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Headlights
Every instinct tells him to run. Every memory tells him he can’t.
Special Agent Daniel Stansfield is ready for a change. Burnt out and defeated by the job, it’s his last day with the FBI. But before he can turn in his badge, he’s summoned back to Denver, the city he ran from four years ago, with a chilling it's happening again.
Seemingly innocent people are waking up on the side of the highway, with no memory of how they got there, wearing the skin of victims they've allegedly never met. And they each share one haunting a strand of a stranger’s hair is tied around their tongue.
Now Daniel is pulled back into the gruesome cycle, and every clue leads him deeper into the shadows of his own past. He will have to confront the ghosts of his traumatic childhood and face what’s been hunting him all along— before he and the people he loves become the next victims.
Perfect for fans of The Shining and Longlegs, bestselling author CJ Leede’s Headlights is a pulse-pounding hunt across the frozen wilderness of Colorado.
Also by CJ
American Rapture
Maeve Fly
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Special Agent Daniel Stansfield is ready for a change. Burnt out and defeated by the job, it’s his last day with the FBI. But before he can turn in his badge, he’s summoned back to Denver, the city he ran from four years ago, with a chilling it's happening again.
Seemingly innocent people are waking up on the side of the highway, with no memory of how they got there, wearing the skin of victims they've allegedly never met. And they each share one haunting a strand of a stranger’s hair is tied around their tongue.
Now Daniel is pulled back into the gruesome cycle, and every clue leads him deeper into the shadows of his own past. He will have to confront the ghosts of his traumatic childhood and face what’s been hunting him all along— before he and the people he loves become the next victims.
Perfect for fans of The Shining and Longlegs, bestselling author CJ Leede’s Headlights is a pulse-pounding hunt across the frozen wilderness of Colorado.
Also by CJ
American Rapture
Maeve Fly
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2026
About the author
C.J. Leede
6 books2,280 followersCJ LEEDE is a horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She is the author of Maeve Fly and American Rapture. Her debut novel Maeve Fly won the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award and Splatterpunk Award, and earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination. When she is not driving around the country, CJ can be found in LA with her boyfriend and rescue dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 746 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Headlights is an exciting blend of Horror and Crime Fiction that is both thrilling and horrifying. Set in Colorado, this story is sure to creep under your skin until its profound, and admittedly, head-scratching conclusion.
On what should be his last day as a Special Agent with the FBI, Danny Stansfield, gets an unexpected call that it's happening again. This news forces Danny to return to Denver, a city he fled 4-years previously.
It's difficult to describe the string of cases that this book features. They're clearly all related, but he's never gotten satisfactory answers as to the who and why. Basically, seemingly innocent people are found wandering wearing the skins of victims they have butchered.
These skin-wearers have no recollection how they ended up where they are, or how they could've done what they've done. It doesn't make sense. The most disturbing detail, besides the skin suit of course, is that each is found with a strand of a stranger's hair tied around their tongues.
These individuals have never even met the people that have been murdered, whose skins have been torn from their bodies. What are the connections, and if he couldn't figure it out before, how can Danny solve these mysteries now?
In this latest case though, there seems to be a twist, a person left who may hold the answers he seeks. Danny is determined to find out.
The deeper he's pulled back into the cycle of death and depravity, the more Danny is forced to face the demons of his past. Aspects of his traumatic childhood are popping up all around him in a truly haunting fashion.
Will Danny be able to piece it all together, before he, or someone he loves, ends up as the killer's next victim?
Every time I pick up a C.J. Leede book, I feel like I'm getting a new peek into her breadth as an author. I think for me, as far as tone and set-up, Headlights has been my favorite.
I actually rated American Rapture slightly higher, with 4.5-stars, but reflecting on it now, I feel that had more to do with the emotions I was having after reading the Author's Note at the end. That gutted me.
Overall though, this one is definitely the closest match to my reading tastes.
The audiobook, narrated by Andrew Eiden, fits the narrative so well. Eiden's narration has a bit of an old Detective Noir feel to it, that I felt paired so well with Danny's perspective. It brought the Crime aspect to the forefront, yet carried through nicely into the Horror as well.
I would recommend the audiobook format, should it be available to you. It helped pull me into the story from the very start, as I was so entranced by Eiden's delivery.
In addition to Eiden's delivery, Danny has such a compelling backstory as well. I loved piecing that all together over the course of the book. You could tell from the start that he is truly haunted by his childhood, and I liked how Leede chose to reveal all that entails to the Reader.
There was certainly plenty to unpack. There was a lot of sensory things that would trigger memories for him, which made me really empathize with him, as I think that's something we can all sort of relate to in one way or another.
It was more than just places he had been, there was also a lot of music, or other media involved, and certain smells, just things that would immediately take him back to when he was a kid. It was all very interesting.
Additionally, there's connections to one of my favorite novels of all time. I was quite surprised when those details started popping up, and I wasn't sure if I was reading too much into it, seeing connections that didn't exist, but before long, it's clear you're supposed to be picking up on those.
I can imagine some Readers getting to those moments, or hearing about them, and feeling this is Copy Cat, but IMO it felt more true to life that that, if that makes sense.
To me, it was that this character had found an inspiration in, or an explanation in, this novel and I feel like that's something a lot of us have experienced before. The cool part about this, was that the novel in question, is a real novel, and it's a popular one, to say the least.
I will say that towards the end, the direction it went, it left me with some questions. Now that's necessarily a bad thing, I don't mind things left open-ended, or anything like that, I just feel like in this case, it actually got a little rushed and maybe slightly confusing.
I do plan to get a hard copy for my collection though, and would love to read it again, so perhaps on reread, I'll be able to piece together more of the bigger picture concepts.
At the end of the day, I had a great time with this. I would recommend it to any Horror Reader, but also to Readers of Dark Crime Fiction, such as The Chestnut Man, The Echo Man, Come With Me, or Bone White.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'll pick up anything written by C.J. Leede.
Keep 'em coming!
On what should be his last day as a Special Agent with the FBI, Danny Stansfield, gets an unexpected call that it's happening again. This news forces Danny to return to Denver, a city he fled 4-years previously.
It's difficult to describe the string of cases that this book features. They're clearly all related, but he's never gotten satisfactory answers as to the who and why. Basically, seemingly innocent people are found wandering wearing the skins of victims they have butchered.
These skin-wearers have no recollection how they ended up where they are, or how they could've done what they've done. It doesn't make sense. The most disturbing detail, besides the skin suit of course, is that each is found with a strand of a stranger's hair tied around their tongues.
These individuals have never even met the people that have been murdered, whose skins have been torn from their bodies. What are the connections, and if he couldn't figure it out before, how can Danny solve these mysteries now?
In this latest case though, there seems to be a twist, a person left who may hold the answers he seeks. Danny is determined to find out.
The deeper he's pulled back into the cycle of death and depravity, the more Danny is forced to face the demons of his past. Aspects of his traumatic childhood are popping up all around him in a truly haunting fashion.
Will Danny be able to piece it all together, before he, or someone he loves, ends up as the killer's next victim?
Every time I pick up a C.J. Leede book, I feel like I'm getting a new peek into her breadth as an author. I think for me, as far as tone and set-up, Headlights has been my favorite.
I actually rated American Rapture slightly higher, with 4.5-stars, but reflecting on it now, I feel that had more to do with the emotions I was having after reading the Author's Note at the end. That gutted me.
Overall though, this one is definitely the closest match to my reading tastes.
The audiobook, narrated by Andrew Eiden, fits the narrative so well. Eiden's narration has a bit of an old Detective Noir feel to it, that I felt paired so well with Danny's perspective. It brought the Crime aspect to the forefront, yet carried through nicely into the Horror as well.
I would recommend the audiobook format, should it be available to you. It helped pull me into the story from the very start, as I was so entranced by Eiden's delivery.
In addition to Eiden's delivery, Danny has such a compelling backstory as well. I loved piecing that all together over the course of the book. You could tell from the start that he is truly haunted by his childhood, and I liked how Leede chose to reveal all that entails to the Reader.
There was certainly plenty to unpack. There was a lot of sensory things that would trigger memories for him, which made me really empathize with him, as I think that's something we can all sort of relate to in one way or another.
It was more than just places he had been, there was also a lot of music, or other media involved, and certain smells, just things that would immediately take him back to when he was a kid. It was all very interesting.
Additionally, there's connections to one of my favorite novels of all time. I was quite surprised when those details started popping up, and I wasn't sure if I was reading too much into it, seeing connections that didn't exist, but before long, it's clear you're supposed to be picking up on those.
I can imagine some Readers getting to those moments, or hearing about them, and feeling this is Copy Cat, but IMO it felt more true to life that that, if that makes sense.
To me, it was that this character had found an inspiration in, or an explanation in, this novel and I feel like that's something a lot of us have experienced before. The cool part about this, was that the novel in question, is a real novel, and it's a popular one, to say the least.
