A murder mystery you solve from the case files

Daniel Hawthorne is dead.

His family buried him the next morning, without embalming. Two days later the Medical Examiner had him dug up. The family agrees he is dead. They do not agree on anything else.

Play the first two chapters free Buy the full case US$14.99

Plays in your browser. Nothing to download, no account.

Cover art: the case title over a stack of exhibits, including a scene sketch of the study stamped EXHUMED.

A case for Christmas night

Put it on the TV after dinner. One person reads the files aloud, everyone else argues about who is lying. Stop whenever you like; the case waits where you left it.

41case files across 24 years

1–6detectives around one screen

3–5 hto close the case

How it plays

No narrator. Just the record.

No single document lies. The truth is in the places where two records disagree.

READ

Open the files

Police reports, geological surveys, bank wires, a funeral contract, handwritten notes and a recording from the night he died. Search any name or date and filter by era.

A forensic file open on the desk, showing the scene sketch of the lower study.

CLIP

Keep what matters

Select any sentence and send it to your notebook. Clips sort themselves in the order the events happened, so contradictions end up side by side.

The notebook, with clipped lines from the toxicology report and the funeral record, and handwritten notes.

Write the account

Five chapters, each an account with blanks. Some words stay hidden until you find the file that names them. A chapter closes only when every blank is right. If you are stuck, Kyle points you to the right file.

Chapter one, Blackridge 2001, partly filled in with dropdown answers.

Case 01

From the case index

Greyhaven County Medical Examiner · Hawthorne, Daniel · 41 exhibits, 6 personal briefs. A few of them:

E-A01Provincial geological survey reportApr 7, 2001

E-F10Toxicology & medical access recordsOct 3–10, 2025

E-A04Confidential geological assessmentSep 3, 2001

E-F13Forensic scene & medical correlation fileOct 6–10, 2025

E-B01Police incident reportOct 11, 2001

E-F14Funeral arrangement & communication recordOct 4, 2025

E-B05Whitcombe file: financial & personnel recordsApr–Oct 2001

E-S06Partial audio recordOct 6, 2025

E-D01Certificate of live birthNov 29, 2002

E-S05Messages from an unknown senderSep 20, 2025

Plus photographed exhibits, a scene sketch and a recovered voicemail.

Give it as a gift

For the person who always guesses the ending.

Buy the case. Your access code appears on the page right after checkout. Write it down; it works on any device.
Make a gift card with their name and a note, then print it or send it as a picture.
They open the case in any browser, enter the code, and the full record unlocks.

Buy as a gift · US$14.99 Make a gift card

Margaret

Something happened in the Hawthorne study. I think you are the only one who can work out what.

— Love, Sam

CODE XXXXXXXXXX

The full case

$14.99US, one time

All 41 case files, 6 briefs, both recordings
All five chapters and the ending
Works in any modern browser on computer, tablet or TV
Progress saves on the device you play on

Buy the full case Try it free first

How much can I play for free?

All of the 2001 files and the first two chapters. You will know whether you like it well before you pay.

Can we play it together?

Yes. Open it on a laptop connected to the TV and decide together. The answers are the same however many people are arguing over them.

Is it gory?

No. There are no graphic images. The documents describe a death and a shooting in 2001, so we suggest it for ages 13 and up.

Where is my progress saved?

In the browser on the device you play on. To move to another device, enter your code there; your notebook stays on the first one.

Will it come to Steam?

Yes, in 2027. The browser version is the same case.

Something went wrong with my purchase.

Write to support@frameino.com with your receipt and we will sort it out.