[REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]

this quickstart module is great for quickly establishing the basic rules of the Vampire world and the personal horror of it all. The characters are strongly written and the plot is easy to follow. There are some possibilities the module simply does not account for though, and there are points where it is assumed that players will automatically be invested in certain things. The pregen character sheets are filled out nicely, and the ST advice is good. I don't think this accurately reflects the high-politicking nature of a lot of V5, but then again the system can be just as easily suited to very personal stories like this. I think there are points where the module kind of just expects players to automatically feel bad for stuff. It also oddly focuses rather heavily on the mystery aspect at first, but gives very few clues or actual ways for the PCs to unravel said mystery. The mystery itself isn't I think meant to be the main focus, but then why include all the details of the victims and the crimes? Unlike other reviewers, I quite enjoyed the flashback section, as the entire point of that is to get rid of player agency. The hunger just happens. You have to do it right as a storyteller, but the idea is literally that you are not in control. Sam is a strong driving presence in the module.

[SPOILERS AHEAD] On the other hand, I feel that the module's suggestion to have the killer admonish the PCs in the Confrontation Climax is particularly weak. She killed those people by choice. what she did is in no way comparable to the PCs. If the goal is to make the PCs question their actions, why have the actual serial killer be the vehicle for that??

additionally, the module gives no real direction for the relationship between Sam and Lector or for what he would do in general if the coterie just straight up kills Martha. This is odd to me if only for the moments in which the module prescribes moments to the second, like the flashbacks. Additionally, I am really confused by the "epilogues." They may or may not reflect the versions of the characters a given group plays, and they seem more like something you'd find in a video game than an RPG. You are literally told what your character thinks by the end.\

[END OF SPOILERS]

Overall though, I would say that this is a great first step for anyone into the World of Darkness.