I will say that towards the end, the direction it went, it left me with some questions. Now that's necessarily a bad thing, I don't mind things left open-ended, or anything like that, I just feel like in this case, it actually got a little rushed and maybe slightly confusing.
I do plan to get a hard copy for my collection though, and would love to read it again, so perhaps on reread, I'll be able to piece together more of the bigger picture concepts.
At the end of the day, I had a great time with this. I would recommend it to any Horror Reader, but also to Readers of Dark Crime Fiction, such as The Chestnut Man, The Echo Man, Come With Me, or Bone White.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'll pick up anything written by C.J. Leede.
Keep 'em coming!
June 11, 2026
That bitch has done it again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you CJ and Nightfire for my free early editions of Headlights by CJ Leede — out now!!!
» READ IF YOU «
👀 ever feel something watching you from the shadows
🏔️ know that Colorado is the best state in the country
💔 need a good quick sob (a CJ specialty)
» SYNOPSIS «
Our burnt out FBI baby, Special Agent Daniel Stansfield, is about to pack it in and hand over his badge. BUT! Suddenly the case he could never solve is back with a vengeance: new victims are cropping up in the Denver area, and they’re all people who wake up on the side of the road with no memory of how they got there or why they are wearing someone else’s skin as a pelt. Also there’s a gross tongue thing; I’ll let you discover that yourselves.
» REVIEW «
CJ Leede is all hits no skips—all three of her published books are bangers, and they are all SO DIFFERENT from one another, which only amplifies her prowess as a writer and storyteller. She’s also just…the coolest…but, I digress.
What gets me about CJ’s stories—every single time thus far—is the way she uses horror to fucking devastate us. The grief in this book is not a plot device. It is the core tenet of this narrative, embodied both by Daniel and by the slow, deliberate destruction of the Rocky Mountain wilderness. The horror of urban sprawl is my favorite part of Headlights, because I quite literally live where this story is set, and I see the insidious nature of environmental degradation every single day. CJ saw this too and included it here, and my god is it genuinely terrifying. And heartbreaking, when you get to the end.
The paranormal aspects of this book go deep in the best possible ways—I will forever be keeping my attention open and looking up. Tillman is my favorite character (sorry Daniel, love u too bb) and honestly I am so DISTURBED that The Stanley Hotel bathroom scene was actually HOT—my lord, woman. I expect no less, but still…! My initial review of this was a string of messages to CJ: “Okay bitch. Good morning. What the fuck.”…which still feels like the purest reaction I could give.
CJ Leede is one of the greats. She cannot be contained, and damn girl, keep going. We are all hanging on your every word.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you CJ and Nightfire for my free early editions of Headlights by CJ Leede — out now!!!
» READ IF YOU «
👀 ever feel something watching you from the shadows
🏔️ know that Colorado is the best state in the country
💔 need a good quick sob (a CJ specialty)
» SYNOPSIS «
Our burnt out FBI baby, Special Agent Daniel Stansfield, is about to pack it in and hand over his badge. BUT! Suddenly the case he could never solve is back with a vengeance: new victims are cropping up in the Denver area, and they’re all people who wake up on the side of the road with no memory of how they got there or why they are wearing someone else’s skin as a pelt. Also there’s a gross tongue thing; I’ll let you discover that yourselves.
» REVIEW «
CJ Leede is all hits no skips—all three of her published books are bangers, and they are all SO DIFFERENT from one another, which only amplifies her prowess as a writer and storyteller. She’s also just…the coolest…but, I digress.
What gets me about CJ’s stories—every single time thus far—is the way she uses horror to fucking devastate us. The grief in this book is not a plot device. It is the core tenet of this narrative, embodied both by Daniel and by the slow, deliberate destruction of the Rocky Mountain wilderness. The horror of urban sprawl is my favorite part of Headlights, because I quite literally live where this story is set, and I see the insidious nature of environmental degradation every single day. CJ saw this too and included it here, and my god is it genuinely terrifying. And heartbreaking, when you get to the end.
The paranormal aspects of this book go deep in the best possible ways—I will forever be keeping my attention open and looking up. Tillman is my favorite character (sorry Daniel, love u too bb) and honestly I am so DISTURBED that The Stanley Hotel bathroom scene was actually HOT—my lord, woman. I expect no less, but still…! My initial review of this was a string of messages to CJ: “Okay bitch. Good morning. What the fuck.”…which still feels like the purest reaction I could give.
CJ Leede is one of the greats. She cannot be contained, and damn girl, keep going. We are all hanging on your every word.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
arc-netgelley
March 16, 2026I love a good horror thriller, can't wait to read this!
Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC.
Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC.
June 25, 2026
Daniel Stansfield, a soon-to-be former FBI agent and a new divorcé, is about to start running—running away from his life in Denver, Colorado and all the ghosts that haunt him there. But then there’s the note with the ominous message: it’s happening again. People are dying but others are surviving unspeakable horrors only to live a life worse than death, locked up with no memory of skinning perfect strangers alive and donning their skin suits to walk the same stretches of lonely highway. All of these victim-killer duos are connected by one mystifying clue: a singular hair tied around each of the murderer’s tongues. The killing spree has started again, and Daniel will need to face his past to finally put an end to this horrific chapter and avoid becoming the next Shining target for the monster that’s been hunting him his whole life.
Headlights by C.J. Leede is absolutely feral and unhinged. My visceral reaction after reading this book was WTF did I just read?! As always, Leede has composed a stunningly provocative and psychologically complex narrative that exposes the most devasting parts of the human psyche. This story goes straight for the kill by carving into the tender underbelly of soul-splitting grief and mind-flaying trauma, but then it takes flight in pursuit of truth and freedom from those mental torments. It’s horrific and brutal and vicious...and I couldn’t look away. Here, we have a Shining example of how to properly thrill and kill the masses, but at its heart, this is a tender love story that’s got razor sharp teeth. I highly recommend this book to horror afficionados comfortable with graphic gore and taboo subjects. I’m truly in awe of this book. C.J Leede might just be our generation’s Stephen King—all hail the Queen of Horror. 😏
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC and the opportunity to share what I think! All opinions are my own.
Headlights by C.J. Leede is absolutely feral and unhinged. My visceral reaction after reading this book was WTF did I just read?! As always, Leede has composed a stunningly provocative and psychologically complex narrative that exposes the most devasting parts of the human psyche. This story goes straight for the kill by carving into the tender underbelly of soul-splitting grief and mind-flaying trauma, but then it takes flight in pursuit of truth and freedom from those mental torments. It’s horrific and brutal and vicious...and I couldn’t look away. Here, we have a Shining example of how to properly thrill and kill the masses, but at its heart, this is a tender love story that’s got razor sharp teeth. I highly recommend this book to horror afficionados comfortable with graphic gore and taboo subjects. I’m truly in awe of this book. C.J Leede might just be our generation’s Stephen King—all hail the Queen of Horror. 😏
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC and the opportunity to share what I think! All opinions are my own.
June 23, 2026
I’m not sure words can fully capture what reading this felt like. Between the shocked facial expressions, audible gasps, and multiple moments of just staring at the wall afterward, this book absolutely delivered. Dark, intense, and deeply unsettling, this is the kind of horror thriller that stays with you long after you finish. Highly recommend for readers who love the genre.
December 22, 2025
Oh, man. This is a beautiful book.
A slow-burn detective novel with paranormal elements, very much a crossover between Stephen King's "The Shining" and True Detective.
In a small town in Colorado, there have been a string of brutal murders. The alleged perpetrators appear with a strand of hair tied around their tongues, wearing the skin of their victims...and absolutely no memory of what happened.
While the core of the story is dedicated to figuring out who (or what) is behind these crimes, it's also a love letter to Colorado, wild places, and a portrait of forgiving yourself for what you believe is unforgivable. It's different than what I expected for CJL, but holds everything I've come to love from her books.
Thank you to the publisher for an early review copy.
A slow-burn detective novel with paranormal elements, very much a crossover between Stephen King's "The Shining" and True Detective.
In a small town in Colorado, there have been a string of brutal murders. The alleged perpetrators appear with a strand of hair tied around their tongues, wearing the skin of their victims...and absolutely no memory of what happened.
While the core of the story is dedicated to figuring out who (or what) is behind these crimes, it's also a love letter to Colorado, wild places, and a portrait of forgiving yourself for what you believe is unforgivable. It's different than what I expected for CJL, but holds everything I've come to love from her books.
Thank you to the publisher for an early review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
-couldn't get into it til 60%
-why was there more sex than a romance book
-The Shining references were cool
-the twist got me
-it felt like it was trying to do too much at once with the ghosts, romance, detective work, murders, cults, sci-fi elements, etc.
