A Family Matter is a story about a historical situation that is hard to comprehend; harrowing in that it is very recent history. I'm not going to say much else about the plot , I think it's best to go in blind, but be prepared to pull knives out of your heart and wipe a tear from your eye.

The three main characters Heron, Maggie and Dawn are developed with such empathy and compassion. The dual timeline provides a unique lens from which to see them all as victims of time, and also appreciate the progress society has made so far. This makes for a hopeful read, overall, despite the pain and sadness of the situation.

This is an incredibly special book that absolutely took my breath away in parts. The writing is powerful with the shortest of sentences delivering a huge impact. I loved it!!!

Unbelievably only forty years ago.
How things have changed for the better.
This book is the story of Heron and his wife Dawn, they have a little girl Maggie, Dawn meets Hazel and falls in love with her, they decide to move in together. The battle for the custody of Maggie starts, the courts are against Lesbian Mothers and state the harm that can come to a child living in an unnatural relationship, The attacks by Heron's barrister are horrible and contrived. Heron is pushed into pursing the case by his Lawyers and his family, Letters are produced that passed between Dawn and Hazel, they are romantic but are misrepresented to the court.
Back to the present day, Heron is diagnosed with cancer but does not tell his daughter immediately. He has a good relationship with Maggie as he bought her up on his own, with some help from his Mother. Maggie has two children Tom and Olivia, they love heir Grandfather and when his cancer is revealed are upset. Maggie sees a lot of herself in Olivia, the way she is so close to her, but is gradually moving towards more independence, it makes her think of her own Mother Dawn and how she could abandon her at four years old.
Heron clears things from his loft and hands Dawn a folder. With pressure from her husband Connor, she tracks down her Mother and learns the truth.
This book is an insight into the plight of gay women in the 80's, discrimination and misunderstanding, also the close bond between a Mother and child.
Thank you Claire,NetGalley and Chatto & Windus for this ARC

A small but powerful novella. Claire Lynch looks at the negative views against the LGBTQIA+ community in the early 80s. For me, what made A Family Matter stand out is that it wasn’t about gay men, it was about lesbians. I have often read stories from the perspective of the gay man and they can be absolutely heartbreaking; A Family Matter told the story of Dawn, a young mum who has realised that she is attracted to women. The story unfolds telling the reader about the harsh treatment she faced and the backlash she received by following her heart.

A Family Matter is small but it is mighty and one of the best books I have read this year.

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch is available now,

This quietly stunning debut novel jumps in time between 1982 and 2022, laying out the inner workings of a small family turned upside down by a tragedy which didn’t need to happen. In 2022 Heron is an old man, his daughter Maggie his one remaining family member: he’s spent his life protecting his daughter and cannot bring himself to share his recent medical diagnosis with her – so instead, busies himself clearing cupboards and clutter, unsettling the past and disturbing documents containing the truth about the small family’s past. Back in 1982, young mother Dawn is stuck between wanting a life filled with love, or staying trapped in the situation she’s found herself in. Doing what’s right and staying put might cost her sanity, but doing what’s right for her will cost her everything. This spectacularly powerful novel blooms with emotion: the domesticity of the setting at odds with the soaring prose and heartbreaking choices facing each member of the family. The pages practically vibrate with the characters’ furious need to be true to themselves but also remain normal, to appear respectable, to not cause a fuss – yet the truth will out. The author’s historical note at the end of the story will break your already shattered heart into even smaller pieces, leaving you bereft for families torn apart in the past, and so grateful – and protective – of our society’s evolved thinking.

This was a really well written, tender book. Interestingly I thought it was set in Ireland and was surprised to find out it was based in the UK.

This was a genuinely heartbreaking book. It was filled with so much regret and shame and the author's note at the end was a sobering look at how different things were for women in the 1980s. The dual timeline worked so well and made the characters so well-rounded which was impressive considering how short the book is. I think that this story will be one that sticks with me for some time.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC.

It’s 2022, and we meet Heron, an old man living on his own, and his daughter, Maggie, who has he raised by himself. Maggie has never known her mother and believes herself is to have been abandoned as a child. The story is told in two timelines, and when we move to 1982, we meet Dawn, Maggie mother, and discover the truth. This story was truly heartbreaking. Written in spare language not a word was wasted. I can’t quite believe how the novel at only 250 pages made me feel. The sign of an excellent book is when it leaves you wanting more and this book certainly did that.. A time that we should look back on with shame, and which I am appalled to say that I knew nothing about. A must read, and I highly recommend. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

A deeply moving portrait of the fault lines in families and marriages, at its best in the smaller moments of description and character detail that add so much meaning to the wider story.

Not to spoil anything, but I particularly liked the lack of definite resolution Lynch provides to multiple relationships. In doing so, avoiding the saccharine and the melodramatic, she leaves the reader to make their own decisions.

An exciting author to watch for the future.

A short, easy read but I didn't find it particularly engaging or involving. I enjoyed the author's notes the most, and think I would have preferred a non-fiction book about it instead.
It wasn't bad, it just didn't grip me at all.
Thanks NetGalley for my advance copy, all opinions are my own.

We meet Heron in 2022. He's just found out from his doctor that he's dying. He doesn't know how he'll tell his daughter Maggie, who's the light of his life.

We slip back to 1982 & meet Dawn, Heron's wife. She's just met Hazel who she can't stop thinking about & who sets her world alight.

Heron needs to tell Maggie about the court case, about the real reason her mother isn't in her life, but he can't find the words as well as being reluctant to go back to that time.

While sorting his paperwork, he leaves the court papers aside for her, which leaves her reeling & all this time, her mother never forgot her & never gave up hoping.

