Smith, Martin Cruz 1942–
Smith, Martin Cruz 1942–
(Nick Carter, Jake Logan, a house pseudonym, Martin Quinn, Simon Quinn, Martin Smith)
PERSONAL:
Original name, Martin William Smith; born November 3, 1942, in Reading, PA; son of John Calhoun (a musician) and Louise (a jazz singer and Native American rights leader) Smith; married Emily Arnold (a chef), June 15, 1968; children: Ellen Irish, Luisa Cruz, Samuel Kip. Ethnicity: Native American Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1964.
ADDRESSES:
Home—Mill Valley, CA.
CAREER:
Writer. Worked for local television stations, newspapers, and as a correspondent for Associated Press; Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia, PA, reporter, 1965; Magazine Management, New York, NY, 1966-69, began as writer, became editor of For Men Only.
MEMBER:
Authors League of America, Authors Guild.
AWARDS, HONORS:
Edgar Award nomination, Mystery Writers of America, 1972, for Gypsy in Amber, 1976, for The Midas Coffin, 1978, for Nightwing, and 1982, for Gorky Park; Gold Dagger, Crime Writers Association, 1982, for Gorky Park.
WRITINGS:
NOVELS
Nightwing (also see below), Norton (New York, NY), 1977, Hill & Co. (Boston, MA), 1987.
The Analog Bullet, Belmont-Tower (New York, NY), 1978.
Gorky Park ("Arkady Renko" novel), Random House (New York, NY), 1981, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2007.
Stallion Gate, Random House (New York, NY), 1986.
Polar Star ("Arkady Renko" novel), Random House (New York, NY), 1989, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2007.
Red Square ("Arkady Renko" novel), Random House (New York, NY), 1992, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2007.
Rose, Random House (New York, NY), 1996.
Havana Bay ("Arkady Renko" novel), Random House (New York, NY), 1999.
December 6, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.
Wolves Eat Dogs ("Arkady Renko" novel), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.
Stalin's Ghost ("Arkady Renko" novel), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2007.
NOVELS; UNDER NAME MARTIN SMITH
The Indians Won, Belmont-Tower (New York, NY), 1970, reprinted under name Martin Cruz Smith, Leisure Books, 1981.
Gypsy in Amber, Putnam (New York, NY), 1971.
Canto for a Gypsy, Putnam (New York, NY), 1972, reprinted under name Martin Cruz Smith, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1983.
NOVELS, UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE; UNDER PSEUDONYM SIMON QUINN
His Eminence, Death, Dell (New York, NY), 1974.
Nuplex Red, Dell (New York, NY), 1974.
The Devil in Kansas, Dell (New York, NY), 1974.
The Last Time I Saw Hell, Dell (New York, NY), 1974.
The Midas Coffin, Dell (New York, NY), 1975.
Last Rites for the Vulture, Dell (New York, NY), 1975.
The Human Factor (movie novelization), Dell (New York, NY), 1975.
The Adventures of the Wilderness Family (movie novelization), Ballantine (New York, NY), 1976.
NOVELS; UNDER HOUSE PSEUDONYM JAKE LOGAN
North to Dakota, Playboy Press, 1976.
Ride for Revenge, Playboy Press, 1977.
Slocum Bursts Out, Berkley (New York, NY), 1990.
Slocum, No. 150: Trail of Death, Berkley (New York, NY), 1991.
Slocum, No. 154: Slocum's Standoff, Berkley (New York, NY), 1991.
Slocum, No. 155: Death Council, Berkley (New York, NY), 1991.
Slocum, No. 156: Timber King, Berkley (New York, NY), 1992.
Slocum, No. 157: Railroad Baron, Berkley (New York, NY), 1992.
Slocum, No. 158: River Chase, Berkley (New York, NY), 1992.
Slocum, No. 159: Tombstone Gold, Berkley (New York, NY), 1992.
Slocum, No. 163: Slocum and the Bushwhackers, Berkley (New York, NY), 1992.
Slocum, No. 165: San Angelo Shootout, Berkley (New York, NY), 1992.
Slocum, No. 166: Blood Fever, Berkley (New York, NY), 1992.
Revenge at Devil's Tower, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Ambush at Apache Rocks, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Slocum, No. 167: Helltown Trail, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Slocum, No. 168: Sheriff Slocum, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Slocum, No. 169: Virginia City Showdown, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Slocum, No. 170: Slocum and the Forty Thieves, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Slocum, No. 171: Powder River Massacre, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Slocum, No. 173: Slocum and the Tin Star Swindle, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Slocum, No. 174: Slocum and the Nightriders, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Slocum, No. 176: Slocum at Outlaw's Haven, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993.
