I really enjoyed this short novella. I really enjoyed the overall feel of this and hope that there will be more to come. It was really clever and felt very original. The memory library sounded like such a fascinating invention that I would have loved to learn more about. Honestly, I really wanted this book to be much longer than it was. The characters were intriguing and captured my attention very easily. The cozy mystery was also quite fun to try and piece together. I am hoping that this novella captures the interest of others as well because I would love to see this become a longer series!

I listened to the audiobook and have to also say that the narrator, Blair Baker, did a fantastic job with inflection and characterization. I found her voice suited the story very well. I will be looking into more of her narrated works in the future.

I would like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this novella. An amateur detective on a spaceship awakes in a new body that was not hers, But in fact belongs to someone murdered. This is told from her pov and is part mystery part nostalgic love story. Very low stakes. Personally, I could have used much more world building but you're not necessarily going to find that in a novella. I listened to this in one shot and the narrator did a good job of pulling me in, after I picked a higher playback speed.

It was, like many low-stakes fantasy/sci-fi, pretty predictable. I guessed the ending basically right away. However, I did like some of the explanations on how the ship/world worked.


**Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review**

I love cozy mysteries, I love cozy sci fi, and I've enjoyed Olivia Waite in the past, so this was a perfect quick novella for me. The concept was so cool with memory books and impermanence of death except in the event of deletion. I really enjoyed Dorothy's character and the way her mind works. Loved the queerness with no homophobia. I think this will be a great series to read!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

What a lovely bite-sized cozy sci-fi mystery! It provided a good puzzle, clever world-building, and interesting characters. I'm so happy it's going to be a series!

I quite enjoyed revisiting this story by audiobook! I previously read an eARC of this titled and loved the story. It’s so cozy and heartwarming while still being a fast-paced and interesting mystery.

The audiobook narrator does an excellency job at keeping in tone with the cozy atmosphere of the book. I found the narration soothing while still brining color and vibrancy to the characters.

Thank-you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook!

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of this novella. I'm not usually a huge mystery fan when its in a novella format, but I was pleasantly surprised by this. I liked following the characters and being part of the journey. I think I would've enjoyed this more if it was longer since I wanted to know more about the ship and its occupants, but I still had a fun time. If you're looking for a light, fun, quirky, and queer novella, then I'd recommend checking this out!

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for this ALC!

3.5 stars (rounded up)

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for providing me a copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

A sapphic detective-auntie who knits solving a murder mystery in space! This was definitely a fun and cozy little novella snack.

In this world, when you die, your mind is saved in the library until your new body or you ready to get back out there.

Definitely an interesting concept, and since minds don’t really die (unless they are deleted…👀) it for sure makes the “murder” aspect a lot less permanent. 🤭

I forsee a future of fun cozy mysteries in the future of this series.

Audiobook notes: Great! I thought Blair Baker did a great job!

What this book is giving:
✅ Cozy Sci-fi Mystery
✅ Novella
✅ New Body
✅ In Space
✅ Detective
✅ Mind Library

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ / 5

Short and sweet Chrstie-esque murder mystery set on an inter stellar colony ship where memories are stored and bodies can be replaced. I loved the inner monologue of the self deprecating but clever investigator and the great world building. A really nice sci-fi palette cleanser!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my copy. These opinions are my own.

This was a very fun cozy little mystery! At only about 2 hours, it was a really quick audiobook. I enjoyed the narration and thought they brought the story to life. I appreciated how much was in this book, despite being so short - it was a full mystery from start to finish and nothing about how it ended or unraveled felt too convenient. My only complaint is that I wish it was longer as that would have allowed me to actually feel connected to our MCs.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

MURDER BY MEMORY is the cozy sci-fi mystery I didn’t know I needed.

Imagine being able to download your memories—your entire personality—into a new body. And when that body grows old and fails, you just hop on over to a new body.

But that doesn’t mean murder doesn’t happen. In fact, one bizarre murder is exactly what our main character, Dorothy Gentleman, is trying to solve.

This is a short book, listed at 112 pages, and the audio is just over two hours. The plot isn’t complex, but it’s unique and it definitely held my interest. I thought this was a fun start to a promising new series.

Blair Baker does a fantastic job with the audiobook narration.

*Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook download.*

A quick and fun cozy murder mystery in space.

I do like the added layer of a locked room for these but it was a bit short (2h). Worth a try!

