The author did an excellent job of writing about the Prohibition era and captured the feel of the time beautifully. Her descriptions of Miami, Key West, Cuba and other Caribbean locations made you feel the tropical breezes. Similarly, Washington, D.C. felt bureaucratic and cold. The two main characters, whom the story was told through, were also well-defined and reflected the time period well. However, for a book about code breaking and rumrunning, there was surprisingly little of either one in this book.

The story of two women making their way in the male dominated 1920s was told in alternating chapters that should have been exciting and full of danger. Instead, the author chose to just occasionally describe the actual rumrunning and usually only gave the results of the code breaking. I found the story to be more about each woman’s relationship with their husband, children and how their professions affected their lives rather than how they actually performed those activities. Despite being well-researched, I felt a large part of the story was missing.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

You always want the good guys to prevail in movies and books. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what will happen and you just have to ride it out and hope for the best. In this story, there are two sides: the good guys and the dishonest criminals. There is a lot of suspense at the end.

Elizebeth often said she was fortunate to have such a great life with a loving husband, two adorable children, hired helpers and a job she enjoyed. She worked for the US Coast Guard to search for dangerous rumrunners. She was a noted cryptanalyst who was able to decipher codes during the Prohibition which started with a new law set by Congress in the early 1920s. She was good at her job.

Marie had one goal in mind. She wanted a big estate with the works. She visualized everything. I think if she had all the gold in the world, it wouldn’t be enough. She always wanted more. She was smart and manipulative and made her way from basically nothing to becoming a smuggler of rum in the southern coastal areas. She tasted money and loved it.

Two women were in a sense playing the game of chess. Who would win? The story was intriguing how Elizebeth and Marie were itching to be the one smiling at the end. Could Elizebeth take Marie down with her knowledge of codes? This story was engaging about the significance of the last twelve miles where the Coast Guard was on the search for all boats with rum and sadly, human trafficking. While Prohibition was supposed to help people, it ended up increasing organized crime. I wanted the story to end differently. Isn’t that true with so many things in life?

This is the first book I’ve read from this author. It won’t be the last. It’s like being so immersed in a book that you forget the time. I imagine her other books have a similar effect.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced book with an expected release date of June 4, 2024.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I was unable to get into the story and found the writing stilted. Thank you for the opportunity.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction! I’ve read quite a few 1920s prohibition books lately but this one stood out. I enjoyed the showdown in the end in particular and that also brought me to 4.5 stars. Both Elizebeth and Marie are wicked smart and try to outsmart their respective counterpart. They are an equal match and so fun to read about.

The book lives off the characters smartness and their personality traits. Elizebeth is, as mentioned, wicked smart and pioneered codebreaking. She is down to earth and tries to bridge her professional and family life. Same goes for Marie who also is such a smart person and criminal at that. I love that she was a real person as well as Elizebeth! Marie gives the officials and Elizebeth a run for their money! Who will win the very equal match?

To summarise, I liked in particular the showdown at the end of the book and the whole concept with the dual perspective from Elizebeth and Marie was great. Give this book a try if you're into historical fiction or codebreaking or the 1920s prohibition era.

I’m all in for historical fiction and The Last Twelve Miles was fabulous.

Based in the 1920s when prohibition was in full swing in the U.S., “Spanish” Marie is the up-and-coming top rumrunner from the Bahamas and Cuba up to the Florida Coast, twelve miles away. Marie is green, but talented, a mother of two with a feisty side borne from her struggle as a woman in a male-dominated environment. But following the death of preeminent rumrunner, Red Shannon, Marie purchases his boat and starts her own business.

Elizabeth Freidman is a code breaker. But when she is tapped to work with the Coast Guard on intercepting shipments between Cuba and Miami, she has to use all her wit and skill to keep herself and her unborn baby safe.

Set in a time almost lost to modern history, prohibition is a fascinating subject. Throw in two powerful women, some gangster swagger, and characters heavily based on fact, and this book is well worth the read. Well done, #ErikaRobuck. #SourceBooksLandmark #historicalfiction #LastTwelveMiles

What a wild ride! Two women operating in a man’s world during Prohibition, one a code breaker and the other a rum runner off the Florida coast. Technically, one is on the side of the law and the other is a law breaker, but they are such well developed, sympathetic characters, that you end up rooting for both of them. I found this to be great historical fiction that told the story of two women and an era that I knew nothing about. Kudos to Erika Robuck.

This gripping historical fiction novel follows the entwined journeys of two women during Prohibition. Elizebeth, a successful intelligence agent, works to crack codes and intercept messages from notorious rumrunners. Marie, a rumrunner herself, strives to improve her and her children's lives. The characters, based heavily on real-life figures, are brought to life so fluently by Erika Robuck. The story offers a compelling look at women making their mark in a male-dominated world. With danger at every turn, it's hard to pick a side. This book is highly recommended for lovers of Prohibition-era historical fiction.

