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.

Not loving this book. Not sure if it was the tense it was written in or the fact that the pace didn't match well with the story. It wasn't for me.

The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck is a great story set during prohibition. Based on two real women - Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Marie Waite "Spanish Marie". Elizebeth works for the Coast Guard as a codebreaker and her new mission is to stop the rumrunning activity out of Florida and most of this centers around Spanish Marie. Such a fascinating time in history and I really learned a lot! The Florida setting makes this a perfect summer read! Maybe with a rum drink in hand!

Perfect read for my drive to Key West! I found it hard to decide if I wanted the good gal or the "bad" gal to win! Historical fiction with two strong female leads on opposite sides of the law during Prohibition. A female code breaker working for the Coasties intercepting rum smugglers and one of the most infamous female smugglers who runs an empire through the trading routes in Miami and Key West. A fantastic read as I didn't know about female code breakers and I enjoy strong female characters especially those from history that are not well known.

It's been a s while since we've heard from Erika Roebuck but it was worth the wait. This story is a real page turner based on two women in a man's world. Marie is a rum runner during Prohibitions and Elizebeth is a Federal Agent. Each character is well developed, the story is well researched and written. This is my next book group pick!

THE LAST TWELVE MILES by Erika Robuck is a thrilling historical fiction story of two women, each brilliant, going head-to-head on opposite sides of the law during the Prohibition Era southern rum wars. While I have read about Elizebeth Friedman and her contributions to cryptanalysis, Spanish Marie was new to me, and this author brought both women to vivid life for me as I was reading.

Mrs. Elizebeth Smith Friedman and her husband invented cryptanalysis during WWI. Elizebeth has gone on to work for the Coast Guard during Prohibition to crack smugglers’ codes so the Coast Guard can intercept smugglers and destroy their illegal alcohol. Her primary focus is on the Cuban, Bahamian, and Florida routes. She is the Coast Guards secret weapon to capturing many law breakers.

Marie Waite is the wife of a rum runner and when she learns the queen of the runners is retiring, she seizes the opportunity and becomes Spanish Marie. She takes advantage of every new technology to evade capture and continue her rise to the top of her chosen illegal trade.
Spanish Marie becomes Elizebeth’s obsession in a cat and mouse game.

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!

The water is perfect to dive into this gorgeous summer read!! I loved boating through the aqua waters of South Florida and Key West on bootlegging runs in this cat and mouse game between two very different but equally interesting women in prohibition era Florida. The ending is spectacular! Highly recommend.

—Dianna Rostad, USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of You Belong Here Now

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This book follows two women, one of them is a government employee while the other is on the bootlegs run to bring alcohol into the US during prohibition.

The book takes place during Prohibition, following Marie Waite, wife of a rumrunner and mother of two little ones and Elizebeth, a codebreaker for the United States. The two don’t know each other but are battling against one another in a head to head in a cat and mouse game. As Marie sees her husband’s shortcomings she realizes she can step in for him, soon becoming rumrunning royalty. But what she doesn’t anticipate is the more refine her operations becomes the bigger the target on her back grows. Meanwhile, Elizebeth is intercepting codes and ciphers on the growing operations of Marie and her crew. Elizebeth’s work becomes personal as she discovers Marie is the primary target of the operation.

I couldn’t put this book down. I haven’t read much in the Prohibition era but I can see the drawl of rumrunning and getting involved in it. However, it was interesting to read how obsessive Elizebeth became as she got deeper into the case. The mastermind games the two played a while trying to make a living and protect their families was an interesting point I didn’t see coming as I read. One thing I love about Erika’s books is that she finds real women who history has spoken little about and bring them front and center within her books. Elizebeth and Maria are two that weren’t on my radar before this book but they won’t be leaving my mind for a long while.

This book will be published June 4, 2024.

Two brilliant women on two sides of the law playing a game of cat and mouse in the roaring twenties? Yes, please! This was a fun read. The third person present voice was a bit challenging initially as I found it harder to stay in the character's head. But, I'm glad I persevered! This story is fun, and the characters are fascinating. History has the most interesting cast, and I'm glad Robuck took the time to open the door on what might have been going on in the minds of these two wicked-smart and vastly different women.

The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck is a historical fiction novel that tells the true story of two women who led criminal and legal operations during the Prohibition era.
The novel is based on extensive research and historical sources, and it features a captivating plot and realistic characters. The novel also explores various themes and issues related to crime and justice, and the role of women in history and society. This book is suitable for readers who like historical fiction, suspense, and strong female protagonists. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I thought this book was an entertaining read. It wasn't amazing, yet it wasn't horrible. Some parts of the book were not as exciting as other parts. As I have stated in previous reviews on my social platforms. I have found that sometimes I need to be in a very specific mood to read certain books. This is why I am a fan of re-reading both books that I enjoyed and those that I didn't enjoy. I will for sure consider reading another book by Erika Robuck in the future!
And remember, all humans are unique so someone else might hate a book that I love and vice versa!
–

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The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck weaves a complex and intriguing story about Special Agent Elizebeth Smith Friedman and her husband who helped break codes in WWII. After the war, she's a Cryptanalyst working with the Coast Guard to intercept rumrunners in 1920's Prohibition era. Her husband, William Friedman, contributed to developments in radio detection finders during WWII. His team at the Special Intelligence Service, broke the Japanese "Purple" cipher that led to the creation of the National Security Agency (NSA). Working together, they were known as America's First Cryptographic Couple breaking codes for the coast guard and army.
This story has them after rumrunners in Florida and they're after a known criminal mastermind named 'Spanish Marie' and her husband Charlie.
They have a fleet of boats they use to transport booze illegally across the ocean from Cuba to the coastline of Florida. The rumrunners use codes to communicate with each other and Elizebeth and her husband are hired to crack the codes and arrest them.

What I appreciated most about this story were the factual characters and how the author adds fiction in with historical accuracy to make this a great story!

I loved that these two strong women, Elizebeth and Marie, are the protagonists. The story is told from both of their perspectives. This historic fiction novel features the prohibition adventures of this honorable female codebreaker and her unrelenting pursuit to halt a notorious female rumrunner along with her criminal sidekicks.

I absolutely loved this book and will recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark Publishing for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Twelves Miles was a very compelling read! I found myself getting frustrated that I didn't have enough time to read it as quickly as I would have liked. I was very curious to see what would happen with the characters. I loved how vivd the characters were and that they were all strong women and pioneers in their field. The fact that such characters are actually based on real people (and reading the Author's Note to find out that they both continued to go on and do even more than what's presented in this novel) makes it even better. I had never heard of these women, but I'm so glad I'm now aware of them!

"The Last Twelve Miles" by Erika Robuck is a fantastic historical fiction novel featuring two strong-willed and gutsy women who are on opposite sides of the law during the Prohibition era. The story beautifully portrays the characters and provides a well-developed plot that showcases the struggles faced by these women, which are still relevant today, 100 years later. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.