-what is "VOOM"
Maeve Fly is one of my faves of all time and I just desperately need another banger from her 😩 this is also one of my favorite book covers so I'm sad it wasn't 4 or 5 stars
-why was there more sex than a romance book
-The Shining references were cool
-the twist got me
-it felt like it was trying to do too much at once with the ghosts, romance, detective work, murders, cults, sci-fi elements, etc.
-what is "VOOM"
Maeve Fly is one of my faves of all time and I just desperately need another banger from her 😩 this is also one of my favorite book covers so I'm sad it wasn't 4 or 5 stars
June 15, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook. I also purchased the hardcover through the Aardvark book club membership this month.
I am feeling kind of torn on how I feel about this. I don't know what I was expecting but this wasn't it - not in a bad way, but it is so different from the only other book I've read from this author, Maeve Fly, so I was surprised (lol) I do feel like this might be one I'm still thinking about in a few months though so I'm giving it a cautious 4 stars. I do think I liked this one better and I gave that one 3 stars. This is really between 3.5 and 4 for me but I love the vibes a lot so I'll lean towards 4 stars.
Anyway, all The Shining references took me out a bit. I preferred the first half of the book to second half, though I guess I liked the ending? See. I just don't know. The first half felt a lot like Alan Wake to me, with all the shadows and forests, though it was just a little too into our protagonist's head at times and I much preferred the atmospheric stuff. The second half is when the paranormal stuff really kicks in and it gets a bit more action-oriented, and again I preferred all the atmospheric stuff. The environment, the setting, was top notch delivered, like I could feel the cold Colorado air. Very well done. But I just didn't like any of the characters, except maybe Tillman, I guess. And the plot was... interesting.
But it was well written. There's that.
Recommended if you're absolutely desperate for anything like Alan Wake.
I am feeling kind of torn on how I feel about this. I don't know what I was expecting but this wasn't it - not in a bad way, but it is so different from the only other book I've read from this author, Maeve Fly, so I was surprised (lol) I do feel like this might be one I'm still thinking about in a few months though so I'm giving it a cautious 4 stars. I do think I liked this one better and I gave that one 3 stars. This is really between 3.5 and 4 for me but I love the vibes a lot so I'll lean towards 4 stars.
Anyway, all The Shining references took me out a bit. I preferred the first half of the book to second half, though I guess I liked the ending? See. I just don't know. The first half felt a lot like Alan Wake to me, with all the shadows and forests, though it was just a little too into our protagonist's head at times and I much preferred the atmospheric stuff. The second half is when the paranormal stuff really kicks in and it gets a bit more action-oriented, and again I preferred all the atmospheric stuff. The environment, the setting, was top notch delivered, like I could feel the cold Colorado air. Very well done. But I just didn't like any of the characters, except maybe Tillman, I guess. And the plot was... interesting.
But it was well written. There's that.
Recommended if you're absolutely desperate for anything like Alan Wake.
May 31, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley/Tor for the eARC.
This makes me so sad but this was such a let down.
I LOVED American Rapture but DNFd Maeve Fly. I hoped this would be a return to the writing of American Rapture but sadly not.
This starts out as a procedural type story with a serial killer; I was interested. I think the opening chapter really starts with a bang and I was excited. However, as it continues, the writing became very choppy. I understand she was writing to convey the MC’s flashbacks and trauma, but it made for a hard read. As the story continues, my interest would ebb and flow. So many things were introduced and some I liked and some I didn’t. The pacing was really off here.
None of the characters truly felt fleshed out. I really didn’t care about the MC, I was just interested in an explanation. Then we finally get to the explanation and my god, what a long, winding, twisted road to get there. The author started adding in way too much and the story jumped from police procedural to sci-fi/supernatural/cosmic horror??? There was so much going on and none of it really explained well. This was such a let down.
This makes me so sad but this was such a let down.
I LOVED American Rapture but DNFd Maeve Fly. I hoped this would be a return to the writing of American Rapture but sadly not.
This starts out as a procedural type story with a serial killer; I was interested. I think the opening chapter really starts with a bang and I was excited. However, as it continues, the writing became very choppy. I understand she was writing to convey the MC’s flashbacks and trauma, but it made for a hard read. As the story continues, my interest would ebb and flow. So many things were introduced and some I liked and some I didn’t. The pacing was really off here.
None of the characters truly felt fleshed out. I really didn’t care about the MC, I was just interested in an explanation. Then we finally get to the explanation and my god, what a long, winding, twisted road to get there. The author started adding in way too much and the story jumped from police procedural to sci-fi/supernatural/cosmic horror??? There was so much going on and none of it really explained well. This was such a let down.
January 28, 2026
I loved both Maeve Fly and American Rapture, so obviously I went into Headlights thinking this would be an easy 4-5 star read. Boy, was I wrong.
Headlights is a slow burn detective mystery with supernatural, paranormal, and horror elements featuring a main character chock full of trauma and PTSD. Daniel, the MMC as mentioned, has been haunted by shadows since he was young. He watched nearly everyone in his life die or leave and is left with scars and memories that take over his life. He has been trying to solve the mysterious and brutal serial murders in Denver, CO with no true leads, and it’s taking over his psyche. As the story progresses, this serial killer that he’s been hunting turns out to be much more than he thought possible.
Folks, I hated this book. The characters were flat, sorely unlikable, and completely unbelievable. The dialogue between Daniel and Hannah was so unbearable to read. Literally no one talks for multiple pages about a metaphor that ghosts are kind of like being locked out of your house lol. The writing felt pretentious and unfinished, like there were 17 different ideas that all never met their full fruition. This book was truly a slog to get through, and I’m just kind of sad about it overall. The beginning had so much promise, and I wish the book would have stayed on track of a serial killer mystery rather than adding all of the poorly executed supernatural storylines that I couldn’t hardly keep track of. Was it shadows, or ghosts, or entities, or a human serial killer? Who even knows at this point.
Really, really bummed about this one after being such a massive fan of Leede’s previous work. Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read this book.
Headlights is a slow burn detective mystery with supernatural, paranormal, and horror elements featuring a main character chock full of trauma and PTSD. Daniel, the MMC as mentioned, has been haunted by shadows since he was young. He watched nearly everyone in his life die or leave and is left with scars and memories that take over his life. He has been trying to solve the mysterious and brutal serial murders in Denver, CO with no true leads, and it’s taking over his psyche. As the story progresses, this serial killer that he’s been hunting turns out to be much more than he thought possible.
Folks, I hated this book. The characters were flat, sorely unlikable, and completely unbelievable. The dialogue between Daniel and Hannah was so unbearable to read. Literally no one talks for multiple pages about a metaphor that ghosts are kind of like being locked out of your house lol. The writing felt pretentious and unfinished, like there were 17 different ideas that all never met their full fruition. This book was truly a slog to get through, and I’m just kind of sad about it overall. The beginning had so much promise, and I wish the book would have stayed on track of a serial killer mystery rather than adding all of the poorly executed supernatural storylines that I couldn’t hardly keep track of. Was it shadows, or ghosts, or entities, or a human serial killer? Who even knows at this point.
Really, really bummed about this one after being such a massive fan of Leede’s previous work. Thank you NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read this book.
June 22, 2026
devoured this. absolutely ate it UPPPP. exactly what i wanted to be. mystery and suspense and the right amount of supernatural involvement with a lot of stephen king references that i can get behind. i was so excited to read this and it did not disappoint at any point. bittersweet ending :’p
June 9, 2026
DNF @ 58% because I actually cannot do this. This is an ARC and I will be sending this to the publisher because they need to hear this. This book needs to be edited. Severely. I cannot handle repetitive, circular thinking of a character who is somehow an FBI agent and simultaneously a complete fucking idiot. He's one of those white horror characters whose skepticism and denial dangerously swerves into stupidity more often than not and this makes it a rather insufferable read, coupled with the repeated mentions of Daniel's supposed "specialness" when he's running around this book acting like Some Guy or, at worst, a Reddit mod whose only available emotion is anger and/or intense self-loathing. If this is what it's like to be a straight man, i'm glad i'm neither of those things. personally, I wouldn't trust Daniel to find his own misplaced car keys let alone solve a complicated, supernatural murder when he's hip deep in denial and Leede's half-assed attempts at talking about the effects of trauma on a person.
I also cannot handle info dumping information about a character and then REPEATING that information, EXACTLY, 3 pages later. Please pay your editors people. Fanfiction writing is taking publishing by storm and it is having heinous effects on the rest of us.
I also cannot handle info dumping information about a character and then REPEATING that information, EXACTLY, 3 pages later. Please pay your editors people. Fanfiction writing is taking publishing by storm and it is having heinous effects on the rest of us.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This novel is brimming with trauma, grief, and fear and it's one of the most terrifying serial killer books you'll read. Because it's not technically A serial killer but several (sort of) although there's only one thing causing the brutally horrific murders. I know that might sound confusing but, trust me, it'll make sense within the narrative. Saying any more would be wrong as this is a book best read as blind as possible.
