Coming in Hot

Piper Harris #1

by Deany Ray

Starting a new life in Florida means year-round sunshine, beautiful beaches, and balmy breezes. For most people, anyway.

But not for thirtysomething Piper and her grandmother, former members of a motorcycle gang in Oregon.

For them, it means entering the witness protection program and moving to Bitter End in the Sunshine State. Yes, to Bitter End. It doesn’t get much more ironic than this.

But hey, it’s better than rotting in jail for getting busted with tax evasion and money laundering, and infinitely better than getting killed by said gang for testifying against them.

Needless to say, they both have difficulties adjusting to life in Florida. Moving into a retirement community and dealing with all those quirky characters? Wearing flip-flops instead of biker boots? Where do you even hide your gun if you’re wearing those godawful muumuu dresses? Not to mention, they’re supposed to keep everything on the right side of the law now? Ugh!

Oh, and there’s that dead body in their neighbor’s front yard. Instead of laying low, Piper and her Gran somehow get sucked into that murder mystery.

When they realize they’re in too deep and their cover is almost blown, they have no other choice but to find the killer before it’s too late.

Unique characters, laugh-out-loud moments, and of course, a hot PI guy await for you in this fast and funny romp!

COMING IN HOT is perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich, Jana DeLeon, Gemma Halliday, Liliana Hart, and JB Lynn.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Cozy, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

345 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 26, 2023

About the author

https://www.facebook.com/deanyraybooks/

Deany Ray has always wanted to be a writer so she decided to take the plunge and dive into it.
She loves writing cozy mysteries, as this is what she likes to read the most.
Her favorite activities are traveling, going to the movie theatre, meeting up with friends and having cooking sessions with her awesome mom.

Reviews

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piper's Gran absolutely cracked me up! She's such a hoot and really awesome character. There were definitely some LOL moments like the description said. The setting being a retirement village for a couple of witness protection ladies seemed like a perfect front, but only Gran and Piper could manage to bring more attention to themselves by investigating a murder, lol.

The main murder was solved but I can tell there's gonna be a continuing thread or maybe a couple. It was cool how each chapter revealed a little more info on Piper and Gran like before their forced move and how they even ended up in witness protection. I'm sure the next book's gonna be just as much fun, can't wait to borrow it on KU.

[Katy Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a good concept for a crime series where the sleuth isn't a goody two-shoes, but has her own criminal background, and at the start it was moving along well, but then it started to get rather repetitive on harking back to Piper and gran's background. I also wasn't a fan of the author inserting her opinions on domestic violence being the victim's fault - it was absolutely nothing to do with the story or any background, it just seemed like she wanted a distasteful rant. I won't be following up on the series.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take two ex motorcycle gang members from the west coast , put them in witness protection and drop them in a retirement community in Florida and see what happens.
Piper and her Gran, Dorothy, experience real culture shock when they arrive in Bitter End. They need to keep a low profile and try to fit in but a murder in the neighbor's yard puts that in jeopardy.
This new series appears to have quirky characters, an interesting story and lots of humor. Looking forward to the next book.
I received an ARC copy and this is my honest and freely offered review

[Karen West · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm stuck between a 3 & 4. Cute read with some funny bits, not enough of a read to draw me to the next in series

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Piper and her Gran end up in witness protection after Gran gives testimony on their biker gang to keep herself out of prison.
After 13 months of hiding in motels they are set up in Florida at a retirement village with some quirky inhabitants.

Well hiding out in witness protection is not that easy for Piper and her Gran. Having been raised in biker gang they don't know how to act like "normal" people and it is funny to watch them try to fit in. They dress wrong, hate Florida heat, find a dead body and mysterious goings on in the retirement community - and that is all in the 4 days. They are not surprised or shocked by dead body, breaking and entering so those around them are starting to look at them oddly. If the rest only knew the past they are hiding.
Cute and light read with lots of potential hinted for future books.

[Linda Sadler · Rating 3 out of 5]

One should not compare a book to the Stephanie Plum series written by Janet Evanovich. The hype behind this book lead to nothing but disappointment especially in the first half of the book. If I hadn’t have been reading it for a prompt, I would have DNF’d it. I truly believe that my main problem with this book is the humor came no where near the series it was compared to. If I hadn’t known anything about the book, I’m almost sure I would have rated it higher because my enjoyment level would have been higher. This book is a cheap imitation of the Plum series. I have no doubt where the author got the inspiration for this series.

[Nore · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun little book! Being old enough to be retired, but not in bad enough health to need assisted living, nor desperate enough to live in Florida, this was a fun read for me. The next book is already cued up in my Kindle and I’m off to another adventure with Piper and Dorothy. I’m curious to find if Piper becomes a hairdresser or a bartender at the Bitter End.

