Read time: 4 minutes
🎧 Listened in audio
📢 Narrated by Philip Battley
⏱ Duration: 8 hours
🏷️ Publisher: Tantor Media | Published: June 16, 2026
(Print copy self-published: September 23, 2025)
Book Blurb:
It’s opening night in Milverton, and Addison Harper finally has his perfect date — front-row seats at a Halloween variety show with Sergeant Jake Murphy. What could go wrong? Everything, apparently. Between ghoulish drag queens, spooky musical numbers, and the nightmare of audience participation, Addison is already mortified before a very real, very unscripted death disrupts the evening entirely. Was it a terrible accident — or something far more sinister? With the curtain down and a killer potentially still in the room, Addison finds himself centre stage once again, sleuthing through a cast of suspects in the charming, murder-prone small town of Milverton, New Zealand.
Let’s talk … murder!!!
Where has G.B. Ralph been all my life? I am being completely sincere when I say that reading an introvert written BY an introvert is a spiritual experience. From the very first scene, Addison Harper thinks EXACTLY like my brain does. Listening to him spiral over audience participation while on a date! It is the most relatable thing I’ve encountered in fiction this year. I did not expect to feel so personally seen by a cozy mystery set in New Zealand, and yet, here we are.
The mystery itself is genuinely fun. A Halloween variety show gone horrifyingly wrong; a drag queen at the centre of the chaos; and a cast of Milverton locals who are as nosy and lovable as ever. Addison and Mabel are an absolute dream duo. Watching them piece things together while navigating small-town dramatics is the cozy mystery formula working at its absolute BEST. G.B. Ralph has this incredible gift for balancing laugh-out-loud moments with a mystery that actually keeps you guessing, and this installment delivers on both counts.
Also, romance!
And then there’s Jake. JAKE. Listen, yes, the romance between Addison and Jake moves fast in this one. I clocked it, I noted it, and then I completely surrendered to it because they are SO good together. Is it a little clichéd? Sure. Do I care even a little bit? Not even slightly. The slow burn has been simmering across four books and watching it develop here was everything I needed. Philip Battley’s narration is the perfect vessel for all of it. Warm, witty, and completely in sync with the tone of the series. This audiobook format is genuinely the IDEAL way to experience Milverton. You can see that by how I waited for the audiobook instead of reading the already-published book. Philip Battley is that good, you guys!
Would I recommend it?
If you have been sleeping on the Milverton Mysteries, this is your sign to fix that IMMEDIATELY. Fright on Stage Right is cozy mystery firing on all cylinders. A clever whodunit, a delicious small-town setting, queer representation that feels joyful rather than performative, and a slow-burn romance that finally, FINALLY delivers. G.B. Ralph, the publishing world does not deserve you, but we readers absolutely do. Go get your copy. Don’t walk! Run.
Read Next
- Murder on Milverton Square by G.B. Ralph — The one that started it all; if Fright on Stage Right is your first taste of Addison Harper and Milverton, go back to book one and experience the whole glorious journey from the beginning.
My Review | Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy - In a Book Club Far Away by Tif Marcelo — For readers who fell for the found-family dynamics woven through Addison’s world; charming, emotionally rich, and hard to put down.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto — Chaotic characters, accidental crime, and laugh-out-loud comedy; perfect for anyone who loves their mysteries with a generous side of mayhem.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson — If the theatrical, performance-space mystery setting of Fright on Stage Right intrigued you, this locked-room puzzle is your next read.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas — Queer, atmospheric, and romantically charged — for readers who want that same LGBTQ+ joy and slow-burn tension in a spookier package.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy
Take a Bow, But Tell Me First
Have you read the Milverton Mysteries yet, and if not, WHAT are you waiting for? And for those already in the Addison Harper fan club, are you Team “the romance moved too fast” or Team “worth every sappy moment”? Sound off in the comments!
Book Links
Want to purchase this or any of your favourite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below — these sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfil your book orders. #SupportLocal
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org
Track it: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary
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