I literally added that game to my wishlist this afternoon Hoping for a good deal in the next sale.The reason why I don't like the beginning is that I kept thinking whether I was wasting my time looking for clues in the current memory or not... Once everything was opened up, I felt I could really begin the detective work and at that point I thought it was great.
With that said, have you tried the case of the golden idol? Artistically inferior (although I really like the deliberately "ugly" retro aesthetic), but a better detective game. Well, I don't know if I can really say it's better... I did enjoy it more. Maybe because it's a bit more varied and a tad less opaque? Not that I had to look stuff up to finish Obra Dinn, but I don't think I enjoyed the process of having to make assumptions for a couple of the tier-3 characters.
I thought about asking here for recommendations of detective games. I played and enjoyed Unheard and Paradise Killer and have Shadows of Doubt wishlisted. Are there any more games of this genre you'd recommend?