Manhattan Grace
When a door opens for Gracie Camden to leave Cape Cod and move to Manhattan as a nanny for a Juilliard drama instructor, she fully expects God to use her acting talent and launch her to stardom. She’s been here been six months. What’s taking him so long?
Seymour Kaufman relocates to New York City from Iowa due to a shortage of mohels (circumcisers) in the tri-state Messianic congregations. Secretly, he hopes to explore a deeper relationship with Metropolitan Opera star and fellow Moldovan, Polina Zelenka. Seymour is conflicted when he meets her less complicated, widowed cousin.
Meanwhile, fresh from Palm Beach, the Chief plans to cap off his short yet lucrative career as an international jewel thief with a multi-million dollar heist during the Met’s gala in Polina’s honor. His usual modus operandi is to work alone—but this time is different.
While Seymour celebrates every closed door by believing God will open a better one, Gracie whines and wonders why God doesn’t bless her plans. Gracie finally learns success is not about making it big in the Big Apple, but about living God’s perfect plan for your life.
- Clarice James skillfully navigates the complex worlds of acting, Jewish circumcision, and colorful relationships, with a bit of jewel thievery thrown in ... all with delicious wit and humor. Well crafted, well researched, Manhattan Grace serves up a feast that is sure to entertain.Ellie Gustafson
- Clarice James is a talented writer who creates likable and interesting characters and places them in settings where you want to stay a while. I stayed a while in Manhattan Grace (great title) and enjoyed not only the story and the people but was frankly in awe of James' control of language and craft. Great book! Great writer!Daphne Simpkins
- Manhattan Grace is a delightfully fun and clever read, weaving an engaging story intertwining the lives of an aspiring actress, a mohel, and a thief. The plot grabs the reader from the very beginning and through those three lives ends in a series of twists and turns that brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eyes. Manhattan Grace is a win!Kathryn E. Miller
- God is constantly working behind the scenes, refining us, in order to transform us to be more like His graceful and grace-filled image. Unmerited favor was a consistent theme throughout Manhattan Grace. A must read for anyone who wants to recount the times God has orchestrated the delicate details of their life together for good, and for His glory.Stacey Thureen