A good little read, though I would have loved something longer, deeper and more expansive on the same subject. However, Lynch does a wonderful job in packing a great deal of action and context into such a small format. A Family Matter was clearly meticulously researched: it shows in the writing, which is clear and compelling in how inevitable Dawn and Maggie's separation would be.

For me, the characters are realistic but not always vivid. Perhaps because Maggie's reactions are broadly quite restrained, which is understandable in light of her age and responsibilities, her father's illness etc, the story sometimes lacks urgency for me. The perspective switch from the alternating family sections (Heron, Maggie, Dawn) to the few brief sections where it's from the solicitor's perspective also took me out of the story a bit, as it felt inconsistent with the structure of the book otherwise, but they're only brief little shifts.

This would be a wonderful read for fans of Kit De Waal or John Boyne's The Heart's Invisible Furies, particularly for readers who enjoy contained, concise fiction that can be read in a session or two.

Looking at a family history from various points of view gives interesting perspectives on a single action. Just one mis-step and everything unravels. Eventually 40 years later many difficulties get resolved.

4.5 ⭐️

I feel like this is a book that will stay with me for a while, it’s beautifully written and so so heartfelt.

The two timelines are woven together beautifully from 1982 and 2022.

Honestly just go out and read it, this book made me feeling everything,

An interesting story about a mother who was forced to give up her child, just because she was in a relationship with another woman. The father who was spineless and went along with what he was told to do, despite thinking that it was wrong. And the child who as an adult, learns the truth about why her mother left her.
I found the court case was shocking! How men could get away with treating a woman like this is beyond comprehension.
I’m so very pleased that times, attitudes and actions have changed for the better.
I’m marking this book down as I didn’t feel any emotion when reading it, however, it opened up my eyes and for that I am thankful.

A Family Matter is a character driven read and I loved it.
This is a debut book for this author and I loved it. There are 2 timelines that you bounce around. The first being 1982 and Dawn is twenty three years old, married to Heron with a daughter but Hazel comes into her life and turns it upside down. They need to be together but Heron and the year that it is has other thoughts on her having access to her daughter. Dawn gives up her daughter and moves away leaving Maggie to be brought up by her father. 2022 and Heron has some bad news but he’ll keep it to himself for a while as Maggie is busy with a job, husband and two children to look after but sorting through paperwork and handing it to Maggie to sort for herself leads to information Maggie never knew about.
Wow I loved this book, it drew me in from the beginning and didn’t let go. The last few pages will stay with me for a while as I process everything. The characters were all very real which made it easy to read. The book wasn’t too long either which was a nice change to not have something dragging out for the sake of it. A good ending leaving you with your own thoughts. A really good debut.

This book is written in two timescales - 1982 and 2022. In 1982 Dawn lives with her husband Heron and daughter Maggie and then she meets and falls in love with Hazel. She hopes that Heron will forgive her for falling in love with a woman but he doesn’t and he fights her in court for sole custody of Maggie with the help of his mother. Thanks to the lawyers, he wins. I am a similar age to Dawn, Hazel and Heron and have lived through the 80s as a young woman. It is hard to remember how different those days were and how far we have come since then although I do remember as a librarian, how clause 28 affected book selection.
Heron is dying in 2022. He knows that he will need to tell Maggie not only that he has cancer but that her mother didn’t just run away and leave her. The world Maggie grew up in is a very different world. Hard for her to understand the past. I ended up having sympathy for all these well depicted characters .
I did wonder how accurate the novel is but the author’s research is at the back of the book and proves that the novel accurately portrays how gay women with children were treated.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book which was set in the early 80s and tells the story of Dawn who has followed the life path expected of her and married very early. She’s living with her husband in a small town when she unexpectedly meets and falls deeply in love with Hazel, who has moved into the village herself . As she gets to know Hazel more and falls in love, it becomes clear to her that her marriage is a sham and she needs to follow her heart and move in with Hazel. All very shocking at that time in her rural backwater. To add to the complications, Dawn has a little baby Maggie and her decision to leave her marriage ultimately causes her to move away from Maggie.
We meet the family again in modern times when Maggie is living with her father who is now elderly and has a serious life limiting illness they’ve had a very close relationship over the years but I’ve never really discussed the main reason that her mother left her all those years ago
The author has a beautiful flowing lyrical writing style. Her book is a joy to read. She has the ability to describe the quiet differences between people and the struggles that they have perfectly and her character definition and progression is a strength in her writing.
I am finding it hard now to read novel set in the early 80s when the understanding is that this is a historical time period it’s making me feel very old nevertheless the early 80s were very different to the 2020s and this is what comes over well in this writing.
I read an early copy of the novel on netGalley UK in return for a in an unbiased review. The book is published in the UK on the 29th of May 2025 by random house UK/vintage.

