I remember reading book 2 and thinking that Mori seemed more like a Watson character than a Moriarty. A darker Watson, perhaps, but still more of a companion. And that's where this book comes in. Because Final Fall takes us from Mori the ally to Mori the morally ambiguous, Mori the borderline sociopath. That's a tricky path to take with your protagonist but Petty manages it fairly well.

I really like Heather Petty's Moriarty origin tale series. In Lock & Mori, the Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty characters are teenagers, and Mori is a girl and the two fall for one another. But, as this is Moriarty's origin story you have to know that Mori is going to have some really rough stuff. This series is so dark.

Final Fall is a great end to the series. And it's the darkest of the bunch. (Torture, isolation, murder.) It's bad. It has to be because Mori is beginning to morph into Moriarty.

A Salute to the Series:

Lock & Mori is a Moriarty origin story. Instead of a Holmes/ Watson duo, we've got a Holmes/ Moriarty pairing. And Mori is a girl. A brilliant, troubled, scared, and scarred girl who might be able to beat Sherlock at his own game or may be his true love.


Why I Love Them:

1. Holmes/ Moriarty Pairing
These two together are so interesting. Lock is such a buttoned-up good guy, but the reader can tell that he would (and does) compromise his morals for Mori. Mori, for her part, is so worried about twisting Lock into something he's not. The relationship between Lock and Mori is so fraught. I wanted so badly for them to be happy, but I could see the tragedy coming. Mori could see the tragedy coming. I think even Lock could. It's interesting to read about a relationship that everyone knows is doomed.

2. Dark and Gritty
Lock & Mori is pretty dark. Murder is always a serious business, but not all murder mysteries plunge into the potential for human depravity like this one does. In that way it's a bit of an emotional ride because Mori is rather a mess and understandably so.

3. London Setting
The London setting was a huge bonus for me, in this one. Heather W. Petty does a great job evoking atmosphere, and I just felt like the characters were where they belonged.

4. Mori is Complicated
One thing I absolutely love about Heather W. Petty's series is how complicated Mori is. The reader can easily see how Mori could go down path that will lead to the amorality we associate with Sherlock Holmes's nemesis. In fact, Mori clearly identifies and struggles with this aspect of her personality as well.

5. Tragedy
Sherlock Holmes stories carry with them an element of tragedy, and this series has it in spades.

6. Quick Reads
I absolutely flew through these books. Books 2 and 3 were particularly fast reads for me. They clock in at just about 300 pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Lock & Mori: Final Fall by Heather W. Petty! So much intensity occurs in this book that I had to ponder and process my thoughts before I could write my review. Mori is still amazingly strong, intelligent and brave and she continues to be the biggest advocate for her brothers. When the story opens, Mori is imprisoned by Alice and her paid guards while her brothers are being used to threaten Mori into compliance. Mori has two goals in mind- 1. Save her brothers and 2. Rid the world of their father. Action and controlled anger take over the story as Mori does everything it takes to complete her goals. This final book in the Lock & Mori series completes a part of Mori’s life but ends with foreshadowing for her future. 5 stars for this mystery retelling of the relationship between Sherlock and Moriarty!

Final Fall picks up where Mind Games left off. Imprisoned by Alice, with her brothers held as leverage, Mori’s never felt angrier or more helpless. Mori creates and finds an opportunity to escape back to London, where she is finally able to execute the demise of her recently freed father and his band of corrupt officers. Lock and Mori are reunited, but it is bittersweet because Lock is still on his noble crusade to stop (save) Mori.

Mild spoilers ahead.

You were too late to save me the day you met me, Sherlock Holmes. I was never meant to be saved by you.


You have read the books.

You know what happens next.

And oh. It was tragic and sad and...

Totally understandable.

I completely understood Mori's POV and Lock's desire to stop her. It made complete sense. Two different paths. Two different opinions. Two different views of justice. It could go nowhere but here. I think that's the appeal of Heather's writing. Both opinions made sense. I could see why Mori viewed the police as corrupt, because her experience with them was horrible. I could understand why Lock was on the side of the Law because the basis of Law is to prevent us from descending into chaos.

You don't have to believe in fate to see the inevitability of our destruction.


All of this is to say, that even though we knew where this series was going to end, it didn't make it any less painful.

Side note: I would like to point out my appreciation for the covers. I don't really like seeing faces on my book covers, BUT I liked the imagery of them growing apart through the series. Book 1 had them facing towards one another. Book 2 had them side by side. Book 3 has them facing away from each other. I like it. Good job.

All quotes aren't final unless viewed in the published copy.

Thank you to the publishers and those over at NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

I vowed two things to myself. First, that I'd never return to the city I loved most. And second, that I'd never again love a boy the way I'd loved Sherlock Holmes.

I requested this book from NetGalley thinking that I had read the first book in the series. I had not but I didn't feel like I needed to read either of the first two books in this series to understand the story. There was some back story on why the book opens with Mori in a cell, trapped by her aunt and separated from her brothers.
This book focuses mainly on Mori and her search for revenge. We don't get a lot of "Lock" in this book and their meetings are... I guess the "bittersweet" from the back cover blurb sort of covers it.
Not my favorite update of the Sherlock story but not horrible.



Three stars

This book comes out November 28

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

I am such a sucker for Sherlock Holmes retellings. The first two book in the series were some of my favorite books of the year and the third one did not disappoint. I loved Lock and Mori relationship and how it evolved to the relationship we all know. There were only a few things I wasn't a fan of like the climax between Mori and her father and how so many things happen so quickly in the last 100 pages. I could have done with a little more build up, but overall it was a solid read and a good conclusion to the series. (However,I am hoping there is more!)

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley for an honest review.