SOLVED. YA/Children's Mystery - arson occuring on protagonist's street [s]

[Catie]

I'm not sure if the protagonist is a girl or a boy, but there are a series of fires being set on his/her street and the kid proceeds to try to solve them. He or she figures out the first letters of the homeowners' last names are starting to spell out "HELP ME," implying the arsonist is setting the fires as a cry for help, but it turns out that's a red herring and the arsonist is one of the homeowners himself -- he burned down his own house to get the insurance on his library, and the rest were just to throw people off the trail. Book is probably aimed at the 8-12 range.

[Kate]

How about The Fire Raiser?

[Catie]

Wow -- that sounds like a very cool book. I think mine was more modern, though, and very probably North American -- it was a very typical American suburban set-up of streets. Sounds like the book I am trying to remember could have been derivative of that book -- same idea, just missing all the interesting subplots.

[The Elusive]

Maybe something in the Hawkeye Collins & Amy Adams series?

[Catie]

Thanks, but I don't think so -- I'm pretty sure the arson mystery was a standalone novel-length story. If it was a part of a series, it was too subtle for me to tell.

Gotta get back to read some of those Hawkeye Collins books one of these days, though!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Catie, are you still looking for this book?

[bookel]

What year did you read it?

[bookel]

The Firebug Mystery by
Mary Blount Christian - 1982 - ‎
When half-finished buildings keep burning around town, Brock and Gaby are shocked to find that their own fathers are prime suspects.

[bookel]

Firebug! by Evelyn Minshull (1974). A series of mysterious fires arouses suspicion and anger which threaten to destroy the friendliness and trust in a small country town.

Playing With Fire (Hear No Evil #6) by Kate Chester (1997). A string of fires are the hottest news Radley has seen in years. When Sara sees flames coming from a house on her way to school, she rescues a little boy and becomes an overnight hero. But with the attention taken away from his own deeds, the deranged arsonist makes Sara his next target.

Mystery of the Fiery Message by Carol J. Farley. Cousins Kip and Larry investigate the rash of mysterious fires in their community.

Who burned the Hartley house? by Carole Smith (1985). When a deserted house mysteriously burns, Larry suspects that a kidnapped boy was held prisoner there.

[Catie]

And the Mystery of the Fiery Message it is! Thank you, bkl!

[Rainbowheart]

The Mystery of the Fiery Message for the trackable link.