Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was a great read! The storyline and characters were very well done. The multiple POVs made this book impossible to put down. Very well done police procedural/serial killer story.

This was my first read in this series but can 100% be read as a standalone.
A quick, easy, well written book that keeps you guessing, a bit unrealistic at times particularly the careless actions of Kate at times but it is fiction so don't get too hung up on it.
A good read I enjoyed but not the thriller I was expecting.

I really enjoyed the layout of this novel. It was interesting to see the perspectives of both the killer and the cops trying to stop them. As an American reader, I struggled with understanding some of the terminology that was in the book, however, I still found it a very thrilling read, I would’ve liked the cops to have caught on to the killer a little sooner in the book and be more on the trail than they were. It seemed like they were taking their time trying to solve the mystery but all in all it was a good read.

Excellent police novel….good serial killer story, he is vicious and heartless.. detective was good and smart. All in all I would read more of this series.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
I did not realise that this book was number 11 in a series but it wasn't too hard to follow.
This book was interesting but it did take a little while for me to get into it.
This book had mystery, murder, police procedures and serial killers which i love.
Thanks again
3/5 stars

Sunning herself on a beach in a exclusive mexican resort,Detective Kate Hamblin is enjoying her break but when she receives an anonymous text admiring her boobs she is baffled,a break in at her hotel toom later that night tells her she is being stalked

A body count soon starts rising and a game has begun.....xan Kate reveal and stop her stalker or will his game never end

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc

A book full of awful stereotypes which neither thrills nor interests. I cannot see how this is a thriller.

Intriguing but a little slow. Took me a while to get through, especially in the middle portion of the story.

Another brilliant addition to the Kate Hamblin/Lewis series.

Kate is taking a break and is in Mexico on a creative writing course. She is sunbathing topless when a text message pops in: someone is watching. When a woman dies in the same way as she has written in her story alarm bells begin to ring, it looks like she has a stalker.

As she returns home it becomes clear the stalker is nearby. What does he want? Why her?

Then the murders start......

This is an adrenaline pumping story with well defined characters that fit the story perfectly. I love the way the author has created the suspect to be a damaged soul with revenge on his mind and murder in his heart he certainly brings the psychological aspect to the book. I also love how the usually bumbling Hayden takes a different role in this book and is instrumental in cracking a case that seemingly has no clues. The other characters old and new play their part in making this story work so well.

The suspense runs the whole way through the book keeping the reader totally hooked all the way through. Twists and turns are there in abundance and the ending is explosive. A brilliant read all the way through. Absolutely loved it.

This is the eleventh outing for Detective Sergeant Kate Hamblin and it starts with Kate on vacation. She's sunning herself on the beaches of Mexico and taking a writer's course at the resort. All goes well until she receives an a stalker message. It disturbs Kate but she's made of pretty tough stuff so brushes it off. Then a guest at the resort falls to her death. Kate's curious and not sure the Mexican police make the right call but she can't step on their toes. She heads back to her job in the UK only to find her stalker has followed her. The stalker begins a murder spree all the while taunting Kate. She needs to find him fast before more deaths follow.
It's an excellent book told from the perspective of both Kate and the stalker. David Hodges is a former Superintendent with the Thames Valley Police and I find his knowledge of the inner workings of UK policing make for a very enjoyable read. 4 starts for sure.

Kate is sunning herself in Mexico enjoying a writer's retreat, daring to shed her bikini top when she receives a text making comment on her 'assets' ! This stuns her a bit, but not as much as when someone drops from an upper floor balcony outside her room- did they jump, fall or be pushed? Her mysterious texter hints it is the last option! Another message arrives as she gets home. Someone is definitely messing with her & as the bodies mount up she is caught up in a game she never asked for.

I started to read this not knowing it was eleventh in a series. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have got to Book11. Kate annoyed me. She is supposed to be a seasoned detective so why does she destroy the text evidence? Her husband is an anachronism. As for the Irish detective- every possible 'Irish' comment apart from 'Begorrah & Jesus, Mary & Joseph' was thrown in- most of them being more at home South of the Border ! It was a dreadful caricature of an Irish person! All this being said, it was a book that I was engaged enough to read to the end, although I won't be looking for #12! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

First book I read in this series: entertaining, well plotted, kept me guessing till the last page.
It can be read as a stand alone.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

crime-thriller, stalker, law-enforcement, murder, series, unputdownable, PTSD, misogyny, suspense, serial-murder, resentment, tasteless-pranks, tense****

Kate went alone to a writers' retreat in Mexico to try to get it all together again after a mind numbing experience on her last case. But instead of returning relaxed, she was being wound up tight by an unknown stalker both at home and at the station. For myself, I would have been happy enough following her aspect of things. However, there is also the matter of being inside the head of the person who is creating all the deaths that suddenly put her skills to the test. Not a restful book, but well written.
I requested and received an EARC from Joffe Books. Thank you.

