The Riley Sager books in order are straightforward: all ten thrillers under that name are standalone novels, beginning with Final Girls in 2017 and continuing with the forthcoming The Unknown in 2026. You can start anywhere, but I recommend publication order if you expect to read them all because Sager slips small references to earlier cases and locations into later books.
Riley Sager is a pen name. The author also published the Kat Campbell mysteries as Todd Ritter and one historical supernatural mystery as Alan Finn. I’ve included those books below, along with the novella and alternate-title notes that are easiest to miss.
Jump to:
- Riley Sager Books in Publication Order
- Kat Campbell Books as Todd Ritter
- Book Published as Alan Finn
- Riley Sager Movie and TV Adaptations
- About Riley Sager
Riley Sager Books in Publication Order
Every Riley Sager novel tells a complete story with a new central cast, mystery, and ending. There is no numbered series to follow. Publication order is still the simplest full reading order because the references accumulate, and the tenth book deliberately looks back at the earlier nine.
- Final Girls (2017)
- The Last Time I Lied (2018)
- Lock Every Door (2019)
- Home Before Dark (2020)
- Survive the Night (2021)
- The House Across the Lake (2022)
- The Only One Left (2023)
- Middle of the Night (2024)
- With a Vengeance (2025)
- The Unknown (2026)
Where I Recommend Starting
For the full run, I’d start with Final Girls and continue by year. If you only want one book, I’d choose by premise. Lock Every Door centers on an apartment-sitting job in an exclusive Manhattan building, Home Before Dark uses a disputed haunted-house memoir, The Only One Left is a Gothic mystery in a decaying coastal mansion, and With a Vengeance traps its suspects on a 1954 overnight train.
Where The Unknown Fits
The Unknown is scheduled for August 4, 2026. It introduces a new protagonist, setting, and mystery, so it still works as a first Riley Sager book. Sager has said the novel also includes thematic nods, tonal echoes, and direct references to all nine earlier books. My advice is to begin with Final Girls before The Unknown if catching every callback matters to you.
Why The Last Stop Is Not Book Eleven
The Last Stop appears in 2027 retailer catalogs, but it is the German-language edition of With a Vengeance and uses the same Anna Matheson train story. Do not count it as book eleven. Middle of the Night is also sometimes miswritten as The Middle of the Night, but the English title has no opening “The.”
Kat Campbell Books as Todd Ritter
Before the Riley Sager byline began, Todd Ritter published three novels about Kat Campbell, the police chief of Perry Hollow, Pennsylvania. These are connected mysteries and should be read in the order below.
- Death Notice (2010)
- Vicious Circle (2011) (Novella)
- Bad Moon (2011)
- Devil’s Night (2013)
Vicious Circle is a book 1.5 novella, so I recommend reading it immediately after Death Notice. It is a distinct Kat Campbell story, although it can be difficult to find in current retail listings.
Bad Moon was later issued in a UK ebook edition as Death Falls, and Devil’s Night was reissued as Death Night. These are alternate titles, not new Kat Campbell books. The available ebook linked for Bad Moon uses the title Death Falls.
Book Published as Alan Finn
Things Half in Shadow is the only novel published under the Alan Finn name. Set in 1869 Philadelphia, it pairs a crime reporter with a fraudulent medium during a murder investigation that may involve something supernatural.
- Things Half in Shadow (2014)
It is a standalone, with no connection to Kat Campbell or the Riley Sager thrillers. No sequel has been published, so there is no additional reading order to follow.
Riley Sager Movie and TV Adaptations
As of July 2026, no Riley Sager movie or television adaptation has been released. The projects below were announced or optioned, but none has a confirmed release date.
- Final Girls: Universal Pictures optioned the feature-film rights in 2017.
- The Last Time I Lied: Amazon Studios optioned the novel for a limited series in 2018.
- Lock Every Door: Paramount Television announced a drama-series adaptation in 2019.
- Home Before Dark: Sony Pictures acquired the film rights in 2020, with 21 Laps attached to produce.
- The House Across the Lake: Netflix acquired the novel for a feature adaptation in 2023. Berlanti-Schechter Films and Feigco were announced as producers, and Paul Feig was reported as a possible director.
An option or development deal is not the same as a finished production, so I would treat all five as announced projects rather than upcoming releases.
About Riley Sager
Riley Sager is the pen name of Todd Ritter, a Pennsylvania native who worked as a journalist, editor, and graphic designer before writing full time. He now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
Ritter first published the Kat Campbell mysteries under his own name, then used Alan Finn for Things Half in Shadow. Final Girls introduced the Riley Sager byline in 2017. By 2026, Riley Sager’s novels had been published in 40 countries and sold more than five million copies worldwide.
Looking for more books in order?
For more psychological thrillers, locked-room mysteries, and suspense reading-order guides, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.