Stephen Solomita

Stephen Solomita (b. 1943) is an American author of thrillers. Born in Bayside, Queens, he worked as a cab driver before becoming a novelist in the late 1980’s. His first novel, A Twist of the Knife (1988) won acclaim for its author’s intimate knowledge of New York’s rough patches, and for a hardboiled style that raised a gritty look at urban terrorism above the level of a typical thriller. Solomita wrote six more novels starring the disaffected NYPD cop Stanley Moodrow, concluding the series with Damaged Goods (1996). Solomita continued writing in the same hardboiled style, producing tough, standalone novels like Mercy Killing (2009) and Angel Face (2011). Under the pseudonym David Cray, he writes gentler thrillers such as Dead Is Forever (2004), a traditional mystery in the mode of Ellery Queen. His most recent novel is Dancer In The Flames (2012). He continues to live and write in New York City.