There is an enormous gap between the attitudes of the early eighties and forty years later, with regard to mother’s rights in child custody cases, and worse when the mother is deemed to be unfit due to lesbian proclivities. This sad story tells how a young mother is denied access to her daughter, and reveals how secrets and lies conceal the truth of her exclusion from family life. It was written in a very sensitive way, telling the story from different perspectives, and not really pointing to an obvious villain. We understand how events unfold, but it doesn’t take away from the story which is obviously written from the heart.

3/5 ⭐️ – An Important Story That Lacked Emotional Depth

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch explores a long-buried family secret, unfolding through dual timelines. The premise is compelling, shedding light on a heartbreaking injustice from the past. When Maggie begins sorting through her father’s papers after his cancer diagnosis, she uncovers a truth that reshapes her understanding of her family’s history.

While I appreciated the novel’s intent and the historical significance of the topic, I struggled to connect with the characters. Maggie’s relationship with her father was described as close, yet their interactions often felt distant. The emotional weight of the story didn’t fully translate, making it difficult to feel the depth of the protagonist’s journey.

That said, the book effectively highlights an era when parental rights were unjustly taken away, bringing awareness to an important issue. I just wished it had drawn me in on a more emotional level.

This was a nice book, relatively short, which I generally enjoyed. It didn't blow me away but I enjoyed it nonetheless and would encourage others to read it.

A moving and totally absorbing story that expertly combines a work of fiction with the harsh realities of a little-known side of 1980s history. Sympathetically-drawn characters show just how much accepted norms at that time, damaged so many innocent families and yet ends on a message of hope that there is still time for some of that damage to be undone.

When I was downloading this book to my Kindle I gave the first page a cursory read, not meaning to start it but was sucked in immediately.

We follow the story of Heron and his adult daughter Maggie who’s married with two children and who is most honestly one of the most relatable fictional characters I’ve ever read. Being a mother of two kids the same age I was just reading it thinking “yep, yep, yep” and sometimes “yep, FML”!

The story is a dual timeline between 1982 and present day and we slowly learn why Maggie’s mother is missing from her life. It’s an emotional and abhorrent case which the reader probably wishes is a work of fiction but sadly only serves to highlight the prejudices faced by gay mothers in the 80s and 90s in the Family Courts. My heart hurt for Maggie’s mother.

Beautifully written, an incredible debut, I will be keen to read more of Claire’s work in the future.

A Family Matter is a small, yet powerful novel that manages to explore the intricacies of family dynamics in a way that feels both intimate and expansive. Through the interwoven timelines of the present day and flashbacks to the early 80s, the story unfolds around Heron, his daughter Maggie, and the complex, heartbreaking events that led to the estrangement of Maggie’s mother, Dawn.

The novel delves into themes of prejudice and societal expectations, especially around the struggles faced by homosexual mothers in the early 80s, with a level of sensitivity that highlights the personal cost of these struggles. In the present day, Maggie and Heron share a deeply dependent relationship, one that has evolved from the pain of their past. Heron is recovering from his wife leaving, while Maggie, too young to understand what she has lost, needs him more than ever.

The flashbacks offer a window into Dawn’s side of the story, and the longing she had to be the mother Maggie needed, despite the pressures that surrounded her. The author does a remarkable job of showing how Heron made a terrible decision—a decision that fractures his family—and allows the reader to empathize with the flawed characters, who are portrayed as incredibly real and complex.

What stands out most about A Family Matter is its ability to take what could be a simple family drama and transform it into something larger and more profound. The novel invites readers to reflect on how decisions, big and small, ripple through generations, impacting not just the individuals directly involved but also their loved ones.

A beautifully written, thought-provoking story about love, loss, and the tangled threads of family.

Such a sad story that vividly reflects how times have changed for the better. That a child should be deprived of her mother because the mother does not conform to the accepted norms of the time is shocking.

"A Family Matter" is a poignant and masterfully written novel that sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of British history and its lasting impact. The story seamlessly weaves together two timelines, 1982 and 2022, to explore the complexities of a single family's dynamics.

As the narrative unfolds, each family member takes center stage, creating an immersive experience. The non-linear plot skillfully intertwines the characters' past and present selves, revealing a quietly devastating twist.

One of the most compelling aspects of the story is the unintentional parallels between Maggie's life and her mother's, echoing each other across a 40-year gap.

This powerful novel not only explores the intricacies of family relationships but also delves into a pivotal yet often overlooked chapter in queer history. The book poignantly portrays the toxic environment faced by lesbian women in 1980s Britain, where they were unfairly labeled as "unnatural" and "corrupt."

I was deeply moved by this narrative and appreciated its thoughtful portrayal of a frequently underrepresented topic. Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy.

What I Loved/Enjoyed About The Book:

Story/Writing/Structure:

* A story told in a simple yet powerful way with full of emotions, twist, secrets and love
* Family oriented storytelling which is easy to read and addictive


Background/A Bit Of The Plot Without Giving Anything Away:

* A Story about A Family, Secrets, Trauma, Love & Culture
* Based on a few characters and all of them play their role to make it a great story

I Highly Recommend This Book I Will Give This 5 Out Of 5 Stars

An important book that shines a light into an injustice against women which persisted in fairly recent history. Heron brought his daughter Maggie up on his own, with the help of his mother. Maggie knows very little about her own mother. She has a precious relationship with Heron but they don't talk about many things, including this. Heron shows his love by fixing things at Maggie's house.
A gentle and beguiling story, beautifully written. A fantastic debut from Claire Lynch.

