Reviews – G. B. Ralph

2025 Writing Highlights: Reviewing

As an indie author, with ~95% of my book sales being ebooks or audiobooks and ~98% of my readers living outside New Zealand, my promotional efforts tend to be focused online. So, it’s a real highlight and unexpected thrill whenever I capture the attention of a local reviewer and/or get coverage in traditional media! In…

G. B. Ralph

12 Dec 2025

Writing

Books, Fright on Stage Right, Highlights, Magazine, Murder on Milverton Square, New Zealand, Radio, Radio New Zealand, Reviews, The Milverton Mysteries

Week one reception to my new spooky cosy theatrical mystery novel

The drama! The controversy! That’s drag, honey. In the first week since the ebook release, Fright on Stage Right (The Milverton Mysteries #4) has been a big hit with readers with lots of lovely, enthusiastic, positive feedback! However, it didn’t go down quite so well with a couple of readers and that is totally OK…

G. B. Ralph

1 Oct 2025

Writing

Books, Cosy mystery, Cozy mystery, Feedback, Fright on Stage Right, Mystery, New Release, Ratings, Reviews, The Milverton Mysteries

Penshaw hits 200

Poison at Penshaw Hall just celebrated it’s rating/review double hundy 🔥 And holding steady with a very hearty 4.4 out of 5 stars. It’s exciting to see so many readers enjoying Addison’s second misadventure in Milverton.

G. B. Ralph

29 Feb 2024

Writing

Amazon, Milverton Mysteries, Poison at Penshaw Hall, Ratings, Reviews

My top 5 reads of 2023 (+ more)

I read so many great books last year, but today I’ve pulled out: 5 stand-out books of 2023 Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle meet Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club in this fiendishly clever blend of classic and modern murder mystery. It’s just…

G. B. Ralph

9 Jan 2024

Reading, Writing

2023, Books, Fantasy, Highlights, LGBTQ, Mystery, Reading, Recap, Reviews

Highlights from Poison at Penshaw Hall’s first week

The second of my Milverton Mysteries, Poison at Penshaw Hall, has been out for a week now, and I thought I’d share a few of the highlights! #1 Best Seller in LGBTQ+ Mystery I first noticed that glorious orange badge on the afternoon (NZDT) of 26 October 2023, just over 18 hours after the book…

G. B. Ralph

2 Nov 2023

Writing

Amazon, Books, Cosy mystery, Cozy mystery, LGBTQ, Milverton Mysteries, Mystery, Poison at Penshaw Hall, Ratings, Reviews

Milverton hits a milestone with 200 ratings on Amazon

I got excited when I noticed Murder on Milverton Square had 199 ratings on Amazon – so close to that two hundy! Screenshot from Amazon.com: And then I take my eye off the prize for a minute and – BAM! – 205 ratings. As much as I would’ve liked to grab a screenshot at the…

G. B. Ralph

2 May 2023

Writing

Amazon, Books, Cosy mystery, Milverton Mysteries, Murder on Milverton Square, Ratings, Reviews

The Murderbot Diaries

TLDR: Robot hacks itself and watches soap operas, but the inconvenient humans keep endangering themselves. This science fiction series by Martha Wells is the most heartwarming, humane, and hilarious treatment of artificial intelligence I have come across. The prickly and sarcastic Security Unit – which secretly refers to itself as Murderbot – has hacked the…

G. B. Ralph

25 Mar 2021

Reading

Artificial Intelligence, Books, Novellas, Reading, Reviews, Science Fiction, Short Stories

Duck and Dive: one month later

It’s been a month since I released my first piece of fiction for sale (UK, US, AU, CA)! Some people even bought it and read it, for which I am so grateful. The release of Duck and Dive involved a huge list of firsts for me: Putting something I’ve written out in public, then actually…

G. B. Ralph

24 Jun 2020

Writing