The Filbert Steps (The Telegraph Hill Mysteries)
by Lila Blake
This fair-play mystery gives experienced armchair detectives plenty to work with, letting readers solve the case alongside the sleuth. The plot is simple, but the descriptive setting and complicated characters will captivate the reader. I loved this page turner and canāt wait for Lila Blakeās next Telegraph Hill Mystery.
~Storybook Lady
Rating – šÆšÆšÆšÆšÆ
This was such a beautifully atmospheric cozy mystery. The setting was so vivid.
The writing style was immersive. The clues were subtle but satisfying, and I enjoyed piecing them together alongside Vivian.
~bibliophile_foodie
Lila Blake writes in a quiet, reflective prose style that blends matterāofāfact clarity with layered emotional depth. Her sentences are precise yet textured, carrying both the weight of lived experience and the intimacy of close observation. The story leaves the reader with a sense of completion and a fresh start, not only for the mystery but for Vivian herself.
~Book HookUp
I enjoyed meeting Vivian and especially enjoyed the book’s setting. The descriptions were atmospheric and came to life through the pages. I felt like I was there with Vivian in her neighborhood. While the mystery might at first seem straightforward, the plot unravels in a layered way that kept this reader curious. The ending was well done and not guessed ahead of time.
~Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books
About The Filbert Steps
The Filbert Steps (The Telegraph Hill Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – California
Publisher ā : ā Sutro House Press
Publication date ā : ā August 31, 2026
Print length ā : ā 301 pages
Digital
ISBN-13 ā : ā 979-8951746016
ASIN ā : ā 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 Franciscoās most beautiful staircase: coffee at the corner cafĆ©, 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 cityās most ambitious developers dead on the third landing.
The police are ready to call it a fall. But Vivian spent twenty-seven years reading teenagersā 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 ā 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.
About Lila BlakeĀ
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.
Links:
Website: lilablake.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/71129242.Lila_Blake
Purchase Link: AmazonĀ
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