Lock and Key: The Initiation - by Ridley Pearson (Paperback)

About the Book

Before James grew up to be a ruthless, remorseless villain, he was a curious boy from Boston with a penchant for trouble and an acid tongue. Thrown into a boarding school against his wishes, James winds up rooming with a most unlikely companion: a lanky British know-it-all named Sherlock Holmes ("Lock" to his friends). An heirloom Bible, donated by the Moriarty family more than a hundred years ago, has gone missing, and it doesn't take long for the two to find themselves embroiled in the school-wide scandal.

Book Synopsis

"Will leave you dying to know more."--Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series

The New York Times bestselling author of the Peter and the Starcatchers and Kingdom Keepers series, Ridley Pearson, brings us the riveting first tale of the Lock and Key trilogy about the origins of the rivalry between literature's most famous enemies--Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty, told from the perspective of James's observant little sister, Moria.

Before James grew up to be a ruthless, remorseless villain, he was a curious boy from Boston, with a penchant for trouble and an acid tongue. Thrown into a boarding school against his wishes, James winds up rooming with a most unlikely companion: a lanky British know-it-all named Sherlock Holmes ("Lock" to his friends). An heirloom Bible, donated by the Moriarty family more than a hundred years ago, has gone missing, and it doesn't take long for the two to find themselves embroiled in the school-wide scandal.

The school is on lockdown until it's found, strange clues keep finding their way to James, and a secret society lurks behind it all. It's a brave new reimagining of the Sherlock Holmes series as only master of suspense Ridley Pearson could envision. As Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series, says, "This tale will change the way you see Sherlock Holmes and leave you dying to know more."

From the Back Cover

James Moriarty is one of the greatest criminal masterminds the world has ever known. But before he became the scheming, remorseless villain he is now, he was just my older brother, James.

James and I grew up like the Charles River and the cobblestone sidewalks that run alongside it--separate but inseparable. He was fast and rough as only a big brother can be, and I gave him boundaries, which he constantly rolled up against but which we both knew he needed. But that was before Father forced us to enroll at Baskerville Academy. That was before everything changed.

At Baskerville, an elite private boarding school founded by our ancestors, James started drifting to the darkness. It was there he met his roommate, the insufferable Sherlock Holmes. From the very beginning, the two were at each others' throats, literally and figuratively. But as much as the two frustrated each other, an incident at the school--and some would say destiny--forced the two together.

It started with a missing heirloom Bible and ended with blood spilled, bonds destroyed, and the first glimpses of the evil James Moriarty we think we know today. Every time I take stock of those years, of how much my brother has changed, I can't help but fault Baskerville, the evil that lies within its hallowed halls, and Sherlock, whose insistence on solving every mystery he finds, I believe, only pushed my brother to commit the crimes he did.

And it all began with a simple note and ended with an initiation.

Review Quotes

The first installment in an exciting new series that's ideal for fans of Pearson and those looking for a more modern take on Sherlock Holmes's mysteries. - School Library Journal

This novel spin on a familiar tale will pull in lots of fans. - Booklist

Pearson skillfully dodges the worn paths of the trending "young Sherlock" genre and launches a series that handles character development as adroitly as it weaves its devilish mystery plot. Whodunnit fans will be well pleased with the twists and turns in this debut, and Holmes fans who wonder what makes Moriarty tick will be racing back for volume two. - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books