An instant USA Today bestseller!

"A sharp, dark supernatural horror that gripped me from start to finish."—V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author



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 message: 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 detail: 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.

Headlights is both a heartfelt examination on grief and a love letter to Stephen King's The Shining in this pulse-pounding hunt across the frozen wilderness of Colorado by bestselling author CJ Leede.



Also by CJ Leede:

American Rapture

Maeve Fly

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.



Praise for this book

An instant USA Today bestseller!

"A sharp, dark supernatural horror that gripped me from start to finish."

—V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

"CJ Leede’s Headlights is instantly seminal. A dazzling juggling of horror without camp; wit without loss of dread; pace without hurry; and most of all, the worldview and empathy of the author. You’re gonna have a hard time finding a more thrilling or moving book this year."

—Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Incidents Around the House

"Fascinating villains and a rich mythos... Blending frights, folklore, and an exploration of the lifelong effects of trauma, this will be good fun for horror fans."

—Publishers Weekly

"When I tell you that CJ Leede is a next Stephen King, I mean that while I was reading Headlights, I found myself spiritually transported to when I first read The Shining 25 years ago and the sheer joy of reading—of being thrilled and chilled and shocked and hungry for more. There are nods to King’s third novel here...but Leede strikes out for her own territories while paying homage to the stories that have come before....The novel moves in mysterious ways, often shocking, sometimes even downright startling."

—Drew Broussard, Literary Hub




About the AuthorCJ LEEDE is a bestselling horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She is the author of Maeve Fly, American Rapture, and Headlights. Her debut novel Maeve Fly won the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award and Splatterpunk Award, and earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination. She lives on the road all around America with her boyfriend and rescue dogs.
Title: Headlights
Author(s): CJ Leede
ISBN: 9781250857965
Copyright 2026
Release Date: June 09, 2026
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Countries: United States, Canada | Learn more about available countries
Language: English
Format: ePub | Learn More about our supported formats
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