Daniel is an FBI agent and he's pretty much a mess. PTSD, ex vet, and deep dark trauma from when he was a kid have really done a number on his mental health.
When he's called back into an investigation which went cold a year earlier, he's going to find himself targeted by... something as bloody murders begin once more. And things will only get worse as the twisty narrative keeps you on your toes and terrified.
When Daniel meets Hannah, all bets are off because, together, they're a part of something extremely dark, ancient, and gruesome.
This will likely be in many top ten horror book lists for the year and rightfully so. Between Maeve Fly, American Rapture, and now Headlights, this author is a must read. I highly recommend it.
I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.
Daniel is an FBI agent and he's pretty much a mess. PTSD, ex vet, and deep dark trauma from when he was a kid have really done a number on his mental health.
When he's called back into an investigation which went cold a year earlier, he's going to find himself targeted by... something as bloody murders begin once more. And things will only get worse as the twisty narrative keeps you on your toes and terrified.
When Daniel meets Hannah, all bets are off because, together, they're a part of something extremely dark, ancient, and gruesome.
This will likely be in many top ten horror book lists for the year and rightfully so. Between Maeve Fly, American Rapture, and now Headlights, this author is a must read. I highly recommend it.
I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.
May 18, 2026
ARC Review:
2.5 rounded up. IDK this just really wasn’t my bag. Maybe because I haven’t read The Shining (although I’ve been exposed to it plenty through pop culture osmosis) or seen True Detective, I just didn’t “get” it — but an homage should still stand on its own, shouldn’t it?
I found myself just skipping over large potions of prose, because Danny’s internal monologue was just so repetitive and boring. The fragmented stream of consciousness didn’t work for me on a literary style level, and felt more suited to a screen adaptation. (In fact, at times, I felt like everything I was reading was just laying the groundwork for a screen adaptation?) I was also beyond bewildered by the “romance” aspect. I felt like I was in an SJM book when the fated mates and private telepathic communication tropes popped up.
I genuinely hate to be a hater on this one because I loved American Rapture so much, and I still really want to read Maeve Fly. I also really wanted this to dive deeper into its critiques of settler colonialism and the romanticization of traumatized soldiers, but that was just not this book I suppose ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
2.5 rounded up. IDK this just really wasn’t my bag. Maybe because I haven’t read The Shining (although I’ve been exposed to it plenty through pop culture osmosis) or seen True Detective, I just didn’t “get” it — but an homage should still stand on its own, shouldn’t it?
I found myself just skipping over large potions of prose, because Danny’s internal monologue was just so repetitive and boring. The fragmented stream of consciousness didn’t work for me on a literary style level, and felt more suited to a screen adaptation. (In fact, at times, I felt like everything I was reading was just laying the groundwork for a screen adaptation?) I was also beyond bewildered by the “romance” aspect. I felt like I was in an SJM book when the fated mates and private telepathic communication tropes popped up.
I genuinely hate to be a hater on this one because I loved American Rapture so much, and I still really want to read Maeve Fly. I also really wanted this to dive deeper into its critiques of settler colonialism and the romanticization of traumatized soldiers, but that was just not this book I suppose ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
May 20, 2026
Headlights really sunk beneath my skin long before its darkest revelations arrived. It took me much longer to read than most books simply because I wanted to stay immersed in this world and didn't want the book to end, while also desperately needing to have the answers. What begins as a rather grim procedural transforms into something intimate and far more unsettling. This is a story about trauma and the desperate instinct to protect what we love despite being broken ourselves. Daniel Stansfield is an immediately compelling protagonist. His soul deep exhaustion feels tangible. Leede does not frame him as a fearless investigator, but as a man haunted before the horror ever truly begins. The case pulling him back to Denver is grotesque and immensely eerie. People awakening in stolen skin, strands of hair around their tongues. Yet, the emotional dread carries equal weight to the visceral terror. What is perhaps Leede's greatest strength is how atmospheric Headlights feels. The frozen highways, empty stretches of wilderness, and a recurring sense of isolation create a constant tension that never fully releases you. She also balances cosmic unease with deeply human emotion, allowing the story's brutality to coexist with genuine vulnerability. There is a rawness to the novel that makes the horror hit harder. Beneath the violence and mystery is a painful meditation on grief, survival, and the lasting and indelible scars childhood can sometimes leave behind. Leede continues to prove she understands that the most frightening monsters are often the ones we least expect. I feel this is her best yet. And, oh boy, that ending? Hurts so good. I implore any horror fan to give this a read. Described, in part, as a novel for fans of The Shining, I whole heartedly agree. Initially, I felt that those are hefty shoes to fill, but Leede executes an homage to the novel with razor sharpness. I hope Stephen King gets to read this someday because OH MY GOD. Headlights publishes June 09, 2026. Thank you Tor Nightfire for sending me a review copy. Be on the lookout for my full review on The Fandomentals very soon!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
After a traumatic childhood, a few military tours, and a rough career with the FBI, its finally time for Special Agent Daniel Stansfield to hang up his badge and gun. On his last day with the FBI he gets a visit from a friend with bad news; news that sends him back to the place where it all started, the place he never really escaped—Denver—his life thrown in to a spiral once more.
Headlights is a delightful mix of thriller and horror, interweaving police procedural and crime investigation with a haunting dread and paranormal sprinkles. And as much as it is a heart-pounding horror novel, it is also a love letter to Colorado—from the dive bars and Colorado flags, to the crisp winters and deeply dark nights, to John Denver. Leede goes beyond just creating a setting and characterizes the state which only adds to the feeling of fear and apprehension, to the creeping sense of doom.
Headlights is, without doubt, Leede’s best work; it’s smart, thrilling, unique, and layered. There has been a natural, linear progression through her bibliography and her latest takes the cake. The writing is hypnotic and entrancing, and filled to the very brim with vivid imagery, leaving readers in a trance—just like it did for me—as they tear through and devour the pages.
Thank you Tor Nightfire for the early copy. Pub date Jun 9, 2026 ❤️🔥
Headlights is a delightful mix of thriller and horror, interweaving police procedural and crime investigation with a haunting dread and paranormal sprinkles. And as much as it is a heart-pounding horror novel, it is also a love letter to Colorado—from the dive bars and Colorado flags, to the crisp winters and deeply dark nights, to John Denver. Leede goes beyond just creating a setting and characterizes the state which only adds to the feeling of fear and apprehension, to the creeping sense of doom.
Headlights is, without doubt, Leede’s best work; it’s smart, thrilling, unique, and layered. There has been a natural, linear progression through her bibliography and her latest takes the cake. The writing is hypnotic and entrancing, and filled to the very brim with vivid imagery, leaving readers in a trance—just like it did for me—as they tear through and devour the pages.
Thank you Tor Nightfire for the early copy. Pub date Jun 9, 2026 ❤️🔥
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book had me in a chokehold, from the very start, and had me begging to know more.
CJ has a way of painting the story in your mind. It sucks you in, and makes you never want to leave. I read 75% of this book in one sitting.
It gives off True Detective vibes with a supernatural twist and I loved it. And not just because it had me on the edge of my seat with the gruesome nature of the killings, or the ominous ghosts lurking around the MC or the INSANELY EROTIC hotel scene, but because of the respect and reverent nature you can feel from the writing when it comes to the themes of the book. This isn't just some horror flick or quick thrill. It will make you think about life, about your relationships, about the community and little piece of earth we call home. Gaah I loved this book and I'm sad it's over.
CJ has a way of painting the story in your mind. It sucks you in, and makes you never want to leave. I read 75% of this book in one sitting.
It gives off True Detective vibes with a supernatural twist and I loved it. And not just because it had me on the edge of my seat with the gruesome nature of the killings, or the ominous ghosts lurking around the MC or the INSANELY EROTIC hotel scene, but because of the respect and reverent nature you can feel from the writing when it comes to the themes of the book. This isn't just some horror flick or quick thrill. It will make you think about life, about your relationships, about the community and little piece of earth we call home. Gaah I loved this book and I'm sad it's over.
June 14, 2026
CJ Leedes’ previous novels Maeve Flly and American Rapture were five star reads for me so I was eager for the release of Headlights. I read this book in two sittings, leaving my eyes a bit sore for a day.
The story takes place in the Colorado mountains near the Denver and Aspen area. Leede perfectly captures the atmosphere and beauty of this region. It made me want to hop in my car and head to the Colorado Rocky Mountains to spend some time away from city life. There are lots of references to John Denver and his music, who wrote many songs about Colorado and lived in Aspen.
It follows special FBI agent and war veteran Daniel Stansfield, as he is pulled back to Colorado where gruesome murders have resumed after he had left years ago leaving the cases unsolved. He is a broken man, haunted by atrocities of his past. It was excellent to read a book by Leede told from the perspective of a male protagonist. It shows her fantastic writing versatility.
