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Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Gorky Park author Martin Cruz Smith, 82, passes away; 3 books to remember him by
Martin Cruz Smith, author of the acclaimed novel, Gorky Park and its long-running protagonist Arkady Renko, passed away on July 11 at age 82 in San Rafael, California. His death was confirmed by his publisher Simon & Schuster on Tuesday. Over a decades-long career that spanned Cold War paranoia to the present-day Russo-Ukrainian conflict, Smith created thrillers known for their pulse-pounding plots, deep psychological insight and nuanced political context. A post shared by Simon & Schuster (@simonandschuster) His final novel, Hotel Ukraine, published just this week, brings to a close one of modern literature's most enduring detective series. 'My longevity is linked to Arkady's,' Smith told Strand Magazine in 2023. 'As long as he remains intelligent, humorous, and romantic, so shall I.' Born Martin William Smith in Reading, Pennsylvania, he took the name 'Cruz' from his maternal grandmother, crafting a literary persona that would eventually earn him the Hammett Prize, the Gold Dagger, and the prestigious title of 'grand master' from the Mystery Writers of America. His books explored the shifting tides of Russian history, from the Soviet era to the age of oligarchs and war. He was praised for his meticulous research, often drawn from his own travels in Russia. His first major success, Gorky Park, became a worldwide bestseller and a Hollywood film starring William Hurt. With it, Smith didn't just introduce readers to Arkady Renko—he transformed Moscow itself into a living, breathing character. 'Russia is a character in my Renko stories, always,' he told Publishers' Weekly in 2013. Smith is survived by his wife, Emily; his brother, Jack; three children; and five grandchildren. The novel made Smith a household name, Gorky Park and introduced readers to Moscow detective Arkady Renko, who investigates a gruesome triple murder during the Cold War. Renko's pursuit of justice leads him through a web of corruption, politics, and international intrigue. Cruz blends procedural grit with political intrigue, and remains a benchmark in the genre. The crime procedural is also a commentary on the oppressive Soviet society of the time. Winner of the Hammett Prize, this fourth installment in the Renko series finds the former Inspector for the Moscow Militsiya, Arkady Renko, in Cuba, unraveling a mystery steeped in tropical decay and political ghosts. Renkois tasked with identifying a liquefying corpse dragged from the oily waters of Havana Bay. This time Criz turns his attention to a decaying country in the final recess of Communism. The detective who is in an extremely dark place finds a reason to relish his life again. Hotel Ukraine is the 11th and final installment in the Renko series. His final novel and fitting swan song, Hotel Ukraine brings Renko into the heart of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Released just days before his death, it serves as a fitting capstone to Smith's legacy as the legendary Russian detective returns to Moscow. The detective (much like the author himself) has struggled to keep his declining health a secret, but the worsening symptoms have become impossible to hide. Still, Renko is determined to crack the case of a Russian defense official mysteriously murdered in his Moscow hotel room as Russia's war on Ukraine rages. The murder takes place at the Hotel Ukraine, a well-known hotel in the heart of Moscow. It is only when readers each the end of the book that they learn that Smith like Renko, had also been concealing a Parkinson's diagnosis for years.
