Sam Blake is an English crime fiction and young adult author. She wrote the Cat Connolly Garda police trilogy and thriller standalones Keep Your Eyes on Me, The Dark Room, and Remember My Name.
Her books have consistently topped bestseller lists. She has been an Irish Times No. 1 for seven weeks and an Eason No. 1 bestseller for twelve weeks. Her works have appeared in the Irish top ten for thirty-five weeks.
Sam Blake was born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire. Her writing journey began in 1999. Her husband's eight-week sailing trip across the Atlantic sparked her first book idea.
Her debut, Little Bones (2016), was a bestseller. This book introduced Cathy Connolly, a young Dublin cop. The story begins with a shocking discovery in a wedding dress. Little Bones and The Dark Room were Irish Crime Novel of the Year finalists in 2016 and 2021, respectively.
Sam shifted from police procedurals to psychological thrillers. Her first thriller, Keep Your Eyes On Me, achieved No. 1 status of Irish Times Bestseller in 2020. Her books feature strong female leads and are known for their pacing. The Sunday Business Post praised her for "creating genuine page-turners with metronomic timing."
Sam's YA crime novel, Something Terrible Happened Last Night, came out in May 2023. It's the story of Katie's 17th birthday party gone wrong. A fight leads to a shocking discovery: a body on the living room floor. This book was shortlisted for Irish Teen/YA Novel of the Year.
Sam leads several literary endeavours. Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin, her creator, founded Writing.ie and The Inkwell Group. Vanessa also established Murder One, Ireland's International Crime Writing Festival. She is a Society of Authors board member and a Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts fellow.
Sam's Behind the Bestseller podcast is accessible on various platforms.
Sam Blake now resides in Ireland. She lives in a 200-year-old cottage at the base of the Wicklow mountains.
Photo credit: Alice Rose Jordan
