Line #26 VisualNovel/MostWanted


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/most_wanted_book_1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:250:Solve a murder in Hollywood with your partner.]]
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4	''Most Wanted'' is a VisualNovel released as part of the Pixelberry Studios (creators of VideoGame/HighSchoolStory and VideoGame/HollywoodURisingStars) game, ''VisualNovel/ChoicesStoriesYouPlay''. It was released in August 2016 as one of the app's three debut books, along with ''VisualNovel/TheCrownAndTheFlame'' and ''VisualNovel/TheFreshman''. This book is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VisualNovel/CauseOfDeath'', and according to [[https://www.facebook.com/CauseofDeathEA/photos/a.178650422164039.46576.178647222164359/1400195613342841/?type=3&permPage=1 the latest post made on that game's Facebook page]], it even shares some of its creators.
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6	In this DetectiveDrama, the cool and collected Detective Dave Reyes of the LAPD, and the CowboyCop from Texas US Marshal Samantha Massey, pursue the notorious and dangerous fugitive and hitman, John Tull.
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8	The series was released in one volume ("Book 1"). For years, a second book was promised, but it was always TBA/TBD. In January 2021, after years of uncertainty, Pixelberry officially announced that Most Wanted was one of several Choices books that was not getting a sequel.
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11	!!Tropes:
12	* ActionGirl: Sam is a tough-as-nails marshal with a talent for shooting.
13	* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: Paying diamonds in chapter 6 allows Sam to tell the story of how she got into a fight with a biker gang known as the Centurions.
14	* AxCrazy: John Tull. Even Randall Grimes, leader of the Centurions, is scared of him.
15	* BarBrawl: Sam gets into one against the Centurions during a flashback in chapter 6.
16	* BelligerentSexualTension: Dave and Sam clash quite a bit, especially at the start, but they grow to respect each other and it's hinted that there's a mutual attraction.
17	* BigNo: Chapter 14 has [[spoiler:John Tull yell one out when he's sucked out of the plane while holding a live grenade.]]
18	** Sam and Dave will say it right before you make fatal choices. Chances are you’ll hear it more than once.
19	* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Hayley turns out to be in cahoots with Tull, who is revealed to be her father.]]
20	* BlackBossLady: Captain Dana Beckham, Dave’s immediate supervisor who does ''NOT'' play around and has no patience for insubordination.
21	* BrutalHonesty: Mirasol, being the resident psychologist, can read people accurately and tell them directly her thoughts. Sam can get on her good side by agreeing with her.
22	* ChekhovsSkill: Dave casually mentions that Cassandra is applying for a pilot license. [[spoiler:This helps to save the day during the climax.]]
23	* {{Cliffhanger}} / CutShort: [[spoiler: The book ends with Sam and Dave finding out that someone decapitated Hayley Rose.]] Unfortunately, we're never going to see this cliffhanger be resolved thanks to the book's sequel being canceled.
24	* CowboyCop: Sam is a loose cannon who came all the way to LA from Texas to catch John Tull and does not like playing nice.
25	* DaddysLittleVillain: [[spoiler: Hayley Rose is John Tull's daughter and was in fact the reason why he went to jail in the first place: she stabbed a guy with a bottle and he took the blame. In the climax of the book, they battle Sam and Dave.]]
26	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Hayley Rose. [[spoiler: Until you realize her true origins.]]
27	* DecoyProtagonist:
28	** At the start of the game, you can pick a character appearance and choose their name, just like with most ''Choices'' stories. However, this character inevitably dies in the first scene trying to stop Tull; for the rest of the book, it's Dave and Sam who are the protagonists/playable characters.
29	** In the old version, Theresa Holland was the sole decoy protagonist. She could survive, but the focus would still shift away from her afterwards.
30	* DefrostingIceQueen: How Sam can get over time if you make the right choices.
31	* DownerBeginning: The story starts with [[DecoyProtagonist Theresa-Logan]] having a conversation with [[LoveInterest Logan-Theresa]] until the character you are playing is murdered.
