You Did Nothing Wrong

CG Drews recently released their adult debut novel, You Did Nothing Wrong. This psychological horror follows Elodie, the 22-year-old mother to her six-year-old son, Jude. She spent years with her neglectful parents in Australia, but upon meeting Bren, she packed up her life to live with him in the United States. Bren has a large home that he’s been fixing up for his new wife, step-son, and baby on the way. But as Elodie and Jude try to acclimate to their new surroundings, they sense that the house is haunted. Or maybe it’s Elodie herself doing the haunting?

What I Liked:

• Elodie’s unhealthy obsession with her son. Six-year-old Jude is her whole world, the only person she feels loved by and devoted to. We get hints as to why that is throughout the book, eventually learning the whole extent of her family life by the end. Elodie takes normal motherly feelings (like looking back fondly on when your child was a newborn) and twists them into something ugly. Does she actually love Jude for who he is, or is he only useful to her in a certain way? Is she keeping him small and infantile on purpose?
• Toxic relationship with Bren. Elodie recently married Bren, who promptly whisked her away from her Australian home to his Victorian fixer-upper in the United States. He seems like this affable, loving man who’s ready to be a good step-parent to Jude, but cracks begin to show. His relationship with Elodie is volatile, and he’s keeping secrets. What is he hiding? And for that matter, what is she hiding from him in turn?
• Psychological doubts vs. supernatural horror. Is this house haunted? Is there someone or something living within its walls? Or is Elodie going insane, unable to discern reality from fiction? Elodie is messed up, and this book keeps the reader guessing until the end.

Audiobook:

Saskia Maarleveld does well with narrating You Did Nothing Wrong. Elodie and Jude’s dialogue is given an Australian accent, helping to set them apart from the other characters who are mainly American. The narration captures the knife’s edge quality of the writing, keeping the audiobook engrossing and suspenseful.

Final Thoughts

You Did Nothing Wrong is a deeply unsettling novel that questions motherhood, motherly love, and the toxic patterns we fall into to make a better future. As a mother myself, I found parts of the book relatable… and then made abhorrent and disturbing. If you’re a parent, this can either be a darkly fascinating read or a little too uncomfortable. What a thought-provoking adult debut from CG Drews!

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy You Did Nothing Wrong here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews
Audiobook Narrator	Saskia Maarleveld
Audience	Adult
Genre	Psychological Thriller; Horror
Setting	Australia;
Number of Pages	304
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	March 17, 2026
Publisher	St. Martin’s Press

Official Summary

Dark domestic suspense meets haunted house horror in this unnerving adult debut guaranteed to keep you awake for days afterward, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let the Forest In and Hazelthorn

The walls are closing in on her perfect new life.

Single mother Elodie’s life has become a fairy tale. She’s met Bren, equal parts Golden-retriever-devoted and sinfully handsome. He’s whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he’s renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Until Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are “hurting” the house. Even Elodie can’t ignore it―something strange is going on.

The question is, Is it with the house, or with her son?

And what is Elodie hiding?

“A masterpiece.” – Ava Reid

“Brilliantly tense, paranoid, masterfully wrought.” – Dawn Kurtagich

“Prepare to have your heartstrings clawed.” – T. Marie Vandelly