AKA , .

Martin Cruz Smith (born Martin William Smith), American novelist, received his BA in Creative Writing from the University of Pennsylvania in 1964. He worked as a journalist from 1965 to 1969 before turning his hand to fiction. His first mystery ( – 1971) features NY gypsy art dealer Roman Grey and was nominated for an Edgar Award. was his breakthrough novel and was made into a movie.

Smith is best known for his series of novels featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko. , published in 1981, was the first of these and was called thriller of the 80s by Time Magazine. It became a bestseller and won the Gold Dagger Award from the British Crime Writers Association. Renko has also appeared in , , , , , and .

In the 1970s, Smith wrote under the pseudonym and penned two Slocum adult action westerns as . He also wrote the under the alias with and others.

Martin Cruz Smith now lives in San Rafael, California with his wife and three children.