The Matchmaker’s Gift

The charming latest from Loigman (The Wartime Sisters) adds a twinkle of magic to the twinned stories of Sara Glickman, a Jewish Moldovan immigrant, and her granddaughter. At 10 in New York City, Sara discovers she has a magical knack for matchmaking: she sees a streak of light between two people when they are destined to be together. As she begins to apply her talents, she faces a roadblock in the form of the established male matchmakers of her Jewish community, who believe an unmarried young girl has no right to take their business. In a parallel narrative following Sara’s death in 1994, her granddaughter Abby, a less than happy divorce attorney, reads the journals Sara left her. Abby then realizes she might have inherited Sara’s gift, though her attempts to apply it to her clients lead to conflicts with her demanding boss. The stakes increase for both Sara and Abby as they pursue fulfillment in their trade. Loigman moves smoothly between the tales of her two spunky heroines and imparts historical details with a light touch. Readers are in for a treat. (Sept.)