Famous for Covet (2004), Assassin (2012), Hit (2006), and several other crime novels featuring the protagonist Makedde Vanderwall, she is also well known for her bestselling memoir The Fictional Woman (2014).
During her teen years, she pursued an international modeling career. She began her literary career in her twenties, publishing her debut novel, Fetish, in 1999.
Also a journalist and television host, she presented the popular television programs Tough Nuts - Australia's Hardest Criminals, Tara Moss in Conversation and Tara Moss Investigates.
Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, to a family of Dutch heritage, she later settled in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Her first two marriages were to Martin Legge and Mark Pennell; with her third husband, Berndt Sellheim, she has a daughter named Sapphira.
She and fellow writer Thomas Brezina both became UNICEF Ambassadors.