Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: The Filbert Steps (Telegraph Hill Mystery, #1) by Lila Blake

 

The Filbert Steps

The Telegraph Hill Mysteries

by

Lila Blake

About The Filbert Steps

 

The Filbert Steps (The Telegraph Hill Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting - California
Publisher: Sutro House Press
Publication date: August 31, 2026
Print length: 301 pages
Digital ISBN-13: 979-8951746016 / ASIN: B0H52YDTRG

A body on the steps. A neighborhood that saw nothing.

Vivian Salvatore came back to Telegraph Hill with a cat, a divorce settlement, and a book she cannot seem to write.

At fifty-two, newly single and trying to rebuild her life, she has settled into the rhythms of San Francisco’s most beautiful staircase: coffee at the corner café, morning walks on the Filbert Steps, old neighbors on three corners, and the comforting illusion that everyone knows everyone.

Then, on a bright October morning, Vivian finds one of the city’s most ambitious developers dead on the third landing.

The police are ready to call it a fall. But Vivian spent twenty-seven years reading teenagers’ faces for a living, and she knows when a story does not fit. A coat buttoned wrong. A cigarette ground out where it should not be. Storefronts quietly sold to a post-office box in Delaware. And a neighborhood full of people who had reason to want one man gone.

As Vivian begins asking questions, she discovers that Telegraph Hill has been keeping secrets for years — about money, loyalty, grief, and who really gets to call a place home.

The Filbert Steps introduces Vivian Salvatore, a sharp-eyed, warm-hearted sleuth who notices everything and forgives almost as much.

Perfect for readers who love older women sleuths, atmospheric San Francisco mysteries, neighborhood secrets, found community, and fair-play cozy mysteries with literary depth.

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About Lila Blake

Lila Blake writes San Francisco neighborhood mysteries about foggy stairways, old houses, found family, and the secrets people keep when a place begins to change. Her Telegraph Hill Mysteries begin with The Filbert Steps, a literary cozy mystery featuring Vivian Salvatore, a fifty-two-year-old former teacher rebuilding her life after divorce. Lila is published by Sutro House Press, an independent fiction imprint based in San Francisco.

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Tour Participants

August 24 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

August 24 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 24 – Books1987 - SPOTLIGHT

August 25 – Christy's Cozy Corners – RECIPE

August 25 – @bibliophile_foodie – REVIEW

August 25 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews - SPOTLIGHT

August 26 – Storybook Lady – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 26 – Sarandipity's – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 27 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

August 27 – Romance Novel Giveaways – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 28 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

August 28 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT

August 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

August 29 – Ruff Drafts – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 29 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 29 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 30 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 30 – Book Hookup – REVIEW

August 31 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – REVIEW

August 31 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – SPOTLIGHT

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Book Review: Terra Cotta Theft (Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery, #0.5 by Iris March

Terra Cotta Theft by Iris March
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Unique introduction to the series' characters as children.

When money from the register at Patty's Plant Place suddenly goes missing, how will Grandpa Will discover who the thief is among those present in the store? This is the tricky question Will Flores faces when the stack of twenties disappears, and there are plenty of suspects, both employees and customers, to consider and rule out.

The Terra Cotta Theft is a prequel to author Iris March's fun and satisfying Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery series, featuring Will's granddaughters, Molly, May, and Shannon (the twins' cousin), and their families and friends. This story introduces the main characters as children, other characters who will become recurring faces in later books, and the business that will eventually become theirs.

A short story, the plot sets up the series' background and establishes close family relationships and long-held ties with their customers and neighboring business owners. There is a cozy, comfortable hometown-family feel right away, and I was easily drawn into the story. The characters are regular people, engaging and familiar, with no one over the top. My interest was immediately piqued by the prospect of reading about their further adventures as adults.

I recommend TERRA COTTA THEFT to readers of cozy mysteries, especially fans of the SUCCULENT SLEUTH series. Readers can obtain their own copy of the story by signing up for the author's newsletter on her website at https://irismarchbooks.com/newsletter-sign-up/.

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Audiobook Review: Trailridge (Guy Hogan Mystery, #1) by Kevin Wolf

Trailridge by Kevin Wolf
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Suspense, action, betrayal, and murder!

Trailridge, the first novel in Kevin Wolf's Guy Hogan Mystery series, is a suspenseful, action-filled tale of betrayal and murder. Guy Hogan, a recent widower, is living a quiet life in Colorado near Rocky Mountain National Park, occupying his time flyfishing, guiding the occasional tourist to optimal fishing spots, and teaching some the finer points of the sport.

