Order of Riley Sager Books

Behind the pen name “Riley Sager” lies a writer who’s not just redefining the psychological thriller genre—but quietly subverting it. Born Todd Ritter in Pennsylvania, this elusive mind was once a journalist, an editor, and even a graphic designer before donning the literary cape of Riley Sager. Though his exact birthdate remains guarded like a plot twist, we do know he hails from a world of newspaper deadlines and crime reports, where he learned the art of tension, misdirection, and perfectly timed reveals. A graduate of Penn State University, Sager first cut his teeth writing under his real name, publishing crime novels that received modest success. But it wasn’t until he stepped into the shadowy realm of pseudonymity that the world began to really notice.

Why the name change? Why the secrecy? Well, as any thriller writer would tell you, identity itself can be the most powerful mystery of all.

The ironic twist? Riley Sager didn’t rise to fame with a quiet whisper—he stormed the literary world like a scream in a dark house. His breakout novel Final Girls (2017) was hailed by Stephen King himself as “the first great thriller of 2017.” It set the tone for what would become his signature style: a female protagonist with trauma in her rearview mirror, a secluded location that feels increasingly claustrophobic, and a narrative that plays hopscotch between timelines, memories, and deadly secrets.

But Sager isn’t just a writer of thrillers—he’s a puppeteer of paranoia. Each book is like entering a haunted house that looks charming from the front porch but turns bone-chilling once the door creaks shut behind you. And the best part? Just when you think you've figured out what's going on, he flips the whole narrative upside down. You’ll second-guess everything, including the ground you're standing on.

And in true ironic fashion, though he thrives in fictional chaos, Sager himself is a self-confessed introvert, more comfortable writing about haunted lakes and forgotten mansions than making public appearances. But maybe that’s the charm—he writes not to be seen, but to make you see the things you’d rather not.

With a growing list of bestsellers under his belt—including The Last Time I Lied, Lock Every Door, Home Before Dark, Survive the Night, The House Across the Lake, and The Only One Left—Sager’s universe is one where the past is never really buried, and where truth is as unstable as the narrators who chase it.

No, Riley Sager isn’t dead. But rest assured—his characters often come very close.

So, if you haven’t yet wandered into his world, be warned: his stories don’t just sit quietly on your shelf. They watch you. And once you open that first page… there's no getting out until it’s done.