Epeolatry Book Review: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
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Title: Murder by Memory
Author: Olivia Waite
Genre: sci-fi mystery
Publisher: tordotcom
Publication date: 18th March, 2025
Synopsis: A mind is a terrible thing to erase…
Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.
Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.
Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…
What would it be like to travel across the universe and colonize a planet? Would we make it there in our lifetime? Even if you had everything you could want, how long would it take before boredom set in? Well, nothing could clear the boredom like a murder!
Murder by Memory is a Sci-Fi murder mystery by Olivia Waite. Set on the starship HMS Fairweather, the story begins in the 307th year of a journey to a new world. Humanity has left “Old Earth” and created a near utopian society with all the amenities needed for comfortable life. But there are those who take more than their fair share. That’s when you need a detective!
Dorothy Gentleman: with over three centuries of life, she has a unique perspective on the Fairweather, and toward her fellow passengers. Coming to the detective profession late in her first life, she has a soft spot for knitting and pretty women. Hardships that she’s experienced since beginning her journey have affected her relationships. This makes her interactions with everyone, including her nephew, Ruthie, much more tenuous.
As a detective, Dorothy can interact with the ship’s main computer, or “shipmind” named Ferry. Ferry serves as Dorothy’s master key to the ship and the comic relief throughout the novella. Ferry’s personality even begins to appear drunk when the ship passes through a magnetic storm. Along with Ferry, others aid Dorothy in her investigation. John, Ruthie’s current love interest, serves as the wise bartender, helping Dorothy examine clues.
Waite’s development of the Fairweather’s systems and environment is masterful. The citizens’ personalities and memories are backed up onto hard drives referred to as “books”. Those books are stored in a central location known as “the library” and they are maintained by Librarians. Alcohol onboard isn’t liquor or beer but sensations and memory triggers. Even the economy and commerce fit well within the idea of having limited resources.
I could find myself waiting impatiently for each installment of this potential series. With all the unique aspects of science fiction, the possible tools and methods of murder are endless. The concept of the books offers a welcome twist since murder doesn’t necessarily mean death, but merely a recent memory, and perhaps the victim could make another appearance? With the entirety of the Fairweather to explore, there are many new places for bodies to turn up.
Unique and inventive, Olivia Waite’s Murder by Memory is a fresh approach to the mystery genre. Fans of murder mysteries, who-done-its, futuristic life systems, and space travel will love this novella.
/5
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Joseph Pietris is a member of the United States Coast Guard by day and heavily involved in the horror community by night. His work has appeared in several anthologies. When not writing, he’s produced reviews and interviews preferring those works generally lost in the cracks. As an associate editor, Joseph has weeding through the submission piles of horror podcasts.
Joseph’s work can be found at Amazon.com: Joseph P. Pietris: books, biography, latest update
