Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin writes crime as Sam Blake, the multiple No 1 bestselling Irish crime writer.

She has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times, and twice for Irish Teen and YA Novel of the Year. Her second YA novel, Something's About to Blow Up was Winner of the International Education Services Teen & YA Novel of the Year 2024. Her latest adult thriller, The Killing Sense, came out in January 2025 and is a No 1 bestseller.

Follow Sam on social @samblakebooks or find out more at www.samblakebooks.com, where you can join her Reader's Club and receive her adult thriller High Pressure for free.

Vanessa is also the founder of Europe's biggest writing resources website, the award winning writing.ie, the Writers Ink online writing group and Murder One, Ireland's International Crime Writing Festival. She is currently Chair of the board of the Society of Authors, and previously was Chair of Irish PEN and a board member of the Crime Writers Association. Having developed a range of initiatives in the writing world, Vanessa is a champion for emerging writers, working with agents and publishers, both in the UK and Ireland, spotting new talent.

Among the things we discuss are the sewers off Paris - which you can find out more about here. We also mentioned the book, Perfume by Patrick Süskind more than once. If you are interested in getting your own copy, it is available here.

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