JT Baier Books in Order

For the full Matthew Riker story: The Import → Ghost Agent → Long Way Home → Relentless Pursuit
For a solitary-hero crime thriller: The Import
For a small-town mystery with personal stakes: Long Way Home
For an international manhunt: Relentless Pursuit

J.T. Baier writes action thrillers centered on Matthew Riker, a man with a dangerous past and a stubborn instinct to step in when innocent people are in trouble. Baier's books move from criminal conspiracies to personal vendettas, but they keep their focus on one question: what does a person do after trying to leave violence behind?

Baier came to fiction with experience from several very different lines of work. His background includes publishing, film production, and real estate. That mix shows up in stories that favor forward motion, visual action, and characters who must make quick choices when a situation turns bad.

Stories have been a longtime part of his life.

In 2020, Baier introduced Matthew Riker in The Import. Riker lives quietly and keeps his past to himself until he encounters a woman and child fleeing danger. Helping them means using skills he has tried to put away, and the decision sends him into a criminal network with reach far beyond one chance meeting.

That book set the pattern for the series. Riker is capable, guarded, and often more comfortable handling a threat than talking about the damage it leaves behind. He may work alone when he has to, but the books keep returning to loyalty, trust, and the cost of protecting people who matter to him.

Ghost Agent pushes Riker into direct conflict with QS-4, the elite mercenary organization from his past. In Long Way Home, the scale becomes more personal as he returns to Iowa for his former wrestling coach's funeral and finds a small town tangled in violence. Relentless Pursuit brings back Charles Fraction, a figure from Riker's earlier QS-4 years, and sends Riker and his allies on an international hunt.

The danger rarely stays at arm's length.

Baier's thrillers are built around pursuit, pressure, and consequences. There are criminals, terrorists, kidnappers, and corrupt operators, but the stories also give Riker reasons to keep going beyond the job itself. A threatened child, a hometown in trouble, or a loved one at risk can turn a mission into something personal very quickly.

The settings shift from New York's criminal underworld to Kingsport, Iowa, and then outward across the globe. That range lets the series alternate between close-to-home suspense and bigger conspiracies without losing sight of Riker's history. The books are a good fit for readers looking for a tough but principled lead, clear stakes, and action that grows out of character choices.

Away from the keyboard, Baier has shared that he enjoys time in the backcountry with a bow, adventures with his family, reading, and a glass of bourbon. It is a grounded picture for an author whose fiction spends plenty of time in high-risk territory.