I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite Series: Dorothy Gentleman #2
Published by Tordotcom on March 10 2026
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 144
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: An intriguing mystery, tangled interpersonal relationships and a fascinating futuristic world make this sweet, humorous story a must read.
I’m enjoying this series so much! Nobody’s Baby is the second book in the Dorothy Gentleman series, revolving around a generation ship on the way to colonize a new planet and focusing on various ship board mysteries. Dorothy Gentleman is one of the detectives on the ship, and the plot in this book focuses on a surprise baby who appears one day on someone’s doorstep. The story is full of wry humor and feel good moments, and if you’re looking for a low stakes mystery, this is the perfect bite-sized story.
The generation ship Fairweather has a crew roster that never changes. During its centuries-long journey, each passenger has a memory book that can be uploaded to a new body when they die. And there’s a very strict policy that getting pregnant and giving birth during the trip isn’t allowed, for several very good reasons. So it comes as a shock when detective Dorothy Gentleman is summoned to her nephew Ruthie’s apartment one day, only to discover that someone has left a baby on his doorstep. A real, flesh and blood baby!
Now Dorothy must follow the clues to identify the parents, as well as navigate Planetary Law versus Ship’s Law. The baby’s presence raises all sorts of questions, moral and legal, and Dorothy has quite a few threads to untangle.
Once again, Olivia Waite brings a fresh spin to the sci-fi mystery genre with her fascinating world. I’m not sure if this is considered alternate history or not, but you can tell from the characters’ clothing on the cover that it appears to be Victorian or Regency era, but set in space. The characters also have a formal, genteel air about them, and I quite like this idea, especially since it’s paired with futuristic tech, like the retromat, which can reproduce anything, and the memory books, which store everyone’s memories and personalities, to be uploaded into new bodies when necessary.
The mystery itself is rather low key but still interesting. A baby on the ship where babies aren’t allowed or even possible (I’m a little unclear about this, but I’m assuming something was done medically to everyone on board to prevent pregnancy) is an intriguing set-up. Not only that, but the characters become quite emotional about little Peregrine, especially Ruthie, who has formed an intense bond with him and wants to petition for guardianship. Dorothy, who has never had children but fondly remembers caring for Ruthie as a baby, seems to be a natural at getting Peregrine to stop crying. The baby brings out the best in every person he interacts with—except for one, who is more or less the villain of the story—which made the story even more cozy.
Part of the mystery involves tech called a “skimmer,” which is a contraption worn on the head that extracts your memories and projects them onto a large screen. In lieu of watching movies for entertainment, the passengers aboard the Fairweather watch “flickers,” memories created by “projectionists.” I loved this idea, which makes sense because all of the media from our time has been lost, so entertainment has taken on very different forms in this future. The book is full of cool, futuristic ideas like this.
In addition to plenty of humor and sweet moments, like the budding romance between Dorothy and a woman named Violet who runs a yarn shop, Waite touches on some philosophical topics like the fact that no one aboard the ship will ever return to Earth, so they have all had a bunch of “lasts” that exist only in memories (and clearly the idea of memories is a theme that will probably carry throughout the series). There are some debates over the baby and how to categorize him. For example, should he be considered a ship’s passenger and be allowed to store his memories in a book? Or should he be listed as a citizen of the new planet they are heading towards? There are pros and cons to both, and I liked the way these discussions among the characters turned out. I think these books are perfectly balanced with elements that will appeal to all sorts of readers.
Of course there is a happy ending, and Dorothy’s wise, calm manner helps her solve the mystery of baby Peregrine. I cannot wait to read the next installment of this well written series.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
This series is full of cool ideas! I’m not a fan of cozy mysteries, but I can see the appeal.
I think the combo of cozy mystery and science fiction is what makes it work for me!
I’m so looking forward to this one, your review makes it sound like exactly what I want to read right now.
It is a nice antidote for real life right now:-)
I’m so glad this was hit! I really enjoyed the first book — not sure why I didn’t follow up with requesting or adding this one to my TBR, but I’ll correct that ASAP. 🙂 Great review!
Thanks Lisa! I can see this becoming a long series, there’s so much great material to keep it going:-)
Happy to see you enjoying this. Cosy, bit of romance, low stakes – it’s a no-brainer really!
Lynn 😀
It’s the perfect series to take your mind off “things.” 🙂
I still need to read the first book! This sequel sounds equally fun. Can’t wait to read both. 😀
You will have a lot of fun!
I forgot all about this series but definitely want to try it sometime. I love the idea of a space set futuristic story with Victorian flair involved. The mystery sounds heartwarming overall too but with some depth in the philosophical side of things too. Lovely review.
I hope you get the chance to try it, the characters are so much fun as well:-)
Great review! I loved this one too. I think I missed a day’s worth of stuff with Feedly acting weird.
Thanks Anne!
I remember when you reviewed the first one I was interested. I’m not huge on babies in storylines but this does sound fun, Great review.
The baby isn’t really the focus, although maybe I made it seem that way, lol.
I LOVE the sound of this one, Tammy! I always think mysteries in space are ideal, because no one can simply pack up their things and scarper.
I think you’d love it!
I’m so looking forward to this one! And I hope the series keeps going for a while, because I loved the first one and have high hopes for more in the series.
Yes, I want it to keep going! I’d love to see what happens when they finally reach the planet – although I guess that’s not really the point:-)
I just came from another blog review of this one and this sounds like a really fun series! I like the setting.
The setting is so much fun:-)
Really interesting idea setting a story on a generation ship but with Victorian or Regency styling. Not something I’d have thought of.
It’s a creative series with lots of potential. I hope she keeps writing more books!
I just finally got around to reading the first book in this series last month and loved it. My copy of this one just arrived this week, and I’m looking forward to reading it soon. The first one was the perfect mix of coziness and cool ideas about the future, and I’m glad to see this book pulled off those vibes, too.
The cover and title of this one have grabbed me as I keep seeing it around. Your review makes me think I do need to go back and read the first one in the series too. Great review!
https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2026/03/10/release-blitz-review-not-a-side-chick-dont-date-him-3-by-lani-lynn-vale/