New books by local authors are the perfect holiday gift

For the readers on your holiday shopping list, there are several Upstate authors with new titles in 2020 that will add some local flair to your gift giving.
Our region is rich with award-winning authors who pen everything from children’s books to murder mysteries. Here are a few new titles for the book lovers on your list:
The Empty Cell
Author Paulette Alden was born the same month in the same year in the same city that the Willie Earle trial took place. But it would be more than 70 years before the Greenville native would fully examine her hometown’s most infamous case to better understand the present with her new novel of historical fiction, The Empty Cell. Hear more about The Empty Cell from author Paulette Alden.
Murder Forgotten
Deb Richardson-Moore’s fifth book is her favorite, she says. The setup is a best-selling mystery novelist who is losing her memory, and with it, the powerful gift for storytelling that propelled her to fame. She lives in an old beach house on Sullivan’s Island with her husband. When her husband is murdered, she worries that she may have killed him without realizing it. Hear more about Murder Forgotten from author Deb-Richardson-Moore.
Lowcountry Boondoggle and Lowcountry Boughs of Holly
Greenville author Susan Boyer released two new titles in the Liz Talbot Mystery Book series in 2020. Set in Charleston, the books follow the mystery and mayhem that surround Private Investigator Liz Talbot. Boyer’s debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the 2012 Agatha Award for Best First Novel and the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.
FDR’s Convention Conspiracy
This is the fourth book in the Missy LeHand Mystery Series by the writing team of Kathryn Smith of Anderson and Kelly Durham of Clemson. The series was inspired by the very real Marguerite LeHand, the private secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR’s Convention Conspiracy delivers action, mystery and glamour in the midst of a tumultuous re-election campaign at the 1936 Democratic convention.
Sunshield
A lawless wilderness, polished court and individual fates each are on a quest to expose a system of corruption in this novel by Emily B. Martin of Pendleton. Her latest duology is from Harper Voyager, with the second of the two-book series due for publication in March 2021.
Through the Wardrobe: How C. S. Lewis Created Narnia
This nonfiction picture book by author-illustrator Lina Maslo of Anderson is about the inspired life of C. S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia.
Many of the above titles are available at independent booksellers Fiction Addiction in Greenville or McDowell’s Emporium in Anderson. Check author websites for information on purchasing titles online.