The casual game market is really growing. There are all sorts of games for all sorts of players, from adventure, simulation, arcade, board and card, hidden object and many more. Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey, is a type of hidden object game, but one that blends in other genres, as well. There are micro mini-games, hidden object searches, logic puzzles, and even adventure game style dialogues. The result is a pleasing casual game experience.

A Darker Shade of Grey is the second computer game based on James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series, following Death in Scarlet. James Patterson collaborated with Jane Jenson (Gabriel Knight and King’s Quest game designer) to design this game. Jane Jenson co-founded Oberon Media, which is a producer of many casual games.

The books feature a group of women who work together on murder cases in a professional setting. A detective, a medical examiner, a reporter and a district attorney are the main members of the club. I haven't read the books (I have read other Patterson mysteries), but from the descriptions, they appear to focus mainly on Police Detective Lindsay Boxer's investigations, with the other club members contributing according to their fields of expertise. The computer versions follow this same format.

In A Darker Shade of Grey, a young student at a private school is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. Lindsay is called to lead the investigation, and comes to the conclusion that the young man had help falling off the cliff. Players will play as Lindsay, Claire and Cindy during the course of the game. Lindsay searches for clues and questions witnesses, Claire examines forensic evidence, and Cindy provides information that tie in the different aspects of the case.

There is a variety of puzzles and hidden object searches, plus a good bit of dialogue that helps tie in the main points of the story. The puzzles range from very easy to a medium difficulty. There are all types, from logic to arcade. There are also search for the hidden object areas, but these searches have a purpose in line with the plot, and are not just random item searches. It's impossible to lose, as even the harder puzzles can be solved by trial and error if players can't figure them out logically. Many of the searches have highlighted areas, and even the questions in the dialogues will be revisited until the player chooses all of the correct ones.

The interface is easy to understand and use, and features helpful task lists on the side menu letting players know what they need to do next and how many items are left to find. There are five hints for each puzzle location, too.

While most of the puzzles and general sleuthing is enjoyable, and the story is interesting, there are a few minor annoyances. Whenever Claire needs to examine blood or other items in her lab, the player must grab items off a conveyer belt and pour them into a container. There is no thought required, the bottles are clearly marked and the player is told which ones are needed. This puzzle soon becomes tiring. Another annoying feature that can't be skipped is the way the cut-scenes play. They are cartoon sequences which advance the game between segments, and they can't be skipped through from scene to scene. They can only be skipped as a whole, and players won't want to do that as they contain important information.

Darker Shade of Grey is an enjoyable casual game that features fun and varied puzzles. The plotting is reminiscent of an adventure game, and presents an interesting criminal case in a police procedural style. However, this is a casual game, so it isn’t as difficult as a real adventure game would be. I would have liked to have more hidden object type puzzles and more difficult puzzles, and less of the mixture lab sequences, but I still had fun playing. Looking forward to the next Women's Murder Club installment!

Gameplay: 7
This is a fun, pick up and play casual game. It has a little bit of everything for everyone, from hidden object searches, to silly arcade games, to logic puzzles and even a bit of adventure style questioning of suspects.

Graphics: 7
The game is attractive enough, but could have been detailed. The outside scenes weren’t as well-drawn as the indoor ones.

Sound: 6
The music is average, but not annoying.

Difficulty: Easy
It’s a casual game, it ain’t hard.

Concept: 7
These types of casual games are plentiful, but Darker Shade of Grey adds a good aspect with the police procedural plotting and mini-games.

Overall: 7
This is a nice casual game for fans of the genre.  The story is interesting, just as you would expect with James Patterson and Jane Jenson as writers. The puzzles could be harder, and there could be more hidden object searches, but overall the game is interesting and fun to play. Anyone that likes casual games will enjoy this latest installment of the Women’s Murder Club.