Okay, so... nigh-legendary author: check.  Popular characters: check.  Juicy, scandalous murder mystery: check.  Game company with a fondness for hidden-picture games: check.  Ohhh, yeah.  If you're a James Patterson fan, you'll want to play "Death in Scarlet".  And if you're not, your mom is, so you should download it either way.  As always, the game has a 60-minute free trial, so you (or your mom) can check it out before plunking down $19.95.

In other news, we also just posted an interview with James Patterson, on the subject of his books, his decision to try videogames, his upcoming projects, and -- of course -- his appearance on The Simpsons.  So hey, lots of exclusive goodness on MSN Games today!

(Interesting bit of trivia here: fans of classic adventure games should recognize "Death in Scarlet"'s producer and primary writer, Jane Jensen, as the creator of the "Gabriel Knight" series of games, back in the day. I still say Tim Curry couldn't hit a N'awlins accent with a blunderbuss, but man, those games were awesome.)