Interesting mystery about a rock band with baggage that keeps you guessing. Yet I will remember He’s to Die For because of the wonderful romance of Rav and Jack. They fall for each other the old fashioned way with long phone calls where the reader feels like a fly on the wall witnessing this burgeoning romance.

Rav is such an original character and it was refreshing that his workplace wasn’t full of homophobic stereotypes.

Well done.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited about this on, on the premise of Brooklyn 99 meets Charm Offensive (a show and a book I love), but for me this one fell short. I completely understand why this one had to be single POV - you don't want to give up the game of Jack's potential innocence via his POV - but I think it had the unexpected side effect of making Jack pretty bland and a little unlikeable. With a second POV, we would have gotten his own mindset towards their relationship and maybe if not forgiveness of, at least an understanding of why he's so flaky about communicating for so much of the book.

I also felt like, as a mystery/romance, rather than having one inform the other, it almost meant that each storyline was taking away from the other. I couldn't get too attached to either plot point because my attention and focus was really divided. And because of the two separate buckets, I felt more than usual that the chemistry and tension was pretty thin between the two MCs.

I think some readers may enjoy it more than I did; it just fell short of my expectations. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! I rate this 4 stars and 1.5 chili peppers for spice. This was a super fun murder mystery romance. There were so many twists and turns and I honestly had no idea who’d done it until the very end. It was a like watching a really juicy episode of tv show Forensic Files but with sexy rock stars and hot detectives. I really enjoyed this story and would totally recommend it.

Yeah, i don't even know why i requested this book, but I guess I'm glad I did.
Nothing close to a masterpiece, but it was entertaining, and I think that was the point of it.
kind of just pure kicks and giggles, a nice break to read in between heavier and more intense books.
I didn't ever really fully connect with Rav, but I did love jack
I haven't read the charm offensive, but I've heard that if you like that book, you'll like this
very funny and keeps you engaged
I also liked how it got straight into the story.

This was a very fun book with likeable characters, a realistic romance, and an interesting murder mystery. The book is well written and the main characters are well developed. The romance between Rav and Jack was sweet and had realistic road blocks they had to overcome. The mystery had multiple threads and touched on the radicalization of people online. The ending was dramatic and the romance was realistic in its progress. Add in the fashion, the music and the sweet locations and overall it's hard to not enjoy yourself reading this book.

A final note to those straight readers who are worried about a novel with gay romantic leads, this book is a perfect place to start as the romance and the sex scenes are pretty universal -- Making it a good romance and not a 'gay' good romance.

'She's like a female Captain Holt from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, minus the sparkling sense of humor.'

'This, right here, is enough.'

Thanks for St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was good. A cop, a rock star, a murder, and long buried secrets. This would make a great movie.
Rav's a good cop, still young on the force and trying to prove himself a bit, to his lieutenant, coworkers, and deep (buried really deep) his parents.
Jack is part of a uber successful music group, but is struggling on the inside a he tries to balance fame, the music he loves, and his mental health.
Current murder, death threats, and past loss all come together in a surprising climatic scene.
The romance was an emotional bond at first, which I really enjoyed. The physical spice was definitely there, but it was more eluded to rather than explicit.
Easy, quick read that pulled at the heart strings.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the e-ARC!

This book had plenty of things going for it, it does take a little bit to get into , but once you make it past chapter 10 it does get a little better.

A. murder mystery, but the main characters are a rock star and a detective on the murder case? This book lived up to the description and surpassed my expectations. It had just the right balance of murder mystery, romance, and character development. I loved the characters so much- the MCs along with the members of the band and Rav's colleagues and other friends. This book kept me in my toes the whole time, and still kept me guessing. I really hope that this is the beginning of a series Thank you to St. Martins press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A celebrity murder mystery MM romance? Yes please. This rom-com gets pulled in a lot of directions, and it doesn't execute them all perfectly but it is fun and engaging. The banter between the characters felt really natural. It is comped to Brooklyn 99 and that is called out in the text, but I wish that piece wasn't there. The comedy and storylines were good enough without needing the direct references (which is probably going to be very dating for this book in a few years). This was a good queer romantic suspense and I enjoyed it!

LOVED this story!! The rock star meets the NYC detective. It could not have been written any better. It was funny, sad, happy, heartbreaking, romantic and full of hate. It kept me on my toes and I love that! I can not have dreamed up a better twisty, suspenseful mystery. I read it like a mad woman and LOVED every minute!

This was SO MUCH FUN. I'm a sucker for a murder mystery, and being able to weave a romance into it can be very difficult. This was seamlessly done. Somehow keeping the romance in the forefront while investigating multiple murders? Very hard to make it make sense without the characters either feeling like they don't care about the murders, or having the romance feel undeveloped.

The humor in this is what really got me. There were times that I fully out-loud laughed and not in a cringe "oh this is so bad it is good" way. The humor that the characters had felt authentic with just a *sprinkle* of that rom com "no one could ever think of this on the spot" hilarity.

I have been struggling with a reading slump lately. One in that I want to read, but I don't want to actually read anything I am picking up. I can recognize the quality of a book, that it is something that I'd usually enjoy, but the desire to pick up the book is completely lacking. This book though - I devoured it in a day. I couldn't put it down. The desire to pick up this book specifically came back, which has been sorely lacking for me lately. While I am still in the slump, this started to turn the tide.

4.5 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had such high hopes for this book but it fell flat for me. I wanted to read it solely for the Brooklyn 99 comparison. I think the only Brooklyn 99 comparison I can give is that it’s about a detective and the lieutenant is a “female version of Captain Holt.” It wasn’t nearly as humorous as I expected it to be given the comparison.

