Detective Kate Hamblin Mystery #15
A missing schoolgirl. A body in the woods. A killer who’s only just begun.
Newly promoted to Detective Inspector, Kate is back on her old patch at Highbridge CID.
But there’s no time to settle in. Early Monday morning, Kate gets a call. Fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Tammy Robinson is missing.
She hasn’t been seen since Friday afternoon when she told her mother she was going to her best friend’s to revise. She never made it.
Kate discovers that Tammy wasn’t going to her friend’s house at all. She was planning to meet a mysterious boyfriend she called Gerry. She’d met him in an online chatroom – who is he really?
The following day, a body is discovered in the woods. It’s not Tammy.
Kate is in a race against time to unmask the most dangerous killer she’s encountered yet. Before more young women die.
Deceiver on the Levels by David Hodges | #15 in Detective Kate Hamblin Mystery series
Published 24 September 2025 by Joffe Books
Find out more on Amazon and Goodreads
🌟 Review Note:
This review is provided as part of the Virtual Book Tour hosted by Zooloo’s Book Tours which runs 24 September until 30 September 2025. Follow along with the Book Tour Schedule.
My sincere thanks to Joffe Books and Zooloo’s Book Tours for inviting me to be part of this book tour and for providing a digital copy of Deceiver on the Levels, the 15th Detective Kate Hamblin novel by David Hodges.
As always, this review reflects my honest thoughts.
Who is David Hodges?
A former superintendent with Thames Valley Police, with thirty years experience in the force, David Hodges is a prolific crime writer and author of eighteen crime novels plus an autobiography on his life in the police service.
His debut crime novel received critical media acclaim and a welcome accolade from Inspector Morse’s creator, the late great Colin Dexter, and since then he has become the author of several successful stand-alone thrillers, including FLASHPOINT (now out of print) BURNOUT, SLICE, BLAST and TARGET.
In particular, his Somerset murder novel series, published by Joffe Books, which is set on the mist-shrouded Somerset Levels in England and features the exploits of feisty detective, Kate, and her easy-going partner, Hayden, has gone from strength to strength. It has attracted keen interest in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia as well as in Britain. The first six previously published thrillers in the series are also available on Audible for sight challenged readers and those who prefer the spoken word, though all Joffe Books are available on amazon in paperback and Kindle format.
David’s last novel in the Somerset Murder Series, DIAMONDS ON THE LEVELS, (Book 13) was published by Joffe Books on 21 March 2024. This has just been followed with the re-publication by Joffe of the first 8 novels in the series, produced as a box set in November 2024 and available only on Kindle, providing Kindle readers with the opportunity to read all the earlier novels in sequence.
David has two married daughters and four grandchildren and lives in the UK with his wife, Elizabeth, where he continues to indulge his passion for thriller writing and to pursue his keen interest in wild life and the countryside. He is a member of the Society of Authors, the Crime Writers and Crime Readers Associations and International Thriller Writers Inc.
My Review
Deceiver on the Levels is only the second Detective Kate Hamblin novel I’ve read, but once again David Hodges had me completely absorbed in the investigation from the very first chapter. The story flows effortlessly, drawing you further into the mystery with each new development, and just when I thought I’d worked out who was responsible, another piece of the puzzle would appear and send me back to square one.
What I enjoyed most was the way the mystery constantly kept me guessing. Seeing parts of the story unfold from the kidnapper’s perspective meant I felt as though I had clues that Kate didn’t, yet every time she encountered someone who seemed to fit the picture, I became convinced I’d finally identified the culprit. Then, almost immediately, another possibility would emerge, and I found myself questioning everything all over again. I loved never quite knowing whether my instincts were right, and it made for a thoroughly engaging read.
There were, however, a couple of aspects that didn’t work quite as well for me. The first was the way Hayden is sometimes described through Kate’s point of view. Rather than helping me understand their relationship, I occasionally found the comments about him came across as unnecessarily dismissive. It didn’t spoil the story, but it was something that stood out enough to pull me away from the investigation.
The other was the use of some unusually formal vocabulary. Words such as reconnoitre, obviating, quere and insensiblefelt slightly at odds with the otherwise natural flow of the writing. Reading on Kindle made it easy enough to check the definitions, but each time it interrupted my immersion in the story. For me, they stood out more than they added.
Despite those minor reservations, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The mystery is cleverly constructed, the red herrings are genuinely effective, and I loved how often I found myself changing my mind about where the investigation was leading. It may not quite have reached five-star territory for me, but it was another gripping instalment that has only strengthened my desire to continue exploring the Detective Kate Hamblin series.
#DavidHodges #DeceiverOnTheLevels #DetectiveKateHamblin #JoffeBooks #ZooloosBookTours #arcreview #blogtour
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