The Rochesters will be in more papers if they have any say in it...
Ivory Hill is the ninth district investigated in Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past.
The political heart of Concordia where senators, lobbyists, and even the city mayor make their moves in the city's affairs, Ivory Hill focuses on the Flying Squad's efforts to stop the Rochester family once and for all, who are planning to take over Concordia for them and abolish freedom of the press in an effort to create a Propaganda Machine for their new empire.
Cases Set in Ivory Hill
- The Machiavellian Candidate: The assistant to a Senator is poisoned at an award luncheon.
- The Swan Song: A ballet choreographer is bludgeoned to death at the Opera House.
- Tipping the Scales: An old killer is found cut in half at the courthouse.
- A Study in Pink: The editor-in-chief of a magazine is pushed out of her office window.
- A Family Affair: A Rochester is found stabbed to death at the Rochester family memorial.
- Arrow of Injustice: A Mayor is shot in the back of the head with an arrow.
Tropes:
- Arc Villain: A Big Bad Duumvirate between Senator Malcolm Rochester, the one pushing the bill to abolish freedom of press in all of Concordia except for the Rochesters, and his uncle Horatio, who is planning to Take Over the City once said bill is put into motion with the Rochester family at the helm of the New Concordia, all with the help of Commissioner Thaddeus Mulroney in charge of providing them with police support and authorize the release of Eleanor Halsted to assassinate their political enemies. In the penultimate case of the district, it's also revealed that Horatio was the one behind Vittorio's actions back in Coyote Gorge and, by extension, the Mob War between the Irish and the Italians in Crimson Banks, as well as the one making use of The Devil and Gryphon Sanctuary's false commitments in Grim Chapel, effectively making him the overall Big Bad of the season.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: After being mostly relegated to background appearances and mentions in the previous district, the Rochesters are once again the main focus of this district as the Flying Squad continues their fight against the corrupt family, who are planning to Take Over the City and abolish the freedom of press in Concordia.
- Bittersweet Ending: The district ends with the Flying Squad finally defeating the Rochester family for good, which is left practically destroyed after most of their members either die or are arrested by the player. However, not only this comes at the cost of losing valuable allies such as Leopold Rochester or Mayor Castletown, but Justin Lawson ends up abolishing the freedom of press anyway once he takes the helm as the new mayor of Concordia, who seems to be Jumping Off the Slippery Slope by the end of it...
- Breather Episode: Coming directly after the Bleak Level that was Grim Chapel, Ivory Hill is a much tamer district in comparison by virtue of its more light-hearted cases and the consecutive wins you manage to attain against the Rochesters throughout it.
- The Climax: This district serves as the conclusion of the Rochester Family Story Arc you've been dealing since Wolf Street, as the family is completely left in the dust by the time you reach the end, putting an end to their evil influence for good.
- Propaganda Machine: One of the focus of this district is preventing the Rochesters from abolishing the freedom of press with the intent of controlling the entire news medium in Concordia, which would obviously say nothing but positive things about the family and negative stuff regarding their enemies.
- Recurring Character: The main recurring characters for Ivory Hill are Horatio Rochester, Senator Malcolm Rochester, Mayor Cornelius Castletown, Deputy Mayor Justin Lawson, Commissioner Thaddeus Mulroney, Lady Highmore, Samson Drake, Archie Rochester, and to a lesser extent Katherine Woolf and Leopold Rochester.
- Take Over the City: The main focus of Ivory Hill is preventing the Rochester family from accomplishing this by reclaiming Concordia as their own.
