A Family Matter, Claire Lynch
A Family Matter, Claire Lynch
List: $17.99 | Sale: $12.23
Club: $8.99

A Family Matter
A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

Author: Claire Lynch

Narrator: Miranda Raison

Unabridged: 4 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/03/2025

Categories: Fiction, Family Life, Lgbtq+


Synopsis

A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • A Most Anticipated Book of 2025: USA TODAY, Goodreads, and Today.com

A young wife following her heart. A husband with the law on his side. Their daughter, caught in the middle. Forty years later, a family secret changes everything in this “perfect” (Elin Hilderbrand) debut novel.

1982. Dawn is a young mother, still adjusting to life with her husband, when Hazel lights up her world like a torch in the dark. Theirs is the kind of connection that’s impossible to resist, and suddenly life is more complicated, and more joyful, than Dawn ever expected. But she has responsibilities and commitments. She has a daughter.

2022. Heron has just received news from his doctor that turns everything upside down. He’s an older man, stuck in the habits of a quiet existence. Telling Maggie, his only child—the person around whom his life has revolved—seems impossible. Heron can’t tell her about his diagnosis, just as he can’t reveal all the other secrets he’s been keeping from her for so many years.

A Family Matter is a heartbreaking and hopeful exploration of love and loss, intimacy and injustice, custody and care, and whether it is possible to heal from the wounds of the past in the changed world of today.

About Claire Lynch

Claire Lynch has a doctorate from the University of Oxford and is a professor of English and creative writing. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and on BBC Radio. She lives in Windsor, England, with her wife and three daughters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brady on June 08, 2025

wow i loved this book.. beautiful, yet so frustrating at times. from the back of the book that i think describes it perfectly: "A Family Matter is a heartbreaking and hopeful exploration of love and loss, intimacy and injustice, custody and care, and whether it is possible to heal from the wounds of......more

Goodreads review by emma on April 29, 2025

it's a good sign when my only complaint about a short book is wishing it was longer (thanks to the publisher for the arc)......more

Goodreads review by Terrie on June 09, 2025

A Family Matter is Complicated and Messy.... A wife and mother makes an irresistible connection... The husband and father draws a line in the sand... The young daughter is caught in the silence... Two timelines: 1982 and 2022, with forty years of living in between... Claire Lynch’s writing is lovely,......more

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel. The author took her time developing two timelines in the past and present, 1982 and 2022, and then bringing them full circle at the end. In 1982 Dawn is adjusting to life as a mom, and a wife to her husband. When she meets Hazel, she gets caught up in a whirlwi......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie on April 26, 2025

One of the most character driven books I’ve read in awhile. If this is your jam, pick it up, the last few chapters will linger with me. While there are slow moments, Claire Lynch’s prose if deft and moving. Dual timelines - 2022 and 1982. 1982: It goes back and forth with with Dawn and Hazel, who shar......more