The Killing Sense locations with Sam Blake

Submitted: 22nd January 2025

The Killing Sense locations with Sam Blake

The Killing Sense began as a picture in my head of a woman with red hair on a train – the Eurostar. I’d discovered rather randomly that perfume smells differently on people with red hair, in a similar way that red heads need far more anaesthetic, and this fascinated me. I wondered, if a killer was also fascinated by the scent of a particular perfume on the skin of a red headed woman, what lengths he might go to, to lure her to him?

The Killing Sense Sam Blake

Literary locations in The Killing Sense

Gare du Nord (c) Sam Blake

Literary locations in The Killing Sense

My wandering thoughts on scent and perfume connected me to France. Then, to the novelty of being able to get on a train in London St Pancras and get off in the Gard du Nord.

I could see a man sitting opposite the red haired woman on the train (think Daniel Craig in a navy wool coat carrying a walking stick). He was someone who had been in the military, but I didn’t know in what capacity. I could see also him standing on a landing at the top of a stone staircase that had ornate iron work banisters. I knew this scene was at the end of the story, but that was about all I had.

Author in Paris (c) Sam Blake

Literary locations in The Killing Sense

Normally I plot books in some detail before I begin them. However, with this vague string of images, I wanted to start writing and see where the characters took me. There was one hitch with this though – I’d never been to Paris!

The protagonist in The Killing Sense, single mum Kate Wilde wins a trip to Paris during the February half term. She’s a teacher, so she has the week off, as does her young daughter Hanna. Kate is able to leave Hanna with her sister Orna for the week.

River Seine (c) Sam Blake

Literary locations in The Killing Sense

If Kate was going to Paris in February, that’s when I needed to go too.

I caught the Eurostar, and booking into the Hotel Brighton, overlooking the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre. Then, I spent three days wandering around the locations that I knew would feature.

Literary locations in The Killing Sense

As the idea developed, I realised that the story opened with a head being found in the sewers, a head with red hair. I’m probably one of the few people who went to Paris for the first time, and went down into the sewers and not up the Eiffel Tower.

Literary locations in The Killing Sense

But this is a story about perfume – and so I needed to take a course just like the one Kate wins. At le Studio des Parfums, then based in Le Marais, I spent a day becoming acquainted with the olfactory pyramid. Le Marais became the perfect place to set the main part of the story, with its narrow cobbled streets and little coffee shops. From the moment I arrived in Paris. I was mesmerised the elegant apartments with their ornate cast iron balconies. And that’s exactly where Kate finds herself staying.

She also realises, when she arrives, that her violent ex is in Paris. This is a story about fear and our sense of survival, that feminine intuition that tells you when to run.

Musee d’Orsay (c) Sam Blake

Literary locations in The Killing Sense

I visited Paris three times. By the second visit I had specific places to see. They included: the Eiffel Tower that I’d missed previously, Bar Hemmingway in the Ritz Hotel, and Bar 228 at Le Meurice Hotel. Angelina’s famous chocolate shop is almost next door to Le Meurice. I went on a guided tour of the Musee D’Orsay, and learned about the paintings as well the history of the building, much of which went into the book.

Procope (c) Sam Blake

Literary locations in The Killing Sense

Researching a book is a fabulous way to see a city. I found myself on a mission, with my mind open to all the random prompts that the universe wanted to throw at me. I found myself standing behind a girl who had butterflies tattooed down her neck and I started seeing butterflies everywhere – they became an important image. Sounds, scents – the way the light falls – are all vital parts of building a location for me, and Paris led me to the story. I hope I’ve brought that to the page in The Killing Sense.

Thank you Sam!