The Advertiser
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Acclaimed Gorky Park author Martin Cruz Smith dies
Martin Cruz Smith, the best-selling mystery novelist who engaged readers for decades with Gorky Park and other thrillers featuring Moscow investigator Arkady Renko, has died aged 82. Smith died on Friday "surrounded by those he loved," according to his publisher, Simon & Schuster. Further details were not immediately available, but Smith revealed a decade ago that he had Parkinson's disease, and he gave the same condition to his protagonist. His 11th and final Renko book, Hotel Ukraine, will be published this week. Among Smith's honours were being named a "grand master" by the Mystery Writers of America, and winning the Hammett Prize for Havana Bay and a Gold Dagger award for Gorky Park. He had been a published novelist for more than a decade before he broke through in the early 1980s with Gorky Park. His book came out when the Soviet Union and the Cold War were still very much alive and centred on Renko's investigation into the murders of three people whose bodies were found in the Moscow park cited in the title. Gorky Park, praised as a compelling and informative take on the inner workings of the Soviet Union, topped The New York Times' fiction bestseller list and was later made into a movie starring William Hurt. "Gorky Park is a police procedural of uncommon excellence," Peter Andrews wrote in the Times in 1981. "Martin Cruz Smith has managed to combine the gritty atmosphere of a Moscow police squad room with a story of detection as neatly done as any English manor-house puzzlement. I have no idea as to the accuracy of Mr Smith's descriptions of Russian police operations. But they ring as true as crystal." Smith's other books include science fiction (The Indians Won), the Westerns North to Dakota and Ride to Revenge, and the Romano Grey mystery series. Besides Martin Cruz Smith - Cruz was his maternal grandmother's name - he also wrote under the pen names Nick Carter and Simon Quinn. Smith's Renko books were inspired in part by his own travels in the Soviet Union and he would trace the region's history over the past 40 years, whether the Soviet Union's collapse (Red Square), war in Chechnya (Tatiana), or the rise of Russian oligarchs (The Siberian Dilemma). Martin Cruz Smith, the best-selling mystery novelist who engaged readers for decades with Gorky Park and other thrillers featuring Moscow investigator Arkady Renko, has died aged 82. Smith died on Friday "surrounded by those he loved," according to his publisher, Simon & Schuster. Further details were not immediately available, but Smith revealed a decade ago that he had Parkinson's disease, and he gave the same condition to his protagonist. His 11th and final Renko book, Hotel Ukraine, will be published this week. Among Smith's honours were being named a "grand master" by the Mystery Writers of America, and winning the Hammett Prize for Havana Bay and a Gold Dagger award for Gorky Park. He had been a published novelist for more than a decade before he broke through in the early 1980s with Gorky Park. His book came out when the Soviet Union and the Cold War were still very much alive and centred on Renko's investigation into the murders of three people whose bodies were found in the Moscow park cited in the title. Gorky Park, praised as a compelling and informative take on the inner workings of the Soviet Union, topped The New York Times' fiction bestseller list and was later made into a movie starring William Hurt. "Gorky Park is a police procedural of uncommon excellence," Peter Andrews wrote in the Times in 1981. "Martin Cruz Smith has managed to combine the gritty atmosphere of a Moscow police squad room with a story of detection as neatly done as any English manor-house puzzlement. I have no idea as to the accuracy of Mr Smith's descriptions of Russian police operations. But they ring as true as crystal." Smith's other books include science fiction (The Indians Won), the Westerns North to Dakota and Ride to Revenge, and the Romano Grey mystery series. Besides Martin Cruz Smith - Cruz was his maternal grandmother's name - he also wrote under the pen names Nick Carter and Simon Quinn. Smith's Renko books were inspired in part by his own travels in the Soviet Union and he would trace the region's history over the past 40 years, whether the Soviet Union's collapse (Red Square), war in Chechnya (Tatiana), or the rise of Russian oligarchs (The Siberian Dilemma). Martin Cruz Smith, the best-selling mystery novelist who engaged readers for decades with Gorky Park and other thrillers featuring Moscow investigator Arkady Renko, has died aged 82. Smith died on Friday "surrounded by those he loved," according to his publisher, Simon & Schuster. Further details were not immediately available, but Smith revealed a decade ago that he had Parkinson's disease, and he gave the same condition to his protagonist. His 11th and final Renko book, Hotel Ukraine, will be published this week. Among Smith's honours were being named a "grand master" by the Mystery Writers of America, and winning the Hammett Prize for Havana Bay and a Gold Dagger award for Gorky Park. He had been a published novelist for more than a decade before he broke through in the early 1980s with Gorky Park. His book came out when the Soviet Union and the Cold War were still very much alive and centred on Renko's investigation into the murders of three people whose bodies were found in the Moscow park cited in the title. Gorky Park, praised as a compelling and informative take on the inner workings of the Soviet Union, topped The New York Times' fiction bestseller list and was later made into a movie starring William Hurt. "Gorky Park is a police procedural of uncommon excellence," Peter Andrews wrote in the Times in 1981. "Martin Cruz Smith has managed to combine the gritty atmosphere of a Moscow police squad room with a story of detection as neatly done as any English manor-house puzzlement. I have no idea as to the accuracy of Mr Smith's descriptions of Russian police operations. But they ring as true as crystal." Smith's other books include science fiction (The Indians Won), the Westerns North to Dakota and Ride to Revenge, and the Romano Grey mystery series. Besides Martin Cruz Smith - Cruz was his maternal grandmother's name - he also wrote under the pen names Nick Carter and Simon Quinn. Smith's Renko books were inspired in part by his own travels in the Soviet Union and he would trace the region's history over the past 40 years, whether the Soviet Union's collapse (Red Square), war in Chechnya (Tatiana), or the rise of Russian oligarchs (The Siberian Dilemma).
