SUMMARY

When Ian Michaels, a Silicon Valley hotshot, discovers a young, beautiful woman stabbed to death in his house, it takes him a moment to realize that the still-warm corpse is his maid. Far from the gray-haired, cookie-baking grandmother he imagined her to be, Gwendolyn was a stranger to Ian, but her family, old boyfriend, and the Palo Alto police seem to think they were a couple. And despite his best efforts to prove otherwise, the evidence against Ian is growing. It looks like someone is framing Ian for murder, but who?

An executive at a tech firm, Ian is anxious to prove his innocence to his boss and mentor Paul Berk, a Silicon Valley legend. As the investigation heats up so does Ian's interest in Gwendolyn's sister, but can she be trusted?

AVAILABLE EXCERPTS

• Chapter One

REVIEWS

"The breakneck pace, intriguing characters and snappy dialogue of the Silicon Valley world that Keith Raffel knows so well hooked me. If you can, get a take out order of Mandarin Gourmet's broccoli beef and cashew chicken and prepare to stay up all night reading Dot Dead."

"Raffel, founder of a software company, knows his way around the high tech industry. He has written a well-plotted mystery with enough action and plot twists to keep most readers going. Add a Jewish mother and a great rabbi to the mix and you can't go wrong."

"Keith Raffel's expertise in the computer field plus his ability to compose a terrific story combine to make Dot Dead a spellbinding novel, with a protagonist you won't want to leave until he's safely exonerated. If Mr. Raffel ever decides to leave his present Silicon Valley position to write full time at this same level, he'll certainly have my complete support!"

"Dot Dead is a fast paced, truly witty mystery set in the maze and madness of Silicon Valley. Ian Michaels is a determined and often befuddled hero who must navigate around a delightfully opinionated Jewish mother and solve a murder while finding love. This is a fun read."

"Keith Raffel, an entrepreneur who sold his CRM firm, UpShot, to Siebel Systems... in 2003, publishes a surprisingly entertaining whodunit."

"Dot.Dead is a fast-paced, twisty ride. I never knew Silicon Valley was such a scary place."

"...Raffel's debut mystery is an entertaining look at the underbelly of Silicon Valley, one with enough twists and turns and likeable characters to hope for more."

"This book is a pleasure, and it was especially fun to read about Palo Alto from the perspective of a smart person who grew up there, who can still remember it at its best, before its charm began to erode under the unrelenting pressure of the big-money MBAs who followed the scent of high-tech money and who now tailgate each other at high speed down Oregon Expressway, hurrying, hurrying toward the next hoped-for big deal."