The best books about arson

Who picked these books? Meet our 16 experts.

16 authors created a book list connected to arson, and here are their favorite arson books.
When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

What type of arson book?

Loading...

Book cover of Consumed

LoLo Paige Author Of Alaska Spark

From my list on the perilous world of firefighting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a former wildland firefighter, so I am passionate about writing about it. I’ve included several personal experiences in my books, and I learned integrity and an outstanding work ethic with the firefighters who trained me in the wildland fire community. I met my husband on another fire crew, so I had to write these fire stories in the romance genre. I have friends who also met their spouses in the world of firefighting, and I loved their romances. While not all wildfire stories in real life may have happy endings, I choose to write these as romances because a happily-ever-after is required for the romance genre.

LoLo's book list on the perilous world of firefighting

LoLo Paige Why did LoLo love this book?

I loved this book because it shows her female character's resilience and strength in reinventing her career in fire after a debilitating accident on the job as a firefighter. Split-second decisions matter in the perilous world of fighting fire.

When Anne Ashburn finds a new career as a fire investigator, she must investigate a string of suspicious fires that endanger the lives of her former colleagues. The hero in the story teams up with Anne to find answers, and a heated attraction soon ignites. This story has enough twists and turns to confuse even the best GPS.

Book cover of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation

James Polchin Author Of Shadow Men: The Tangled Story of Murder, Media, and Privilege That Scandalized Jazz Age America

From my list on crime that reshapes our understanding of the past.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always liked narrative history and how we can take research and turn it into a story. More importantly, I love books that can recover the histories of marginalized people—people who don’t make it into the history textbooks. Historical true crime gives me access to realities we don’t often see. Court transcripts, detective reports, news accounts, and oral histories all combine to illuminate a world beyond the famous and known. I’m drawn to those books (and book projects) that ask the question: what can we know about the past if we look at it through the lens of a crime? Whose realities do we witness through such a lens? 

James' book list on crime that reshapes our understanding of the past

James Polchin Why did James love this book?

Fieseler brings his journalistic eye to this forgotten 1973 tragedy when an LGBTQ social club in New Orleans was set ablaze, killing 32 people. I appreciate how Fieseler not only details the fire and the mainstream media’s utter disregard for the crime but, more importantly, how he focuses on the individuals who perished and those who survived, situating their stories within the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement of the era.

I’ve been haunted by this book since the first time I read it. Its power rests in its narrative force of witnessing and remembrance and the immediacy of Fieseler’s prose. 

By Robert W. Fieseler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tinderbox as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Buried for decades, the Up Stairs Lounge tragedy has only recently emerged as a catalyzing event of the gay liberation movement. In revelatory detail, Robert W. Fieseler chronicles the tragic event that claimed the lives of thirty-one men and one woman on June 24, 1973, at a New Orleans bar, the largest mass murder of gays until 2016. Relying on unprecedented access to survivors and archives, Fieseler creates an indelible portrait of a closeted, blue- collar gay world that flourished before an arsonist ignited an inferno that destroyed an entire community. The aftermath was no less traumatic-families ashamed to claim…


Book cover of One in Vermillion

Susan B. James Author Of Maybe This Time

From Susan's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Actor Writer Bookaholic Grandma TikTok Icon

Susan's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Susan B. James Why did Susan love this book?

Perfect ending to a hilarious series. I got the last book as I was having a total knee replacement. I read it while in the hospital and it saved me and made me laugh.

I felt a lot less pain because of this book. And it made me crazy happy. I still think about it. Also, I originally read the series on my Kindle. I loved them so much that I bought two sets of the paperbacks – one to give away. My sister is currently devouring my copies.

By Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One in Vermillion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the NY Times Bestselling duo that wrote Agnes and the Hitman, the third book in the Liz Danger series.

Liz Danger is stuck in her hometown of Burney, Ohio, because her insane employer has rented a house there for the summer, which means she has three more months of trying to get a copy edit done, babysitting a seven-year-old, and figuring out what to do with three hundred and ninety-two teddy bears. And then there’s her mother. Even the good news that she’s living with a hot cop is tempered by the knowledge that sooner or later, she’s going…


Book cover of Rest in Pink

Susan B. James Author Of Maybe This Time

From Susan's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Actor Writer Bookaholic Grandma TikTok Icon

Susan's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Susan B. James Why did Susan love this book?

The second book in the series lives up to the first. Do you know the best part about this series? These two are New York Times best seller authors.

Of course, they had an offer from a major publisher to publish these books, but they didn't want to wait and they self-published them. Can I say how grateful I am? P.S. I adore the covers.

By Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rest in Pink as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the NY Times Bestselling duo that wrote Agnes and the Hitman, the second book in the Liz Danger series.

Liz Danger is a ghostwriter, trapped in her old hometown for the summer. Good thing she has Vince Cooper, her recurring one-night stand living down by the river in his old diner car, making her feel happy and safe and normal until September when she’ll be leaving again, although she’s starting to wonder if she really wants to.

