Murder By Memory is the first book in the Dorothy Gentleman mystery series by Olivia Wade. It focuses on people who live on a spaceship and they could store your memory in the library and even put you into a new body, which is the situation Dorothy has found herself in. Her first contact is with the drunk sounding ships AI Ferry., who lets her know there’s someone on the ship no longer producing signs of life. being the ships detective Dorothy gentleman, despite being in a new body must do her job, but first she has to determine how the woman died. this is a very intelligently written, snarky, cozy mystery that I really enjoyed. I really loved Ruthie and his partner and thought Dorothy gentleman was such a great character. it’s also a quick read, but has lots packed in from missing memories to ship secrets, and even the spark of a romance I cannot wait to see what Dorothy gets into next. Also, what a great name for this detective Dorothy gentleman. I want to say I listened to the audiobook and I found the narrator had a superb voice and did a brilliant job narrating this book. Unfortunately they didn’t put her name and although I have tried to look for it elsewhere, unfortunately I cannot find it hopefully though this is the only audio version because she is truly an awesome, awesome performer. #NetGalley, #McMillanAudio, #TheBlindReviewer,#OliviaWade, #MurderByMemory, #TheDorothyGentlemenMysteries,

I've read one of Olivia Waite's sapphic historical romances and while I did enjoy it, this connected more with me. Basically if Murderbot was a sapphic cozy mystery instead, which yes please! I really liked Dorothy as a main character, the drunken sentient spaceship, her nephew Ruthie, and all the other characters. The descriptive language was beautiful and vivid while not edging into purple prose territory. Waite did more in under 150 pages then a lot of mystery authors manage in 2 times as many pages. I recommend it for sci-fi fans that also enjoy mysteries and are looking for something quick, but still well developed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook - all opinions are my own.

On the interstellar ship, the Fairweather, death is temporary when a new body can be created and your memories restored from a copy in the library, But when detective Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn't hers and to news that there's just been a murder, it's clear that someone's figured out how to make a murder stick, and this new body might have something to do with it.

The was such a fun sci-fi mystery. I loved the concept of people storing their memories as a way to survive a long journey through space. I thought the world was so interesting, and I cannot wait to read more about Dorothy and the Fairweather.

My word.

This is my first book of 2025, and it couldn’t have been a better choice.

It was A DELIGHT.

I loved the Cruise-Ship to Earth 2.0 setting, and the memory/body premise – particularly the bits about memory cocktails.

I loved the characters, and I can’t wait to learn more about then (I’m looking at you, John).

It super-ha-ha-clever.

It was super-building-worlds-clever.

It was super-philosophical-books-are-fucking-political-clever.

I can only hope #2 follows closely behind.

Aboard a spaceship travelling on a thousand year journey, Dorothy, our older detective, wakes up in a strange twenty-something body. Why was her memory implanted into a body without her permission? Why is the ship’s AI acting intoxicated? And did her new body previously commit a murder?

I’m not usually one for reading mystery, but the promise of cozy space vibes appealed to me. I had to suspend some disbelief at the actualities of the science, but do think the author created an interesting world onboard her spaceship. I appreciated the queernormative society and that our heroine is an older woman who knits and uses her sleuthing skills for the good of her community! The novella format got right to the heart of the mystery and maintained an easy to follow, addicting pace, plus the audiobook narrator was very easy to listen to. Overall I thought this was an interesting mystery aboard an interesting world with an interesting main character, and I'll definitely be reading the rest in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this audiobook.
I really enjoyed this Novella. I am a very big fan of cozy mysteries and was looking forward to reading it. It was more of a why did it rather than a who done it. This was really fun!
The Audibook itself was very well stated and all of the characters were interesting and flushed out for a novella. I do wish this was a longer novel because I would have loved to stay in this world. If there is another story in this world I will pick it up in a heart beat.
4.75/5.

Detective in space - check
Dead body - check
Cozy novella - check
First in series - check
Must read - check
Loved it - oh yes

A gentle, comfy, murder mystery aboard a spaceship. This was lovely and I will 1000% pick up any future stories following Dorothy or set on the
HMS Fairweather.

I love when an author doesn’t shy away from hobby related jargon in a story, it’s very clear that Waite is a knitter. This was a perfect thing to listen to while working on a cardigan.

My first time reading a book by Olivia Waite but it will *not* be my last!

