Review: Lock&Mori

Title: Lock & Mori
Author: Heather W. Petty
Publication Date: September 15, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Mystery
Recommended If You Like: Sherlock Holmes with a twist, mysteries, books set in England, young adult series, strong female narrators

The Book:

Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty are in a modern-day high school--and Moriarty, called "Mori", is a teenage girl.

Lock and Mori meet one day during a fire drill, and begin to bond over their above-average intelligence and keen interest in solving the mysteries of the world around them. Lock proposes a challenge--to solve the series of murders in Regent Park--and the winner is the one who reaches the correct solution first.

The catch? They must share all gathered information with each other. But Mori isn't used to trusting anyone, not even the boy finding his way into her heart. And the case promises to lead them down a twisted path that could shatter everything they think they know, including their trust in each other.

What I Liked:

I've read a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories, both canon and otherwise, and this is a take on Holmes and Moriarty that feels completely fresh and new to me.

The mystery is a great one, full of some really shocking twists. It's a mystery that feels worthy of the combined brain power of Lock and Mori, which is saying a lot. Lock and Mori are two strong, complex, academically brillant but emotionally stunted characters who grow throughout the story in ways that feel painfully real.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I love John Watson, and he played only a very minor role in this. More Watson please!

So..?

This is an excellent, creative addition to the multitude of non-canon Sherlock Holmes' reads. I'm so glad I have an ARC of the next in the series, and can't wait to start it.