Richard Martin Stern

Richard Martin Stern (born March 17, 1915 in Fresno, California; died October 31, 2001 in Santa Fe, New Mexico) was an American novelist. Stern began his writing career in the 1950's with mystery tales of private investigators, winning a 1959 Edgar Award for Best First Novel, for "The Bright Road to Fear".

He was most notable for his 1973 novel "The Tower", in which a fire engulfs a new metal-and-glass frame skyrise. Stern was inspired to write the novel by the construction of the World Trade Center in New York City. Warner Brothers bought the rights to the novel shortly after its publication for roughly $400,000, and Stern's book eventually became the movie "The Towering Inferno", directed by Irwin Allen and John Guillermin and featuring an all-star cast. With an incredible fourteen million dollar budget, the film went on to earn over a hundred million at American box office.

Stern continued to write many novels, mainly mysteries and disaster-related suspense. He died in 2001 after prolonged illness.

Bibliography

Johnny Ortiz Mysteries

* "Murder in the Walls" (1971)
* "You Don't Need an Enemy" (1972)
* "Death in the Snow" (1973)
* "Tsunami" (1988) - not a Johnny Ortiz mystery, but a stand alone novel
* "Tangled Murders" (1989)
* "Missing Man" (1990)
* "Interloper" (1990)

Other Novels

* "The Bright Road to Fear" (1958)
* "Suspense: Four Short Novels" (1959)
* "The Search for Tabitha Carr" (1960)
* "These Unlikely Deeds" (1961)
* "High Hazard" (1962)
* "Cry Havoc" (1963)
* "Right Hand Opposite" (1964)
* "I Hide, We Seek" (1965)
* "The Kessler Legacy" (1967)
* "Merry Go Round" (1969)
* "Brood of Eagles" (1969)
* "Manuscript for Murder" (1970)
* "Stanfield Harvest" (1972)
* "The Tower" (1973) (one of two books used to create the film "The Towering Inferno")
* "Power" (1974)
* "Snowbound Six" (1977)
* "Flood" (1980)
* "The Big Bridge" (1982)
* "Wildfire" (1985)