esme_bonner 's review for:

He's to Die For by Erin Dunn

3.5

emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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 As much as I am a fan of the romcom (and I am a huge fan of the romcom), I am perhaps an even bigger fan of the action-romcom, the adventure-plus-romance story, the rom-thriller or rom-mystery. He's to Die For is by Erin Dunn is the melding of two worlds, on the one hand a boy-meets-rock-God romance story, on the other a twisty murder investigation: in short, exactly what I was hoping it would be. 

Rav Trivedi is a homicide squad hotshot, he might be young, and maybe a touch arrogant, but there's no arguing with his results. When his LT gives him the opportunity to run a high-profile case Rav recognises the opportunity for the test that it is, succeed and he proves himself ready for bigger things, fail and the the mockery of his older, straighter colleagues will be the least of his problems. But Rav has a problem, the prime suspect is Jack Vale, front-man of The Nicks. Or, to be more precise, the enigmatic, drop-dead-gorgeous, utterly compelling, entirely his type, knee-buckling, pulse-accelerating smokeshow of a man whose blue-green eyes haunt Rav's every moment from the first time they meet. And to make matters worse, Jack isn't some uppity, fame-crazed celeb, he's… kind, funny, warm, soft spoken, a little fragile… he's a bloody poet, and Rav is utterly doomed. As the case twists and turns, both men must contend with what their feelings mean for their futures. 

I struggled to find comparison titles for this, in places it reminded me of Boyfriend Material, or really any Alexis Hall contemporary romance, and at other times it was a more straightforward mystery novel, it also had flavours of Notting Hill, with it's celebrity angle, although I would say Dunn cuts down on the angst, and focuses on the intimacy, the friendship, at the heart of this story. 

Enjoyable and romance forward, He's To Die For had a sprawling cast, and I occasionally got confused about who was speaking, and where we had met them before, in part because Dunn goes back and forth between surnames, first names, full names and nicknames for a lot of the characters. This, combined with various elements of Rav's investigation, and the time devoted to building the central romance, did leave me wondering if we would ever get to the end of the mystery, that being said, I remained engaged throughout! Dunn has a talent for intimate, emotionally charged scenes, and naturalistic humour, both of which serve the story well. 

3.5 stars.