I debated giving it a 5 star rating, but there were some grammar errors that bothered me.

[pastbedtimestories · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay this book was mediocre but it also had some nice fun moments. What made it mediocre was the constant repetitive explanations of the same things. It was like, okay, we get that already.

The setting was fun and the characters were goofy and well drawn for the most part. I’m probably going to continue reading this series despite my low rating.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first saw this book on a FB add. Having just finished the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series (loved it) I was intrigued by the premise and that the author, Deany Ray, is writing in English which is not her first language. Made me think about Joseph Conrad. Sadly she isn’t Joseph Conrad an this isn’t The Heart of Darkness.

I believe a good editor could have reduced this novel by a third and made it a better read. I think, particularly when writing a series, you want characters you care about, ones you would like to know. There was only one character that I would care to know and it wasn’t the lead. For me, the last third of this novel was a bit painful to read.

As you might surmise, I won’t be reading any more in this series.

[Princess J. Antoinette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm.. you know I would have loved to continue reading this series to see how Piper and Ryker's relationship develops but it's just to slow for me.. please don't get me wrong the grannies characters in this book and their moments of shenanigans had me really laughing out loud, but the plot and the twists were like watching paint dry.... I just can't do it! I don't care what the rating are, dang on it I just can't read anymore of this... oh well 🤷🏾‍♀️

Overall Rating:
3.50 ☆ ~ Okay Read( just to slow 🐌)

[Jane Wiewora]

fun to read

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

me when I smuggle garden gnomes in my ass
🤑🤑🤑

[Rhona Crouthamel · Rating 1 out of 5]

A definite pass

There was so much i didn't like about this book and these characters it's hard to know where to begin. Possibly with the frequent poor sentence structure that left me with the need to constantly rewrite
sentences in my head.

Or we could talk about using criminals as the main characters, basically our "heroes". And not criminals that regret their crimes and past and are trying to reform, make a new start. No these people love their past, make fun of and look down on " normal" people, and were pretty much just forced into this situation because they got caught.

Additionally, I find Piper and Dorothy incredibly unlikable. All they do is whine and complain. They're very rude, and look down on anyone different from them.

I'll finish off with this, maybe what set me off more than anything... At one part, during a party, Piper tells another women her rehearsed story about why she came to Florida, the cheating boyfriend story. The women commiserates about "men". Then Piper lookgoes off on an internal dialogue basically saying that women who are mistreated or abused by men, it's their own faults!!!! Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?! I can't, I just can't even! I read that dialogue and i was done! The author lost me then and there.
So, yeah these books are definitely not for me!

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of lighthearted and entertaining in the vein of the Stephanie Plum books. However, I didn't find this quite as much fun as those books and not as much of a twisty plot. This is the first book in a series and I have only read this one...so you might enjoy reading the series. Perhaps I'll get around to more of the stories in the coming year.

[Meredith Zetzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2.75. I felt it was too slow in the beginning, but did pick up. Also, I felt the character development was lacking. It was a decent read, but not enough to draw me in for the rest of Piper and Gran’s adventures.

[Vicki Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, imaginative story line, with fun characters. I'll likely read more of this writer's work.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25. First book I read by this author. Very funny, love the characters. Can’t wait to read the next in the series.

[Cynthia Quintero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun, easy read! I can’t wait to read the rest!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Janet Evanovich, you'll like this series.

[Erin Summers · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy cozy mysteries then this is perfect. Cute, fast mystery

[Emmalynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually liked it! It to cozy, not to mystery, it hit just that right spot in between with the humor, snark, humor, and geriatric adventures.

[Michelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was OK

Maybe just not not a cup of tea. It was OK, I definitely don’t feel I could read another one in the series

[Sarah DeVusser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, light hearted mystery. Pretty quirky too!

[Rene · Rating 4 out of 5]

good Ole fashion clean whodunnit.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and cute.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read! Piper and her grandma are a hoot. Will continue on with the series!

[Tyndra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun light hearted read. Funny at times and kinda sweet at other times. I enjoyed this easy fun read

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could give this series higher reviews because so many of the other reviews are super positive. The pros: the supporting cast is brilliant and the mystery is fun (if not a little obvious). The cons: Piper and her grandmother can both be a little unlikeable at times. Piper considerably less so, but she occasionally gives off strong “not-like-other-girls” vibes, which can be frustrating.

3.8 ✨

[Cynthia Presson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea

Although I wanted to like this, and knew it was supposed to be amusing and entertaining, I couldn’t get into it and gave up very early on. The writing seemed a little juvenile to me; the characters were completely predictable, and the storyline…and how it would progress…was very apparent. Thankfully I only used a few of my Amazon digital credits on it!

[Deborah Newby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stupid. A total waste of time. Gave up with the dance off.