Vince Cooper is a cop in a town with a shady new housing development that’s bringing a lot of armed strangers, a…


Book cover of Deep Roots: How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics

Mary E. Stuckey Author Of Deplorable: The Worst Presidential Campaigns from Jefferson to Trump

From my list on why American politics are terrible and what to do.

Why am I passionate about this?

I believe in democracy. I think the US has the opportunity to be the world’s first multicultural and inclusive democracy. And I think that’s a very, very hard thing to do. I’ve been writing about democracy through the lens of presidential history my whole career, and I think the US has done some things so impressively well while at the same time it frustratingly keeps failing to live up to its own ideals. The tensions and contradictions in our history as we try to expand and enact those ideas are endlessly fascinating. And I’m nervous that we may be seeing the end of a national commitment to democracy. 

Mary's book list on why American politics are terrible and what to do

Mary E. Stuckey Why did Mary love this book?

I love this book because it’s political science at its best; it uses a lot of great data to study how history affects us in the present; it shows us how hard change is and also what makes it possible. It’s depressing and hopeful and super smart. It’s social science but it’s also very readable.

By Avidit Acharyo, Matthew Blackwell, Maya Sen

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Deep Roots as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The lasting effects of slavery on contemporary political attitudes in the American South

Despite dramatic social transformations in the United States during the last 150 years, the South has remained staunchly conservative. Southerners are more likely to support Republican candidates, gun rights, and the death penalty, and southern whites harbor higher levels of racial resentment than whites in other parts of the country. Why haven't these sentiments evolved? Deep Roots shows that the entrenched views of white southerners are a direct consequence of the region's slaveholding history. Today, southern whites who live in areas once reliant on slavery-compared to areas…


Book cover of Burning Up

Marysol James Author Of Enemy Within

From my list on first books of great romance series.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the best-selling romance author of 29 books which span six series. I love creating whole worlds for readers to enter and spend time with smoking-hot bodyguards, motorcycle club members, ex-military bad boys, sexy cowboys, and MMA fighters. Although I love pretty much everything about writing for a living, I do get special joy from having characters from one series wander into a different series and interact with a totally different group of people – keeping track of all the relationships definitely keeps me on my toes! I have three new books coming out this year, so I’m really looking forward to sharing some new stories with my wonderful readers.

Marysol's book list on first books of great romance series

Marysol James Why did Marysol love this book?

Is there anything hotter than a man willing to launch himself into a wilderness fire to save complete strangers? If you think there isn't, may I direct you to Marsh’s three-book series with action, suspense, drama – and scorching-hot men risking everything to help others. Burning Up introduces the reader to a close-knit group of smokejumpers, vengeful arsonists, regrets, and lost love… and reminds us that the riskiest jobs often result in heartbreak. I doubt that I could handle the stress of loving someone who lays down their life every single time they go to work, but I do find the psychology of the risk-taker fascinating and sexy: real heroes are rare and maybe that’s what makes them so irresistible… even if they are fictional.

By Anne Marsh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Burning Up as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It takes a special kind of hero to be a smoke jumper. To take the greatest risks. To live or die in the raging heat of the moment. And it takes a special kind of woman to love him. . .

Where There's Smoke. . .

For Jack Donovan, smoke jumping is a way of life. He lives for the adrenaline rush--the thrill of flying over the burning California hills, the intensity of diving straight into the inferno, the glory of taming the forces of nature. Love is a distant ember compared to the feeling he gets fighting fires--until an…


Book cover of Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery

Helen Vivienne Fletcher Author Of Broken Silence

From my list on mysteries to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a long-time lover of mysteries. Whether it be books, TV, or movies, I love when there is an unknown element to puzzle out. I remember staying up long past my bedtime as a child, reading because I just had to know what happened. I write across a number of genres for different age groups, but at the heart of every story I take on is a mystery that I want to figure out for myself. I love it when readers and audiences come along for the ride, joining me for the plot twists and turns.

Helen's book list on mysteries to keep you on the edge of your seat

Helen Vivienne Fletcher Why did Helen love this book?

I started this book for the unlikely main character–Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, tattooed, queer nun–but it was the mystery that kept me reading. I always love it when a writer can make me feel like I am the one on the line, like I am fighting for my life or to prove my innocence. This book did just that.

I found I was holding myself tightly as Sister Holiday investigated but just kept finding more evidence against herself. The snippets of her past life made me feel for her more and more, taking the character from an unlikely hero to someone I cared deeply about. I can’t wait to get my hands on the second in the series.

By Margot Douaihy,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Scorched Grace as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sister Holiday, a chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test in this "unique and confident" debut crime novel (Gillian Flynn).

When Saint Sebastian's School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding New Orleans community are thrust into chaos.