1News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- 1News
Martin Cruz Smith, acclaimed author of Gorky Park, dies
Martin Cruz Smith, the best-selling mystery novelist who engaged readers for decades with Gorky Park and other thrillers featuring Moscow investigator Arkady Renko, has died at age 82. Smith died Friday at a senior living community in San Rafael, California, 'surrounded by those he loved,' according to his publisher, Simon & Schuster. Smith revealed a decade ago that he had Parkinson's disease, and he gave the same condition to his protagonist. His 11th Renko book, Hotel Ukraine, was published this week and billed as his last. 'My longevity is linked to Arkady's,' he told Strand Magazine in 2023. 'As long as he remains intelligent, humorous, and romantic, so shall I.' Smith was often praised for his storytelling and for his insights into modern Russia; he would speak of being interrogated at length by customs officials during his many trips there. The Associated Press called Hotel Ukraine a 'gem' that 'upholds Smith's reputation as a great craftsman of modern detective fiction with his sharply drawn, complex characters and a compelling plot.' Smith's honours included being named a 'grand master' by the Mystery Writers of America, winning the Hammett Prize for Havana Bay and a Gold Dagger award for Gorky Park. ADVERTISEMENT Born Martin William Smith in Reading, Pennsylvania, he studied creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania and started out as a journalist, including a brief stint at the AP and at the Philadelphia Daily News. Success as an author arrived slowly. He had been a published novelist for more than a decade before he broke through in the early 1980s with Gorky Park. His novel came out when the Soviet Union and the Cold War were still very much alive and centred on Renko's investigation into the murders of three people whose bodies were found in the Moscow park that Smith used for the book's title. Gorky Park, cited by the New York Times as a reminder of 'just how satisfying a smoothly turned thriller can be,' topped the Times' fiction bestseller list and was later made into a movie starring William Hurt. "Russia is a character in my Renko stories, always," Smith told Publishers Weekly in 2013. "Gorky Park may have been one of the first books to take a backdrop and make it into a character. It took me forever to write because of my need to get things right. You've got to knock down the issue of 'Does this guy know what he's talking about or not?'' Smith's other books include science fiction (The Indians Won), the Westerns North to Dakota and Ride to Revenge, and the Romano Grey mystery series. Besides Martin Cruz Smith — Cruz was his maternal grandmother's name — he also wrote under the pen names Nick Carter and Simon Quinn. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Trump's deadline for Russia, legal action against a supermarket giant, and an unusual marathon record. (Source: Breakfast) Smith's Renko books were inspired in part by his own travels and he would trace the region's history over the past 40 years, whether the Soviet Union's collapse (Red Square), the rise of Russian oligarchs (The Siberian Dilemma), or, in the novel Wolves Eats Dogs, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. By the time he began working on his last novel, Russia had invaded Ukraine. The AP noted in its review of Hotel Ukraine that Smith had devised a backstory 'pulled straight from recent headlines,' referencing such world leaders as Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine,Vladimir Putin of Russia and former President Joe Biden of the US. ADVERTISEMENT Smith is survived by his brother, Jack Smith; his wife, Emily Smith; three children and five grandchildren.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Gorky Park' writer Martin Cruz Smith, acclaimed for his mysteries, dies at 82
NEW YORK — Martin Cruz Smith, the best-selling mystery novelist who engaged readers for decades with 'Gorky Park' and other thrillers featuring Moscow investigator Arkady Renko, has died at age 82. Smith died Friday at a senior living community in San Rafael, 'surrounded by those he loved,' according to his publisher, Simon & Schuster. Smith revealed a decade ago that he had Parkinson's disease, and he gave the same condition to his protagonist. His 11th Renko book, 'Hotel Ukraine,' was published July 8 and billed as his last. 'My longevity is linked to Arkady's,' he told Strand Magazine in 2023. 