Give Place To Wrath by Steven C. Harms

The most wonderful thing about books is that if you need to set one aside to deal with life's distractions and interruptions, it'll still be there, waiting patiently, for your return. 

Such was the case with this book for me.  To tell you that I was able to pick it up again after several months of neglect is a strong endorsement for the author.  The details were still vibrant in my imagination, and I was able to re-engage with the story without re-reading past pages.  The author planted vivid memory triggers that were easy to recall.

I enjoyed this mystery.  The characters were tenacious, and some of the twists and turns were quite unexpected.  Mr. Harms worked well to connect dots I didn't know existed, and still leave me on the edge of my seat in a few pivotal spots.  However, I found many of the chapters to be heavy on "info dumps".  I would have enjoyed the book more if there were fewer long passages of description and more direct action and dialogue to move the scenes forward. 

An interesting element of this book was the author's ability to mix a Christian message inside a police procedural thriller.  I don't think I've encountered this mix of genres before, and the end result was  an engaging "whodunit" with a morality often disregarded in this genre.  Mr. Harms did well to meld the two styles, while offering enough edge to keep my attention through to the end.  There were a few dangling details in the last few pages, which leaves me expecting a sequel.  If there is, I'll certainly pick it up.

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