Shirley Tallman Books In Order

Publication Order of Sarah Woolson Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Shirley Tallman is an America author that writes historical fiction novels. Tallman is best known for the Sarah Woolson mysteries series.

+Biography
Shirley Tallman (aka Erin Ross) garnered fame and success when she wrote ‘Murder on Nob Hill’, the first novel in the Sarah Woolson Mysteries series. The book told the story of Sarah Woolson, an intelligent young woman in the 1800s who only wanted the people around her to take her career prospects seriously.

She wouldn’t be tied down by society’s expectations of her gender. And rather than settling down and keeping a home, Woolson struck out, securing an interview with a prestigious law firm, having determined to beat the odds.

It is worth mentioning that the Sarah Woolson series did not mark the author’s entry into the publishing arena. Back in the 1980s, Shirley Tallman wrote a series of romance novels under the ‘Erin Ross’ pen name.

However, while Tallman’s earliest work found an audience, the novels never truly set her apart from her colleagues in the romance genre, or at the very least she didn’t stand out starkly enough for the publishing industry to take note of her literary efforts.

But even though her first published novels only hit the bookshelves in the early 1980s, Shirley Tallman was writing stories long before that. Tallman was very young when the writing bug bit her.

She knew very early on that she wanted to write fiction when she grew up. A native of Los Angeles, California, which is where she was born, Tallman’s childhood memories have always revolved around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tallman’s family moved to the location when the author was quite young. It was in the Bay Area that she completed her education. Life after college was initially unpromising. For a little while, the author worked as a flight attendant, flying to South Pacific and the Orient.

The position was hardly her dream job but working as a flight attendant also brought with it a number of advantages. Chief amongst them was all the sights that the author got to see, not to mention the time it gave her to tell her stories.

During that period, Tallman filled entire notebooks with ideas. She crafted concepts, experimented with characters and fiddled with a few storylines. Tallman knew that she wanted to sneak her way into the field of publishing.

And she knew that merely jotting a few ideas down wouldn’t bring her dreams any closer. She needed to sit down and write an actual manuscript. But the feat was easier said than done.

Shirley Tallman had a family at the time. So she had to balance the rigors of taking care of her husband, her children and her career with the requirements of the writing career she hoped to nurture.

Fortunately, Tallman was quite stubborn. She was determined to persevere until she made her publishing hopes a reality. Around that time, the author landed a syndicated newspaper column in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The gig was a blessing because it allowed the author to practice her craft while she worked up the courage to put her first story on paper. When Tallman finally completed her first novel, she was shocked to encounter so little opposition from the movers and shakers of the publishing industry.

The manuscript sold easily enough. It opened the door for the author to write contemporary romance novels for Harlequin under the ‘Erin Ross’ pen name.

Even though Tallman’s position as a writer was eventually cemented by her work in the historical fiction genre, the contemporary romance genre was good to her. She gained plenty of recognition in those early years.

Though, ultimately, her name became synonymous with the Sarah Woolson mysteries series.

Besides novels, Shirley Tallman is also a screenwriter. She has done a lot of work with Nancy Hersage, her screenwriting partner. Together, they have sold many television scripts to the likes of ABC and NBC.

The author is counted as a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the Oregon Writer’s Colony, not to mention Sisters in Crime. She is very active on social media, typically using her blog to keep her fans updated on the goings on of her life.

+Murder on Nob Hill
Sarah Woolson is young, intelligent, and outspoken. She also wants to practice law. Unfortunately, Sarah lives in San Francisco in 1880 and society heavily frowns upon the idea of a woman practicing law.

In fact, society would have Sarah stay in the home, caring for a husband and children. Anything that pushes her beyond those boundaries is considered ungodly. So Sarah knows that she has her work cut out for her when she lands an interview with a prestigious law firm.

No one believes that she has any chance of landing the job. But Sarah won’t quit until she tries. Her determination is rewarded when she becomes the firm’s newest hire. And when Sarah gets her first client, a woman who supposedly stabbed her abusive husband to death, she is determined to make her mark on the San Francisco legal landscape.

Sarah is certain of her client’s innocence but she is thrown off when the woman reveals a secret lover. The unexpected twist pales in comparison to the danger that comes barreling at Sarah when she learns that four more people have been stabbed to death.

The heroine must maneuver romance, murder and the shady layers of the legal arena to get to the truth.

+The Cliff House Strangler
No one thought Sarah Woolson would ever land the position of associate at a prestigious law firm in 1880’s San Francisco. But she proved them wrong. Everyone thought she was even more out of line by attempting to open her own law firm.

But that is exactly what the heroine has done. Now Sarah must contend with the consequences of her actions. She quickly finds that paying clients are not nearly as open to the idea of hiring a female attorney as she had a hoped.

When Sarah attends a séance with a colleague and one of her fellow guests ends up dead, the protagonist realizes that she has stumbled across a juicy mystery, one that could make or break her.