History VideoGame / LauraBow

*** There's a rowboat called the Minnow.

*** [[Film/{{Psycho}} Just take a shower.]]
*** There are 2 references to ''Series/MisterEd'':
*** If you ask Rudy about Blaze he will say "A horse is a horse"
*** A subtler reference is Wilbur who says he loves horses, Wilbur was Mr Ed's owners name.
*** If you visit Celie in the later chapters and talk to her she says she senses a bad moon rising

* ShoutOut: Laura is based off of famed 1920's movie star [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Bow Clara Bow]].

* ChekovsGun: The derringer in the first game.

* BookEnds: The BadEnding of ''The Dagger of Amon Ra'' mimicks the opening except with the layout of the room mirrored [[spoiler: and Laura getting shot instead of strangled]].

First game:
** Some of the characters are references to [[Film/{{Cluedo}}]], most notably Colonel Dijon (Mustard).
** There's a rowboat called the Minnow.
** The chandelier falling is a reference to the Phantom of the Opera
** Just take a shower.
** There are 2 references to Mr Ed:
*** If you ask Rudy about Blaze he will say "A horse is a horse"
*** A subtler reference is Wilbur who says he loves horses, Wilbur was Mr Ed's owners name.
** If you visit Celie in the later chapters and talk to her she says she senses a bad moon rising

2nd game:
** Rube refers to Laura as Bains, the antagonist in the first two Police Quest games.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: In the second game O'reiley says he has to deal with murder, speakeasies, muggings, arson and grapes being stolen.

* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler: Gloria's stage name is Swansong, which means last performance ]]

** Some of the characters from the first game are references to [[Film/{{Cluedo}}]], most notably Colonel Dijon (Mustard).
** There's a rowboat in the first game called the Minnow.

** Just take a shower in the first game.
** There are 2 references to Mr Ed in the first game:

** In the second game, Rube refers to Laura as Bains, the antagonist in the first two Police Quest games.

The second and last in the series, ''The Dagger of Amon Ra'' (1992), used VGA graphics and a point-and-click interface. It takes place a year after the first game, in New York, where Laura, now a newspaper reporter, is charged to write a story about the disappearance of an antique dagger from a local museum. Attending a benefit at the museum, she meets the various suspects, who quickly begin to die off one by one. This game had a similar time system but involved more straight-forward, item-based puzzles than the previous game. Like its predecessor, it also required the player to make their own conclusions in order to solve the murders. The identity of the murderer is not revealed at the end of the game, and instead the player is asked a series of questions in order to determine who the culprit is based on evidence collected.

* ArsonMurderandJaywalking: In the second game O'reiley says he has to deal with murder, speakeasies, muggings, arson and grapes being stolen.

* WhoDunnit: The first game is discovering who is offing the Colonel's relatives one by one.

* RedHeadedHero: Laura

* NotProven: If you fail to find enough evidence, even if you've already figured out who the murderer is. In ''Amon Ra'', even if you identify the killer but fail to convict them, [[spoiler:Laura will eventually be murdered in her sleep.]]

* BookEnds: The BadEnding of ''The Dagger of Amon Rah'' mimicks the opening except with the layout of the room mirrored [[spoiler: and Laura getting shot instead of strangled]].

* BrokenBridge: The Museum in the second instalment gets locked overnight, and none of the suspects are allowed to leave until the investigations are over. Naturally the keys get misplaced, the phone lines cut, and the murderer is ''inside''.

* DeadMansChest: In The Dagger of Amon Ra.

* EveryoneIsASuspect: The first game as there is nobody in the mansion except for Laura and the Colone's family.

* LadyDrunk: Ethel Prune in the first game

* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr. Feels

* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: In Bequest, the parrot can actually give Laura some information of dialogue it overheard, after some coercion.

The second and last in the series, ''The Dagger of Amon Ra'' (1992), used 8 bit colors and a point-and-click interface. It takes place a year after the first game, in New York, where Laura, now a newspaper reporter, is charged to write a story about the disappearance of an antique dagger from a local museum. Attending a benefit at the museum, she meets the various suspects, who quickly begin to die off one by one. This game had a similar time system but involved more straight-forward, item-based puzzles than the previous game. Like its predecessor, it also required the player to make their own conclusions in order to solve the murders. The identity of the murderer is not revealed at the end of the game, and instead the player is asked a series of questions in order to determine who the culprit is based on evidence collected.

* DropInNemesis: various things Laura did could cause the murderer to appear out of nowhere in the first game, including taking a shower, in an homage to ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', complete with a snarky HaveANiceDeath. Which is kind of odd seeing as this could happen right at the beginning of the game [[spoiler: long before Lillian snaps, starting her killing spree.]]

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: in true Sierra fashion, Laura will die if she so much as takes a wrong step, quite often in accidental but nevertheless cruel and brutal ways.

* GuideDangIt: even more than a typical Sierra game, considering many of the actions required to get the best ending don't make sense.

* TheJeeves: Lampshaded with the butler ''named'' Jeeves!

* NotProven: if you fail to find enough evidence, even if you've already figured out who the murderer is. In ''Amon Ra'', even if you identify the killer but fail to convict them, [[spoiler:Laura will eventually be murdered in her sleep.]]

* PerfectPoison: in the first game, sleeping powder is used, and mixed with Alcohol.