Samantha Mason, blonde, beautiful, sexy, provocative … deadly. A woman with an appetite for lust – and for murder. “The Mantis” they called her, someone in whom “evil never looked this sexy.”

It didn’t matter whether her victim was male or female, the pattern was the same: seduce, lure, kill. Before being finally apprehended, she had been responsible for no fewer than eight gruesome deaths. Tried and convicted, she was locked away, and society breathed easy once more.

But now, a year later, the murders have started again. Sadistic and twisted, each a measure of erotic savagery wreaked upon a helpless victim. It seems that perhaps someone is picking up where “The Mantis” had left off. But just who is responsible, and where will it end….?

This, in essence (and with thanks to Kess Crystal from the team for the press release) is how the scene is set for the latest hunt to come from the folks at MadPea Games – Blood Letters.

Starting on Saturday, November 1st, 2014, and running through until the end of that month, Blood Letters is billed as the first adult-themed hunt to be run by MadPea – and it is also somewhat timed-based, which makes it a double departure from past events, something which has “Queen Pea” Kiana Writer, who heads-up MadPea, pretty excited. And everything hinges on a series of letters – the Blood Letters of the title.

“Participants take on the role of a private detective,” she tells me as we discuss the new hunt. “And they have their office. Every day a letter will appear at the office; this letter reveals a part of the story, a quest that leads them to a location. And when they solve that day, they will receive a prize from that store.”

In all, 25 creators and stores are taking part in the hunt, each one a destination for those joining the hunt. But finding the daily prizes are only part of the story. The name of the game is finding the killer.

“Once they have visited all locations, on day 25 the big end game begins,” Kiana says. “So they’ll have to be good little detectives, because there are clues to be discovered throughout the 25 days. They truly need to check all the locations and make sure they’ve collected everything to solve the case!”

With a touch for the noir about it, Blood Letters is in some respects a further step down the investigative storytelling route for MadPea, a path they so successfully trod in 2013, with Room 326 and Mad City, and which this time takes a more narrative flow.

Like all of MadPea’s games, Blood Letters is HUD-based, the HUD in this case being used to reveal the contents of each day’s letter. Vendors for the HUD will be available outside the office of Checkmate Inc., the same office in which the letters will make their daily appearance. Located in a suitably shabby corner of R3volt’s home region (R3volt being one of the stores participating in the hunt) and which is also the home of MadPea’s new satellite store, the office is intended to be a focal-point for those engaging in the hunt. “We thought that would be nice to have a central location where people can meet each other. A base of operations,” Kiana notes.

And the adult aspects? Well, the team are staying tight-lipped about that; there should be some surprises, after all. However, the promise of “sexual content and gore” isn’t an idle one, so participants had better be ready to engage in some careful sleuthing and be ready for a shock or two as the mysterious and deadly killer taunts them with his or her Blood Letters, leading them across the grid and towards the final end game…

Blood Letters launches at 12:00 noon SLT on Saturday, November 1st. For those Private Eyes who like to party before taking a case, there will also be a special “Kinky Killers” themed launch party at !Exodus! Rock Club, starting at 13:00 SLT the same day.

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