Darkness is the universal human experience. With every day, there is night. For life, there is death. These seem like simple truths, but in the eyes of grief, hurt like this feels entirely different, senseless. With Headlights, CJ Leede pens a novel deeply rooted in the humanity of hurt, a story with DNA composed of trauma, loss, and pain but also a glimmering glow of hope.
Special Agent Daniel Stansfield has experienced more hurt than most. A deeply traumatic childhood, time spent at war overseas, and an unsolved case are just a few of the things haunting this man, someone who is looking for a break. But, that unsolved case rears its ugly head when killings start again, and Stansfield is called back to Denver to confront all that remains. This is an extremely broad overview of the plot, but this is a novel best read with as little information as possible and a wide open mind.
Headlights is a gripping story for a lot of reasons: bizarre serial crimes, unique characters, and chilling horror to drive this narrative into what may (or may not!) be supernatural/paranormal territory. Perhaps what resonates so clearly beyond all of these technical achievements is the profound messaging behind this, the rawness in which Leede decides to tell Stansfield’s story. Punches are never pulled and the full spectrum of disorientation caused by deep hurt is on full display. Trauma is a ghost lurking around every corner, a reminder of the things we would rather leave in the dark, unattended and isolated.
Yet, Leede shows us, quite gruesomely, may I add, where that kind of isolation leaves us. It’s never an easy thing, looking in a mirror to confront the reasons we feel so raw, why one of the seeming pillars of our existence thrives on pain. Both externally and internally to her characters, Leede pens a reckoning of damn-near cosmic proportions, leading readers into the mouth of chaos with logical crime descending into the realm of the otherworldly. Physical shape is given to the haunting nature of the unresolved, a hulking, terrifying concept. This stylistic choice in the dogged search for truth, for answers, is nothing short of brilliant. But this is not where Leede leaves us.
In one of the most comforting examinations of death and the possibility of what follows, CJ Leede poses an answer of comfort to the greatest mystery of all: what happens next. Death may feel like an endless night, but headlights of hope can still be found in the familiar. It’s hard to not get emotional reflecting back on this type of writing, the type of art that renders so much comfort in a time where such a notion is a rarity. But Leede provides, and the world is such a better place for it.
Woven with a brilliant blend of darkness and shining light, Headlights by CJ Leede exemplifies the best of what the horror genre can accomplish through a superb fusion of crime and otherworldly terror. This is a deeply moving novel, one that manages to stir the soul through profound reckonings of every nature. Haunting, arresting, and most importantly, inspiring, may we all welcome the headlights we find in the long night.
Headlights by CJ Leede hits bookstores everywhere on June 9, 2026 from Tor Nightfire. The audiobook, narrated by Andrew Eiden, is available for preorder via Libro.fm!