This review will appear on NetGalley UK, StoryGraph, Goodreads, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com. After publication will also appear on Amazon UK/Waterstones.

I found this short book quite moving and very thought provoking. Heron is an interesting character and his daughter, Maggie, comes through stronger as the story progresses. It's a sad little story but not an unusual occurence, as the book describes. I remember such cases amongst friends and colleagues during the early 1980s. Well written and well paced, an excellent debut. I wish it could have gone on a bit longer but the main reason for the story was certainly dealt with by the nice ending. With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e-ARC to read and review.

Absolutely beautiful book. I read this very fast as I was desperate to know how it ended. Lovely characters and hugely sympathetic portrayal of an impossible situation. Highly recommend

A thought-provoking tale.
Claire Lynch gives us a very well written story that deals with a situation that existed in the 1980s and earlier, but that thankfully has now been resolved.
Forty years on from then, Heron has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He sets to putting his affairs in order. He enlists the help of he daughter Maggie, for whom he has been a sole parent since 1982. She makes a discovery that relates to her mother, finding more about her and why she left. Readers learn more about this from the other timeline and from Maggie discoveries. This causes a rift with her father.
I found what is described here very disturbing, and in the acknowledgements at the end Claire Lynch tells us that this was by no.means a solitary case.

A good read. The book straddles the years between 1982 and 2022. Heron lives in Scotland now and has ill health. He keeps himself to himself and the villagers know very little about him. He keeps his illness from his daughter. Heron brings up Maggie on his own. The reason for this is that Dawn becomes infatuated by a school teacher she meets and this is where it all changes. Maggie could not to be brought up in what was then considered a “toxic” relationship – two women living together. Heron passes away and someone is sent to deal with his Estate. Eventually the truth comes out about how Maggie has been brought up by Heron and the story goes full circle when mother and daughter meet after so many years. The book is very emotional on all levels and sad but that is due to public opinions about same sex relationships in the 80’s. The book is written beautifully and sensitively

I was immediately interested in Heron's story, and I was concerned for him. His story was more recent, 2022-2023.

Dawn's life in 1982 was very interesting to learn about. I shared the way she liked fashion, and thought what she bought from the car boot sale was very imaginative and so immersive. It reminded me of my own experiences of these events and how I'd like to try to find bargains too. How Dawn met Hazel is very imaginative.

I liked the easy banter between them.

I really felt witness to both Dawn's and Heron's life. Heron's daughter Maggie's life is part of the story, too.

I felt proud of Heron and how he tried to do the best he could with his life considering his health and age. I have disabilities and am not in the same health situation as him in terms of having cancer, but I did feel for him after his gym sessions and with his aches and pains and the kind of feeling like people didn't understand what he was going through.

I was pleased that he tried to keep a tidy home and was sad he was divorced.

I thought the scenes with his doctor's appointments were realistic and her advice was helpful.

There's so much attention to detail and the visuals are excellent.

A Family Matter will make you think and feel. I felt interest, empathy, and sadness. It's hopeful, realistic, sad and heartbreaking. It will make you feel emotions as it's so realistically written.

Thanks to Claire Lynch and publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

4 stars

Maggie was brought up by her father Heron form the age of 4. She believed that her mother had had an affair with another man and gone off leaving her behind. She never really had a conversation with anyone about her mother.
When her father is diagnosed with Cancer and starts clearing out his house she comes across Court Papers detailing why her parents split up. Will she forgive her father and eventually find her mother?
A complex tale of relationships 40 years ago and how times have changed for the better.

