Really fun mystery with two lovely romantic leads. I enjoyed the character development and the way they navigated the mystery and their relationship.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book.

This book for exceeded my expectations of what I thought it was going to be about. Truth be told, this is my first mystery/thriller romance book. I thought that the story of this was well thought out, and I didn’t see the twist coming at all Until it was two seconds away from happening.

Rav and Jack had chemistry from the get-go, it was palpable from the second their eyes met for a murder investigation. I love the representation for anxiety, and the fact that Jack and Rav instantly connected through that and broke down any barrier between detective and rockstar. There’s a lot of realistic and identifiable struggles within what’s right versus what feels right versus what we do versus what we should do. And that was prevalent throughout the romance, part of the story, and the mystery part of the story.

If you are not a fan of mystery/thriller with romance, this book will turn you into one trust me. The reason I chose to download this book and read it was because I love a good MM romance, and definitely with men in uniform and rock stars ha ha! Seriously, though, the way these two men supported each other throughout this book, even on a friendship level was top-tier.

The good:
⭐️ Banter
⭐️ Chemistry/Love Story/Flirtation
⭐️ A hell of a mystery with so many twists and turns
⭐️ Minor Characters stand out so much!
⭐️ Mental Health representation

The not as good
-0.25 💫 I feel like the spice in this book is very confusing. The way that dirty talk and flirtation is presented, and then we skip over the detailed sex scenes, but also not made it like the orgasm that just never happened. That could just be a me thing, it may not bother anybody else, and it certainly didn’t ruin this book for me. I feel like it should either be suggested, or give us the details.

-0.25 💫 The whole Lord thing. Like, I get it? But it didn’t feel fully fleshed out and a mix between a loose thread and a plot hole. Again, still LOVED this book.

This was a fun read. It combines romance with mystery! I enjoyed the characters and the story line had me interested until the end. Thanks for the copy!

Can you have a relationship with someone that you just interviewed a potential murderer? This is the question that this clever and spicy mystery tries to answer….along with who’s trying to kill one of the main characters.

Jack is the lead singer-songwriter and co-founder of an indie darling band with a rabid fan base. Their popularity is moving from indie to packing large venues all over the world. Like most bands, when they were trying to breakthrough, they signed away the rights to their song catalog, The band is desperately trying to buy back their songs from a shady businessman who has licensed one for a energy drink advertisement and promises to license more. When the businessman is found murdered, of course band co-founder Jack becomes the prime “person of interest.”

Rav is a suave, Oxford educated NYPD detective. This mother is a self-absorbed former American model and his father is a self-absorbed British peer…aka “His Lordship”. Neither parent is remotely nurturing and have always made Rav feel that he is never good enough. After years of trying to please them, he dedicated himself to doing the opposite…becoming a cop rather than going to law school or going into his father’s business.

With the murder of the businessman, Rav is assigned the case and, when he and Jack lock eyes, sparks fly. Thus starts a twisty and smart tale full of both fun and dark characters, conspiracy theories and a steamy encounters.

This was more of a romance than a mystery, complete with HEA, centering a New York Detective and a rockstar. The case was well designed and layered and drove good character growth, and in the end was very much a “good cop” narrative.

Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. So enjoyable! Rav works for the NYPD. He ends up in a murder case on a high profile murder case of a record executive and he is ready to solve it. He won’t let all the attention the case is getting distract him. The only hiccup is that one of the suspects happens to be a famous musician, Jack, who Rav finds to be absolutely stunning. Can he be objective about a case where he has the hots for one of his suspects? Rav will have to solve a murder all while getting to know more about Jack and trying to keep his feelings in check. This has everything I like, mystery, intrigue, and queer love! Twists and turns mixed with the sweetness of new love! Fast paced and kept me hooked! Highly recommend!

Stalkers, deep-fakes, Russian hackers, conspiracy theorists, paparazzos, journalists, intelligence agents, dead bodies, mistaken eyewitnesses, and a forbidden attraction. But at its heart, thi sbook is about two lovable men who catch sparks, flirt via text, catch feelings, and choose each other, even at risk of life or career.

A solid debut novel! Although this book is not very long, the setting, characters, and plot are fully developed and let the reader settle nicely into the story. He’s To Die For has a little bit of everything that a reader could want. The whodunnit was the heart of the story, and the plot never strayed away from the objective. Rav and Jack’s romance, though unconventional, was handled with a lot of care when it came to the nature of how they became involved. Jack came clean about his budding romance and kept his job informed as the situation became sticky.

My two qualms about the plot was 1) this story being compared to Brooklyn 99. Although there were funny moments, I don’t think that this had the charm and wit matching the level of Brooklyn 99’s. 2) the back-and-forth on pop culture references. The story takes place in the real world, mentioning real world celebrities but then came up with an Apple alternative company. It teetered the line on reality in that regard. In the same vein, how does Rav, who is a stylish detective in NYC, not know face of pop culture references/celebrities? I understand that was used as a plot device to showcase Rav’s lack of social life in order to fully invest himself in his job, but again seemed unrealistic.

That being said, I would recommend this to anyone. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

4 star for this one - a great debut and a great time overall!