Patience is a virtue, but punk rocker turned nun Sister Holiday isn't satisfied to just wait around for officials to return her home and sanctuary to its former peace, instead deciding to unveil the mysterious attacker herself. Her investigation leads her down a twisty path of…


Book cover of The Con Job

Nicole Dieker Author Of Ode to Murder

From my list on cozy mysteries for music and math nerds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the author of The Larkin Day Mysteries, a cozy-comedy-nerdy-mathy-theater-geeky mystery series set in Eastern Iowa. I’ve been a full-time freelance writer for over a decade, and you may have seen my work in Vox, Morning Brew, Dwell, Lifehacker, Popular Science, and/or The Billfold. I live in a small Midwestern town with the Great Love of My Life and we spend our time practicing the piano, playing chess, and cultivating our garden. I spent a few years working in both amateur and professional theater, including a semester teaching Shakespeare at the University of Hyderabad. By the time I was ready to become a full-time freelancer and part-time novelist, I had plenty of experiences to draw from.

Nicole's book list on cozy mysteries for music and math nerds

Nicole Dieker Why did Nicole love this book?

You weren’t expecting me to recommend a Leverage tie-in novel, were you?

From my perspective, a book based on a television series is just as valid as a television series based on a book—and if you don’t share the same view, you might need to adjust one of your mirrors. I love The Con Job because takes the nerdy, cozy world of Leverage and places it in San Diego Comic-Con, giving the characters a real-world experience that many of us will have experienced ourselves.

There’s not a lot of music in this one, which may disappoint those of us who watched Leverage for the Rimsky-Korsakov, but there’s plenty of math and physics and a few inside jokes. It’s a comfort read, in more ways than one—which is probably why I keep reading it.

By Matt Forbeck,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Con Job as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The rich and powerful take what they want. We steal it back for you.

When a disreputable dealer starts swindling aged and ailing comic-book creators out of their wealth-and their high-valued comics and artwork-the daughter of one victim comes to ex-insurance investigator Nathan Ford and his team of counter-crooks for help.

Their scheme: run a con at the Comic-Con International, where the crook intends to sell the goods. But there's more going on than simple theft. An arson plot is in motion that will not only destroy countless rare collectibles, but may end up costing lives.

With time short, the…


Book cover of We Are All Completely Fine

Elliott Gish Author Of Grey Dog

From my list on horror that explores trauma.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I first read Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, I have been enamored of all things weird and creepy—so much so, in fact, that when I grew up, I started writing my own weird, creepy things! As a writer, I am drawn to horror that is shaped by its characters’ inner worlds, stories that explore the monsters in our heads, as well as our closets. The books on this list will haunt me for years to come. I hope that they will haunt you, too.

Elliott's book list on horror that explores trauma

Elliott Gish Why did Elliott love this book?

The premise of this book is amazing—a therapist brings a group of horror movie-style survivors together for a therapeutic experiment—but the execution is even better. I love the natural and inevitable way that Gregory links his characters’ stories and the empathy with which he explores their psychological (and physical) scars.

There is a lot in this book that is grim, but there is also a lot of hope. Maybe none of us are completely fine, but none of us are completely broken, either.

By Daryl Gregory,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked We Are All Completely Fine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

World Fantasy Award Winner
Shirley Jackson Award Winner

Harrison was the Monster Detective, a storybook hero. Now he’s in his mid-thirties and spends most of his time popping pills and not sleeping. Stan became a minor celebrity after being partially eaten by cannibals. Barbara is haunted by unreadable messages carved upon her bones. Greta may or may not be a mass-murdering arsonist. Martin never takes off his sunglasses. Never.

No one believes the extent of their horrific tales, not until they are sought out by psychotherapist Dr. Jan Sayer. What happens when these seemingly-insane outcasts form a support group? Together…


Book cover of The Darwin Affair

James Charles Author Of Spirit of the Amaroq: A Story of Salvation

From James' 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author History buff Political junkie Swimmer Dreamer Quantum entangled quark

James' 3 favorite reads in 2023

James Charles Why did James love this book?

The Darwin Affair dropped and immersed me into hard times in Victorian England with a frustrated detective based on a Charles Dickens character who investigates a conspiracy to murder either Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and/or Charles Darwin, who is promoting his On the Origin Of Species.

I not only learned a bit about Victorian England and Darwin, but this historical fiction was a fast-paced thriller to boot! I read it in four days. 

By Tim Mason,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Darwin Affair as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Intellectually stimulating and viscerally exciting, The Darwin Affair is breathtaking from start to stop." -The Wall Street Journal A Barnes & Noble Discover Pick * A Wall Street Journal Best Mystery Book of the Year * A Reader's Digest Best Summer Book * A Forbes.com Best Historical Novel of the SummerGet ready for one of the most inventive and entertaining novels of 2019-an edge-of-your-seat Victorian-era thriller, where the controversial publication On the Origin of Species sets off a string of unspeakable crimes.London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered…


Book cover of Consumed
Book cover of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation
Book cover of One in Vermillion

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,586

readers submitted
so far, will you?