My Thoughts on the Novel, Coming In Hot: A Piper Harris Mystery, Volume 1, by Deany Ray, 4/22/2026…

Have you ever found yourself reading a book and encountering one event, one plot point, one small detail, and say, “What the f*&k?” I did so reading Coming In Hot: A Piper Harris Mystery, Volume 1, by Deany Ray. And it happened early on.

The plot involves Piper Harris and her grandmother being relocated via WITSEC to a retirement village in Florida. Both of them originally lived in Oregon, where they were “employees” of a biker gang called the Falcons—a gang under serious scrutiny by federal agencies. And of course, a murder fuels the plot.

As soon as they arrive in Florida, these landlubbers from Oregon decide to go to the beach, which seemed, to them, the typical Floridian thing to do. So they did. And then they fall asleep on the beach.

And they wake up hours later with no sun poisoning whatsoever. Yes, you read that correctly. Two ladies from Oregon spend time in the Florida sun, without sunscreen, and are not adversely affected by the ultraviolet rays at all. I’m amazed that some editor, writer's group member, or beta reader did not pick up on this. I mean, it was obvious, sticking out like sunburn on fair skin.

This point, for me, of course, was a Game of Thrones moment, where I felt like chucking my Kindle across the room. I didn’t, though; I just cursed a lot and continued to read.

Why did I not abandon this book right away, you ask? Because I wanted to figure out the mystery, to exercise my brain, and further expose my creative self to yet another inspiring example.

Also, since Piper and her grandmother, Dorothy, were ex-criminals, Piper appears to have quite a crisis of conscience later in the book, before the mystery was solved. This seems out of sorts as well. Since she originally worked for organized crime and did things that were not legal, why would she think twice when her elderly neighbor was feeling the pressure of her community and was blamed for a murder that occurred squarely on her front lawn? Is Piper truly an ex-con with a heart of gold? It didn’t track. It was as if the author had a good idea and just went with it without doing any required homework.

I do not recommend this book, nor will I continue with the series. There are far better mysteries and mystery series out there. Trust me, I’ve read a few.