters - something I often struggle with with both sci-fi and mystery books at times by audio. The characters were clear and the narrator was enjoyable to listen to!

Murder by Memory*, written by Olivia Waite, offers cheerful laughs and delightful mysteries set against a captivating science fiction backdrop.

In just 100 pages, Waite takes readers into a future where humanity is on a centuries-long voyage through space aboard the HMS Fairweather, an advanced interstellar spaceship ensuring the survival of the species. The story introduces the fascinating concept of mind recordings and new bodies—allowing humans to live multiple lifetimes before reaching their destination.

This well-crafted narrative is both engaging and entertaining, blending suspense with futuristic intrigue. The mysteries of who the murderer is, who is erasing minds, and their motivations kept me on the edge of my seat, eager for answers.

A special thanks to McMillian Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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]

Audio narration was excellent, the narrator perfectly captured the cosy, lighthearted whimsy of the novella.

Interesting concept of a cosy mystery set in a sci-fi setting of a space ship on its way to a new planet that does not fully rise to its potential. I really enjoyed the ideas of the memory books, new bodies, and how a permanent murder entails destroying a person's memories rather than just their body. However, I found that instead of exploring the concept of memory with how much importance is placed on it (creations of food and drink, significance of a person's book, etc.) the narrative glanced over these aspects of the world.

The mystery itself is essentially solved very early, with more snooping than investigation happening to support the initial suspicion.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for the audio ARC.

Murder by Memory is an incredible bite-sized murder mystery that any sci-fi fan would enjoy! Blair Baker also did a phenomenal job as narrator; with a main character POV that's quite mature, Baker nailed the tone and expressions of an older woman.

Murder by Memory tells the story of a detective being suddenly and unceremoniously awakened in a body that does not belong to her, which is unusual even in a world where death is not permanent and bodies are sometimes considered disposable. I always enjoy SFF stories that play with themes of transcending mortality, and Waite does not disappoint with her take on the concept. I found the boundaries of the setting, a ship transporting the passengers through space to their new home planet, worked well for the book's shorter length. The mystery ended up being on the shallow side in terms of motive and method, but I enjoyed the journey more than the destination so this is largely forgiven on my part. For readers who are most invested in these aspects, however, you may be disappointed. I was more invested in the players involved and our detective, a character I came to love quickly. In terms of loose ends, Waite left a thread that could be picked up for a future installment; this had nothing to do with the main plot in a way that could be interpreted as "open-ended" but more with a particular character that was present while not playing a major role. I would be excited to read another book set on the Fairweather, even if Detective Gentleman is not our POV.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5!

Ahoy there me mateys!  This is a new series with some big comparisons - "Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in this sci-fi ode to the cozy mystery" and "Perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie."  I wanted to read it because it is a cozy mystery set on a generation ship where memories can be stored in the library.  This book is a novella and was just okay.  It is not like Chambers or Leckie's work though it does have a cozy vibe.

I think that the short length (112 pgs) was the biggest issue for me.  I did like the main detective character who is an older protagonist whose consciousness is pushed into the body of a younger person.  What was fascinating was the idea of the ship and the library storing the memories of the passengers.  The personal problem for me is that I wanted more world building, more exploration of the ship, more explanation for why the ship runs as it does, and more character development.  Basically every aspect felt sketched in and rushed.  I really wish this had been a novel.  

The solution to the mystery wasn't very surprising and the motive was uninteresting.  That said I wouldn't be adverse to trying the next in the series to see what the detective gets up to next given that I still love the concepts.  I would love to explore more of the world.  I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed Blair Baker's narration.  This seems like a negative review but honestly I liked enough of what I read.  I just wanted more.  Arrrrr!