Oxford resident Steve Harms is publishing his debut novel—one which will provide readers with a thought-provoking blend of faith and mystery/suspense.

His 300-page debut novel, entitled “Give Place to Wrath,” is the first of a series and was released in late October through KCM Publishing.

“Give Place to Wrath” follows the story of Detective Roger Viceroy, divisional head of the Midwest Region Special Crimes Unit, who awakes one morning to a bombing in a wealthy suburb of Milwaukee. As he and his team dive into the investigation, a mysterious clue launches a manhunt with scant other evidence to point them in the right direction.

Over the coming weeks, the related murders unfold, each with a unique twist and the same clue left behind. Viceroy uncovers one other common thread – a seemingly random association with the small north woods town of Curwood, Wisconsin. As the death toll mounts, Viceroy has to connect the dots and stop the carnage before it reaches the final target, Governor Kay Spurgeon.

Harms began his writing career as an accomplished playwright in Oxford– having written and produced an original theatrical production called “Little Drummer Boy.”

The full-length musical/drama was performed annually, for several nights on the stage of Christ the King Church in Oxford between 2008 and 2013, which soon led him to tackle his debut novel.

“It was a bit of a journey for me,” said Harms. “I had dabbled in skit and sketch writing. It was all-in every night and probably close to 15,000-plus people saw it during the five-year run. It was wildly successful, far beyond what I had thought it ever would be. At the end of that run I had this inspiration to tackle a novel. I landed on inspiration and my goal here was to embed faith principles into a genre which would make for a very intriguing story.”

The book is described by Harms to fit in with other mainstream, mystery/suspense novels while also featuring a twist of faith.

“The title itself is taken from scripture but it’s kind of the intersection of the mainstream and maybe more of a faith book,” Harms explained. “The faith piece of it is more of an embedded element. It’s not written to, by any stretch, dominate or be right in front of you at all times. It is a background and the hope is that by the end of the story, you will understand a little more about that scripture.”

A book launch and book signing event will be held at Fuel Your Life Café, located inside the Legacy Center (925 N. Lapeer Rd.) Dec. 9 from 9 a.m. to noon. A limited number of books will be available for purchase at the event.

He will also make an appearance at an author fair, which will be held at Orion Township Public Library (825 Joselyn Rd. in Lake Orion) on Dec. 9 from 1 to 4 p.m.

“Give Place to Wrath” is available for purchase in both print and ebook editions at stevencharms.com and through Amazon.