32	* EmotionallyTongueTied: Dave is. Every time Sam asks him about his past or anything remotely personal, Dave changes the subject and doesn't respond. You'll have to spend diamonds just to get him to talk about a small detail about his life.
33	* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: [[spoiler:During the final battle with John Tull, he takes out a live grenade on a plane. Sam shoots the door, and Tull laughs at her for missing. She points out that she didn't miss as Tull gets sucked out of the plane and blown up by his own grenade.]]
34	* FridgeLogic: InUniverse, Sam calls out Josh Neely's idea of using an icicle to kill someone in Los Angeles as ridiculous since the thing would melt long before they get the chance to use it as a weapon, as well as where he would get one in LA anyway.
35	* HairpinLockpick: Chapter 7 has Dave using a paperclip to pick the lock to John Tull's trailer if he has enough points, otherwise Sam kicks the door in.
36	* {{Hipster}}: Nikhil Mantha, the precinct forensics analyst, is this.
37	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:John Tull gets blown up by his own grenade when it detonates after he's sucked out of the plane.]]
38	* ICallItVera: Bill Holton's shotgun, Old Genevieve. It ends up as a trophy of John Tull's.
39	* ItsPersonal: Sam seeks to stop John Tull because he killed her boss.
40	* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Sam is a big fan of Cassandra Leigh. When she actually meets her (and also finds out that she and Dave are close friends), words barely come out. By the end of the case, Sam asks Cass to sign her an autograph.
41	* TheLadette: Sam is tough, no-nonsense, and much more prone to using her fists than Dave is. Mirasol also counts to a lesser extent, being a blunt and abrasive criminal profiler who dislikes her name for being too "flowery".
42	* MadeOfIron: John Tull, who shrugs off multiple injuries that should be fatal or incapacitating as minor inconveniences.
43	* MentorOccupationalHazard: Sam's boss, Bill Holton, was killed by John Tull when he escaped transit.
44	* MenUseViolenceWomenUseCommunication: Inverted. Dave tries to solve problems by talking, while Sam prefers to shoot first and ask questions later. Sam even mocks Dave for this in one scene when they are surrounded by flames and she sarcastically suggests that he can talk the fire into leaving them alone.
45	* TheMostWanted: Different from the other entries on this trope, the protagonists are an LAPD Detective and a Texas Marshal going for the BigBad, a notorious hitman wanted for justice.
46	* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight: Ryan Summers shoots a scene where he takes down sword-wielding ninjas with a gun.
47	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
48	** Sam's old boss, Bill Holton, prior to a redesign, was a ringer for Creator/SamElliott.
49	** The male DecoyProtagonist in the first scene looks like Creator/ChrisEvans with a beard.
50	* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: InUniverse. Hayley Rose doesn't mind that Gavin Routh leaked some revealing pictures of her, especially since she's been doing lots of Pilates.
51	* NotSoDifferentRemark: If the player pays to have Reza tag along to Venice Beach, he will convince Jessica to surrender by relating to her about how being smart isolates her from others.
52	* {{Paparazzi}}: The first premium choice you get has Dave deal with a paparazzo named Donnie Brine. Dave can either give him a big scoop or threaten to have him followed.
53	* PapaWolf: Subverted. [[spoiler:John Tull seems to be one, given that he was imprisoned because he took the fall for his daughter Hayley's murder of her boyfriend and he hunts down anyone who threatens her public reputation, but in the final confrontation, he's willing to blow up everyone present in the plane--including Hayley--just to kill Sam and Dave.]]
54	* PetTheDog: Before getting into Tull's RV, Dave and Sam spot a puppy at the trailer park, which Dave finds adorable. The dog ends up distracting Tull and giving them a chance to get him off. After they escape the fire, Dave has the option of adopting the puppy [[BribingYourWayToVictory for a few diamonds]], or let him get taken away by Animal Control.
55	* PlotTriggeringDeath: The death of one of the characters that the player controls in chapter 1 is the starting point for the entire plot, which begins a hunt against John Tull.
