Gregg Olsen Non-Fiction books in order

Gregg Olsen's non-fiction includes 20 true crime books covering cases from Abandoned Prayers (1990) to By the River's Edge (2026), including the bestselling If You Tell (2019).

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Abandoned Prayers 1990 Gregg Olsen Buy
2 Bitter Almonds 1993 Gregg Olsen Buy
3 Cruel Deception / Mockingbird 1995 Gregg Olsen Buy
4 Starvation Heights 1997 Gregg Olsen Buy
5 The Confessions of an American Black Widow / Bitch on Wheels 1998 Gregg Olsen Buy
6 If Loving You Is Wrong 1999 Gregg Olsen Buy
7 The Deep Dark 2005 Gregg Olsen Buy
8 A Twisted Faith 2010 Gregg Olsen Buy
9 Bloody Sequins 2014 Gregg Olsen Buy
10 If I Can’t Have You: Obsession, Murder and a Mother’s Strange Disappearance 2014 Gregg Olsen Buy
11 Unnatural Causes 2014 Gregg Olsen Buy
12 The Amish Schoolhouse Murders 2014 Gregg Olsen Buy
13 The Unforgettable Fire 2014 Gregg Olsen Buy
14 A Killing in Amish Country 2016 Gregg Olsen Buy
15 If You Tell 2019 Gregg Olsen Buy
16 American Mother 2022 Gregg Olsen Buy
17 American Black Widow 2023 Gregg Olsen Buy
18 The Amish Wife 2024 Gregg Olsen Buy
19 Out of the Woods 2025 Gregg Olsen Buy
20 By the River’s Edge 2026 Gregg Olsen Buy

Gregg Olsen has published 20 non-fiction true crime books between 1990 and 2026. His early work includes Abandoned Prayers (1990) about the murder of an Amish boy and Starvation Heights (1997) about a doctor who starved her patients. The Confessions of an American Black Widow (1998) and If Loving You Is Wrong (1999) continued his focus on disturbing real cases.

If You Tell (2019) became his biggest non-fiction success, telling the story of the Knotek family’s nightmare in Washington state. His more recent titles include American Mother (2022), The Amish Wife (2024), and the upcoming Out of the Woods (2025) and By the River’s Edge (2026). Throughout his career, Olsen has focused on cases that reveal how ordinary-seeming communities can harbor extreme violence.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Gregg Olsen Non-Fiction series?

There are twenty books in the Gregg Olsen Non-Fiction series, published between 1990 and 2026.

What is the first book in the Gregg Olsen Non-Fiction series?

The first book in the Gregg Olsen Non-Fiction series is Abandoned Prayers, published in 1990.

What is If You Tell by Gregg Olsen about?

If You Tell (2019) tells the story of Shelly Knotek, a mother in Washington state who tortured and killed, and the daughters who survived and eventually reported her. The book became one of the bestselling true crime books of recent years.

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