Kate Gallison was born in Philadelphia and grew up reading mystery stories, from Nancy Drew to the lurid paperbacks her mother kept on the bottom shelf in the sunroom. Over the years she has worked for the Washington Post, John Wanamaker's department store, the State of New Jersey, and two large software houses in Princeton, New Jersey. When she started writing mysteries of her own, the characters and the politics in these workplaces were all grist to her mill.

Kate has three grown sons and a bachelor's degree in humanities from Thomas Edison College. She lives in Lambertville with her musician husband and their cat.