I haven't read a lot of mysteries that aren't as graphic as thrillers but higher stakes than a cozy with a good romance plot and this book delivered on all fronts. I do think the two love interests could have communicated better. But their dynamic was believable and the stakes felt high... The lead detective could lose his job and the rockstar is trying to live a private life.

There were a lot of twists throughout this book that were believable but I didnt see coming. I hope that we get more books within this world with some of the side characters because they had such a fun dynamic. I also really appreciated the mention / dichotomy of changing a system from within - as these characters didn't feel like the stereotypical traits of a cop (or rockstar). I think this made the story work well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this novel.

This novel is a fun read, a British aristocrat turned detective for the NYPD ends up falling for the number one suspect in the murder of a rockstar - the rockstars band mate and lead singer.

Honestly this reminds me, in a way, of a fanfic. Which isn’t a bad thing!! There were some tropes in there (big romantic gestures, anyone?) but they were done well enough that you don’t realize at the time that you’re reading something that has been done many times before - which is a huge benefit to this novel.

He's To Die For is a quick, easy, fun read. This if the first novel by Erin Dunn that I have read. This author writes a novel that is both romantic and mysterious and also enjoyable. The two main characters, Rav, a police detective, and Jack, a musician, are well-defined. Rav is the narrator and so readers experience more of his inner personality and worries, but Jack also reveals his inner self, in phone conversations with Rav. There is sex, but it is described more vaguely as an act of love, rather than explicit casual sex, if that makes sense.

Except for the two primary characters, the many other characters are not as thoroughly described, but readers should be able to understand their motivations reasonably well. Although Rav is a NYC police detective, this mystery romance is not really a police procedural. I am recommending He's To Die For. I enjoyed it, and except for readers who are not interested in a queer romance mystery, other readers will enjoy this fast read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC for me to read and review. The above comments reflect my honest review. I enjoyed He's To Die For very much.
4 Stars

Cute book! Loved both leads - the hot detective and the hot, brooding rockstar. Aside from the murder investigation, it was pretty wholesome! ;)
I wish I had more words for this review but, simply put - if the synopsis appeals to you, you will read & love this book!

Well this was a delightful surprise. I did NOT anticipate such a sweet romance with such wonderful yearning and delicious sizzle THAT WAS SO CLEAN! I mean, there was a discussion of the sex and all of the wanting, but the actual act was completely off-page. I mean, I could feasibly put this in my high school library. I won’t, but I could.
And I LOVED the mystery! Loved loved loved it! The story moved well and the characters are rich and interesting. All just very cool and interesting and fun. Great read! 💜💜📚

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC! What happens when a posh, smart Brit working for the NYPD falls for a rockstar murder suspect? Read this book to find out! It’s one part murder mystery (which is not really my jam) and one part swoony queer romance (which is absolutely my jam).

I love queer books so much. I can never get enough of these books and will constantly come back for more.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of He's to Die For by Erin Dunn. I was asked if I wanted to read this, and when I saw the description "murder cute" I thought duh!

Rav, a handsome and well-dressed NYPD detective who comes from a wealthy family, becomes involved in a murder case where one of the suspects is Jack, a striking and soulful famous musician. For Rav, stunned by his beauty at first glance, things start to get complicated. How do you successfully navigate a murder mystery while you are dying to rip the clothes off one of the main suspects?! How, I ask?? The story follows both the investigation and Rav's role in it, and his increasing desire to know Jack more personally. Mystery, intrigue, and love abound.

The character development in this story is great. Rav is so easy to root for and I loved how he was written. Mo was my favorite. Kid Kyle cracked me up. I honestly wish the book was a little longer because I felt some of the relationships and the mystery were rushed at points, but perhaps this is because the author is balancing a lot taking on both of these subjects and trying to do them both real justice. This isn't the typical two people fall in love while solving a crime together scenario, which is so annoyingly overdone. There was a lot of newness in this story that I loved.

The tone of the writing was also great. There was an air of humor that carried through the book and I found myself laughing multiple times. The first concert scene was an emotional read and I found it so accurate to how I have felt listening to live music in the past. There were so many little special moments throughout.

Some things about this story I didn't love. Parts of the narrative were clunky. As noted, the story felt rushed at times which left me skeptical of various revelations. The ending was unbelievably unrealistic which always bothers me a bit even though I know you often have to suspend disbelief in a story like this... just not this much, please.

Overall rating for really just enjoying this and feeling like it was light and fun, despite some of the heavier or more serious content at times. Gay love murder mystery ftw.

3.5 rounding up to 4.
This is definitely more mystery than romance. The twists and turns of the investigation kept me interested more than the actual romance. It comes across as somewhat instal love but I guess with a hot rockstar things move fast. The spicy scenes are sort of fade to black where you get a gist of what’s happening but not explicit details. Overall I enjoyed the characters and the story.

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

Author Erin Dunn wrote a queer detective celebrity romance mystery that made my week. It was a mish mash of all my favorite readerly things. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This was a fun romantic/suspense book. The premise was unique with an American/Brit NYPD detective & a rock star he's investigating for murder. There are twists & turns to the story and I didn't guess the real culprit until the reveal. It's also a steamy romance between the detective & rock star who shouldn't go together but somehow fit just right. A good summer book for some escapism!