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Martin Cruz Smith, born Martin William Smith (November 3, 1942), is an American writer of mystery and suspense fiction, mostly in an international or historical setting. He is best known for his series featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko, so far ten novels, who was introduced in 1981 with '' Gorky Park'' and most recently appeared in ''Independence Square'' (2023).


Early life and education

Martin William Smith was born in
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
to John Calhoun Smith, a jazz musician, and Louise Lopez, an American Indian of Pueblo descent, jazz singer, teacher, Amerindian rights militant, and Miss New Mexico 1939. Martin was educated at Germantown Academy, in Ft Washington, Pennsylvania, then at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in Philadelphia, and received a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in
creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...
in 1964. He is of partly
Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...
, Spanish, Senecu del Sur and
Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, who speak the Yaqui language, a Uto-Aztecan language. Their primary homelands are in Río Yaqui valley in the no ...
ancestry.


Career

Smith worked as a
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
from 1965 to 1969 and began writing fiction in the early 1970s. He wrote two novels in the Slocum adult action Western novels, published under the house name Jake Logan. Smith also wrote three novels in the Nick Carter series, published under the Nick Carter name. Smith's paperback originals included a series about a character named "The Inquisitor", a
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
-type agent employed by the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
; and a
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novel, ''The Indians Won'' (1970), one of the earliest works of Native American speculative fiction to see wide publication. '' Canto for a Gypsy'', Smith's third novel overall and the second to feature Roman Grey, a
gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...
art dealer in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, was nominated for an
Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...
. ''
Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...
'' (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, whom he introduced in '' Gorky Park'' (1981). The novel, which ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' called the "first thriller of the '80s", became a
bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
and won a
Gold Dagger The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year. From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. ...
from the British
Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. ...
. Renko has since appeared in nine other novels by Smith. ''Gorky Park'' debuted at No. 2 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list on April 26, 1981 and occupied the top spot for a week. It stayed in the No. 2 position for over three months, beaten only by
James Clavell James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921 – 7 September 1994) was a British and American writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best known for his ''Asian Saga'' nov ...
's '' Noble House'', and stayed in the top 15 through November of that year. '' Polar Star'' also claimed the No. 1 spot for two weeks on August 6, 1989, and held the No. 2 spot for over two months. During 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 A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
'' in 1996; the second time was for '' Havana Bay'' in 1999. On September 5, 2010, he and Arkady Renko returned to the ''New York Times'' bestseller list when '' Three Stations'' debuted at No. 7 on the fiction bestsellers list. His most recent novel featuring Renko is ''Independence Square'' (2023).


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.


Personal life

Smith lives in San Rafael,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, with his family.


Bibliography


Romano Grey books

(as Martin Smith) *'' Gypsy in Amber''. New York: Putnam, 971 *'' Canto for a Gypsy''. New York: Putnam, 972


The Inquisitor Series

(as Simon Quinn) #''The Devil in Kansas'' (1974) #''The Last Time I Saw Hell'' (1974) #''Nuplex Red'' (1974) #''His Eminence, Death'' (1974) #'' The Midas Coffin'' (1975) #''Last Rites for the Vulture'' (1975)


Arkady Renko books

*'' Gorky Park''. New York: Random House. 1981 *'' Polar Star''. New York: Random House. 1989 *''
Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
''. New York: Random House. 1992 *'' Havana Bay''. New York: Random House. 1999 *'' Wolves Eat Dogs''. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2004 *'' Stalin's Ghost''. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2007 *'' Three Stations''. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2010 *'' Tatiana''. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2013 *'' The Siberian Dilemma''. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2019 *'' Independence Square''. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2023 ISBN 978-1-6431-3325-6 *''Hotel Ukraine''. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2025 ISBN-10 ‏ 1982188383 https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/05/23/summer-reading-recommendations/


Other books

*''The Indians Won'' (1970) *''The Analog Bullet'' (1972) *''Inca Death Squad'' (1972) (as Nick Carter) *''The Devil's Dozen'' (1973) (as Nick Carter) *''Code Name: Werewolf'' (1973) (as Nick Carter) *''The Human Factor'' (1975) (as Simon Quinn) *''The Wilderness Family'' (1975) (as Martin Quinn) *''North to Dakota'' (a Slocum western) (1976) (as Jake Logan) *''Ride for Revenge'' (a Slocum western) (1977) (as Jake Logan) *''
Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...
'' (1977) *''Stallion Gate'' (1986). *''
Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
'' (1996) *'' December 6'' (2002) (also published as ''Tokyo Station'') *'' The Girl from Venice'' (2016)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Martin Cruz 1942 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters American mystery writers American thriller writers American alternate history writers Living people Native American novelists Novelists from Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania alumni Writers from San Rafael, California Writers from Reading, Pennsylvania Germantown Academy alumni 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Pennsylvania American people of Yaqui descent Pueblo people Yaqui people Native American people from Pennsylvania