Pikes Peak Shoot-Out, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Slocum and the Cow Town Kill, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Slocum and the Gold Slaves, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Slocum and the Invaders, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Slocum and the Mountain of Gold, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Slocum and the Phantom Gold, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Slocum, No. 179: Slocum and the Buffalo Soldiers, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Ghost Town, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Blood Trail, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.
Slocum and the Miner's Justice, Jove Books (New York, NY), 1998.
Slocum and the Comanche Princess, Jove Books (New York, NY), 1999.
Slocum and the Ketchum Gang, Jove Books (New York, NY), 1999.
Slocum and the Live Oak Boys, Jove Books (New York, NY), 1999.
Slocum and the Gila Rangers, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and the Gunrunners, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and the Mountain Spirit, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and the Nebraska Storm, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and the Pomo Chief, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and the Senorita, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and the Undertaker, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and Wild Bill's Lady, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum's Close Call, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum's Partner, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and the Ambush Trail, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum and the Gambler's Woman, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Slocum on Ghost Mesa, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum: Two Coffins for Slocum, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum's Sidekick, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
South of the Border, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Railroad to Hell, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Showdown in Texas, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum, No. 274: Valley of Skulls, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum and the Blue-eyed Hostage, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum and the Friendly Foe, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum and the Helpless Harlots, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum and the Hired Gun, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum and the Lakota Lady, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Slocum and the Rich Man's Son, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Hot on the Trail, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Shoot-out at Whiskey Springs, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum, a Jury of One, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum and the Boomtown Bordello, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum and the Carnahan Boys, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum and the Deserter, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum and the Ghost Rustlers, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum and the Gravedigger, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum and the Lady in Black, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum and the Ranch War, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum and the Widow Maker, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum's Disguise, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Slocum's Warpath, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Dancer's Trail, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Holding Down the Ranch, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Bitterroot Belle, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Bounty Jumpers, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Circle Z Riders, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Deadly Damsel, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Nebraska Swindle, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Tequila Rose, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Treasure Chest, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Undertakers, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum at Devil's Mouth, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum down Mexico Way, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum, the Gunman and the Greenhorn, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Slocum and the Bad-news Brothers, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Bone Robbers, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Cayuse Squaw, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Crooked Sheriff, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Hangman's Lady, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Lady Reporter, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Orphan Express, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Rebel Yell, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Sheriff of Guadalupe, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Storekeeper's Wife, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and the Teton Temptress, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum at Whiskey Lake, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum in the Secret Service, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Slocum and Lady Death, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Bixby Battle, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Deadwood Deal, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Larcenous Lady, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Presidio Phantoms, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Runaway Bride, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Sierra Madras Gold, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Slanderer, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Sulfur Valley Widows, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Vanished, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum's Gold Mountain, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum's Sweet Revenge, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Slocum and the Apache Border Incident, Berkley (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Border War, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Boss's Wife, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Hanging Horse, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Horse Killers, Berkley (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Land-grabbers, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Lost Command, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Madhouse Madam, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Mescal Smugglers, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and the Two Gold Bullets, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum at Hangdog, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2006.
Slocum and Hot Lead, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2007.
Slocum and the Tonto Basin War, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2007.
Slocum and the Vengeful Widow, Jove Books (New York, NY), 2007.
Slocum at Dead Dog, Berkley (New York, NY), 2007.
OTHER
(Under name Martin Cruz Smith, with Steve Shagan and Bud Shrake) Nightwing (screenplay; based on novel of same title), Columbia, 1979.
(Editor) Death by Espionage: Intriguing Stories of Betrayal and Deception, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 1999.
Also author of several other genre novels under various pseudonyms, including Nick Carter and Martin Quinn. Contributor of stories to Male, Stag, and For Men Only, and of book reviews to Esquire. Gorky Park has been translated into Russian.
ADAPTATIONS:
The film Gorky Park, starring William Hurt and Lee Marvin, was released by Orion Pictures, 1983; Slocum and the Gila Rangers, Slocum and the Gunrunners, Slocum and the Mountain Spirit, Slocum and the Nebraska Storm, Slocum and the Pomo Chief, Showdown in Texas, Slocum and the Senorita, Slocum and the Undertaker, Slocum and Wild Bill's Lady, Slocum's Close Call, Slocum's Partner, Slocum and the Gambler's Woman, Slocum and the Hired Gun, Slocum's Sidekick, Railroad to Hell, Slocum and the Ambush Trail, Slocum and the Blue-eyed Hostage, Slocum and the Lakota Lady, and Slocum and the Rich Man's Son have been adapted for audio by Otis Audio (Oklahoma City, OK).