Beautifully written. A simple story but beautiful and heartfelt. An interesting insight into family life and family law in the past and the lasting impact this may have had on some families.

Whenever I am reading a new book, I wonder what my book club would think. A Family Matter by Clare Lynch would definitely make a brilliant book club choice. Absorbing, emotional and a very interesting suibject. There is so much to talk about and explore with a group.
I am a fan of stories revealed over two time frames, as long as it is done well. This is beautifully written, well plotted and paced. I couldn't fault it.
I am just hoping that my book club pick it, as I want to read it again. An easy five stars from me.

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch
Published by Chatto & Windus
Publication Date 29/5/25

Poignant and at times, heartbreaking, it’s crazy to realise these attitudes existed when I was in my 20’s, the same age that Dawn is when this is happening.
I liked the dual timeline and the fact that the story was seen from all perspectives.
A very interesting and informative read.

Thanks to the author, publisher and to netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I have had to let this emotional story settle in my mind for a few days before writing a review.
First of all, the quality of writing is excellent and the description of the characters so good that I felt I knew them by the end of the book.

Heron has some shattering news but doesn’t immediately share it with his daughter Maggie which is in some ways surprising as he has brought her up alone after his wife Dawn left the family home when Maggie was three years old. It is difficult to describe Heron and Maggie’s relationship. He is there for her in practical ways and always on hand to repair items around the home she shares with her husband and two children. As Heron himself admits this is the way he shows his love for her. He is clearly not a demonstrative person when it comes to showing affection. Heron, it seems does carry some guilt for taking the action he took in the past which was not entirely his fault as his mother and the legal system took a hand in telling him what he should do in the situation.

We meet Dawn, Maggie’s Mum in 1982 and it is clear that she loves Maggie dearly so what can possibly have happened to make her leave her three year old child? It soon became clear that once the court knew of Dawn’s relationship with Hazel she stood absolutely no chance of keeping her daughter.
When I found out I was shocked and devastated. How could this happen in the early 1980’s and be considered in the best interests of a small child? Dawn never left Maggie, she was taken from her.

I felt such sadness for Dawn and was so happy when mother and her grown up daughter were reunited but what a price Dawn had to pay for following her heart, her child snatched away from her. Even though she did her best to keep Maggie the court system was loaded against her. Time lost with her young daughter, never to be recovered. My thanks to the author and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch

Set in 1982 and 2022 we discover how Heron, now at the end of his life, came to bring up his daughter Maggie alone, and how Dawn his ex-wife was banished from their lives.

Wow, this book is perfection and deserves to win prizes! It's short but really packs a punch - so beautiful and powerful. The author's characters are so real and the story so heartbreaking and rage-inducing. Honestly it's just perfection... very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I was honestly blown away by this book and the journey the author managed to take us on in a fairly short book. It’s really is a blistering debut.

The book starts out quite light hearted which was surprising considering it starts with a cancer diagnosis. As the story winds on and we meet all the characters we quickly become invested in them. It’s a testament to the authors writing prowess that she manages to make them all feel so full without resorting to overly lengthy and prosaic prose.

As the story progresses it quickly becomes clear that there is more at play than just people who aren’t happy about how their lives have turned out. When the penny drops at about the half way point and the ending we are hurtling towards becomes painfully clear you have no choice but to hold on and ride it out.

It’s truly heartbreaking and painful to realise that this story represents what so many people had to experience not so long ago. This will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse for the eARC

I would rate this 10 stars if I could. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to put into words just how much I loved this book.

This is probably one of the most unique and outstanding pieces of work I have ever read. It evoked so many emotions. It broke my heart and it warmed my heart.

The dual timeline is perfectly used - it doesn’t cause any confusion but instead allows the reader to gain an understanding of the bigger picture and to get to know the characters.

The author very delicately, respectfully and perfectly captures how different things were in the 1980s - for parents, for queer people, for children.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book, it will stay on my shelf forever!