Martin Cruz Smith
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| 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 |
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www.martincruzsmith.com |
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Martin Cruz Smith (born November 3, 1942) is an American mystery novelist.
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[edit] 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]
[edit] 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, 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.
[edit] 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]
[edit] Personal life
Smith lives in San Rafael, California, with his family.
[edit] Bibliography
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[edit] Romano Grey books
- Gypsy in Amber New York: Putnam, [1971]
- Canto for a Gypsy New York: Putnam, [1972] ISBN 9780399110245
[edit] 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)
[edit] Arkady Renko books
- Gorky Park New York: Random House, 1981 ISBN 9780394517483
- Polar Star New York: Random House, 1989 ISBN 9780394578194
- Red Square New York: Random House, 1992 ISBN 9780679416883
- Havana Bay New York: Random House, 1999 ISBN 9780679426622
- Wolves Eat Dogs New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004 ISBN 9780684872544
- Stalin's Ghost New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007 ISBN 9780743276726
- Three Stations New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010 ISBN 9780743276740
[edit] Other books
- 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)
[edit] References
- ^ Interview with Sophie Majeski at Salon.com, accessed 8 March 2011.
- ^ "Crime pays" by Nichlas Wroe, The Guardian, 26 March 2005; accessed 8 March 2011.
- ^ The Cambridge companion to Native American literature, by Joy Porter, Kenneth M. Roemer, p.8; accessed through Google Books, 8 March 2011.
- ^ Staff writer (undated). "List of Dagger Award Winners". Crime Writers' Association. http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/gold.html. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ 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.
[edit] External links
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- 1942 births
- 20th-century American people
- 20th-century novelists
- 21st-century American people
- 21st-century novelists
- American mystery writers
- American screenwriters
- American thriller writers
- Alternate history writers
- Living people
- University of Pennsylvania alumni
- People from Marin County, California
- People from Reading, Pennsylvania
- Writers from California
- Writers from Pennsylvania
- Native American novelists
