The Last Twelve Miles is historical fiction set in America's Prohibition era. It's based on two prominent women of the time, Special Agent Elizabeth Smith Friedman and rumrunner Marie Waite. Both women were extraordinary in their achievements and broke barriers for women. The novel is structured in alternating viewpoints of the women. Waite is determined to be the most successful "rummy" of the era. Friedman is determined to stop her by decoding encrypted messages about her runs and informing the Coast Guard.
I love that these exceptionally bright and ambitious women existed, and I'm happy that Robuck brought their stories to light. As the author admits, there is very little concrete information on Waite, so much must be imagined. I was engaged by the story and, even better, learned a lot about the era and the business of rum running. Friedman is imagined realistically - a woman in the classic angst of wanting to excel at a job she loves while still being considered a "good" mother and wife. Seeing the character of Waite unfold is fun and fascinating as she slides deeper into criminal activity. Overall, this was a great read and I loved learning more details about that time period.

The Last Twelve Miles is a riveting historical fiction novel set during the Prohibition Era. Erika Robuck, an excellent writer known for her meticulous research and compelling storytelling, does a beautiful job developing the two strong opposing yet similar main characters. One is a rum runner, and the other is a code breaker - both women working in a man's world, striving to be the best in their field and protect their families. The story is a page-turner and hard to put down.

I highly recommend it for die-hard historical fiction fans.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark, for the eARC.

Prohibition. Two determined women. Washington, DC. Miami, Florida.

Rum running had the allure of fast and easy money. One woman is the codebreaker who is determined to thwart them and put them out of business. But another woman, the Queen of the Rumrunners, just wants to make enough money to live the life she wants with her own legitimate business - a life for her children that is normal. Or is it all she wants?

Elisebeth and Marie finally come face to face

This was a fast paced book that was enjoyable to read. I recommend this if you are looking for something with historical underpinnings that is easy to read.

As if Elizebeth Smith Friedman and William Friedman, the most sought-after cryptanalytical minds in US Military Intelligence, and Elizebeth’s work for the US Coast Guard aren’t enough of a draw, Robuck has added the rumrunner, ‘Spanish’ Marie, into the mix to craft a tightly plotted thriller, set upon the high seas between Miami and the Bahamas, and Key West and Cuba in the 1920s.

Twelve miles (increased from three) was the limit beyond which the Coast Guard could not exert its authority. This meant the rumrunners had to be faster and savvier to race those miles without being caught, and more deceptively inventive, outpacing anything the Coast Guard could come up with. Spanish Marie was remarkably good at strategic planning, using multiple boats as decoys, but the ace in the Coast Guard’s hand was Elizebeth, whose exceptional mind went far beyond decoding messages. Robuck begins her story aboard a Coast Guard vessel which comes across a rumrunner, who has his baby daughter aboard! —an intriguing introduction to Elizebeth and the dilemmas she often faced.

The spotlight here shines on three formidable women: Elizebeth, a codebreaker who was also a loving wife and mother; Marie, who recognised and embraced her ruthless nature, yet cared deeply for her children; and assistant DA Leila Russell, a beauty coupled with a brilliant mind and a private pilot’s license. Told in third person, chapters alternate between Marie, who fought her way to the top of her game and Elizebeth, always mentally several steps ahead. We get glimpses of how Elizebeth’s mind worked, in a story of three women fully capable of excelling in a man’s world. Extensive author’s notes are well worth reading and include how, after liquor smuggling had run its course, Elizebeth worked to curb narcotics smuggling and human trafficking. An eye-opening and compelling read.

This book was one that I could not put down. I loved this story so much! Ms. Robuck brings both women to life on the page, even though the author acknowledges that information on Spanish Marie is more lore than fact. This is a historical fiction book that grabbed me from page one, and I was unable to put the book down. Elizebeth has a full life outside of the home with her cryptanalysis and must learn how to balance her work and home life as a wife and mother, which is an unusual position to be in during the 1920’s. Marie begins life poor and makes terrible choices in men, but it leads to her ambition and endless need for wealth. Elizebeth and Marie are fully developed characters that you can empathize with in different ways, and it makes their protagonist/antagonist battles even more fascinating.

I highly recommend this amazing historical fiction!

Another historical fiction winner by Erika Robuck.
It’s prohibition, rumrunner Marie works hard to outwit her nemesis-a code breaker wife and mother Elizebeth.
As the story unfolds, Marie must protect her rum investments and navigate- through code- her ships through “the last twelve miles” of US waters where her cargo is illegal. While Elizebeth works to break her code and notify the feds of the notorious Marie and her plans she soon learns of Marie’s identity!

I loved this story of two strong and intelligent woman on opposite sides of the law, their home life and their moral compass.
Well written and who thought codebreaking could be so exciting? Highly recommend to lovers of little known history such as this

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.