The book has many references and obviously draws inspiration from Stephen Kings, The Shining. Daniel in this book has similar abilities as Danny in The Shining, that allow them to see and speak to ghosts. They have the “shine”.
The story starts as a crime/detective thriller but then slowly develops into a supernatural, cosmic, ghost horror tale involving a horrifying creature from another dimension and a bizarre cult leader. There is a significant amount of gore and even some cannibalism. It’s less graphic and gory than Maeve Fly and more of an emotional story about the broken lives of the two main characters.
Ultimately I saw it as a story of pain, loss, fear, acceptance, death and what it means to carry on. Can a person move on from the most traumatic event of their life? It also has an environmental message about the ills of land overdevelopment and its impact on nature.
Another five star book from my perspective. Definitely going to be one of my favorite books of the year. I can’t wait for her next novel!
The story takes place in the Colorado mountains near the Denver and Aspen area. Leede perfectly captures the atmosphere and beauty of this region. It made me want to hop in my car and head to the Colorado Rocky Mountains to spend some time away from city life. There are lots of references to John Denver and his music, who wrote many songs about Colorado and lived in Aspen.
It follows special FBI agent and war veteran Daniel Stansfield, as he is pulled back to Colorado where gruesome murders have resumed after he had left years ago leaving the cases unsolved. He is a broken man, haunted by atrocities of his past. It was excellent to read a book by Leede told from the perspective of a male protagonist. It shows her fantastic writing versatility.
The book has many references and obviously draws inspiration from Stephen Kings, The Shining. Daniel in this book has similar abilities as Danny in The Shining, that allow them to see and speak to ghosts. They have the “shine”.
The story starts as a crime/detective thriller but then slowly develops into a supernatural, cosmic, ghost horror tale involving a horrifying creature from another dimension and a bizarre cult leader. There is a significant amount of gore and even some cannibalism. It’s less graphic and gory than Maeve Fly and more of an emotional story about the broken lives of the two main characters.
Ultimately I saw it as a story of pain, loss, fear, acceptance, death and what it means to carry on. Can a person move on from the most traumatic event of their life? It also has an environmental message about the ills of land overdevelopment and its impact on nature.
Another five star book from my perspective. Definitely going to be one of my favorite books of the year. I can’t wait for her next novel!
June 19, 2026
The Shining meets The Silence of the Lambs (with nods to The X-Files and Longlegs): that's the best way, I think, to describe most of this messy, feverish, and atmospheric, supernatural serial killer horror book.
In fact, however, this description applies only to the first two thirds of the novel: by that point, all connections to the aforementioned works have done their part, and it's time for the author to contribute her own ideas to what's been happening, and address all outstanding questions, right up to the finale. And, indeed, she does exactly that, exhaustively so, to be honest. But things get definitely weirder and weirder as the story suddenly starts drawing on scientific ideas, from bizarre takes on animal territorial practices to conceptual difficulties of interspecies communication - and even science fictional concepts such as otherdimensional entities and cosmic portals. And I haven't even mentioned dinosaur ghosts! (Oh, and at that point, there's also sex, and some romance. That took me by surprise, but apparently there was good reason for it. And both the sex and the romance were unusual and intemse! Probably the most imaginative scenes in the book.)
This heady mix perfectly captures how complicated the multi-layered narrative becomes the closer you get to the finish line, how staggeringly complex the web of relationships reveals itself to be once the reader is allowed to grasp the big picture lurking in the background. And if you think that "complex" and "complicated" are codewords for "slow", you'd be right: the pacing is undoubtedly slow (the book is by no means a thriller or a police procedural), though I wouldn't call this a slow burn, since there's always - and I do mean always! - something happening. It's rather like slowly completing a puzzle, where every piece reveals something new.
Major parts of the plot have to do with "The Shining", literally: the book, its author, even the Stanley Hotel, the real-life inspiration for the novel. Their significance proves to be mostly incidentally, so don't expect any momentous ties to King's story: for example, the protagonist's name is Danny, though his real name is Calvin - why the change of name? Well, his mom loved "The Shining" so she started calling him by a different name. Arguably, the notion of "the shine" does occupy a central place in both books, but, again, I think the use of a common word for paranormal powers is ultimately optional and incidental.
Yet the thing is, however you cut it, in skillfully handling all the many different threads, the book is brilliant. The last third could be refined a bit, sure, the pacing might be enhanced by cutting out about a fifth of the book, it's a little repetitive, OK - but in the end, the plot, the characters, the mystery and the horror are very well done! Plus, the writing style, though neither cinematic nor overly introspective, brings out capably the traumas and the huge emotional tensions of the characters without losing sight of the high stakes of the story. So all things considered, I'd say this is a 5-star book for sure!
In fact, however, this description applies only to the first two thirds of the novel: by that point, all connections to the aforementioned works have done their part, and it's time for the author to contribute her own ideas to what's been happening, and address all outstanding questions, right up to the finale. And, indeed, she does exactly that, exhaustively so, to be honest. But things get definitely weirder and weirder as the story suddenly starts drawing on scientific ideas, from bizarre takes on animal territorial practices to conceptual difficulties of interspecies communication - and even science fictional concepts such as otherdimensional entities and cosmic portals. And I haven't even mentioned dinosaur ghosts! (Oh, and at that point, there's also sex, and some romance. That took me by surprise, but apparently there was good reason for it. And both the sex and the romance were unusual and intemse! Probably the most imaginative scenes in the book.)
This heady mix perfectly captures how complicated the multi-layered narrative becomes the closer you get to the finish line, how staggeringly complex the web of relationships reveals itself to be once the reader is allowed to grasp the big picture lurking in the background. And if you think that "complex" and "complicated" are codewords for "slow", you'd be right: the pacing is undoubtedly slow (the book is by no means a thriller or a police procedural), though I wouldn't call this a slow burn, since there's always - and I do mean always! - something happening. It's rather like slowly completing a puzzle, where every piece reveals something new.
Major parts of the plot have to do with "The Shining", literally: the book, its author, even the Stanley Hotel, the real-life inspiration for the novel. Their significance proves to be mostly incidentally, so don't expect any momentous ties to King's story: for example, the protagonist's name is Danny, though his real name is Calvin - why the change of name? Well, his mom loved "The Shining" so she started calling him by a different name. Arguably, the notion of "the shine" does occupy a central place in both books, but, again, I think the use of a common word for paranormal powers is ultimately optional and incidental.
Yet the thing is, however you cut it, in skillfully handling all the many different threads, the book is brilliant. The last third could be refined a bit, sure, the pacing might be enhanced by cutting out about a fifth of the book, it's a little repetitive, OK - but in the end, the plot, the characters, the mystery and the horror are very well done! Plus, the writing style, though neither cinematic nor overly introspective, brings out capably the traumas and the huge emotional tensions of the characters without losing sight of the high stakes of the story. So all things considered, I'd say this is a 5-star book for sure!
June 10, 2026
My first CJ Leede was a certified banger!
Headlights completely wrecked me.
On the eve of his retirement, FBI Agent Daniel Stansfield is pulled back in as an unsolved case from his past rears its head, leading him down paths he would rather forget, as some are a little too close to home for comfort.
Headlights is a book that drips grief from every page but somehow manages to stay tense and engaging even as you scratch at your throat for relief. Suffocation never felt so good and I am a sucker for stories that center grief especially in innovative ways.
Daniel's interior life is rendered with such brutal honesty that there were moments where it was genuinely painful to sit with him. His thoughts feel intrusive, messy, self-destructive, and painfully human. CJ Leede doesn't shy away from the uglier aspects of grief or the way it can consume a person from the inside out. There were scenes where I felt uncomfortable being inside Daniel's head, but that discomfort is exactly what made the character feel so real. Even at his worst, I found myself understanding him. Maybe not agreeing with him, but understanding him. That kind of emotional authenticity is difficult to pull off, and Leede does it beautifully.
This is also an incredibly effective procedural. The closest comparison I can make is True Detective Season 1 mixed with some of the most unsettling episodes of Criminal Minds. The investigation unfolds with a constant sense of dread that only grows stronger as the pieces begin to fall into place. Every new lead feels like it's dragging Daniel deeper into something he was never meant to revisit. Several scenes genuinely got under my skin, not because they relied on cheap shocks, but because the tension was so carefully constructed.
I love how seamlessly the horror and emotional elements worked together. The grief isn't simply part of Daniel's character arc, it actually informs every decision he makes and thus colors every step of the investigation. The deeper he digs into the case, the more apparent it becomes that some wounds never really heal.
I also need to talk about the spice because as someone who generally doesn’t care for spice in books and often finds it distracting, I was shocked by how much it worked for me here. It felt tied to the characters and their emotional states in a way that made sense within the story adding more depth (and horror) to the character dynamics. Yes even that scene worked for me…incredibly well and what that says about me is none of my business.
