This is a seek-and-find mystery game in which players assume the role of an author attempting to solve murders around several small towns. Players search for clues among scenes of jumbled objects, and occasionally engage in puzzle mini-games (e.g., "spot-the-differences," matching images, jigsaws). Some clue items are tipped with faint blood, and murder victims may have blood stains on their clothing. Still-image cutscenes that detail events surrounding the murders are supplemented by crashing, punching, and screaming sound effects. The game also contains several depictions and references to tobacco products; for example, cigarettes and cigars in seek-and-find environments, a character holding a cigar, the author asking multiple people if they smoke.
In each of the five plots, players find a dead body as they investigate the murder; still-image cutscenes depict the corpses and the actions related to the murders and the investigation: a silhouette of a woman being strangled, a murder victim lying in a furnace, criminals pointing guns at people, a strangling, and a candlestick to the head. Some of the murder cases involve extra-marital affairs or jilted lovers as part of their plotlines (e.g., "He was jealous of her affair with my husband" and "[W]hen I found out he was cheating on me with [her], I was furious.")
