Heather Petty Books In Order

Publication Order of Lock & Mori Books

Heather Petty is an author who specializing in writing fictional thrillers for young adults and teenagers has created a series of books drawing inspiration from Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels about the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his nemesis Moriarty.

Hailing from Reno, Nevada, Petty is a self-confessed cat lady who has always loved mysteries, particularly those featuring London or the British seaside. She lives with her young daughter and husband who she lovingly calls “The Lumberjack”, she also shares her home with three cats who she describes as “devious”.

In the first book of the “Lock and Mori” series published in September 2015, the two London high school students’ lives collide when they are drawn together following a spate of brutal murders in the capital.

In a bid to gain one-upmanship, Sherlock “Lock” Holmes and Miss James “Mori” Moriarty challenge each other to see who will become the first to solve the crime, the only rule of this challenge is that they must share any clues they come across with each other. However, can these two troubled souls really be trusted to share all the relevant information with each other, or will they double-cross and deceive to achieve their goal?

Petty’s “Lock and Mori” series aims to bring the suspense and thrill associated with classic Sherlock Holmes stories to a younger audience and adds a modern twist to make the narrative current. The books are written from the perspective of 16-year-old Mori and although there is conflict between her and Holmes, they are not quite the bitter enemies the Conan Doyle characters were. To further complicate matters, Holmes finds he is fast falling in love with his rival.

The book also centers on Mori’s home life, where she lives with her brothers and abusive father, the torment she suffers at home impacts the way she is with other people in her life, including Sherlock.

The second book in the series, “Mind Games”, was published in December 2016 and picks up the story two weeks after the last book concluded. With affairs of both the heart and mind to contend with, readers are left anticipating how Lock and Mori’s relationship will continue to pan out, as well as how the second mystery will be solved.

On top of dealing with school and her complex relationship with Holmes, Mori has to pick up the pieces of her troubled home life. With her father in jail, it would appear that Mori and her brothers can lead a more relaxed life, but she soon begins to receive threatening letters and is in fear for her life.

In addition to this, someone is trying to frame Mori for the London murders, leading to Mori and Holmes joining forces once more to work together to find the culprit and put an end to Mori’s suffering.

Inspiration for the “Lock and Mori” series came when Petty realized little is known about Moriarty in the original Conan Doyle novels, the only details given are ones divulged by Holmes himself. Petty considered that Holmes may have known much more about Moriarty than he let on, and their relationship may not have always been as acrimonious in the past. In fact, the two may have been firm friends until something (or someone) changed the situation.

At first, she considered writing Moriarty’s character as another boy to explore the two’s formative friendship, but then decided it would be more fun to cast Moriarty as a girl, to include a romantic aspect to the book as well as a physiological one.

With two masterminds at play, Petty is able to explore the dynamics between the two protagonists. Who would gain the upper hand over the other? What series of events would lead two people who were once close to become mortal enemies?

The final installment of the series titled “Final Fall”, published in November 2017, sees Mori further embrace her darker side and look towards avenging those who have wronged her. Facing betrayal from all sides, Mori begins her question where her loyalties lie and has to make some tough decisions about her future.

When questioned about her inspiration for writing the “Lock and Mori” series, Petty admits that Sherlock Holmes books were not among her favorite mysteries when growing up (she preferred Agatha Christie). Her interest was piqued while watching the 1980s television series “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” featuring Jeremy Brett as Holmes. The show captured her imagination so much that she sought to read of all Conan Doyle’s novels and was impressed at how intricate the stories were and how they had passed the test of time.

Other authors Petty has admired and drawn inspiration from over the years include Terry Pratchett, Dorothy Sayers, C.S. Lewis and Virginia Woolf.

An avid reader as a youngster, Petty would constantly be immersed in a book, but it wasn’t until high school that she found she had a flair for creating engaging stories. Encouraged by her high school English teacher, Petty joined the school newspaper to get more firsthand experience of writing. Later in college, she discovered the joys of creative writing and joined a fiction writing class.

Years later, fellow young adult author Cynthia Cotten came across one of Petty’s LiveJournal entries and reached out to her, encouraging her to pursue her writing for teenagers and young adults. After reading other young adult literature authors, Petty decided to take the plunge and began writing her first novel.

On her website, Petty takes the time to pass on her wisdom and offers tips for other aspiring authors. She encourages others to read as much fiction as they can, and to branch out from their usual type of book and explore other genres.

Writing is a skill which needs practicing and polishing, Petty advises prospective writers to try to write daily and to carry a note pad and pencil around with them so they can jot down notes, sentences or plots that form in their mind before they are lost and forgotten. Getting work critiqued is also essential according to Petty, she advises would-be authors approach a local or online writers or critiques group who specialize in the same genre with their work for honest appraisal and feedback.

To publicize her books, Petty undertook a blog tour of influential young adult literature bloggers and regularly attends teen book events and literature festivals. She has also been a guest speaker at events, talking about the processes involved in writing a novel, getting it published and the inspiration behind the series.

Reviews of the “Lock and Mori” series can be found on Amazon and Good Reads and the books are available in paperback, hardback, Kindle, and Kobo formats.