I only caught two references to The Shining, but they were memorable enough that I immediately noticed them. I have a feeling readers who are more familiar with King's work will pick up on even more connections and references throughout the novel. Even without that deeper context, I never felt lost, but I suspect those references add another layer of richness to an already impressive novel.
CJ Leede has written a book that is heartbreaking, frightening, and deeply compassionate all at once. It is a procedural packed with tension, a horror novel filled with genuine dread, and a character study of a man drowning in grief. By the end, I felt emotionally exhausted in the best possible way. This is easily one of my favorite books of the year.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, Andrew Eiden did a phenomenal job with his narration. The way he was able to make his voice quiver during emotional moments as well as portray frustration or fear with well placed sighs really added to the emotional pull of the story. I will be on the lookout for more books narrated by him. As always, the production was crisp and clear with no mouth sounds.
Headlights completely wrecked me.
On the eve of his retirement, FBI Agent Daniel Stansfield is pulled back in as an unsolved case from his past rears its head, leading him down paths he would rather forget, as some are a little too close to home for comfort.
Headlights is a book that drips grief from every page but somehow manages to stay tense and engaging even as you scratch at your throat for relief. Suffocation never felt so good and I am a sucker for stories that center grief especially in innovative ways.
Daniel's interior life is rendered with such brutal honesty that there were moments where it was genuinely painful to sit with him. His thoughts feel intrusive, messy, self-destructive, and painfully human. CJ Leede doesn't shy away from the uglier aspects of grief or the way it can consume a person from the inside out. There were scenes where I felt uncomfortable being inside Daniel's head, but that discomfort is exactly what made the character feel so real. Even at his worst, I found myself understanding him. Maybe not agreeing with him, but understanding him. That kind of emotional authenticity is difficult to pull off, and Leede does it beautifully.
This is also an incredibly effective procedural. The closest comparison I can make is True Detective Season 1 mixed with some of the most unsettling episodes of Criminal Minds. The investigation unfolds with a constant sense of dread that only grows stronger as the pieces begin to fall into place. Every new lead feels like it's dragging Daniel deeper into something he was never meant to revisit. Several scenes genuinely got under my skin, not because they relied on cheap shocks, but because the tension was so carefully constructed.
I love how seamlessly the horror and emotional elements worked together. The grief isn't simply part of Daniel's character arc, it actually informs every decision he makes and thus colors every step of the investigation. The deeper he digs into the case, the more apparent it becomes that some wounds never really heal.
I also need to talk about the spice because as someone who generally doesn’t care for spice in books and often finds it distracting, I was shocked by how much it worked for me here. It felt tied to the characters and their emotional states in a way that made sense within the story adding more depth (and horror) to the character dynamics. Yes even that scene worked for me…incredibly well and what that says about me is none of my business.
I only caught two references to The Shining, but they were memorable enough that I immediately noticed them. I have a feeling readers who are more familiar with King's work will pick up on even more connections and references throughout the novel. Even without that deeper context, I never felt lost, but I suspect those references add another layer of richness to an already impressive novel.
CJ Leede has written a book that is heartbreaking, frightening, and deeply compassionate all at once. It is a procedural packed with tension, a horror novel filled with genuine dread, and a character study of a man drowning in grief. By the end, I felt emotionally exhausted in the best possible way. This is easily one of my favorite books of the year.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, Andrew Eiden did a phenomenal job with his narration. The way he was able to make his voice quiver during emotional moments as well as portray frustration or fear with well placed sighs really added to the emotional pull of the story. I will be on the lookout for more books narrated by him. As always, the production was crisp and clear with no mouth sounds.
May 5, 2026
ʜᴇᴀᴅʟɪɢʜᴛꜱ ʙʏ ᴄᴊ ʟᴇᴇᴅᴇ
First off, HUGE thank you to @netgalley and @tornightfire for the ARC! I still cannot believe I got it 🥹
This book was bat shit crazy and vile as all hell. I’m talking skinning and skin wearing, severed tongues taped into someone else’s mouth, kind of vile. The whole time my mind was going 10000 miles per hour and I had no damn idea what was going on or what would happen next. The depravity written on these pages was absolutely visceral. And then reading about poor little Danny and his upbringing tore my mommy heart in two 😭 There are so many damn elements in this book; from glitches in the matrix, supernatural freakiness, all the way to cannibalism craziness. This is a book that you just cannot go wrong with!
Headlights will be released on June 9th, so be sure to preorder your copy today!!
First off, HUGE thank you to @netgalley and @tornightfire for the ARC! I still cannot believe I got it 🥹
This book was bat shit crazy and vile as all hell. I’m talking skinning and skin wearing, severed tongues taped into someone else’s mouth, kind of vile. The whole time my mind was going 10000 miles per hour and I had no damn idea what was going on or what would happen next. The depravity written on these pages was absolutely visceral. And then reading about poor little Danny and his upbringing tore my mommy heart in two 😭 There are so many damn elements in this book; from glitches in the matrix, supernatural freakiness, all the way to cannibalism craziness. This is a book that you just cannot go wrong with!
Headlights will be released on June 9th, so be sure to preorder your copy today!!
January 30, 2026
This book is very different than CJ's last two books and really showcases how versatile a writer CJ Leede is. This book took me on what I felt like was a spiritual journey. I read it slowly, savored it, no hurry to get to the end, just transfixed and transported along the way. I think this book is really something special. I feel like it changed me in some core way, but I am unsure if I will be able to explain exactly how. I loved the main character, Daniel, in such a profound way. He is messy and damaged and I just felt akin to him somehow. Like different stories and scenarios, but I still felt like I understood him on a fundamental level. Like we could be friends without judgment. Daniel is a veteran and FBI agent. There is a most peculiar serial killer case in Denver, Colorado that he was lead on and gets drawn back into it when the killings start again after years of seemingly being over. It's a detective, serial killer story, with the underlying mystery of who or what is committing the murders, but it's so much more at the same time. It's definitely a love letter to Colorado, no doubt. It also pays homage to The Shining by Stephen King (love that book). But it will make you think about life, our relationships, human behavior, our planet, the animals, what happens after death, what is our place in this world, how we relate to other species. It's about respect for nature, about memories, about music and senses, about trauma and grief and loss, about how we protect those we love, about pain and fear. Gosh, it's just so freaking good! I just finished it this morning, but I know I will be reading it again. I'm still processing it. This was one of my top three most anticipated books of the year, and it blew me out of the water. Thank you CJ for writing this masterpiece.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Tor Nightfire for the ARC. Book releases 6/9/26.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Tor Nightfire for the ARC. Book releases 6/9/26.
March 25, 2026
I have a new favorite CJ Leede book.
I loved Maeve Fly and American Rapture, but I think Headlights is my new favorite!
I won’t rehash the synopsis of Headlights here, but if you haven’t read what it is, go do so!
Headlights is part The Silence of the Lambs and part supernatural horror, with The Shining being an explicit influence on this novel in ways that are SO awesome. Seriously, if you’re a fan of The Shining, that is alone reason to read this book.
The crime elements are so disturbing and so well done. The mystery will make you keep wanting to turn the page. The main character, Daniel, is a great character with a traumatic past that seeps its way further and further into the case. I really loved his relationship with another character but will not say so as to avoid spoilers (if you’ve read the book you know who I’m talking about).
The supernatural elements are just the icing on the cake. I LOVED the Witch Walker lore, as I love folk horror, but it also gets, dare I say, a little cosmic in a way? 👀 I won’t say too much!
I also need to mention how strong the setting is, with Colorado being the locale for Headlights, and the setting felt like a character in a really great way.
This is a novel about pain, loss, acceptance, and death, and what it means to carry on after.
Check out Headlights when it releases on June 9th. You might get nightmares, but you won’t be sorry.
Headlights will likely be one of my favorite horror books of the year.
Thanks to Tor Nightfire for the eARC for review on NetGalley!
I loved Maeve Fly and American Rapture, but I think Headlights is my new favorite!
I won’t rehash the synopsis of Headlights here, but if you haven’t read what it is, go do so!
Headlights is part The Silence of the Lambs and part supernatural horror, with The Shining being an explicit influence on this novel in ways that are SO awesome. Seriously, if you’re a fan of The Shining, that is alone reason to read this book.
The crime elements are so disturbing and so well done. The mystery will make you keep wanting to turn the page. The main character, Daniel, is a great character with a traumatic past that seeps its way further and further into the case. I really loved his relationship with another character but will not say so as to avoid spoilers (if you’ve read the book you know who I’m talking about).
The supernatural elements are just the icing on the cake. I LOVED the Witch Walker lore, as I love folk horror, but it also gets, dare I say, a little cosmic in a way? 👀 I won’t say too much!
I also need to mention how strong the setting is, with Colorado being the locale for Headlights, and the setting felt like a character in a really great way.
This is a novel about pain, loss, acceptance, and death, and what it means to carry on after.
Check out Headlights when it releases on June 9th. You might get nightmares, but you won’t be sorry.
