A Family Matter

A completely unputdownable debut novel that tells the story of one family torn apart by secrets, prejudice and their own best intentions, for readers of Trespasses and Sorrow and Bliss

No one need know about her mother's deviation

A mother following her heart A father with the law on his side A child caught in the middle

'I'll be thinking about it forever' Barbara Kingsolver 'Powerful ...smart and often heartbreaking' Guardian 'A brilliant book... Full of heart, sympathy and sadness' Sara Pascoe 'I was caught up from the first page' Clare Chambers 'I am in awe... a must read' Jennie Godfrey 'Beautifully written' Good Housekeeping, Book of the Month

1982 Dawn is a young wife and mother hemmed in by village life. Then Hazel appears like a torch in the dark. Their attraction is instant and suddenly Dawn's world is more joyful, and more complicated, than she ever expected.

2022 Maggie has always lived with an absence where her mother should be. Her father never speaks of her and it feels impossible to ask. Then an official letter arrives with news from the past, and Maggie must face a truth far bigger than just her family's secret.

At once heart-breaking and hopeful, A Family Matter asks how we might heal from the wounds of the past, and what we might learn from them.

'A beautiful and tender exploration of parental love, prejudice and the things we carry' RACHEL JOYCE

Goodreads Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2025

READERS ARE IN LOVE WITH A FAMILY MATTER'I would rate this 10 stars if I could' 'Utterly brilliant, I was captivated from page one' 'This book had my whole heart and more' 'A beautiful, heartbreaking, important book'