Minority Report but make it a book, and better! I highly enjoyed this novella - excellent storytelling, easy to digest, and very fun!! Fabulous narration!!

This book was an absolute delight. Cosy, sapphic, murder mystery in space, with knitting. Just, YES to all of that.

Despite there being murder, fraud, corruption, this book still had the cosiest feel to it, which I absolutely needed. This is the first book I've read by Olivia Waite, and I am now absolutely wanting to finally check out her other books (they're been on my secondary TBR for years!). The writing was great, I loved the characters, I loved the queernormative world, I love that this is the start of a series!!! Please, give me all of the Dorothy Gentleman books, please. Plus, there is a possible love interest that's been introduced and I am 1000% here for it. It will make this series even MORE cosy!

The narrator really added another layer to my enjoyment of this, the choices they made for the characters was absolutely perfect!

This is a really short book, so I'm not really going to say anything else about it, because anything that I say is going to spoil it. Just, trust me, this book is fantastic.

Holy crap, this was delightful and wonderful! I’ve read several of Waite’s historical romances, and was intrigued by this shift in genre. The story of Dorthy, Janet, and Gloria was so tightly woven and paced so wonderfully, I’m glad I had the time to read it in one sitting. I’m so intrigued by the world building and the setting on the Fairweather, and look forward to seeing more of Ruthie and John. And Violet! Ooh, she’s definitely a pull and I cannot wait to see where things go with her and Dorothy in the future! This was such a great novella and packed so many delightful details in. And the audiobook experience is delightful as well! Just, all around a very positive reading experience!

In the distant future, humanity has solved the problem of lifespan. Those aboard the luxurious interstellar passenger liner HMS Fairweather can upload their brain to the ship library at their convenience and when their current body becomes to frail or an accident occurs, they can be restored to a new copy of their body with all their memories intact! That is, when all goes to plan.

And when the book begins, all is definitely not going to plan. Dorothy Gentleman awakes into a body that is not her own, and the ship system is inebriated by an interstellar storm, but able to tell Gentleman that they have been awakened due to the destruction of their main memory copy. Gentleman must figure out why her current body, a 27 year old banker, is where she found it, and what motivated murder.

The first in what could be a continuing series, this novella is a fun cozy locked room/ space ship mystery. The technology is easily explained, and the mechanics of are detailed fully to better explain the main case. Despite there being many people aboard the ship, for this outing we only meet a few of them, with hints at the larger crew and passengers. It is low on body count but full of possibility.

Recommended to readers of cozy mysteries, episodic science fiction or locked room mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my review.

I'll be very honest, I applied for an ARC of the audiobook with zero expectations, only realizing later I had read one of this author's prior historical sapphic romances. Both the novella itself and the excellent narration blew me out of the water!

The audiobook length seemed extra short for a novella and I was nervous about how well it would set the stage for this sci-fi mystery. But it was just long enough to sketch out the way this generation ship runs, including it's unusual practice of downloading the minds of its inhabitants into regrown human bodies on a loop, while holding your hand through a fun little mystery. It teases just enough about other characters that you can imagine there's room for more stories in this setting. There's both an answer to the why behind the murder and enough tying up of loose emotional ends for our protagonist Dorothy that the book feels satisfying. I would be anti-surprised to see this on next year's Hugo ballot.

I kind of wish it was a series; I wouldn't be opposed to more of Dorothy and Blair Baker's wonderful narration. I certainly hope it's not Waite's last foray into speculative fiction - she has the knack for it!

Dorothy wakes up to find she (ie her memories, her “self”) is contained in a different body. A younger body. But possibly the body of the person who murdered her?! This “who dunnit” in space takes place on a luxury spaceship where Dorothy is a Security Officer. In other words, it’s up to her to figure out who and why someone is messing with people’s bodies and memories. This is a well-written and well-narrated short novella that packs a lot of personalities on board: from the funny and flamboyant to the fairly frustrated. I hope to read (listen to) more of Dorothy’s adventures aboard this ship!
My thanks to the author, publisher, @MacmillanAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes. Publication date: 18 March 2025.

Murder by Memory is a classic, cozy mystery with sci-fi. Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn't hers. She is on an interstellar passenger liner where minds are stored and bodies are interchangeable. Dorothy is working on a murder investigation with a deeper thread she can't stop pulling. For a novella, it was a fun story with a mix of lively characters that kept the story engaging and fun with a whodunit blended with space exploration. Dorothy Gentleman is a detective with a dry wit that you'll want to follow through many more mysteries. I can't wait for the next installment!