'As long as he remains intelligent, humorous, and romantic, so shall I.' Smith was often praised for his storytelling and for his insights into modern Russia; he would speak of being interrogated at length by customs officials during his many trips there. The Associated Press called 'Hotel Ukraine' a 'gem' that 'upholds Smith's reputation as a great craftsman of modern detective fiction with his sharply drawn, complex characters and a compelling plot.' Smith's honors included being named a 'grand master' by the Mystery Writers of America, winning the Hammett Prize for 'Havana Bay' and a Gold Dagger award for 'Gorky Park.' Born Martin William Smith in Reading, Pa. , he studied creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania and started out as a journalist, including a brief stint at the AP and at the Philadelphia Daily News. Success as an author arrived slowly. He had been a published novelist for more than a decade before he broke through in the early 1980s with 'Gorky Park.' His novel came out when the Soviet Union and the Cold War were still very much alive and centered on Renko's investigation into the murders of three people whose bodies were found in the Moscow park that Smith used for the book's title. 'Gorky Park,' cited by the New York Times as a reminder of 'just how satisfying a smoothly turned thriller can be,' topped the Times' fiction bestseller list and was later made into a movie starring William Hurt. 'Russia is a character in my Renko stories, always,' Smith told Publishers Weekly in 2013. ''Gorky Park' may have been one of the first books to take a backdrop and make it into a character. It took me forever to write because of my need to get things right. You've got to knock down the issue of 'Does this guy know what he's talking about or not?'' Smith's other books include science fiction ('The Indians Won'), the Westerns 'North to Dakota' and 'Ride for Revenge,' and the 'Roman Grey' mystery series. Besides 'Martin Cruz Smith' — Cruz was his maternal grandmother's name — he also wrote under the pen names 'Nick Carter' and 'Simon Quinn.' Smith's Renko books were inspired in part by his own travels and he would trace the region's history over the past 40 years, whether it be the Soviet Union's collapse ('Red Square'), the rise of Russian oligarchs ('The Siberian Dilemma') or, in the novel 'Wolves Eats Dogs,' the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. By the time he began working on his last novel, Russia had invaded Ukraine. The AP noted in its review of 'Hotel Ukraine' that Smith had devised a backstory 'pulled straight from recent headlines,' referencing such world leaders as Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin of Russia and former President Joe Biden of the U.S. Smith is survived by his brother, Jack Smith; his wife, Emily Smith; three children and five grandchildren. Italie writes for the Associated Press.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Acclaimed Gorky Park author Martin Cruz Smith dies
Martin Cruz Smith, the best-selling mystery novelist who engaged readers for decades with Gorky Park and other thrillers featuring Moscow investigator Arkady Renko, has died aged 82. Smith died on Friday "surrounded by those he loved," according to his publisher, Simon & Schuster. Further details were not immediately available, but Smith revealed a decade ago that he had Parkinson's disease, and he gave the same condition to his protagonist. His 11th and final Renko book, Hotel Ukraine, will be published this week. Among Smith's honours were being named a "grand master" by the Mystery Writers of America, and winning the Hammett Prize for Havana Bay and a Gold Dagger award for Gorky Park. Born Martin William Smith in Reading, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied creative writing, Smith started out as a journalist, including a brief stint at the Associated Press. He had been a published novelist for more than a decade before he broke through in the early 1980s with Gorky Park. His book came out when the Soviet Union and the Cold War were still very much alive and centred on Renko's investigation into the murders of three people whose bodies were found in the Moscow park cited in the title. Gorky Park, praised as a compelling and informative take on the inner workings of the Soviet Union, topped The New York Times' fiction bestseller list and was later made into a movie starring William Hurt. "Gorky Park is a police procedural of uncommon excellence," Peter Andrews wrote in the Times in 1981. "Martin Cruz Smith has managed to combine the gritty atmosphere of a Moscow police squad room with a story of detection as neatly done as any English manor-house puzzlement. I have no idea as to the accuracy of Mr Smith's descriptions of Russian police operations. But they ring as true as crystal." Smith's other books include science fiction (The Indians Won), the Westerns North to Dakota and Ride to Revenge, and the Romano Grey mystery series. Besides Martin Cruz Smith - Cruz was his maternal grandmother's name - he also wrote under the pen names Nick Carter and Simon Quinn. Smith's Renko books were inspired in part by his own travels in the Soviet Union and he would trace the region's history over the past 40 years, whether the Soviet Union's collapse (Red Square), war in Chechnya (Tatiana), or the rise of Russian oligarchs (The Siberian Dilemma).