I found it thought provoking, sad, it had me in tears. There's also some heartwarming moments. One of my favourite reads this year.

At the start of the novel, an old man, Heron, is having to face up to the challenge of telling his daughter, Maggie, about a diagnosis which is probably terminal. It turns out that he has been having problems about telling things to Maggie for most of his life.

The narrative switches to 1982 and to a housewife, Dawn, who meets Hazel in an era where such relationships were considered perverse. Once exposed, Dawn is branded as a pervert and the Family Court considers that makes her a bad mother. She has no chance of gaining custody over Maggie and is driven out of her life. She makes a new life with Hazel.

Flash forward and Maggie thinks everything of her father, believing that her mother deserted her and the family. It is an event which has devastated her life.

It’s not difficult to see where this is going but it makes for an excellent story as the flashback structure emerges and takes shape. It turns out that Heron has been keeping a lot of things from Maggie!

The workings of the Family Court, properly researched by the author are horrific. It’s astonishing what was considered legitimate in 1982 and good to see how far the world has come since then.

It’s a very readable novel and avoids over romanticising the situations it describes while analysing them in detail. It’s well worth a read.

Claire Lynch’s 'A Family Matter' is a heartbreaking look at family, history, and the stories that we tell or don't about our families. The narrative is told across dual timelines—1982 and 2022--and Lynch uses the dual timeline to help readers understand the history and background of Heron, Maggie and Dawn. Lynch's prose is sparse, but emotionally realistic and revealing. Lynch has a way of getting to the emotional core of the characters' unspoken pain and regrets. It's an incredibly moving book.

I absoutely flew through this book, which follows the story of a family torn apart by the prejudices of the time. This novel is wonderfully character-driven, giving us a glimpse into each characters thoughts and feelings. Claire Lynch does a fantastic job portraying the compplicated emotions within this novel. I had no idea the extent of the prevalence of lesbophobia in the 80's, this book taught me a lot. The ending, despite all the complexities of this book, is hopeful and touching. I defiinitely recommend giving this one a go.

A beautifully written story set in an era of rules of a time when falling in love with another woman was unacceptable. When a woman with a child or children in this situation undoubtedly loses custody of them. Dawn was married to Heron and their daughter Maggie was born. Dawn then met Hazel and their story develops from here.

It is heartbreaking and poignant of a time not so long ago when prejudice about same sex relationships were taboo. The consequences for Dawn and Maggie were dire. Heron, Maggie’s father believed he was doing his best for his daughter.

A brilliant book reminding us of how the world has changed.

A short but powerful book, covering a lesser-known aspect of British societal history. Set in 1982 and 2023.

In the more recent storyline, Heron is trying to figure out how to tell his daughter Maggie about the bad news the doctor has just delivered.

In 1982, Heron, Dawn and Maggie are a family, until Dawn meets someone new….

Once I started I couldn‘t put it down. 💛

This was a powerful, deeply moving read that left me both heartbroken and furious in equal measures. Told in dual timelines between 1982 and 2022, the story weaves the past and present with emotional clarity and quiet intensity, slowly revealing a family history that is as haunting as it is illuminating.

I don’t want to give too much of the storyline away as I think it’s best to go in somewhat blind. What I will say is that, as a child of the 1980s and a mother of a 4 year-old in the 2020s, I related to both timelines with astounding heartache. The book discusses social issues that I had no idea about, such is my naivety, and I was deeply affected and full of sorrow for those who have been affected.

What I found particularly clever in the story was how Claire Lynch wrote Heron and Dawn. Neither is painted as a clear hero or villain. It would have been easy to make Heron a hateful figure but instead he is relatively neutral, aside from the spatterings of being human. As a result, the focus stays on their circumstances and highlights how this didn’t only happen to hateful people. That choice allows the real weight of the novel to land exactly where it should: on the system, the prejudices, and the staggering injustices of the time.

Lynch’s writing is brilliant - controlled, elegant, and deeply empathetic. The author’s note at the end, especially the statistics, was absolutely devastating. It left me reeling. I’m still thinking about it now.

I rated this 4.75 stars and have rounded up to 5. The only thing that stopped this being a full 5 stars for me was that I didn’t fully understand or buy into Heron’s motivation for initiating things the way he did. I felt that could’ve been set up or explored more clearly. But otherwise, this was a stunning and important novel that I’d urge you all to read.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Vintage Books for gifting me a copy of this to read. As always, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Considering how small this book is. It landed a sucker punch. I know I will be thinking about this book for a long time. I loved the writing style.

A wonderful story that hooks you from the beginning and refuses to lets you go. The chapters alternative between 1982 and 2022, but each chapter is also split into short, sharp scenes that keep your mind engaged and the interest peaked. Sometimes I felt as thought the POV changed slightly too often, or in the middle of a sentence, which made it a little confusing, but this novel had an amazing cast of characters who all felt immediately relatable. Lynch also has a talent in layering silent events throughout the narrative which have a huge impact. Would definitely recommend.

I absolutely adored this book. Right from the first page I knew I would love it - the tone, the voice, was perfect. I love the way the book was structured. Heron was presented to us first as a character to feel sympathy for and only later is it very slowly revealed what he did and the massive, awful heartache he caused his wife and daughter. The story was nuanced in the way that Heron was presented as flawed, but not evil. It would have been so easy to make the reader hate him but the book had far more impact this way and it really made you think. One of my favourite reads this year.

Thanks to Claire Lynch and NetGalley for this ARC!

This book felt like floating through a montage of memories. The way that the author writes the characters and their own little chapters of time was really powerful and well executed. It took me a while to get through surprisingly but I think that was more down to personal circumstances than the book!