SIDELIGHTS:
In 1972, a struggling young writer named Martin William Smith approached his publisher, G.P. Putnam, with an idea for a different sort of mystery. Inspired by a Newsweek review of The Face Finder, a nonfiction book recounting the efforts of Soviet scientists to reconstruct faces from otherwise unidentifiable human remains, Smith outlined a plot involving a partnership between a Soviet detective and his American counterpart as they attempt to solve an unusual murder. Putnam liked Smith's proposal and agreed to pay him a generous advance of fifteen thousand dollars.
For the next five years, Smith eked out a living writing several dozen paperback novels, often under one of his various pseudonyms. Whenever he had accumulated enough to live on for a while, he did research for his murder mystery; in 1973, he even managed to make a trip to Moscow, where he spent almost a week wandering through the city jotting down notes on how it looked and sketching scenes he hesitated to photograph. Later denied permission for a return visit, Smith instead spent hours pumping various Russian emigrés and defectors for details about life in the Soviet Union "on everything from the quality of shoes … to whether a ranking policeman would have to be a member of the Communist Party," Arthur Spiegelman of the Chicago Tribune noted. "I would write a scene and show it to one of my Russian friends," Smith recalled. "If he would say that some Russian must have told me that, then I knew it was OK."
By this time, Smith knew he no longer wanted to write a conventional thriller. He abandoned the idea of a partnership between detectives, deciding instead to focus on the challenge of making the Soviet detective his hero. Putnam, however, was less than enthusiastic about the change in plans, for the publisher doubted that such a book would have much commercial appeal. Smith was urged to stick to more marketable plots—namely, those featuring an American hero.
The year 1977 proved to be a turning point of sorts for Smith; he not only bought back the rights to his novel from Putnam, after a long and bitter battle, and changed his middle name from William to Cruz (his maternal grandmother's name), he also received approximately a half million dollars when Nightwing, his vampire bat horror-thriller, became a surprise success. Nightwing, featuring Hopi Indian characters caught up in a vampire bat legend, deals with Indian attitudes and folklore. In an interview with CA, Smith discussed his own Pueblo Indian heritage and acknowledged that he "relied on [his] own background and research" for the novel. The following period of financial security enabled Smith to put the finishing touches on his "simple detective story," which by now had grown into a 365-page novel. In 1980, Smith and his agent began negotiating with Random House and Ballantine for the publishing rights. Despite the lack of interest Putnam had shown in his work, Smith was confident that his book would indeed be published—and at a price he would name. Before the end of the year, Smith was one million dollars richer, and Random House was preparing to gamble on an unusual 100,000-copy first printing of what soon would become one of the most talked-about books of 1981: Gorky Park.
The result of eight years of research and writing, Gorky Park chronicles the activities of homicide detective Arkady Renko as he investigates a bizarre murder. Three bullet-riddled bodies—two males and one female—have been discovered frozen in the snow in Moscow's Gorky Park, their faces skinned and their fingertips cut off to hinder identification. Renko immediately realizes that this is no ordinary murder; his suspicions are confirmed when agents of the KGB arrive on the scene. But instead of taking over the investigation, the KGB suddenly insists that Renko handle the affair. From this point on, the main plot is complicated by an assortment of subplots and a large cast of characters, including a greedy American fur-dealer, a visiting New York City police detective who suspects one of the murder victims might be his radical brother, and a dissident Siberian girl with whom Renko falls in love. Before the end of the story, the detective has tracked the killer across two continents and has himself been stalked and harassed by the KGB, the CIA, the FBI, and the New York City police department.
Critics praised Smith for his ability to portray exceptionally vivid Russian scenes and characters. Washington Post Book World contributor Peter Osnos compared Smith to John Le Carré, maintaining that "Gorky Park is not at all a conventional thriller about Russians. It is to ordinary suspense stories what John Le Carré is to spy novels. The action is gritty, the plot complicated, the overriding quality is intelligence. You have to pay attention or you'll get hopelessly muddled. But staying with this book is easy enough since once one gets going, one doesn't want to stop." Perhaps because he is the protagonist, the character of Arkady Renko seems to have impressed reviewers the most, though Osnos, among others, pointed out that Smith avoids making any of his characters into the "sinister stick figures" common in other novels about the Soviets. The New Republic's Tamar Jacoby regarded the detective as an "unusual and winning … moral hero without a trace of righteousness, an enigmatic figure as alluring as the mystery he is trying to solve…. Smith sees to it that there is nothing easy or superior about the moral insight that Arkady earns."