While #watcheronthelevels gets high praise on #goodreads, it lost me when the villain, as the book opens, meets and follows our detective from her vacation in Cancun. That, and beyond, seemed highly implausible to me, and I just couldn't get past it.

P.S. Thanks, #Joffe and #netgally, for the ARC.

This was my 1st time reading this series and I found the story worked really well as a standalone. It's a really quick and easy read, don't go reading too deeply into it or it does raise a lot of questions about why she keeps going off on her own and why this random dude is stalking her and hasn't been caught already. That said, I did enjoy it for what it was. It's fiction, it doesn't have to be realistic and it was a fceent enough story. There seemed to be a lot of chicken and it was a bit predictable but really strong writing and a lot of converging plotlines made up for that. The pace kept up and really flies at the end when it all comes to a head. A decent police procedural

Watcher On The Levels by David Hodges is book number 11 in the Detective Kate Hamblin Mystery Series. This book is well-written and it keeps the reader guessing who the serial killer is. The premise of the book is a police detective, Kate, who travels to Cancun Mexico to take a much-needed break from her stressful job. While in Cancun, she takes a writing course because she is an aspiring author. This sets the scene for the killer to enter Kate's world. The killer hates women because of his mother's negative treatment of her son. This ultimately turns him into a serial killer. He also wants to become a published author but he doesn't have the talent that it takes to succeed in writing a novel. He takes the same writing class as Kate and while Kate receives high praise for her writing ability, he does not. Jealousy sets in and leads our wanna-be writer down a dark and sinister path of evil. It is an interesting read and I liked that it kept me guessing who the killer was as Detective Kate follows the breadcrumbs to catch him. It is a fun and easy read for mystery fans.

Detective Kate Hamblin Book 11

Detective Kate is sunning herself on the beach at an exclusive Mexican resort, feeling emboldened enough to shed her bikini top. Then she gets an anonymous text. Hi Kate, are your detective skills as good as your boobs? Later that night, someone breaks into her hotel room and rifles through her belongings. And a woman plunges to her death from the balcony above. Is it all connected?

Detective Kate Hamblin has a stalker. He followed her home from Cancun and embarks on a killing spree. He keeps provoking Kate, telling her she won't be able to catch him. But the body count is rising. There's a lot going on in this book, but it doesn't make it confusing. It's told from Kate and the stalkers perspectives. The pace is fast, but there are parts that are a little far-fetched. This is a well written, gripping addition to a really good police procedural series.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #DavidHodges for my ARC of #WatcherOnTheLevels in exchange for an honest review.

WATCHER ON THE LEVELS by David Hodges.
Detective Kate is sunning herself on the beach at an exclusive Mexican resort, feeling emboldened enough to shed her bikini top. Then she gets an anonymous text. Hi Kate, Are your detective skills as good as your boobs? Later that night, someone breaks into her hotel room and rifles through her belongings. And a woman plunges to her death from the balcony above. Is it all connected? Kate is relieved to escape the unwelcome attention and return home. But back in Somerset, she reaches into her coat pocket and finds a scrawled message: See You Soon, Kate. Has her stalker followed her home?
I did enjoy this book. A gripping read. Loved Kate. 5*.

Another excellent addition to the Levels series from David Hodges, Kate is as dogmatic as ever and Hayden as her bumbling husband even has up his own moments of brilliance in this book. A short break away from the Somerset Levels at the beginning of the book sees Kate on a writing retreat in Mexico. Trouble as ever follows her and it isn’t too long before a crime is committed.
Great book and characters - long May this series continue.

Kate Hamblin's 11th case. She's in Cancun on a creative writer's course for some R&R after her last harrowing case. The others are a mixed bunch. When she gets back home she's gained herself a stalker who turns very very nasty. Yet another psychopath on the loose but who is focussing on Kate. Some intriguing twists and turns but oh too much of an annoying detective who just keeps going off on her own, narrowly avoiding serious injury at first (for once) and an exceedingly tolerant senior officer. I had hoped that by no. 11 she might have learned some sense. Seemingly not. Her thoughtful but somewhat slobbish husband is a good foil but how they stay together is a mystery. Still, a good enough read, but quickly forgotten. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.