A fun mixture of two of my favorite genres: mystery and sci-fi. For a short book I felt that the characters were well-developed, as was the world building. A fun concept, I would definitely read more books by this author.

This appears to be Olivia Waite's first book in the cozy mystery category, and I think she did a great job. The world building for the spaceship and how it operates was excellent. I would definitely read a second book to learn more. That is part of the downside though. This was a very short book. It is hard to get into the world and invest in the characters in 100 pages. Hopefully future books are longer to be able to expand on this good start. The audio narrator was very enjoyable if you prefer audiobooks.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

This was a short read that was very enjoyable and fun to experience! It was exciting in the mystery aspect and gave characters who were fun to get to know and yet deeply relatable.

I wish this had been a longer endeavor, as it was a really interesting concept, so I can't wait to see where things might go from here!

If you're looking for sci-fi with a touch of mystery, this is the book for you!

In Murder by Memory, your mind can be downloaded into a new body once it gets too worn while you are cruising through space. You can also take a break between bodies, keeping your mind safe in the Library. Deborah Gentleman wakes up in a different body with no knowledge how she came to be there. Fortunately, she's the ship's detective. Unfortunately, a murder has just been committed.
I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy, sci-fi novella as Deborah goes about solving this mystery.

Cozy mysteries are definitely not my normal cup of tea, however, this novella managed to make me like the main character Dorothy, who is very entertaining. I will definitely be reading any other books by this author or in this series!

Murder by Memory is a cozy sci-fi mystery from Olivia Waite. I didn't realize that was a genre mashup.

"Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in an elevator on the HMS Fairweather - a luxury, interstellar generation ship. She is one of the ship's detectives and loves to solve the little mysteries that happen. But now someone has been murdered and their memory book erased in the library. Dorothy suspects her nephew, Ruthie, who often leaves chaos in his wake. But she will find the answer."

This is a short novella - the audio is only two hours - so it's very easy to listen to. Blair Baker is the perfect voice for Dorothy. She does a great job with the audio.

No spoilers, but accountants will love this one. And Waite finds an interesting way to murder a character even though Medical can restore memories to a new body. Dorothy is a great character, especially trying to maneuver in a different body.

Nice story if you're looking for a change of pace or a different kind of cozy mystery.

This is one of those times when I'm honestly a bit baffled. Did I read the same book as everyone else? Because so much of this sounded so up my alley but my reading experience was so disappointing.

I listened to the audiobook ARC, and the narrator was good. Not particularly outstanding but definitely no complaints about the narration. But despite the book being quite short I found it impossible to feel engaged with the story. I was so bored and had to force myself to finish.

I love a sci-fi story where the main character wakes up on a ship with no idea what's going on. The reason that works so well for me is that I like discovering things along with the MC. This book does kind of the opposite. The main character knows what is going on with the world of the story, they are confused about the body they are inhabiting. It felt like there was SO much explaining of the world building. And if you are into that kind of thing I bet you'll love this. I'm not and was so very bored. What propels my interest in this kind of story is an affinity, or at least interest in the main character. We are in their head, and it needs to be an interesting place to be. I found this main character void of much personality at all. I wanted so badly to like this book, but while it technically checked all the boxes that had been in the description, there was nothing to hold onto when it came to the characters. Give me a main character with some personality! Make them unique and interesting or really relatable or really awful or SOMETHING.

So yeah, this just did not end up being my cup of tea. I do think readers more interested in a lot of details about sci-fi world building will like this. I was really disappointed with it and really wishing it had delivered on the things I was so excited about.

Hundreds of years in the future, humans are on a starship searching for a new planet. They've uploaded their memories into books so they can download into new bodies and enjoy immortality, but Dorothy wakes up in a body that isn't hers and there's been a murder.

I'm starting to realize that there are mysteries I enjoy reading. Apparently those in space can be added to that list. There's an impressive amount of world building in this novella. The audiobook is only two hours.

Bonuses - there's a library and a yarn store!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

4.5/5
Prior to reading this, I had enjoyed Olivia Waite's historical romances. I'm happy to report that she is just as good at writing sci-fi mysteries and am happy this looks like it'll be a series.

Detective Dorothy knows something is fishy when she wakes up in the wrong body. With the help of a sentient ship, her irresponsible nephew, & the ex-girlfriend of the woman whose body she's currently in, Dorothy investigates a string of murders. Highly recommend for intriguing world-building, a quick read, and a promising start to a sci-fi series! Also recommend the audiobook as the narration is very engaging!