His work has been compared to authors including John Steinbeck,[1] Ken Kesey,[2] Tom Robbins,[2] and Richard Russo.

[3] Lynch's first novel, The Highest Tide, became a bestseller in the United Kingdom after the coming-of-age story was featured on the Richard & Judy book club television show in England.

Set in Seattle, during the 1962 World's Fair, a time when Presley and other celebrities, including Vice President Lyndon Johnson visited it as well as in 2001, the story involves the investigation of a city legend by an ambitious reporter.

Critics have likened the novel to movies about American power and corruption, such as Chinatown,[8] Citizen Kane,[9] and All the President's Men.

[13] Lynch now lives with his wife and daughter in Olympia, Washington, on a bay near where a rare deep sea fish washed up on a beach, inspiring his first novel, The Highest Tide.