One day, while in pursuit of a prize catch, he is surprised by the appearance of a young woman on the opposite bank of the river, apparently in search of an emergency spot to relieve herself. As he starts to make himself known, she screams and points at something in the water out of Guy's line of sight: the body of a dead man floating face-first in the water. After notifying law enforcement, Guy finds that some details of Willa Stanford's story about her presence in Colorado don't add up, and he is later surprised to see her at a bar in town with another woman who has strikingly similar physical features.

In the meantime, there has been a spate of bull elk found butchered, their antlers removed, in the national park. Guy had discovered carcasses during his hikes, and while his ranger friends had a good idea who was behind the slaughter, the complexity and breadth of the current activities hinted at something much more organized than the usual suspects were capable of. On the day following his discovery of the dead man, Hogan finds himself the target of an unseen sniper, and he decides to dig deeper into both cases.

Guy Hogan is an engaging older man with grown children, and he is a very sympathetic main character. Still grieving the recent loss of his wife, Jenny, to cancer a scant ten months earlier, he is slowly rebuilding his life without her. He most enjoys spending time in the national park, indulging his passion for fly fishing. He's kept himself active, which is helpful when the bad guys come after him. He's like a Timex watch, "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

Willow Stanford, her latest alias, is shocked but not surprised when she discovers her mother is involved in the death of the man she found in the river or in the highly lucrative and illegal elk antler smuggling operation; there's a lot of money at stake. Not only that, but her mother's late husband, a candidate for political office and an environmental supporter, stood in the way of her latest caper.

The action is fast-paced from the start, but even that kicks up a notch or more with an exciting and dangerous car chase sequence along Trailridge Road, the highest paved road in the U.S., and a breakneck flight on foot down the side of a mountain away from men with guns in the midst of a coming storm. While readers are clued in to the identities of the perpetrators, the suspense lies in whether Guy and Willow can escape and stop the men from doing more harm to the wildlife and beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park.

This audiobook edition is narrated by Greg O'Donahue, who delivers a fluid, flawless performance with a distinctive range of voices for the different characters. I believed the vocal pattern and intonation he developed for Hogan to sound like those of an older man, whether in pain, on the run from his pursuers, or finally relaxing beside his favorite fishing hole. I noted no unusual pronunciations, and the audiobook's production quality was excellent.

I recommend TRAILRIDGE to those who enjoy action-packed mysteries set in the great outdoors, flyfishing, and Colorado.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a provided copy through RABT Book Tours and PR.

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Book Review: Murder Under Redwood Moon (Murder, Tea, & Crystals Trilogy, #1) by Sherri L. Dodd

Murder Under Redwood Moon by Sherri L. Dodd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Magical and suspenseful!

Murder Under Redwood Moon is the first novel in author Sherri L. Dodd's cozy paranormal mystery trilogy, Murder, Tea, and Crystals, and is an exciting introduction to the magical and suspenseful story of Arista Kelly, a young witch just coming into her powers – powers passed down in her family from generation to generation and coveted by a close family member.

After the loss of her parents as a child, Arista was taken in by her father's aunt, Bethie, and taught about herbs, crystals, nature, spells, and natural magic to prepare her for the day when her own powers would manifest. She grew up in the quiet mountain town of Boulder Creek, with lifelong friends who still reside nearby. But when one of her friends from middle school disappears and is later found murdered, and then other young women Arista knows are also targeted, she and her aunt protect themselves the best way Bethie knows. Still, Arista may have attracted a serial killer's attention.

Arista, the main character, is a positive personality, always looking on the bright side and giving people the benefit of the doubt. From the start, you know she is about to come face to face with the dark side of humanity, including that which resides within her own flesh and blood.

From its unnerving opening, a literal parent's nightmare, the suspense builds. But while maintaining this tension, the author must handle the heavy lifting of creating the world in which these characters exist, and the complex, multi-layered plot unfolds. Dodd quickly populates a small town and Arista's past and current relationships, and that is a lot of information to take in. But along with vivid, living, breathing imagery, I think she pulls it off and gives readers a solid sense of the place and the people who live there. But even as the world-building unfolds, the plot moves briskly, and I found myself really engaging with Arista and the story, staying up late to reach the exciting resolution.

I recommend MURDER UNDER REDWOOD MOON to readers of paranormal cozy mysteries.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through WOW! Women On Writing Book Tours.

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