Deputy, photographer and writer — Angel Rypkema is all three and she merges all these together in her latest project, “The Detective’s Daughter,” a novel about deceit, justice and a higher power.

From 2–4 p.m. Sunday, Rypkema will be signing copies of her book during “Tea at River Walk,” a literary series hosted by River Walk Gallery and Arts Center in downtown Washington.

Rypkema contributed more than words to this novel: her 13-year law enforcement career informed the storyline, while her skill with a camera and Photoshop helped her create the cover. But she isn’t quite sure where the plot originated.

“I have no idea what inspired it. I just started writing. I’ve always wanted to write, it was on my bucket list,” Rypkema said. “I just started typing one day and just couldn’t stop.”

On and off for six years, Rypkema dedicated time to her novel, in addition to her full time work as a pre-booking deputy at the Pitt County Detention Center, and her other creative outlet of photo illustration. Her law enforcement training came in handy while writing the book about a husband and wife, both detectives — she, on a narcotics unit assigned to a huge, multi-agency marijuana trafficking investigation, and he, testifying in a double murder trial that rocked the community.

Rypkema describes her novel as “clean — it’s not gory,” and it’s proven popular with her contemporaries in law enforcement, she said.

“All the people at work have been buying them and asking me to autograph them,” Rypkema said.

One fellow detention center employee shared that she read the whole thing in one sitting on the Washington waterfront, according to Rypkema.

“The Detective’s Daughter” is Rypkema’s first book; she’s working on a second based on her recent adventure to take photographs of North Carolina’s lighthouses.

River Walk Gallery and Arts Center is located at 139 E. Main St. The public is invited to attend “Tea at River Walk” on Sunday.