A Pair of Aces: A Novel
Victoria Christopher Murray & Marie Benedict
(Berkley, 2026)

From the co-authors of The Personal Librarian comes the story of 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. Eunice Carter, assistant district attorney for the City of New York and Manhattan's first Black female prosecutor, and Polly Adler, high-class brothel madam, set their sights on ending the reign of Luciano.

Other prosectors had tried to do the same, but they all focused on the crime syndicate’s traditional businesses—bootlegging, gambling, loan sharking, drug dealing—or tax evasion. No one had thought to approach the mob through its involvement in prostitution, until Eunice Carter. But she could not do it alone.

Forming an unlikely alliance and working with a network of women, Carter and Adler daringly craft a case to bring Luciano down in a landmark trial.

Victoria Christopher Murray and Marie Benedict co-wrote the New York Times bestsellers The Personal Librarian and The First Ladies.

This event is presented in partnership with the Delaware Historical Society.

About the authors
Murray, a native New Yorker, earned her MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business before working in corporate America and starting her own financial services agency. She has written 30 novels, including Harlem Rhapsody, a 2025 NPR Best Book of the Year, and Stand Your Ground, recipient of an NAACP Image Award and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Benedict is a graduate of Boston College and Boston University School of Law with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator. Among her bestselling books selected for national book clubs are The Only Woman in the Room, Carnegie’s Maid, The Other Einstein, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, and Lady Clementine. Benedict lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partner —  The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices | PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2026 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. 

Thanks to all our donors, especially our education and outreach funding partners: Ronald Collins & Susan Cohen, Carolyn & Aaron Nayer, Jen Mason & Clare Hancock, and Browseabout Books. HBF authors visit classrooms in Delaware, and HBF provides their books to schools, libraries, and community organizations.

Our Keynote event is presented by Groome Church and Sally Mott Freeman & John K. Freeman; our Closing event is presented by Delaware Community Foundation and  Griswold Home Care for Sussex & Kent Counties. Spirited Discussion, our gathering for attendees and presenters to celebrate and discuss their day, is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our Program Partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library for event promotion and production; Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival; and Historic Lewes. Thanks also to the  Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.