Tag: Olivia Waite

Review – Murder By Memory

Posted October 14, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Murder By Memory

by Olivia Waite

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Science Fiction
Pages: 112
Rating: four-stars

Synopsis:
A Memory Called Empire meets Miss Marple in this cozy, spaceborne mystery, helmed by a no-nonsense formidable auntie of a detective

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…

Told through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, Murder by Memory is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take. Perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie, this well-paced story will leave readers captivated and hungry for the series’ next installment.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Olivia Waite’s Murder By Memory compared itself to Dorothy L. Sayers and Ann Leckie, which was a huge ask — and I don’t think it worked. Which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, but I didn’t get Sayers from it (more Agatha Christie) and there wasn’t enough focus on the culture or enough gender fuckery to feel like a Leckie title. The comparison to A Memory Called Empire didn’t ring particularly true for me, either, but Miss Marple is an apt comparison.

It was a fun mystery, nonetheless, shaped by its setting rather than just pasted on, and I enjoyed Dorothy’s voice and the concept of the generation ship, the “books” that hold people’s memories, and the ingenious crime that makes use of that. Plus, it’s nice to have a detective fascinated by knitting, and shaped by a long life.

I’d be curious about more stories in the same world, and a few more peeks at things like the Antikythera Club, Crimes Committed, and of course, Dorothy and her interest in Violet. And knitting.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, crime, mystery, Olivia Waite, SF/F

Review – The Hellion’s Waltz

Posted February 14, 2022 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

The Hellion’s Waltz, Olivia Waite

The Hellion’s Waltz is fun, with a con story arguably at the heart of it, rather than the romance. Sophie and Maddie’s relationship is sweet, but it happens so fast, with more attention given to working out the con than their relationship.

It actually feels better balanced at first, but then Sophie’s so swiftly persuaded to help with the con that there’s no real work that needs to be done with the relationship — and without scenes of negotiation and getting closer, I feel like I don’t know Maddie very well as a character (I know Sophie a little better because it feels like we get a lot more of her inner thoughts and decision-making, and definitely see more of her family), and I definitely don’t know the relationship well.

It’s very sweet, don’t get me wrong — it just doesn’t quite feel substantial, and I don’t feel that Sophie and Maddie know each other well enough (on the evidence) to know for sure they have a stable foundation on which to build the triumphant happy ending. So that knocked this book down a star at least in my rating.

The con story is entertaining, though, and getting to see Mr Giles have his comeuppance is deeply satisfying. As someone determined to help other workers, and determined to carry on a parent’s legacy and take care of others, Maddie’s a great character. The other stuff just didn’t quite gel for me.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Olivia Waite, romance

Review – The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows

Posted October 30, 2021 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows, Olivia Waite

I picked up The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows from where it had been patiently awaiting me on the shelf more or less on a whim… and got immediately sucked in. At first I couldn’t quite see how Agatha and Penelope were going to work — and in that sense the book was very much a slow burn and definitely put the work in! I believed in it without question by the end, for sure — and I also believed that they would be good for one another.

Agatha and Penelope are both rather independent, but each in their own way, bringing their own strengths to the partnership. Agatha is practical, focused on her goals of managing her business and her son as he comes of age-but she lacks idealism and joy. Those things aren’t lacking around Penelope, though she has yet to find her voice and her joy. From being quite unlike, you quickly come to understand why they complement each other and work well as friends — better than they might have imagined.

They are the main characters, of course, but there’s much to enjoy in the supporting cast: Penelope’s ‘husband’ and his real relationship with Penelope’s brother; the shocking and unrepentant poet, Joanna Molesey; Sidney, Agatha’s son, and Eliza, his lover… the supporting cast all have their charms and their stories, and help to bring the story to life.

Another aspect some readers will be keen on is the fact that Agatha and Penelope are mature women: Agatha has an adult son, after all! This isn’t a story of blemishless, stunning young women, but one of women who have lived, and enjoy that in one another. Pretty as the cover is, too, it’s misleading — Agatha and Penelope are average women, not higher class debutantes.

To my surprise, the book fell together for me very well, despite my initial scepticism about the characters and how they’d fit together. And their little revenge against closed-minded prigs in their community is rather enjoyable…