In 1986, Smith published Stallion Gate, setting his fiction among the scientists and military personnel of the Manhattan Project, those men and women who gathered near Los Alamos, New Mexico, to develop and test the first atom bomb. Yet, even with this more familiar setting, Smith recognized the need to investigate his subject in order to reanimate the now-famous scientists and to reconstruct the historical setting. Though closer to home, the backdrop for Smith's novel of intrigue gives it an alien quality much as Moscow colored Gorky Park. Set in the desert, the novel blends native Indian allusions with modern, even futuristic images of scientists and their work. At the test site are J. Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi, Brigadier General Leslie Groves, Harry Gold, and Klaus Fuchs. In a review of Stallion Gate for Time, R.Z. Sheppard observed that Smith "shapes images that contain haunting affinities: wild horses and Army jeeps; rattlesnakes and coils of electrical cable; the lustrous surfaces of ceremonial pottery and the polished plutonium core of the atom bomb." Through the chief of security, an army captain who suspects Oppenheimer of passing project secrets to the Soviets, Smith involves his main character and his readers in this story of suspense. In a Los Angeles Times Book Review article on Stallion Gate, Tony Hillerman concluded: "Martin Cruz Smith, master-craftsman of the good read, has given us another dandy."
Smith resumed the adventures of Gorky Park's hero, Russian inspector Arkady Renko, in 1989's Polar Star and in Red Square, published in 1992. Readers last saw Renko at the end of Gorky Park, returning from America to his homeland, Russia. Upon his arrival, as related in Polar Star, he is imprisoned in a mental hospital, escapes to Siberia, and lands a job as a second-class seaman on the Russian fishing ship Polar Star, bound for the Bering Sea. Once out to sea, the fishing nets haul in a dead body identified as crew member Zina Patiashvili. Renko is then ordered to investigate whether Patiashvili's death was suicide or murder.
Reviews of Polar Star were largely favorable; Robert Stuart Nathan, in the New York Times Book Review, wrote: "The novel opens with a Conradian evocation of a ship at sea," he proclaimed, "and immediately we are reminded of just how skilled a storyteller Mr. Smith is, how supple and commanding his prose." Reid Beddow, in the Washington Post Book World, labeled the characterization of Renko as "terrific," adding that "Martin Cruz Smith writes the most inventive thrillers of anyone in the first rank of thriller-writers." Allen J. Hubin of Armchair Detective asserted that the book is "filled with graphic images and cinematic sequences, involving the ship and the frigid, ice-filled expanses of the Bering Sea." Likewise, T.J. Binyon, in the Times Literary Supplement, remarked that "Martin Cruz Smith does a magnificent job on the background," calling the work "wholly absorbing."
In Smith's 1992 novel, Red Square, Renko operates in post-Communist Russia, a Moscow quite different, but every bit as threatening, as that of Gorky Park. In Red Square, Renko faces a new threat—the corrupt "Chechen" Mafia of Moscow. As black markets flourish in this new capitalist atmosphere, Renko seeks to solve the murder of his informant Rudy, who turns out to have had connections with the mob. Francis X. Clines praised the work in the New York Times Book Review, focusing on Smith's finely detailed settings: "The great virtue of the book is its narrative rendering of the sleazy, miasmic environment of fin-de-Communisme Moscow … that slouching, unworkable ‘Big Potato,’ as its citizens call it." A Washington Post Book World critic welcomed back Smith's much-loved hero, Renko, as "an immensely complex and likeable man. Here his qualities stand out even more luminously." The critic added that Martin Cruz Smith's Red Square "is as good popular fiction should be, a novel that proceeds on many levels." Reid Beddow in the Washington Post Book World pointed to Smith's competence in dealing with varied subjects—everything from American Indians, forensic medicine, police procedures, and atomic secrets to life in Soviet Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The reviewer concluded that "rather than relying on the repetition of a successful formula, [Smith] has constantly sought to freshen his material."
