In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students—one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James “Mori” Moriarty—meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart.
Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more…
FACT: Someone has been murdered in London’s Regent’s Park. The police have no leads.
FACT: Miss James “Mori” Moriarty and Sherlock “Lock” Holmes should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene.
FACT: Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted.
FACT: Despite agreeing to Lock’s one rule—they must share every clue with each other—Mori is keeping secrets.
OBSERVATION: Sometimes you can’t trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Page Count: 256
Everyone knows that I have taken quite the fancy to contemporary Sherlock stories. So, upon hearing that there was a new YA trilogy with the characters as teens in present day London – they definitely had my attention. I was a little surprised by how thin the book actually was, but I have no doubt that it would have been a quick read either way.
Lock & Mori, despite having both names in it, is written from James “Mori” Moriarty’s POV. I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect, but since Mori is a girl here, I was sure that it wouldn’t be a strict mystery novel. I think that the balance between the romance and the rest of the story was handled pretty well. Maybe there could have been a couple more deduction scenes or general research and case-related talk, because that isn’t entirely resolved yet, but then again, it is a trilogy and I think that the case will be important for the remaining books as well. It was a little predictable in that department at times, but what can you do?
What I was most fascinated by was the fact that there was so much that reminded me of the Sherlock stories I knew, yet it had it’s completely own take on the story. After all, they are still teens in the book and that means they sometimes react more emotionally or silly than their grown-up versions might have, despite the style of writing not reflecting the young age all that much. So, I didn’t agree with some of the choices Lock or Mori made, but I loved getting to know Mori and seeing how circumstances changed her life and her relationships to other people. She is an extremely smart and strong character and it was extremely intriguing to see the hints of who she might become one day!
I don’t want to give anything away anymore, but I just want to add that my fear of it being too fluffy was not justified at all. It was surprisingly intense and my inner Sherlockian fangirl squealed every time someone I knew was mentioned. The blurb can be pretty misleading in some department though, because I don’t feel like it is the real representation of the story that is told. But in the end I am only sad that it wasn’t longer and that I now have to wait for the next book …
Fazit: 4.5/5 stars! It could have done with a couple more deductions every now and then, but I am hooked! I will surely devour the rest of the series!
Did Lock & Mori grab your attention as well? What was your favourite Sherlock portrayal so far? I’m going to go and continue slaying my TBR!
I literally just reviewed it… I felt the same way about the romance (I was really hoping for more Sherlock-y-ness to occur, ya know?) I do plan on reading the rest of the series though… I can’t wait to see how things go down 😀
Great review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha that’s a funny coincidence! I really enjoyed this one, but sometimes it really showed through how young the characters still were. More Sherlock-y-ness probably would have helped with that. I can’t wait for the rest of the series though, because Mori’s development was intriguing in my opinion.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree… they weren’t all knowing. I really do prefer Mori over Lock in this case 😀 I’m 90% sure book 2 comes out this year!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, me too, but it could be because Mori got a lot more page-time.
Goodreads only has 2016 standing there, but the cover reveal was recently. I dig it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
so, yeah, adding it 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
YES! I have to say, it feels a lot like fanfiction, but in a way everything that is Sherlock related and not written by Doyle is fanfiction hahaha
LikeLiked by 1 person
lol. that’s a good way to put it. how would you classify it? romance? YA? murder mystery? 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it’s a mix of all of these. Definitely Contemporary YA with romance (cutesy kind) and mystery (not nearly enough though. I hope there are more deduction scenes next time)
LikeLiked by 1 person
😉 good to know. I was trying to see if it would fit in my murder mystery category of my challenge, ehehe
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a bit of a stretch, but they do solve a murder case so I say yes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
lol 😀 that’s good! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t usually read Sherlock-style stories, but I have to say, I kind of want to add this one to my TBR…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha I feel like I am at least 50% responsible for your TBR growing. I am not really into mystery books or the likes, but this one is very YA and not AS Sherlock-y as other stories, so it was a super fast read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT, haha. And I can’t blame you, it’s just SO good to add books to my TBR haha :p
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, as long as you don’t blame me, I am okay hahaha
LikeLiked by 1 person
IT’S AMAZING?? Ok, I’m definitely picking it up this month. I’m not really into Sherlock stuff but this book sounds too good to pass up XD
LikeLiked by 1 person
The thing is, it really isn’t THAT Sherlock-y. It’s a lot more teensy and not with that much murder-solving as I thought it would be, but I think that’s actually why I like it so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty […]
LikeLike
[…] think Anne & Henry was recommended to me by Goodreads after I had read Lock & Mori, because just like that book, it is a modern-day retelling with pre-existing characters – […]
LikeLike
[…] Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty […]
LikeLike
[…] Read my full review here! […]
LikeLike