Thank you to @netgalley and @Sourcebooks for this ARC. During prohibition, rumrunners, transporting illegal alcohol between, the Bahamas, Cuba and Miami were at an all time high. Special Agent Friedman, a pioneer of codebreaking, was called in to intercept the radio transmissions to try and nab these law breakers. Elizebeth Friedman, a woman, had the mastermind to break codes and teach others leading to several rumrunner arrests including her biggest adversary, Spanish Marie. Her techniques were published in a book for the coast guard to follow. Elizebeth's accomplishments also led to taking down Al Capone and a Nazi spy ring. This fiction book based on facts was fascinating following both the life of Elizebeth Friedman and Spanish Marie. Women at the top of their game. One last side note, my mom and I visit Daytona beach every year. In this book, I learned the Daytona 500 and NASCAR were borne from prohibition. The same bootleggers who acquired fast driving, maneuvering skills to outrun Coast Guard also used their talents in car racing. Now you know. #TheLastTwelveMiles #ErikaRobuck #SourceBooksLandmark #June2024

The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck

368 Pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: June 4, 2024

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Prohibition, Florida, Rumrunners, Women’s Fiction, Cryptoanalysis

In 1926, “Spanish” Marie has taken over from Cleo, the Bahamas Queen. She was the leader of the rumrunners from the Bahamas to Florida. Marie is expanding the operation while her husband, Charlie is spending their money. She crowns him as king to deflect attention from her. Her goal is to make as much money as fast as she can then get out of the business and become respectable.

Elizebeth Friedman works out of Washington, D.C. as a code breaker. She works for the Coast Guard and her husband, William, works for the military. While she is out on maneuvers, they come across a single boat and begin to hail it. A man comes up on the deck with a baby girl. Elizebeth is suspicious but they do not find anything illegal. Now heavily pregnant with her second child, she cannot do any fieldwork. She must rely on others to help catch Marie.

The book has a fast pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. These are strong and independent women a head of their time. It is great to see both sides of prohibition – the illegal activities and the law enforcement trying to contain it. If you like historical fiction, prohibition, and/or Florida, you will enjoy reading this book.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark, NetGalley and author Erika Robuck for my gifted physical copy and e-arc!!

Whoa! Talk about women on fire! This riveting prohibition era historical fiction absolutely captivated me! Based on the real lives of Marie, a cunning rum-running queen looking to make her fortune and Elizebeth, a tireless codebreaker who uses her natural talent for cryptanalysis to end smuggling for good, it’s a cat & mouse story at it’s best!.

Two extremely smart and brave women on two sides of the law … both with families and futures to think of, both with goals and careers to feed. And it’s so well written and both lives are so well portrayed that I seriously had an inner fight with whose side I was rooting for! But no worries, the author gives a very satisfying ending! If you like reading about strong, history making women … this is a recommend for ya!

The Last Twelve Miles is about Coast Guard codebreaker Elizebeth Friedman as she hunts rumrunner Marie Waite during the Prohibition years in South Florida. The title references how the last 12 miles of the run from the Bahamas or Cuba to the FL coast were within the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard as they patrolled to catch the rumrunning pirates in the act. As indicated in the preface to this book, both Elizebeth and Marie were real life women who were pitted against each other in the late 1920s, with the events in the book being the author's fictional interpretation of their actions and motivations.
Erika Robuck is a lovely author, this book is well written and clearly well researched, and I enjoyed that it was historical fiction about a time period that I felt like I didn't already know a lot about. I'm always keen to learn new things through HF novels and this certainly did that. With all that said, this book felt a bit formulaic and a bit dry too, and semi clinical almost, if that makes sense. Overall though, this was a very quick read, and I enjoyed the content and the writing as a whole, which is why I am rating this 4 stars. I think my fellow HF readers will enjoy this, especially since it's not yet another WWII novel.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

A pioneering female codebreaker sets out to assist the Coast Guard with finding those bootlegging liquor off the Florida coast. Meanwhile, a lower class woman sets her sights on a better life but to do so she must amass a bootlegging empire and sets up her husband as the fall guy.

This is once again the case of a dual perspective book wherein one perspective hits harder than the other. I was most intrigued by Marie, the codebreaker’s story from the synopsis but it didn't take long before Elizebeth’s had me enraptured. Marie’s story focused more on her life as a mother and wife than codebreaking. In fact at every opportunity, she brings it up. Also, it’s never really explained to the reader how or why it is that she and her husband were known as pioneer codebreakers but she no longer works with him. There could have been a little more attention drawn to their working relationship then just focusing on their home life.

In contrast, Elizebeth is a mom as well but it seems like that is a very small part of what makes her tick. In fact, her dreams, if successful, one could argue would better her kids but for the most part she is rum-running to benefit herself. Elizebeth’s story focuses on how her past and sheer determination drives her decision making. Elizebeth’s motives are a lot more morally gray and therefore a lot more appealing to me personally than the woman who helps enforce the rules.

