Gross's books feature close family bonds, relationships characterized by loss or betrayal, and a large degree of emotional resonance which generally leads to wider crimes and cover-ups.

[1] In 1984, Gross took over Head NV Sportswear, the struggling arm of the iconic ski and tennis brand, and by 1989, had repositioned it into the number one upscale producer of tennis and ski apparel in the United States[1] and a thriving brand in Europe as well, before leaving for a larger role at Leslie Fay (which then had close to a billion dollars in annual sales[3] and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange).

He recalls: "after dozens of rejections from agents and ultimately publishers, not knowing what my next step in life was, and sitting around my study, wondering what cliff I was going to drive our SUV off of, I received a phone call from someone who asked, ‘Can you take a call from James Patterson?’" Gross met with Patterson and discussed the early concepts for what ultimately became the Women's Murder Club series.

Patterson explained that the head of his publishing house had forwarded Gross's unpublished manuscript to him with the words scratched on the cover: "This guy does women well!"

[4] The Dark Tide featured the fictional detective Ty Hauck of Greenwich, Connecticut, who became the lead character in Gross's corruption and political conspiracy-based bestsellers Don't Look Twice and Reckless.

The novel is partly based on the life of Gross's maternal grandfather, Fred P. Pomerantz (1901–86), a garment manufacturer who stood up to mobsters such as Lepke Buchalter, Jacob Shapiro and Emanuel Weiss.