ARC Review: A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

A Pair of Aces
Author: Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
Publication: Berkley (June 2, 2026)

Description: A gripping novel about two trailblazing women on opposite sides of the law—a prosecutor and a madam—who team up to bring down notorious Mob boss Lucky Luciano in 1930s New York, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the million-copy bestseller The Personal Librarian.

Eunice Carter, assistant district attorney for the City of New York and Manhattan’s first Black female prosecutor, has her sights set on the one and only Lucky Luciano, head of New York City’s five largest organized crime families. Other prosectors have tried to bring down Lucky, but they’ve all focused on the crime syndicate’s traditional businesses—bootlegging, gambling, loan sharking, and drug dealing—or tax evasion. No one has thought to approach the mob through its role in prostitution. Until Eunice. But she can’t get Luciano alone.

Polly Adler has worked long and hard to build up her high-class brothel business. Her client list is filled with well-known names, both the famous and the infamous, who all know her booze is top-notch, her music first-rate, her food exquisite, and her girls the best. But Lucky has gone too far, putting her girls in danger, and Polly finally sees the chance to end his reign once and for all.

Together, Eunice and Polly fashion a case utilizing a network of women. Bridging the enormous divide between them and risking their own lives, they assemble evidence bit by bit, under the nose of the man they’re trying to convict. It is this very alliance—of two women from vastly different worlds—that launches the most sensational trial New York City has ever seen.

My Thoughts: Two very different women need to work together to take "Lucky" Luciano off New York's streets in 1935-1936.

Polly Adler is one of New York's most notorious madams. Arriving in New York from Russia as a twelve-year-old who spoke no English, Polly had to make her own way and send money home so that the rest of her family could join her in the United States. She began by working in a garment factory but was raped by her supervisor who fired her when she got pregnant. The people who she roomed with threw her out and left her struggling on the street for survival. She worked her way up from a street prostitute to the owner of a notorious house frequented by the literary set and local gangsters too. She prided herself in her care of her girls. 

Something new is coming to New York. Organized crime has taken an interest in prostitution and wants to bring all the houses and girls under their control. 

Meanwhile, Eunice Carter is an Assistant District Attorney working on the team with District Attorney Thomas Dewey to tackle organized crime. Eunice is a smart lawyer working under the burden of being both colored and female. While of high status in her neighborhood of Harlem, she finds herself relegated to the fringes of the investigation. She has been concentrating on prostitution which Dewey isn't very interested in until some other lines falter and Eunice makes contact with Polly who alerts her to the scheme of organizing prostitution under criminal control. 

The two work together secretly to gather the information needed to bring down crime boss "Lucky" Luciano. At first Polly wants Luciano gone so that she can resume her usual business without interference but over the course of time her goals change. Eunice wants to bring down Luciano but almost loses her marriage over her dedication to the case. 

This was an interesting story about two very different women. Each is fighting for her place in the world. They have more in common than either would have thought when they first met. This novel of biographical fiction introduced two amazing, but very human, woman. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.