raffel's first novel, "dot dead", was published in 2006 by midnight ink, an imprint of llewellyn worldwide of woodbury, minnesota. the murder mystery is set in silicon valley, and centers on ian michaels, a young technology executive. michaels discovers his housekeeper, gwendolyn goldberg, dead on his bed when he returns home one day, and is suspected of her murder. "the new york times" called "dot dead" "a murder mystery worthy of a steve jobs keynote presentation". raffel followed up with his second novel in 2009, entitled "smasher", which was also published by midnight ink. "smasher" continues the story of ian michaels as he defends his company from a potential takeover, investigates the work of his aunt at stanford university's physics department, and protects his wife—a deputy district attorney—from a mysterious threat.