MASSENA --- The death of young child galvanizes a community, and Potsdam author Marguerite “Peggy” Mooers captures all the drama and pathos in her 2014 novel “Take My Hand.”

The novel is loosely based on the 2011 death of a Potsdam child. Mooers, who lived less than a block from young Garrett Phillips, found dead in his home that year, was visited by police investigating the strangulation, asking whether she had seen or heard anything.

“It wasn’t until a few years later,” she says, “when I saw a map of the murder site, that I realized I was geographically right in the middle of what was a sensational local murder.

“I was writing another novel,” she says, “but the case of Garrett Phillips kept going through my mind, especially since there were lawn signs begging ‘Justice for Garrett’.”

The novel, available on Amazon, follows the quest of Detective Chris Bellini to solve the cold case of child, kidnapped and murdered. His mission to seek “justice for Ethan” will capture readers from the very first page.

Mooers still lives in Potsdam and is retired from the Ogdensburg Correctional Facility where she was a teacher. In addition to “Take My Hand,” she is the author of three other novels, “The Shelter of Darkness,” “A Casualty of Hope,” and “The Girl in the Woods.”

She will read from “Take My Hand” from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26, at the North Country Showcase, St. Lawrence Centre Mall. Her books will be available for purchase and signing.