I’ve had this reoccurring thing every year or so where I remember this book I read in like 5th - 6th grade that was really fucking good every year or so. I need to find it, I try every time but no amount of Googling thin recollections of its plot has got me anywhere.
You could try asking your local Youth Services Librarian. They see so many books and often have some amount of research backgrounds. They also tend to LOVE this kind of mystery.