I love me a good cozy science fiction story and Nobody’s Baby is it! This novella gives Becky Chambers vibes on this locked room mystery in the future! Keep reading this book review of Nobody’s Baby for my full thoughts.
Summary
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.
A wild baby appears! Dorothy Gentleman, ship detective, is put to the test once again when an infant is mysteriously left on her nephew’s doorstep. Fertility is supposed to be on pause during the Fairweather’s journey across the stars—but humans have a way of breaking any rule you set them. Who produced this child, and why did they then abandon him? And as her nephew and his partner get more and more attached, how can Dorothy prevent her colleague and rival detective, Leloup, a stickler for law and order, from classifying the baby as a stowaway or a piece of luggage?
Told through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, this novella series 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 next installment.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Who is going to deny a mystery baby? Nobody’s Baby begins with intrigue, a mystery guest, and these universal motives even in this distant future. I love the idea of the memory banks which Waite continues to evolve in this series. It makes the story complex adding a layer of intrigue when we can hide secrets even from ourselves. At the same time, Nobody’s Baby asks us when we stop being who we are, if our memories keep us alive, the essence of who we are. Who are we without the memories which have created us? And once we begin to lose them, how do we get them back? How do we continue to live?
Nobody’s Baby grounds these questions with a mystery baby. About wondering about our origin and what happened to us. While I liked book one better, I loved the evolution of the themes in this one. Now that we’re in the thick of it, I love the sense of growth even if I felt like the first was my favorite!
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Find Nobody’s Baby on Goodreads, Storygraph, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.