I did kind of like the mystery aspect of it and the twist at the end did surprise me. I think there were a few moments throughout the story that were supposed to give us a little bit of surprise but I wasn’t really shocked by them all that much. I wish there had been a few bigger things thrown in to help keep us engaged.

While I enjoyed Rav as a character he felt under developed. Really, all of the characters felt surface level. Even the connection between Rav and Jack seemed flimsy at best and I didn’t feel much in the way of their romantic chemistry or sexual tension. I think if the characters had been more fleshed out I would have cared more.

I think the ultimate take away was that I didn’t feel much of anything when reading this book. I wasn’t sold on the romance and I wasn’t sold on the romance. It’s a light and easy read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of He’s To Die For by Erin Dunn.

This book started off great and just kept going. Rav is a police detective investigating a murder involving a rock star suspect named Jack. Rav crosses a line by getting involved with Jack but after the FBI comes in to take over Rav cannot help himself. He is officially off the case but can’t help to keep investigating on his own time.

I thought this was a fun romance and was a little different than I'm used to in terms of occupation. I don't read much at all with detective characters so I enjoyed the uniqueness of this. Rav was by far my favorite character and the whole book was swoony and sweet.

I absolutely picked this up because of the "Brooklyn 99 meets Charm Offensive" catnip bait of two of my favorite narratives. And to a degree it does deliver on elements of that, but in the clunkiest way possible. Both the murder mystery and the romance storylines develop on alternating tracks with massive infodumps. The Brooklyn 99 elements are expressly called out in the narrative by the protagonist (literally compares his boss to Captain Holt) which immediately makes me think this was originally B99 fanfic, and the Charm Offensive elements are circumstantial at best (vaguely Indian protagonist and love interest with anxiety). I'm always irked by a single POV in romances, but this being a murder mystery I can almost look past it because there is an element of "am I crushing on a murderer" element. But that just made Jack kinda bland ultimately, with only Rav to root for. And honestly, he felt like too much of a patchwork doll of a character for me to relate to. His Indian-ness is incidental, comes from a massively privileged background, literally wearing brand name bespoke suits to work, and we're supposed to think of him as a queer, POC wunderkind a la Jake Peralta? Come on! That said all the elements in play are all things I enjoy so even a mediocre, debut novel attempt to create this specific mashup was silly and escapist enough that I managed to finish it. Even though I've read oodles of fanfiction that does this way more masterfully and satisfyingly.

This book manages to be a really good suspense novel and a super swoony romance. I absolutely adore Rav & Jack. But it’s everything about this book that works so well together. I was hooked to the writing from the start. I can hardly believe this a debut novel, I will be screaming at everyone to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Saint-Martin’s Press and the author Erin Dunn for the advanced reading copy. All my opinions are my own.

What’s not to love about this book?! It has a murder mystery, romance, LGBTQ +, it’s atmospheric and unsettling at the right times. This book was a good palate cleanser (I usually read fantasy). 10/10 would recommend.

(4.5 Stars!)
A fun, romantic mysterious...murder?

For fans of The Charm Offensive, sparks fly between a homicide detective and a soft spoken rock star...who just happens to find himself in the middle of a murder investigation. Oops!

I really enjoyed this read! Despite the very different plots, it feels very reminiscent of The Charm Offensive in its writing style and lovable characters.
Not only is the murder mystery elaborate and intriguing, the slow burn romance is fun to follow alongside. Both MCs are fleshed out with detailed backstories - that come back to haunt them! And the worldwind of celebrity and a New York City setting made this one feel fun and expansive.

why not a 5 star? I think sometimes the pacing was off whether a slow middle to give space/time for the murder mystery AND the romance but also a kind of rush ending to make it all make sense.

Overall, I highly recommend throwing this read into a beach bag and enjoying it!

READ FOR:
- LGBTQ+ Representation & Romance
- Murder Mystery / Crime Solving
- Celebrity Romance
- Mental Health Awareness
- Complicated Family Dynamics

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgallery for this ARC!

Rav is a detective in New York City who gets put in charge, with his partner Will, on a murder case. He meets Jack, the hot lead singer of a popular rock band. He develops a crush on him, only one problem, he’s also one of the suspects of his murder case.

What draw me to read this book was when I saw the words Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the description, it’s one of favourite shows. Sadly I did not see why they compared it to Brooklynn Nine-Nine, nothing about this book reminded me of the show. They both have detectives but that’s as far as similarities go. I would remove that in the description.

I liked how Rav talked about his struggles as a cop and how his department treated him like a DEI hire. It was also refreshing to see a cop being aware and understanding why people don’t trust him. Rav wasn’t mean or angry when people mistreated him because of his job. He totally understood and I appreciate it this change.

I did like the murder mystery part of this book. I liked that we slowly try to find the who and the why while the romance was happening. It wasn’t a huge plot twist or anything like that but I still very much enjoyed it.

The characters, I wish they were more developed. I didn’t grow attached to any of the characters in this story. I didn’t care if Rav or Jack got together or not. Jack felt so nonchalant towards Rav, it didn’t make me believe in the love story. Rav’s and Jack’s backgrounds were also not mentioned a lot. I would of loved to learn more about their families. Especially Rav’s father, his lordship.

This is a very heavy dialogue book, not a lot of descriptions. And when there is descriptions they aren’t great. “She’s like the female version of Captain Holk”. I hate it when they use other tv shows or movies characters to describe a person. What if I hadn’t seen the show? I would have no clue how the character is. Or another one “Will looks like a off-brand Tom Brady”. It feels like a cheap way to describe a person. They also do it with buildings, the author describes the recording studio as a “Nondescript building” Out of all the buildings in this story, I would of imagined this one would be worth describing.


Overall I did enjoy the book and I would still recommend it.

this was perfection! the mysterious plot with a hint of romance was the perfect atmospheric read and i would def recommend picking up this book during spooky season for the best vibes!!