Heron has had a visit to the doctor which hasn't gone well. He hasn't told his daughter Maggie about it.

But that's not the only thing he's been keeping from her.

The other thing is decades old...

I enjoyed this book, set between the early 80s and current day. The storyline that emerges is a heartbreaking look into how societal judgement caused many LGBT parents to be alienated from their children, even up to relatively recently. It was deeply moving and I appreciated the split timelines showing the impact at the time and later on in the characters’ lives. The remaining parent isn’t painted as a terrible villain, and is portrayed as a loving parent despite the awful consequences of his actions.

I love a family drama and this one was reasonably ok, I would have liked more from it though. It didn't hit the way I wanted it to.

A beautifully written and carefully plotted novel by Clair Lynch. Set in 1982 and 2023, the story of Heron, Maggie and Dawn unfolds and explores family bonds, and how social and cultural expectations affect our lives, dreams and relationships. Quietly moving and tenderly powerful.

A Family Matter offers a heartbreaking and eye-opening look at a time when a lesbian mother could be denied the right to raise her own child—a reality that feels almost unimaginable today. The story is deeply sad, and the injustice of it all is infuriating. While I appreciated the historical accuracy and the overall emotional impact, I wished the book had delved deeper into the characters' inner lives. At times, it felt like it stayed a bit too much on the surface, which kept me from fully connecting with them. Still, it was an interesting and moving read, with just enough hope at the end to keep it from feeling completely devastating.

This book mainly switches between the lives of Heron now in 2022/23 and Dawn some forty years earlier. As the title suggest it really is a "family matter". While this is a work of fiction it probably reflects the very uncomfortable reality of the way things were then. The first thread in this book relates to Heron and right at the start he has just found out he is dying. His behaviour is a little odd and his inability to tell his daughter about it I found very understandable. However he is close to his daughter and they obviously care for one another.

The other thread relates to the lives of the then teenage girls in the '80s who meet at a jumble sale. It quickly becomes apparent that there is an attraction between them. However in the '80s that would not have been an easy idea particular when we find out that one of the girls is married and has a child. These threads will come together.

The story alternates between the threads and allows us to find out more about all the characters as time goes by. At times there are quite significant moves in the story. I really did find all the characters in this believable as was the story. I guess Maggie is my favourite character - she is Heron's daughter - and her journey is so emotional. Things were terribly "normal" at times, heartbreakingly so at other times.

The whole book seemed to benefit by being understated generally and that was powerful. I'm glad I read this. For me it feels like an important book and was well written. If the basic idea of this appeals to you it is well worth trying it.

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch is an enjoyable and immersive character-driven family drama set across different time frames.

Heron, an elderly man has been given a diagnosis of terminal cancer. He doesn't know how to tell his daughter, Maggie about it. Maggie is having a bit of a mid life crisis and feels a bored and unfulfilled in her marriage. We discover that Heron raised Maggie as a single father after her mother, Dawn left when she was a toddler but there is more to the story than Maggie has ever learnt. I liked the premise of the story but I felt I never got to really know Maggie or Heron and their inner emotions an dthoughts about things. However, that said I felt it was a good read overall.

This is an intriguing novel that plays its cards close to its chest. Heron is an elderly man who has received a difficult diagnosis from his doctor. He has a strong bond with his daughter, Maggie, who he brought up as a single parent and he wonders how he will break the news to Maggie. But there is another story under the surface of this one, with some far more challenging news to break and as Heron and Maggie re-examine their relationship, more comes to light than Heron bargained for. This is quietly shocking and tenderly powerful. The writing is exquisite and the topic handled beautifully.

4* A decent read that unfortunately didn't delve deep enough into Heron, Maggie or Dawn, so I only managed a degree of sympathy, but no engagement with any of them.

I'm not sure that Dawn was a lesbian. I think she simply wasn't in love with Heron, had married him for the wrong reason, and then met and fell in love with someone more exciting, someone who shad actual conversations with her, saw her, gave her the time of day. As simple as that. I did feel for her being forced into leaving her daughter behind completely, but not as much as I could've had she been portrayed better and in more depth. We never got into her mind or heart, just some thoughts. I think it was only towards the court case that we saw the toll on her.

Kind of the same with Heron. After the supermarket incident, I kept wanting to be let into his head, find out why he'd done what he did, with which aim/s, whether the police or an ambulance were called, what Heron made of his actions after. I needed the showdown with Maggie. I needed him to fully explain to her his misguided actions and how he'd lied to her. I wanted to see a bit of payback for Dawn losing her daughter and bring branded...many things, none of them pleasant or true.

I think we saw Maggie most, as a bit of an unfulfilled woman. She came across as a bit selfish where Connor was concerned, a bit woman-in-midlife-crisis with the talk of wanting to know guys fancy her but not wanting an affair - I felt for poor Connor, the more than half-decent husband. She was just very bitty, with no strong convictions in her married, filial or work lives.

The tale was a bit sad, drew me in despite the 2D portrayals of Heron and Dawn, but left me unsatisfied with the open ending. Still, it was worth a read, though.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Chatto & Windus, London, for my reading pleasure.