The story is described as a cat and mouse game between the two but a large portion of the novel is actually focusing on how they came to be upon each other’s radar as opposed to evading each other’s keen eye. While I enjoyed the contradictions between the two, holding more encounters or almost encounters between the two would have upped the excitement and made this a little more memorable for me.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmarked for providing an ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was an intriguing cat and mouse tale, and it definitely kept me turning the pages. I really liked Elizebeth and would love to read more about her and William and their actions during both World Wars. I loved seeing her devotion to her husband and would love to see if she managed to find a better work/life balance going forward. I was not a fan of Maria, but I don't think I was supposed to be. Actually, it doesn't often work for me when a book features the point of view of a villain, but having Maria's point of view was integral to this story. Also, while ultimately I just wanted to see her captured, I did at times feel sympathy for her.

Erika Robuck has become a must-read author for me, and this didn't disappoint. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Sourcebooks for the early read.

I am an occasional reader of historical fiction, and chose to read this book because it was based on a true story about strong women, each with a totally different perspective on Prohibition. I was mesmerized reading about Rum running in the Caribbean and Coast Guard and FBI interventions as it was presented by the women who were on opposite sides of the law. Once I started reading, I was drawn into the story quickly and was kept entertained until the very end. Great story, and thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it before it's release date in exchange for an honest review.

What an exciting historical fiction! Erika Robuck has written a thrilling, well-researched book centered on two actual women in the time of prohibition, Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Marie Waite. Her writing brings these two women and those around them vividly to life. Elizebeth and her husband invented cryptanalysis during World War One. Marie and her husband are rumrunners. Elizebeth has been hired by the U. S. government to decode transmissions by the rumrunners to aid the Coast Guard in capture of rumrunners, in the critical last 12 miles to the U. S. coast. The book is alternately narrated by Elizebeth and Marie, as it follows the two women, one using her skills in codebreaking to stop the transport of illegal liquor, and the other desperate to both avoid capture and the poverty and violence that is her life. I found this book hard to put down, and the authors notes at the end are a must read! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advance copy of the book. The opinions of this review are my own.

Two women are on opposite sides of the prohibition war—a code-breaker and a rum runner. Each woman is determined to succeed while living in a man's world. This book was a great blast from the past, and I highly recommend it to anyone, especially historical fiction lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow I loved this one!! What an excellent concept using real people's stories as a base and filling in the missing parts and background.

Elizebeth Friedman and her husband are top class cryptanalysts for the government in prohibition era. Her largest focus is rumrunning between Florida and the Caribbean where a new ‘queen of rumrunning,’ Marie Waite, has quickly taken to dominating the industry. Stellar cast of fierce ladies not just defying the norm of their time, but blowing them out of the water! I spent the whole book in a struggle to decide whose side I should be on between Elizebeth and Marie, but ultimately was glad to be absolved of my guilt in the end, that's all I'll say to avoid spoilers.

I loved the fast pace of the book and the volleying point of views, I just couldn't put it down. The author does so well depicting the details of the scene, it really came to life as that glamorous, mysterious prohibition era but it felt real.

The Last Twelve Miles
By: Erika Robuck
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Pages: 368
Publication date: June 4

4 🍹🍹🍹🍹

1926- During Prohibition, smuggling is rampant and the coast guard is having a hard time keeping up.

Enter a “secret weapon”, a wife and mother no one would suspect. We follow two gutsy women Elizabeth and Marie. Smuggling, code breaking, bootlegging and danger in Florida. The court scene and fabulous details of the action scenes were described so well that I could picture the scenes. Get ready for one wild ride!
#thelasttwelvemiles, #ericarobuck, #sourcebookslandmark, #bookreview, #stamperlady50, #booksconnectus

“The Last Twelve Miles” is a historical fiction book by Erika Robuck. This book focused on two very different women - Marie “Spanish Marie” Waite, a rumrunner of both beauty and charm, and Elisebeth Friedman, a US government codebreaking agent. Marie’s chapters are full of her past, her cunning, and her determination to be the Queen of Runrunners during US Prohibition. Elisebeth’s chapters are full of being a working mother, her amazingly vast literature/historical knowledge, and her fantastic ability to codebreak transmissions. Both women were wonderful to read about and how their stories entwined was engaging. Strong recommend!

Oof, this book was tough for me. I almost DNF’d it a couple times, yet I persevered and finished the book in hopes that it would get better. It did not. The writing was repetitive and flat, as well as the characters. It read like the author was telling you about the people and events in more of a textbook/nonfiction way instead of using the real life events wrapped in fiction. Therefore, it was hard to connect with the characters Mary Waite and Elizebeth Smith Friedman, and to grasp the essence of who they may have been in that period of time. Overall: this book was a miss for me, though the topic was interesting, just poorly conveyed.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.