Remarkably good detective game with a lot of emphasis placed on investigation and deductive reasoning. While not based on any pre existing story and taking the other common approach of pitting Sherlock Holmes against some contemporary mystery, the writers of this game have a clear passion for the character that oozes through every little detail. Just cruising around in the Baker Street apartment is fun for detail dorks to pat themselves on the back for all the attention paid to literary description.

The game is very good if a bit dry, though there are a few segments that feel more experimental in their design and result in the solutions being not necessarily intuitive or working quite correctly on the first pass. This doesn't really bother me as a gigantic brained adventure game genius who is well seasoned on matters of trial and error, but may throw up early obstacles to new players that will turn them away too soon.

If you don't mind some janky graphics, some odd tonal choices, Sherlock Holmes sounding perpetually like he needs to blow his nose, and a conclusion that somewhat loses the plot (not a bad ending but a mixed one to be sure), this is one of the better pieces of Sherlock Holmes media not written by ACD or based directly on something that was. All of the Frogwares games are quite solid, with the exception of the Persian Carpet and maybe the Silver Earring, but this is easily my favourite pre-Testament entry. Delightfully atmospheric, pulls very few punches while maintaining the general air of peculiarly grimy coziness that's perfect for a stormy October night under a blanket, and you can finish it in a single sitting, which is nice for a mystery story.