Format: E-Galley, 248 pages
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Publisher: S&Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
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.
Lock & Mori is the first
installment in author Heather W. Petty's series by the same name. While the
book is called Lock & Mori, the story is actually narrated in the first
person by James "Mori" Moriarty. Mori is the daughter of a London Detective
Sergeant who has lost himself to alcohol and violent outbursts. She gets thrown together with the school nerd, Sherlock "Lock' Holmes, in order to solve murders that continue to happen in Regents Park. One could say that this story is the modern day version of Sherlock Holmes
except for the fact that the pair become friends with romantic interests.
In Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Professor James Moriarty was the brilliant mastermind who nearly outwitted Sherlock Holmes at every angle. In this version, Mori is a math genius which results from the fact that she has Eidetic memory which allows her to pick things up quickly. Mori carries dice around with her so that she can run different probabilities. They also have a calming affect on her while living at home with a drunk, and trying to care for her three younger brothers who have lost their mother to a terrible illness.
After meeting with Mori in Regents Park where Lock's intellectual
pursuit has led him, he offers Mori a unique challenge. The idea is that both of them will attempt to solve who is responsible for the murders before the bumbling coppers who he has no respect for after watching them work. There has to be total transparency and they must meet regularly to discuss any and all findings. The one who solves the murders first, wins the game. But, what will happen when past secrets are exposed that lead Mori to open doors that may affect the rest of her life? Guess you'll to read the book to find out!
Admittedly, this isn't my first or last rodeo when comes to Sherlock Holmes retellings. I dare say that if the author wanted to go all the way out on the limb, she could have just said the book would be mostly about Mori, her family, and her desires for a future where her brothers can live without a raging lunatic for a father. Lock, while not snogging every 30 pages with Mori, is pretty much a secondary character who might appear to be his more famous name sake. His brother makes several footnote appearances but isn't a factor at all. The only character outside of Lock & Mori that does play any part is America Sadie Mae Jackson.
I dare say that the mystery behind the murders and who is blame,
is rather too easy to follow. One has to say that the most important part of this story is Mori's relationship with her brothers, who she would do anything for. Her relationship with her mother who obviously had a few secrets she kept under lock and key, and her relationship with her father who has nights called Memories of You where he dives head first into the bottle of nips, and comes out a monster. After reading this book, one has to own up to the fact that Mori's path is heading anywhere but towards peace and happiness. Her relationship with Lock is in a place where I believe will lead to a major confrontation before this series is finished.
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