Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Robert Ellis worked as a filmmaker and now writes crime fiction. His interest in the genre began as a young boy when a fifteen year old girl was murdered near his home. He started watching Alfred Hitchcock films and reading books by John Buchan and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Shortly thereafter, Robert Ellis began to skip high school to attend murder trials and write his experiences as short stories.

After surviving a car crash caused by a tractor-trailer, Robert Ellis began writing. He studied under the guidance of Walter Tevis, who wrote The Color of Money and The Hustler. The Great Lake States, which was the first film Mr. Ellis wrote and co-produced, came about thanks to National Geographic. This film won Best Educational Documentary at the New York Film Festival. Robert Ellis furthered his work in film and garnered a regional Emmy in Philadelphia for his contributions to CBS News. After moving to Los Angeles, Mr. Ellis ghostwrote Nightmare on Elm Street, Part 4.

His entry into fiction writing occurred while covering surveillance footage of a mobster running for political office in New Jersey. The mobster saw the camera, and Mr. Ellis feared he would be killed. The following day, he began writing Access to Power. He went on to write The Dead Room, City of Fire, The Lost Witness, Murder Season, City of Echoes, and The Love Killings.