📖 Am I glad I read it? Well, Olivia Waite has certainly piqued my interest and snared my attention with this blend of sci-fi and noir detective story that is cozy enough to be a fun treat but not so cozy as to veer into twee territory. My favorite parts were, unsurprisingly to me, the world Waite constructed about the generation ship HMS Fairweather, particularly the concept of the memory library and the literal preservation of memory via books, and the memory cocktails. Tons of fun, super interesting, and, delightfully, subtly political.

Narrator Blair Baker was a pleasure to listen to, engaging and animated. Their voice was nicely suited to the character of a nosy, no nonsense auntie mysteriously stuck in a 27-year-old's body and, as a pleasant bonus, made for an amusing portrayal of the Fairweather ship itself.

I can't say that cozy mysteries will ever be my favorite subgenre, and with the book being as short as it is, the likelihood that I would be nail-bitingly engrossed in the mystery itself wasn't particularly high, but here's what I can say: I'm pretty much always down to read something that can be described as sapphic [INSERT DESCRIPTOR HERE] set in space, and I'll be pleased to read the next book in the series. Especially if we get some more action with a certain intriguing, sexy knitter.

📖 Rating: 👍🏼 (liked; 4.25 stars)

This was a quick fun read, the author did a great job with quickly developing the world and establishing the stakes, it was a fun read

Cozy sci-fi mystery? On a spaceship? What is not to love. I wish this was a full length novel because all I can say is I want more. It feels like an episode of a TV show and I want a whole season. I loved Dorothy and the drunk sounding AI.

Wow - this was a fantastic, tight mystery jam packed with interesting technology, an immersive world, and queer characters! So much is fit into the book in such a short span of time. I definitely recommend for a quick read if you're into Sci-Fi *or* mysteries. I felt like I was in the world immediately, had a sense of all the characters and place. The read-a-like for Becky Chambers is definitely apt, and I appreciated that knitting was brought in too.

I listened to this as an audiobook and really loved the narrator as well - she helped me get into the characters and the feel immediately, which is so important for shorter books.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and to MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy.

This is a great light sci-fi cozy mystery. Olivia Waite knows how to draw you into a character, even when the character isn't even in her own body. I loved a lot about this and would love to read more in this generational ship!

I feel like my review should be taken with a grain of salt because I initially wasn't aware this was the beginning to a series. I thought at first it was kind of lacking a lot of depth, but now knowing there is more to come, I completely get how this was kind of like an extended prologue.
I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the setting and look forward to the next book!

I'm personally not a big genre romance reader, so while I've been aware of Waite for a while now, this was my first time reading anything of theirs. I was intrigued by the pivot to science fiction and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. I love the growing cozy fantasy & sci-fi movement! This was a cozy, quick, and queer read with a simple but intriguing enough mystery at the centre. I read it in a sitting and it's short so there's not much you can really say, but I'd love to read more in the series and I hope Waite continues to explore the ideas and technology around memory and life because those were so interesting. I think this easily could've been a longer novel because of them, but the concepts are rich enough that there's lot of opportunity for future instalments too. The narrator was great too! The perfect amount of quirk and direct to reader type sass!

Detective Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in an elevator aboard the HMS Fairweather—but she’s not in her own body. The luxury interstellar generation ship has bent a few protocols to bring her back after an electrical storm, because it desperately needs its best detective on the case. A murder has been committed, and worse, someone is permanently erasing minds from the Library, where passengers’ memories are preserved between lifetimes.

This sci-fi mystery novella is a delightful mix of noir detective work, interstellar travel, and meddling auntie energy. While many comparisons to Miss Marple have been made, I don’t think they quite fit. Aside from a shared love of knitting, Dorothy Gentleman is no amateur sleuth—she’s a seasoned professional. Readers expecting a cozy, accidental-detective story may be surprised by the more hard-boiled investigation at play here.

The HMS Fairweather is a rich, intricately imagined setting that begs for more stories. The concept of storing memories in books and inhabiting fresh bodies opens the door for endless possibilities—especially on a ship traveling through deep space for centuries.

Blair Baker’s narration is spot-on, fully embodying Dorothy Gentleman and bringing her wry intelligence to life.

While the details of the mystery itself became a bit murky toward the end, the characters and world kept me engaged. I had a great time aboard the Fairweather and look forward to future investigations with Detective Gentleman.

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.