Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

Description

A luxury starship. A missing mind. And a murder that shouldn’t be possible.

In Murder by Memory, Olivia Waite launches the Dorothy Gentleman series with a clever, cozy sci-fi mystery where even death is supposed to be temporary—until someone changes the rules. Aboard the HMS Fairweather, life (and afterlife) is meticulously managed: bodies can be replaced, and minds are safely stored in the ship’s Library, preserved for future use.

But something has gone terribly wrong.

Dorothy Gentleman awakens in a body that isn’t her own—never an ideal start to the day—only to discover that a passenger has been murdered. Not just killed, but erased. Their mind, once safely archived, is gone. Permanently.

As one of the ship’s most formidable detectives, Dorothy is no stranger to untangling interpersonal dramas among the Fairweather’s long-lived residents. But this case is different. Someone has found a way to make death stick—and on a ship where people have had centuries to perfect their secrets, that’s a terrifying prospect.

Suspects abound. Her brilliant but chaotic nephew Ruthie may have inadvertently opened the door to disaster. A charming yarn shop owner—who also happens to have a complicated past with Dorothy’s current body—may be hiding more than she admits. And somewhere aboard the ship, a mind capable of orchestrating the perfect crime may have been waiting for the right moment for hundreds of years.

With sharp wit, keen observation, and zero patience for nonsense, Dorothy sets out to solve a mystery that threatens the very foundations of life aboard the Fairweather.

Blending the charm of a classic cozy mystery with inventive science fiction, Murder by Memory is a delightful, twisty tale where identity is fluid, secrets are eternal, and murder has never been so permanent.

Book Details
Author: Olivia Waite
Format: Paperback
Publication Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 125045042X