56	* PressXToNotDie: There are action sequences that require pressing the right choice from a list while under a time limit.
57	** In some chapters, this is actually averted. If you press any choice, you'll end up dead and having to start over from a checkpoint. The right answer is to let the clock run out.
58	* ProfessionalKiller: John Tull is one.
59	* RedOniBlueOni: Sam being the red and Dave being the blue.
60	* TheReveal: [[spoiler: John Tull is Hayley Rose's father.]]
61	* SequelHook: [[spoiler: Hayley Rose is killed in prison even after she surrendered.]] Unfortunately, the sequel's confirmed cancellation means it won't be resolved for the foreseeable future.
62	* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Sam denies that she and Dave are romantically involved when others bring up the subject.
63	* ShipperOnDeck: Cassandra for Sam and Dave.
64	* ShoutOut:
65	** InUniverse, Reza is a moderator on a forum for ''VisualNovel/TheCrownAndTheFlame''.
66	** Early on, "Rise of the Maskmaker," a fictional movie about the events that took place in the first volume of ''VisualNovel/CauseOfDeath'', and "San Trobida", a fictional location appearing in ''Cause of Death'', are mentioned.
67	* TheSocialExpert: Dave is a smooth talker who has formed a lot of connections in Los Angeles, even with celebrities. He is also good at reading people.
68	* SoProudOfYou: In Sam's flashback in Chapter 2, Bill tells Sam he's proud of her with his last words.
69	* StalkerShrine: [[spoiler: Tull has one dedicated to Hayley Rose. It seems to be because he's deluded and thinks her song "Outlaw" is about him, until it later turns out that it was the non-romantic kind of shrine because he's her father and her song is indeed about him.]]
70	* SternNun: A premium choice in chapter 7 allows Sam to have a flashback where she asks about the namesake of Old Genevieve. She was a nun in Bill Colton's boarding school when he was younger. She also killed a thief who took Bill hostage with a shotgun.
71	* StrangeCopInAStrangeLand: Sam is from Texas, but she goes to L.A. to hunt down John Tull. Her cowboy cop attitude and lack of knowledge of the local culture can get her into trouble.
72	* StreetSmart: Dave has grown up in Los Angeles and knows every corner of the city and how to interact with any people.
73	* SugarAndIcePersonality: Ana de Luca, Cassandra's fashion designer friend, starts out very hostile toward Sam. If you take the diamond choice, Sam stands up to her and tries on one of her dresses, which causes Ana to immediately apologize. Ana thus finds Sam's attitude so inspiring that she declares Sam to be her new muse. During Sam's farewell party, she yells angrily at Sam because she is leaving her without her new muse.
74	* SwitchingPOV: The story regularly switches from Dave's perspective to Sam's and back again.
75	* TakingYouWithMe: During the fight against John Tull and [[spoiler: Hayley Rose]] in chapter 14, he takes out a live grenade eager to take out everyone on the plane, [[spoiler:including his own daughter. He fails when Sam shoots the door out, causing him to get sucked through and blow himself up when his grenade detonates in the air.]]
76	* TattooedCrook: John Tull is an unhinged criminal with tattoos on his upper arms.
77	** Randall Grimes, the leader of the Centurions, has one for every crime he pulls, and he's covered in them.
78	* UnbuiltTrope: Logan/Theresa, the first POV character, is a gender-customizable protagonist with big dreams, resembling many of the ''Choices'' protagonists, but then they end up being John Tull's first victim. This seems to be a subversion of the usual formula for these games, but it's actually the second one ever made, and later games generally avoided this kind of twist.
79	* UnderdressedForTheOccasion: If Sam goes to a fancy restaurant or formal party in her normal clothes, everyone will comment on her inappropriate attire. [[BribingYourWayToVictory It costs the premium currency to get her to dress in something more appropriate.]] Nikhil, being a {{Hipster}}, loves it when he sees the footage and praises Sam for being nonconformist.

Context VisualNovel / MostWanted