He’s to Die For

I haven’t read nearly enough romantic mysteries, and the ones I have read are usually historical. But there have been some exciting contemporary romantic mysteries lately, including He’s to Die For by Erin Dunn. It just came out earlier this week and I loved it!

What I Liked:

• Music-industry mystery. If you’ve read many of my reviews, you’ll anticipate what I’m about to say again: I love books about music! Here, the mystery revolves around a vicious label executive who was murdered hours before signing away the rights of a popular band’s entire music catalogue. This guy had plenty of enemies, but chief among them may have been the New Knickerbockers, especially their lead singer, Jack. The music industry can be a sleazy place, and this mystery really leans into the worst sides of it.
• The pop punk emo band, the New Knickerbockers! Rav apparently doesn’t know anything about modern music, and certainly not about this entire genre of music. So despite how popular this band is, Rav has never heard of them. I loved how his feelings for Jack started to flourish when Rav started listening to his band’s songs. Cute!
• Combating stereotypes in their respective careers. Police don’t have the greatest reputation, and Rav—a gay man of color—feels like he must prove that he’s more than a DEI hire. (Ugh, that feels so loaded right now. DEI is a *good* thing; we should keep it; that is all.) Rav isn’t your typical macho cop; he’s pushing the boundaries of what law enforcement can look like. Similarly, Jack isn’t the kind of rock star who’s all ego and attitude. Quite the contrary, he’s a sensitive introvert.
• And their little off-limits romance! I love how both Rav and Jack are so unalike, and so different from the stereotypes, yet they balance each other out perfectly. Of course, it’s not exactly recommend to fall for your #1 suspect in a murder case… but that’s neither here nor there. Love knows no bounds!

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• The mystery ended up being a bit convoluted. Complex mysteries are fun to read about, but some aspects of this felt a bit too far afield.

Audiobook:

Sid Sagar does an excellent job narrating He’s to Die For. He captures Rav’s whole personality, from his slightly snobby (and very proper) Oxford accent to his uneasy romantic feelings for Jack. His humor, wit, and class all came through perfectly.

Final Thoughts

He’s to Die For is such a fun read that’s equal parts mystery and contemporary romance. Rav is a character full of personality, so he made an engaging POV (third person) to follow throughout the novel. It tackles family dynamics, grief over a previous loss, career struggles, and the darker side of celebrity, but the story is infused with a lightness and quickness that holds readers’ attention. I look forward to reading more from Erin Dunn.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy He’s to Die For here – it’s available as a hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

He’s to Die For by Erin Dunn
Audiobook Narrator	Sid Sagar
Audience	Adult
Genre	Mystery; Contemporary Romance
Setting	New York
Number of Pages	320
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	June 3, 2025
Publisher	Minotaur Books

Official Summary

“Sweet and sexy and satisfying enough to make me almost forget there were actual lives at stake.” – Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers

Brooklyn 99 meets The Charm Offensive in this sparkling romantic murder mystery: it’s murder cute in the first degree when a detective finds himself falling for the lead suspect in a career-making case.

At 29, Detective Rav Trivedi is the youngest member of the NYPD’s homicide squad, and his future looks bright. He may be a bit of an outsider in the department—an ivy-league educated gay Brit with a weakness for designer suits—but his meteoric rise and solve rate prove he belongs.

So when his CO assigns him lead on the high-profile murder of a record executive, Rav is ready for action. He won’t be distracted by TV crews, tabloids, or what’s trending on social media, nor by the ridiculously hot rock star with a clear motive and no alibi.

This is it, his shot, and he is not going to screw it up—certainly not by falling in love with his number one suspect…