In Rose, published in 1996, Smith departs from Russia for an altogether different setting: 1870s Victorian England. The plot features Jonathan Blair, an engineer and explorer recently returned from Africa who journeys to the Lancashire town of Wigan to investigate a mystery. Wigan is a gritty coal-mining town, and Blair sets about determining the whereabouts of the local curate, who has not been seen since the day when a mining accident killed seventy-six people. In attempting to discover what happened to the man, Blair finds himself bewitched by the "pit girls"—local women who work in the mines—and in conflict with several male miners. In particular, one pit girl, Rose, eventually comes to play a large role in the mystery—and in Blair's life as well. Reviewing the book in the Washington Post Book World, Bruce Cook praised the author's command of historical details in telling his story and noted that "this novel is blessed with the sort of strong narrative line that makes it a joy to read, yet it is about a good deal more than plot." While remarking that Smith's dialogue sometimes betrays a modern tone, New York Times Book Review contributor Eugen Weber declared that "Smith's tale is smartly told, engaging and worth reading."
Russian cop Arkady Renko is once again at the center of things in Smith's book Havana Bay. This time, Renko is in Cuba, investigating the death of a missing Russian embassy official who was an old friend. Although he comes from the fatherland of communism, Renko finds himself thwarted in his investigation by Cuban bureaucrats, who now dislike Russians for abandoning communism and selling out. Jim Strader, writing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Online, noted: "As he did in relating Renko's past adventures, Smith exposes a culture and country literally foreign to most in the United States." Strader went on to call the novel "an engaging tale" that opens "a window to a distinctly different and intriguing place." In Booklist, contributor Bill Ott commented: "Smith's beautifully evoked Cuba—rusting idealism set against resurgent decadence—makes the perfect foil for a melancholic investigator who doesn't particularly believe in the very things he stubbornly defends." A contributor to Publishers Weekly noted that "Smith's vision of Havana is unforgettable." The reviewer also said: "Gripping, worldly wise and brimming with emotional intelligence, this novel showcases Smith at the top of his game."
Smith continued with his remarkable ability to evoke place with December 6, which is set in Japan on the eve of its infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. An American who grew up on the wild streets of Japan but feels comfortable in neither culture, Harry Niles is also a con man who owns a tea room in Tokyo. Aware of a possible attack by Japan on the United States, Niles sets out to possibly thwart the plan while playing both sides against the middle just in case. "In alternating narratives of Harry the boy juxtaposed against Harry the club owner, Smith paints an extraordinary picture of life in Japan … and captures the essence of that strange, exotic country on the brink of war," wrote Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum on Bookreporter.com. Calling the book a "superb thriller," Booklist contributor Bill Ott noted: "When Smith chooses a place to write about, he makes it his own." Barbara Conaty, writing in Library Journal, said that "the locale is as evocative as the cherry blossom itself."
Smith returns to Russia and the world of Arkady Renko in Wolves Eat Dogs, which was published in 2004. The story starts when a successful Russian business man jumps from his window, falling ten floors to his death. The most obvious answer to the tragedy is that the man committed suicide, and for most of Renko's peers and superiors, that answer is sufficient. However, suicide does not explain the strange presence of a large amount of salt that was discovered piled up inside the dead man's wardrobe. Determined to discover what the salt means, Renko sets out to investigate and the mystery truly commences. Upon analyzing the salt, Renko discovers it is radioactive, and the trail takes him to Chernobyl and to Pripyat, two towns in an area of the Ukraine known as the Exclusion Zone because it has long been abandoned due to the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986. There he finds a strange collection of outcasts who have chosen to live and work there, including militia, some scientists, the elderly, and even wildlife that has adapted to the damaged landscape. The Zone serves as a microcosm of the country as a whole in many ways, illustrating the way it has adapted in a post-Soviet reality while still maintaining many of the old ways of life. For instance, Renko hears repeatedly that, while as few as forty-one people were listed on the official death count following the Chernobyl disaster, in truth the accident has probably killed half a million people. Although Renko continues to investigate the death of the Russian businessman in hopes of determining whether it was suicide or murder, he cannot help but become painfully aware of the ongoing crime that is the pitiful existence of these abandoned people. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly noted that "it's the Zone itself and the story of Chernobyl that supplies the riveting backbone of this novel." Mica Mullen, reviewing the novel for Geographical, remarked: "This is a classic page-turner with an original, atmospheric setting: an eerie place created by greed, incompetence and corruption, where wolves really do eat dogs." Library Journal contributor Wilda Williams commented: "Smith's latest is filled with the same eye for detail and fully developed characters that made Gorky Park so compelling."