Headlights will likely be one of my favorite horror books of the year.
Thanks to Tor Nightfire for the eARC for review on NetGalley!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Shining meets The Silence of the Lambs (with nods to The X-Files and Longlegs): that's the best way, I think, to describe most of this messy, feverish, and atmospheric, supernatural serial killer horror book.
In fact, however, this description applies only to the first two thirds of the novel: by that point, all connections to the aforementioned works have done their part, and it's time for the author to contribute her own ideas to what's been happening, and address all outstanding questions, right up to the finale. And, indeed, she does exactly that, exhaustively so, to be honest. But things get definitely weirder and weirder as the story suddenly starts drawing on scientific ideas, from bizarre takes on animal territorial practices to conceptual difficulties of interspecies communication - and even science fictional concepts such as otherdimensional entities and cosmic portals. And I haven't even mentioned dinosaur ghosts! (Oh, and at that point, there's also sex, and some romance. That took me by surprise, but apparently there was good reason for it. And both the sex and the romance were unusual and intemse! Probably the most imaginative scenes in the book.)
This heady mix perfectly captures how complicated the multi-layered narrative becomes the closer you get to the finish line, how staggeringly complex the web of relationships reveals itself to be once the reader is allowed to grasp the big picture lurking in the background. And if you think that "complex" and "complicated" are codewords for "slow", you'd be right: the pacing is undoubtedly slow (the book is by no means a thriller or a police procedural), though I wouldn't call this a slow burn, since there's always - and I do mean always! - something happening. It's rather like slowly completing a puzzle, where every piece reveals something new.
Major parts of the plot have to do with "The Shining", literally: the book, its author, even the Stanley Hotel, the real-life inspiration for the novel. Their significance proves to be mostly incidentally, so don't expect any momentous ties to King's story: for example, the protagonist's name is Danny, though his real name is Calvin - why the change of name? Well, his mom loved "The Shining" so she started calling him by a different name. Arguably, the notion of "the shine" does occupy a central place in both books, but, again, I think the use of a common word for paranormal powers is ultimately optional and incidental.
Yet the thing is, however you cut it, in skillfully handling all the many different threads, the book is brilliant. The last third could be refined a bit, sure, the pacing might be enhanced by cutting out about a fifth of the book, it's a little repetitive, OK - but in the end, the plot, the characters, the mystery and the horror are very well done! Plus, the writing style, though neither cinematic nor overly introspective, brings out capably the traumas and the huge emotional tensions of the characters without losing sight of the high stakes of the story. So all things considered, I'd say this is a 5-star book for sure!
In fact, however, this description applies only to the first two thirds of the novel: by that point, all connections to the aforementioned works have done their part, and it's time for the author to contribute her own ideas to what's been happening, and address all outstanding questions, right up to the finale. And, indeed, she does exactly that, exhaustively so, to be honest. But things get definitely weirder and weirder as the story suddenly starts drawing on scientific ideas, from bizarre takes on animal territorial practices to conceptual difficulties of interspecies communication - and even science fictional concepts such as otherdimensional entities and cosmic portals. And I haven't even mentioned dinosaur ghosts! (Oh, and at that point, there's also sex, and some romance. That took me by surprise, but apparently there was good reason for it. And both the sex and the romance were unusual and intemse! Probably the most imaginative scenes in the book.)
This heady mix perfectly captures how complicated the multi-layered narrative becomes the closer you get to the finish line, how staggeringly complex the web of relationships reveals itself to be once the reader is allowed to grasp the big picture lurking in the background. And if you think that "complex" and "complicated" are codewords for "slow", you'd be right: the pacing is undoubtedly slow (the book is by no means a thriller or a police procedural), though I wouldn't call this a slow burn, since there's always - and I do mean always! - something happening. It's rather like slowly completing a puzzle, where every piece reveals something new.
Major parts of the plot have to do with "The Shining", literally: the book, its author, even the Stanley Hotel, the real-life inspiration for the novel. Their significance proves to be mostly incidentally, so don't expect any momentous ties to King's story: for example, the protagonist's name is Danny, though his real name is Calvin - why the change of name? Well, his mom loved "The Shining" so she started calling him by a different name. Arguably, the notion of "the shine" does occupy a central place in both books, but, again, I think the use of a common word for paranormal powers is ultimately optional and incidental.
Yet the thing is, however you cut it, in skillfully handling all the many different threads, the book is brilliant. The last third could be refined a bit, sure, the pacing might be enhanced by cutting out about a fifth of the book, it's a little repetitive, OK - but in the end, the plot, the characters, the mystery and the horror are very well done! Plus, the writing style, though neither cinematic nor overly introspective, brings out capably the traumas and the huge emotional tensions of the characters without losing sight of the high stakes of the story. So all things considered, I'd say this is a 5-star book for sure!
June 2, 2026
*2.5
I went into Headlights with an enormous amount of skepticism because I hated Maeve Fly and didn't find the premise of American Rapture remotely interesting enough to pick up. Still, Headlights sounded different from Leede's previous work, so I decided to give it a shot.
I started it on audiobook—the narration by Andrew Eiden is fantastic and fits the story so well—but found myself struggling to distinguish between the narrative and the protagonist's internal thoughts. Once I got access to an eARC and could read immersively (my preferred method generally), the story clicked much better. The formatting cues of normal text versus italics made a huge difference for me.
I was completely invested in the first half; it was investigative, disturbing, and so cinematic. The atmosphere and tone reminded me a lot of The Nightmare Man by J. H. Markert, one of my personal favorites—a haunted protagonist investigating a series of deeply unsettling crimes. Leede's writing is excellent here as well; it was disorienting when it needs to be, but complemented by both the methodically outlined mystery and the deeply reflective exploration of Colorado's history and landscape.
Unfortunately, everything that worked for me fell apart once Part 3 began. The pacing stalled out completely, and my interest evaporated almost immediately. The developing romance between the two leads was unnecessary, distracting, and added nothing to the story I thought I was reading. Instead of continuing to build on the fascinating serial murder investigation, the narrative shifted its attention to a romantic plot that I couldn't care less about.
Part 4 only made things worse. The pacing remained stagnant, there was a spicy bathroom scene that no one asked for, and I kept asking myself why we weren't talking about the murders anymore. The story was increasingly invested in a bizarre fated lovers romance that felt like it came straight out of a dark romantasy novel (no hate if that's your thing, but it is absolutely not mine), when all I wanted was to get back to the genuinely compelling serial killer mystery that initially hooked me.
By the time Part 5 rolled around, I was back to only listening to the audiobook on autopilot just to finish the book. I vaguely remember what sounded like a mustache-twirling villain monologue, but if you asked me to explain exactly what happened in the climax, I couldn't tell you because I didn't care at that point. Maybe I should have DNF'd it, but I was already 80% of the way through and stubbornly committed.
Usually, when I love half a book and hate the other half, I land at a 3 or even a 3.5 star rating, but Headlights frustrated me so much because of how well-crafted the first half was. It was a genuinely creepy crime horror/thriller novel before transforming into something messy, derivative, and far less interesting to me. The contrast between the two halves made the disappointment sting even more.
Despite the brief glimmer of hope that Headlights might offer a different kind of story from Leede, it's safe to say that she's not an author for me.
I think readers who enjoyed Leede's other novels, Maeve Fly specifically, and When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy will have a great time with this read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC + ALC in exchange for an honest review.
I went into Headlights with an enormous amount of skepticism because I hated Maeve Fly and didn't find the premise of American Rapture remotely interesting enough to pick up. Still, Headlights sounded different from Leede's previous work, so I decided to give it a shot.
I started it on audiobook—the narration by Andrew Eiden is fantastic and fits the story so well—but found myself struggling to distinguish between the narrative and the protagonist's internal thoughts. Once I got access to an eARC and could read immersively (my preferred method generally), the story clicked much better. The formatting cues of normal text versus italics made a huge difference for me.
I was completely invested in the first half; it was investigative, disturbing, and so cinematic. The atmosphere and tone reminded me a lot of The Nightmare Man by J. H. Markert, one of my personal favorites—a haunted protagonist investigating a series of deeply unsettling crimes. Leede's writing is excellent here as well; it was disorienting when it needs to be, but complemented by both the methodically outlined mystery and the deeply reflective exploration of Colorado's history and landscape.
Unfortunately, everything that worked for me fell apart once Part 3 began. The pacing stalled out completely, and my interest evaporated almost immediately. The developing romance between the two leads was unnecessary, distracting, and added nothing to the story I thought I was reading. Instead of continuing to build on the fascinating serial murder investigation, the narrative shifted its attention to a romantic plot that I couldn't care less about.
Part 4 only made things worse. The pacing remained stagnant, there was a spicy bathroom scene that no one asked for, and I kept asking myself why we weren't talking about the murders anymore. The story was increasingly invested in a bizarre fated lovers romance that felt like it came straight out of a dark romantasy novel (no hate if that's your thing, but it is absolutely not mine), when all I wanted was to get back to the genuinely compelling serial killer mystery that initially hooked me.
