Martin Cruz Smith

Martin Cruz Smith
Born	Martin William Smith November 3, 1942 Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
Pen name	• Nick Carter  • Jake Logan  • Martin Quinn  • Simon Quinn  • Martin Cruz Smith
Occupation	• Novelist  • Screenwriter
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Genres	Mystery
Notable work(s)	Gorky Park
martincruzsmith.com

Martin Cruz Smith (born November 3, 1942) is an American mystery novelist.

Early life and education

Born Martin William Smith in Reading, Pennsylvania, he was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing in 1964. He is of partly Pueblo,^[1] Spanish,^[2] Senecu del Sur and Yaqui ancestry.^[3]

Career

From 1965 to 1969 he worked as a journalist, and began writing fiction in the early 1970s.

His first mystery, Canto for a Gypsy (1973) — featuring Roman Grey, a gypsy art dealer in New York City, New York — was nominated for an Edgar Award.

Nightwing (1977), also an Edgar nominee, was his breakthrough novel, and he adapted it for a feature film of the same name (1979).

Smith is best known for his novels featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko who Smith introduced in Gorky Park (1981). The novel, which was called the "thriller of the '80s" by Time,^{[citation needed]} became a bestseller and won a Gold Dagger Award from the British Crime Writers' Association.^[4] Renko has since appeared in six other novels by Smith. His first novel in the series, Gorky Park (novel), debuted at number one on the "New York Times" bestseller list on April 26, 1981 and hung onto the top spot for another week. It stayed in the number two position for over three months, beaten only by Jame's Clavell's Noble House. It stayed in the top 15 through November of that year. And Polar Star also claimed the number one spot for two weeks on August 6, 1989. It subsequently rode the number two spot for over two months.

In the 1990s, Smith twice won the Dashiell Hammett Award from the North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers. The first time was for "Rose" in 1996; the second time was for Havana Bay in 1999. And on September 5, 2010, he and Arkady Renko returned to the top of the New York Times bestseller list when Three Stations debuted at number seven on the fiction bestsellers list.

In the 1970s, Smith wrote two Slocum adult action Western novels under the pen name Jake Logan.^[5] Smith has also written a number of other paperback originals, including a series about a character named "The Inquisitor", a James Bond-type agent employed by the Vatican. Smith also wrote two novels in the Nick Carter series.

Pseudonym

He originally wrote under the name "Martin Smith", only to discover there were other writers with the same name. His agent asked Smith to add a third name and Smith chose Cruz, his paternal grandmother's surname.^[5]

Personal life

Smith lives in San Rafael, California, with his family.

Bibliography

The Romano Grey Series:

• Gypsy in Amber (1971) (Romano Grey Series #1)
• Canto for a Gypsy (1972) (Romano Grey Series #2)

The Inquisitor Series:
(as Simon Quinn)

• The Devil in Kansas (1974) (The Inquisitor Series #1)
• The Last Time I Saw Hell (1974) (The Inquisitor Series #2)
• Nuplex Red (1974) (The Inquisitor Series #3)
• His Eminence, Death (1974) (The Inquisitor Series #4)
• The Midas Coffin (1975) (The Inquisitor Series #5)
• Last Rites for the Vulture (1975) (The Inquisitor Series #6)

The Arkady Renko Series:

• Gorky Park (1981) (The Arkady Renko Series #1)
• Polar Star (1989) (The Arkady Renko Series #2)
• Red Square (1992) (The Arkady Renko Series #3)
• Havana Bay (1999) (The Arkady Renko Series #4)
• Wolves Eat Dogs (2004) (The Arkady Renko Series #5)
• Stalin's Ghost (2007) (The Arkady Renko Series #6)
• Three Stations (2010) (The Arkady Renko Series #7)

Stand-alone novels:

• The Indians Won (1970)
• Analog Bullet (1972)
• Inca Death Squad (1972) (as Nick Carter)
• The Devil's Dozen (1973) (as Nick Carter)
• The Human Factor (1975) (as Simon Quinn)
• The Wilderness Family (1975) (as Martin Quinn)
• Ride for Revenge (a Slocum western) (1977) (as Jake Logan)
• Nightwing (1977)
• Stallion Gate (1986)
• Rose (1996)
• December 6 (2002) (also published as Tokyo Station)

References

1. ^ Interview with Sophie Majeski at Salon.com, accessed 8 March 2011.
2. ^ "Crime pays" by Nichlas Wroe, The Guardian, 26 March 2005; accessed 8 March 2011.
3. ^ The Cambridge companion to Native American literature, by Joy Porter, Kenneth M. Roemer, p.8; accessed through Google Books, 8 March 2011.
4. ^ Staff writer (undated). "List of Dagger Award Winners". Crime Writers' Association. http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/gold.html. Retrieved January 21, 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Weber, Bruce (January 7, 1990). "Arkady Renko Goes to Munich". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/magazine/arkady-renko-goes-to-munich.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 

External links

Biography portal

• Official website
• Martin Cruz Smith at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Smith, Martin Cruz
Alternative names
Short description	Novelist, screenwriter
Date of birth	November 3, 1942
Place of birth	Reaing, Pennsylvania, United States
Date of death
Place of death