Stalin's Ghost undoes much of the good that seeped into Renko's life by the close of Wolves Eat Dogs. Having left the grimness of Chernobyl behind, Renko had found himself in a new relationship and had also taken a burdened teen under his wing. However, the relationship is failing, and the teen has opted to live on the streets rather than accept Renko's shelter and advice, and he is once more a reflection of the dark mood of Moscow. So, of course, when reports begin to come in that people are spotting the ghost of Joseph Stalin at a subway station in the city, Renko finds himself saddled with the case. The assumption is that the case is really one of running down a group of reactionaries who are faking the ghostly visions in order to rile up the population and remind them of the way things used to be. Renko sets out to get to the bottom of things but has his own built-in issues, in part due to his memories of own deceased father, who had been in the military. However, behind the mystery of Stalin's ghost, Renko ultimately uncovers a more serious issue of war crimes that have gone unpunished too long, and he sets out to locate and exhume the bodies of Russian soldiers in order to get at the truth. Bill Ott, reviewing the novel for Booklist, commented that "the treasures that Renko seeks always contain the seeds of his own destruction. But somehow digging his own grave is what keeps Renko alive." Eleanor Bukowsky, in a review for Mostly Fiction Book Reviews, dubbed Smith's effort "a black comedy, a convoluted thriller with scenes of sickening gore, a police procedural, and a history lesson about what has changed in Russia and what has remained the same."
In an interview for Geographical, Smith, who researches and visits all of his books' locales, noted that he likes to write about unfamiliar places. "If anything, it gives me a great advantage," he noted. "When I start, I'm aware of the extent of my ignorance, so I naturally question everything." Smith went on to comment: "There are things you experience that are so basic that people just don't tell you. It's a little bit like people telling you about going to sea—nobody bothers to tell you that it is salty. They always overlook the details."
For a complete interview with Smith, see Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Volume 23.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
BOOKS
Riggs, Thomas, editor, Reference Guide to American Literature, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 2000.
St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1998.
PERIODICALS
Armchair Detective, fall, 1990, Allen J. Hubin, review of Polar Star, pp. 422-423.
Booklist, May 1, 2000, Bill Ott, review of Havana Bay, p. 1590; August, 2002, Bill Ott, review of December 6, p. 1887; May 1, 2007, Bill Ott, review of Stalin's Ghost, p. 42.
Chicago Tribune, March 25, 1981, Arthur Spiegelman, review of Gorky Park.
Geographical, December, 2002, interview with Martin Cruz Smith, p. 130; April, 2005, Mica Mullin, review of Wolves Eat Dogs, p. 73.
Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2002, review of December 6, p. 837.
Library Journal, May 1, 1999, Barbara Conaty, review of Havana Bay, p. 113; August, 2002, Barbara Conaty, review of December 6, p. 147; October 15, 2004, Wilda Williams, review of Wolves Eat Dogs, p. 56.
Los Angeles Times Book Review, May 11, 1986, Tony Hillerman, review of Stallion Gate.
New Republic, May 9, 1981, Tamar Jacoby, review of Gorky Park, pp. 37-38.
New York Times Book Review, July 16, 1989, Robert Stuart Nathan, review of Polar Star, pp. 33-34; October 18, 1992, Francis X. Clines, review of Red Square, pp. 45-46; June 16, 1996, Eugen Weber, review of Rose, p. 50.
Publishers Weekly, May 3, 1999, review of Havana Bay, p. 68; August 5, 2002, review of December 6, p. 50; January 3, 2005, review of Wolves Eat Dogs, p. 23.
Time, May 12, 1986, R.Z. Sheppard, review of Stallion Gate.
Times Literary Supplement, December 8, 1989, T.J. Binyon, review of Polar Star, p. 1369.
Washington Post Book World, March 29, 1981, Peter Osnos, review of Gorky Park; July 2, 1989, Reid Beddow, review of Polar Star, p. 5; November 1, 1992, Reid Beddow, review of Red Square, p. 3; May 5, 1996, Bruce Cook, review of Rose, p. 1.
ONLINE
Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (October 9, 2002), Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum, review of December 6; (September, 2002), interview with Martin Cruz Smith.
Martin Cruz Smith Home Page,http://literati.net/ MCSmith (December 9, 2002).
Mostly Fiction Book Reviews,http://www.mostlyfiction.com/ (September 29, 2007), Eleanor Bukowsky, review of Stalin's Ghost.
Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), http://www.post-gazette.com/ (August 22, 1999), Jim Strader, review of Havana Bay.
Salon.com,http://www.salon.com/ (April 18, 1996), Sophie Majeski, "The Salon Interview: Working in a Coal Mine."