Greg Iles was born in Stuttgart, Germany, where his father was in charge of the medical clinic at the U.S. Embassy, in 1961. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1983. Iles's first three novels, Spandau Phoenix, Black Cross, and Mortal Fear, have made the New York Times bestseller list. His second, Black Cross, was awarded the Mississippi Author's Award for Fiction in 1995.