Roger Smith / James Rayburn

Roger Smith is a reputed South African novelist, who is popular for writing mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. He was born in Johannesburg and currently resides in Cape Town. Smith made his debut as an author with the 2009 book called Mixed Blood. This book has been published in 6 countries and is the winner of the German Crime Prize. Smith’s second novel, Wake Up Dead, was included among the ten best picks of the South Africa Times, Krimiwelt, and Philadelphia Enquirer. It had also received a nomination for the prestigious German Krimi Blitz Reader’s Award. Both Wake Up Dead and Mixed Blood have received nominations for the New Voice Awards by Spinetingler Magazine in the United States and are now in talks to be developed into feature films. Other than writing under his original name, Smith also uses the pseudonyms of Max Wilde and James Rayburn for writing his espionage thriller and suspense novels. Smith is also renowned as a filmmaker. His mystery thrillers are particularly set in Cape Town and are highly praised.