By the time Part 5 rolled around, I was back to only listening to the audiobook on autopilot just to finish the book. I vaguely remember what sounded like a mustache-twirling villain monologue, but if you asked me to explain exactly what happened in the climax, I couldn't tell you because I didn't care at that point. Maybe I should have DNF'd it, but I was already 80% of the way through and stubbornly committed.
Usually, when I love half a book and hate the other half, I land at a 3 or even a 3.5 star rating, but Headlights frustrated me so much because of how well-crafted the first half was. It was a genuinely creepy crime horror/thriller novel before transforming into something messy, derivative, and far less interesting to me. The contrast between the two halves made the disappointment sting even more.
Despite the brief glimmer of hope that Headlights might offer a different kind of story from Leede, it's safe to say that she's not an author for me.
I think readers who enjoyed Leede's other novels, Maeve Fly specifically, and When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy will have a great time with this read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC + ALC in exchange for an honest review.
June 6, 2026
Thank you @tornightfire & @macmillan.audio for the gifted ARC &ALC ♡
For my horror lovers who enjoy crossover to romance, climate fiction, science fiction, cultists, and murder mystery, buckle up! CJ Leede is back!
There was so much wrapped into this book it’s hard to describe.
“𝚆𝚎’𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎.”
At its surface, this is a serial killer cold case, a lead FBI agent dealing with amnesia, PTSD, who isn’t sure he wants to go on after death of his parents and collapse of his marriage.
Then he lands back on the case and his new partner has moved in on his ex wife, because of course he has. And Tillman ended up being my favorite character 😎
I love how CJ weaves in wolves, wilderness, ecosystems, the sense of the unknown and the unknowable.
You cannot tame what is wild.
“𝚆𝚎’𝚟𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑, 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜.”
Look, @ceejthemoment is one of my favorite horror authors, so just read it (mind the trigger warnings below)!
“𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔.” 💔
TW: Must be ok with pushing your queamish limits to the max, this does have skins of people, a fair amount of murder, gore, blood, and some kinky sex and cannibalistic hunger.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZQkcdemCPP/
▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||။|• 🎧 Andrew Eiden voices main character Danny, who is in his head, hears voices, and has a lot of ptsd type flashbacks. I decided to go the text route after the first two chapters, just a personal preference given the stream of consciousness!
For my horror lovers who enjoy crossover to romance, climate fiction, science fiction, cultists, and murder mystery, buckle up! CJ Leede is back!
There was so much wrapped into this book it’s hard to describe.
“𝚆𝚎’𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎.”
At its surface, this is a serial killer cold case, a lead FBI agent dealing with amnesia, PTSD, who isn’t sure he wants to go on after death of his parents and collapse of his marriage.
Then he lands back on the case and his new partner has moved in on his ex wife, because of course he has. And Tillman ended up being my favorite character 😎
I love how CJ weaves in wolves, wilderness, ecosystems, the sense of the unknown and the unknowable.
You cannot tame what is wild.
“𝚆𝚎’𝚟𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑, 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜.”
Look, @ceejthemoment is one of my favorite horror authors, so just read it (mind the trigger warnings below)!
“𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔.” 💔
TW: Must be ok with pushing your queamish limits to the max, this does have skins of people, a fair amount of murder, gore, blood, and some kinky sex and cannibalistic hunger.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZQkcdemCPP/
▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||။|• 🎧 Andrew Eiden voices main character Danny, who is in his head, hears voices, and has a lot of ptsd type flashbacks. I decided to go the text route after the first two chapters, just a personal preference given the stream of consciousness!
June 17, 2026
This was an odd story for me. The writing was choppy and frenetic and this was on purpose, to indicate Daniel’s memories from the past and flashes of supernatural, however it made it very hard to listen to and it slowed the momentum of the plot. I listened at 1.75-2.0x and I still wanted to fast forward through. I had a hard time staying focused on the plot, because it kept stalling out with these flashes, and even then the only reason I didn’t DNF is because I wanted to find out what exactly was going on. It sort of started out as a crime procedural and turned into a muddled sci-fi/horror tale. I honestly don’t know what to make of the solution other than it was mostly unsatisfying.
I thought Andrew Eiden did a good job conveying what the author wanted, but the all over the place, flashing of past and supernatural bits, writing made my head hurt.
I do enjoy horror, but this wasn’t my cup of tea. I think die hard horror fans might find more to appreciate here, and I’ve noticed a lot of other positive reactions, so maybe check out other reviews before making your decision to pick this up or not.
I voluntarily listened to a copy courtesy of the publisher. These are my thoughts and opinions.
I thought Andrew Eiden did a good job conveying what the author wanted, but the all over the place, flashing of past and supernatural bits, writing made my head hurt.
I do enjoy horror, but this wasn’t my cup of tea. I think die hard horror fans might find more to appreciate here, and I’ve noticed a lot of other positive reactions, so maybe check out other reviews before making your decision to pick this up or not.
I voluntarily listened to a copy courtesy of the publisher. These are my thoughts and opinions.
June 16, 2026
Leede gives us a whole new type of story in “Headlights”- part FBI/crime story, and supernatural/cosmic/monstrous horror. Full of tragedy, trauma, and complex grief.
I loved the narrator for the audiobook. Great choice! I did find the story stagnating a bit, but it could be because I’m not a huge fan of police procedural type stories. The story gets crazier and crazier, and that made me enjoy it even more. I had no idea about what was actually going to happen and what would be revealed.
Thank you to the author, narrator, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for a copy!
I loved the narrator for the audiobook. Great choice! I did find the story stagnating a bit, but it could be because I’m not a huge fan of police procedural type stories. The story gets crazier and crazier, and that made me enjoy it even more. I had no idea about what was actually going to happen and what would be revealed.
Thank you to the author, narrator, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for a copy!
June 17, 2026
i had the highest hopes and it started so strong! the second half hit and it devolved into a meandering cosmic horror, and i think if you like that kind of thing that you'll probably enjoy this, but it ain't for me gal 😭 i feel like the writing style was meant to reflect the main character's ptsd but i just could not vibe with it, and the insta-love/trauma bond of it all just kind of kept me from fully engaging and going with the flow - could have used a really severe edit. end of day, i didn't hate the time i spent with it, so i would give it a three if not for that mess of an ending. the case itself was so interesting and i was hoping for a better answer than what was given.
bummed because american rapture was so spectacular, but ultimately will still read anything leede puts out!
bummed because american rapture was so spectacular, but ultimately will still read anything leede puts out!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
With Maeve Fly being one of my absolute favorite books of 2025, I was foaming at the mouth wanting to get my hands on this book and made not-so-ladylike noises when I saw I got approved for the arc.
The first half of this book had me invested like a suburban mom in a pyramid scheme.
The characters were solid; I found myself getting more and more attached to Daniel with each chapter. The murder mystery and supernatural elements were interwoven so well and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. The references to a certain book and author of whom I’m a die hard fan was the cherry on top, I was downright giddy about it. It very much had the feel of True Detective (season 1), with some elements of the X-Files and I was HERE FOR IT.
Then it hit around 65-70%. It felt to me like it turned into a completely different type of story and lost it’s momentum, spending too much time dragging out certain scenes that definitely could have been half the length or shorter to move the plot along. It got discombobulated around the climax and I felt like there was so much going on, so maybe due to this, the end didn’t pack a punch for me. I thought her portrayal of grief and trauma through Daniel and Hannah was well done, but the entirety of the plot felt convoluted and couldn’t pick what kind of story it wanted to tell.
I thought it started with a lot of promise but ended up doing too much in so many ways and none of it ended up making sense in the end. This one unfortunately wasn’t for me.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing an eARC to review early!
The first half of this book had me invested like a suburban mom in a pyramid scheme.
The characters were solid; I found myself getting more and more attached to Daniel with each chapter. The murder mystery and supernatural elements were interwoven so well and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. The references to a certain book and author of whom I’m a die hard fan was the cherry on top, I was downright giddy about it. It very much had the feel of True Detective (season 1), with some elements of the X-Files and I was HERE FOR IT.
Then it hit around 65-70%. It felt to me like it turned into a completely different type of story and lost it’s momentum, spending too much time dragging out certain scenes that definitely could have been half the length or shorter to move the plot along. It got discombobulated around the climax and I felt like there was so much going on, so maybe due to this, the end didn’t pack a punch for me. I thought her portrayal of grief and trauma through Daniel and Hannah was well done, but the entirety of the plot felt convoluted and couldn’t pick what kind of story it wanted to tell.
I thought it started with a lot of promise but ended up doing too much in so many ways and none of it ended up making sense in the end. This one unfortunately wasn’t for me.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing an eARC to review early!
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