The narration was superb and crafted a spot-on host of characters.

Thank you, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio, for the gifted audiobook.

3.5⭐️
This wasnt my cup of tea unfortunately. It’s someone’s I’m sure, just not for me.

While in general am not drawn to Sci-Fi I was intrigued by the Miss Marple connection so I dive into the audiobook which was only 1 hour and 45 minutes long at 1x the speed. However, the mystery part of it to me was way over shadowed by the science fiction whiz didn’t allow me to connect with the material.

The narrator, Blair Baker, did a great job with the read and I was pleased that the regular rate was more like a typical speaking rate than most. I still sped it up to 1.5 which made the book last about an hour. So for that I was thankful!

I can say that the author fit a lot of world building is a very short amount of space in an adept way. So fan of sci-fi thrillers I think will be really pleased with it. I’m a bit confused as why it’s not a full length book but that’s for another day.

It comes out March 18th 2025


I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from Macmillan through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Audio review: Blair Baker did an excellent job as narrator! I especially loved the voice for Ferry, it fit perfectly. This was such a fun listen! Great quality too.

Book review: I am loving sci-fi novellas lately, and this utopia type world set on a space ship is such a cozy concept. If I had to live on a spaceship, this is the one I'd choose. I love the idea of the mind library, and the body changing is so interesting. I'm not sure I'd want to live 1000 years, but again, this seems like a nice place to do it if necessary. I really enjoyed the cozy mystery feel too, and how Dorothy (and the other detectives on the ship) are technically amateurs/trained on the job. It gives the vibes I love in a mystery book.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

I was familiar with Olivia Waite's previous sapphic historical romance novels, but this turn into sci fi mystery is a successful one! The novella was paced perfectly, with just enough world building to provide an understanding of the world, but not so much to bog down the fast paced plot. We follow Dorothy Gentleman, a detective on a generations ship of ten thousand, that wakes up in a body that is not hers, and is told there has been a murder. She must uncover the who and why. The audiobook is lovely with Becky Blair's narration making each character feel distinct. Highly recommend this book and I hope it becomes a series. I would love more of Dorothy's story or the HMS Fairweather world.

I'm not usually one for comps but this one has some great ones: mix Mimicking of Known Success, Blighted Stars, and A Memory Called Empire, notch up the fun and add some cozy, and you have Murder by Memory. This is an excellent SF novella and cozy murder mystery.

Olivia Waite is known for her sapphic historical romances, but this is now my favorite of her books. She gives us just enough worldbuilding to familiarize us with her world, but not so much to bog down the 112 or so pages. Dorothy is a detective on a generations ship of ten thousand. At roughly year 300, they've each lived so many lives in recycled bodies but with memories preserved. Dorothy is awakened by the ship, in a body not one of her usual choosing, and she's ready to investigate a death. In the process, she uncovers something that runs much much deeper.

This book is successful because Waite pays attention to the right level of detail at the right time throughout the narrative, delivering an incredibly well balanced novella. We get some reflection on human nature along the way, too. I would like 15 more of these please!

I read Murder by Memory a second time in two weeks when I had the opportunity to listen, and the audiobook is an absolute TREAT! The narration by Blair Baker brings big personality in all the right places, especially at the start of the book with the slightly drunk-sounding spaceship Ferry... I highly recommend listening to this perfect bite-sized audiobook.

This was such a fun and promising start to a new series!

The mystery is soli, interesting, and cannot be divorced from the sci-fi setting, so I really liked that aspect. I also think Dorothy is very voice-y in a good way and brings a slightly humorous old lady type of tone, while being able to make interesting observations that enrich the reading experience. And just a wee bit smitten with the enigmatic women she encounters. Love that for her.

My only complaint, honestly, is that it was too short and I wanted more. Especially of the ship as a character, we barely saw her at all toward the end!

I hope this becomes another long-running Tordotcom series (a la Murderbot or Wayward Children) because I think these characters will be very fun to follow.

Audiobook Notes:
A+ narrator. 10/10 no notes. Really liked how she voiced the main character and the rather drunk ship in particular. It almost felt like multiple narrators were contributing and was very well done.