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.

This was my least favorite of hers and likely my last . It just wasn’t that interesting and rambled without any real point. I found it a bit preachy . I feel like this writer is letting her religious beliefs color her writing and not in a good way .
After this one she will be a no go author for me especially after her recent ig post and comments regarding Sylvia path.

Two strong women. Two sides of the law. One uncertain future for both. The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck tells the stories of two very different women as they both attempt to realize their goals during the Prohibition era.

Elizebeth Friedman is, along with her husband, William, a pioneer in the field of cryptography. Working for Coast Guard intelligence, this talented cryptanalyst is helping to track down participants in the illegal smuggling of bootleg liquor between the Bahamas and Florida and Cuba and Florida. During this so-called Rum War, Elizebeth has solved a two-year backlog of intercepted messages in just three months and is on the trail of the Queen of the Rumrunners.

Marie Waite is a rumrunner with lofty goals and aspirations and will do whatever it takes to bring those goals to fruition. She aspires to be the new Queen of the Rumrunners. She has had it with being poor as dirt and she’s tired of the life of poverty she leads. What is more, she has a plan for how to remedy the situation. With dreams of a better life, she begins to build an empire as the new Queen of the Rumrunners which will allow her to fulfill her dreams of a life where she no longer takes part in criminal activity, and can live the life she dreams of with her children, and never has to worry about money again.

In The Last Twelve Miles, Erika Robuck gives readers a window into the Prohibition era by showing the reader both sides of the war. Who will come out on top? Who will you root for? It is a definite 5-star read!

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, NetGalley, and Erika Robuck for this ARC. Planned publication date is 3 June 2024.

I absolutely loved this book. I loved reading about how Elizebeth Smith Friedman, assisted the Coast Guard to intercept and crack communication codes of "rumrunners" in order to apprehend them off the Florida Keys using coded communication during Prohibition. Beautifully written, and I can see the extensive research that Erika did to write this amazing book. I really enjoyed this book and I will be recommending it.

Thanks Sourcebook Landmark Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this arc. All thoughts and opinion are my own and are not influenced by anyone else

Wow! Great read. I gave it a five star but would give it a 10 star if available. Wonderful historical fiction recounting of the rum runner era. Characters are spot on in retelling of their stories. This book has it all. Suspense, intrigue, friendship, family values (both good and bad) challenges. Well written book. Grabs you from the first page to the last. Recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review

The Last Twelve Miles follows two strong women, on opposite sides of the Prohibition Rum Wars. Elizebeth works as a codebreaker for the coast guard, and is hunting down Marie Waite, an infamous rumrunner.

I'm an avid historical fiction reader, and I love to see authors writing about more niche areas of history, like this one! Prior to this book I knew nothing about the Prohibition Rum Wars and I enjoyed getting a glimpse into that time. The main characters were well developed and I loved that we had not one, but two strong female main characters in this book.

This being said, this book just did not pull my interest very much. I found it to be pretty dry and quite forgettable.

Thank you Erika Robuck and NetGalley for the ARC. Review will be posted to Goodreads, Storygraph, and instagram @readwiththewinters in the month prior to pub date.

I enjoyed The Last Twelve Miles as a historical fiction with strong female characters! I found the history and stories of Marie and Elizebeth to be intriguing. I have never read much about the rum running during prohibition and found the time period and historical aspects fascinating. The story was fast-paced and characters were well developed. Interestingly, I found the second half of the story easier to read than the first. It is almost as is an aspect of the author's writing style changed mid-way through the book. Overall, it was an engaging read that I would recommend to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC opprotunity!

I just finished the ARC of The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck.
This book hits bookshelves on June 4, 2024.

This historic fiction novel features the prohibition adventures of a honorable female codebreaker and her unrelenting pursuit to halt a notorious female rumrunner who broke all the rules to save her family’s fortune and her not-so-noble reputation.

The emotional, personal, and professional battles of each of the two main characters bring these real female powerhouses to life on the fictionalized page. Their battle of wills is a delight to read. You find yourself cheering not only for the “good” lady, but also just a little for the “bad” one too.

Elizebeth Friedman personifies women’s equality, bravery, and sheer drive during the Prohibition Rum Wars. She elegantly survives her battles to remain on top as a woman, not only in her cryptanalyst position and in the male-dominated world of the Coast Guard, but also in her day-to-day life to be a good wife and mother. All this, while her country was demanding her expertise.

Marie Waite “Spanish Marie” is also a role-model of women’s equality, but on the wrong side of the law. She is the perfect criminal that highlights what women must do to survive in a man’s world of smuggling during the 1920s and beyond. Against all odds, her own self-taught “expertise” and intuition raises her to the upper ranks of the crime world where she repeatedly survives another day to rise again.

The book seamless bounces between the dynamo women offering a glimpse into their daily lives, struggles and accomplishments. The story kept you on your toes!

I loved every minute of this romp through the cat and mouse battles in Miami, Key West, Cuba, the Bahamas, and New England! Pre-Order your copy now! 4.5 Stars!

Another wonderful read by Erika Robuck. The Last Twelve Miles will definitely be on my best books of 2024 list. I was entranced by the characters and the action was nonstop. I was so happy to read a book not about WWI or WWII although I will be reading more about Elizebeth Smith Friedman and the part she played in WWII. Seeing the world from both characters point of view made for a interesting read. Very highly recommended!

Thank you Erika Robuck and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts in the review are my own.

Review: This was just an okay read for me…Positives: I loved that the main character and I had the same name and I loved the dual POVs. Negatives: The book couldn’t hold my attention most of the time. I felt myself drifting off and not able to concentrate on what was being said. I really hated Marie, but that is expected. And it’s hard to explain what didn’t hold my attention. I think just the storyline as a whole wasn’t for me. I am not really interested in the run running from the 1920s. But I can’t deny that it was written well. I’m appreciate @sourcebooks and @netgalley for my advanced copy!

Elizabeth Friedman and her husband helped break codes in WWII. Elizabeth is now working with the Coast Guard to intercept rumrunners in 1920's Prohibition era. Spanish Marie is smuggling booze into Florida. The point of view alternates perfectly.

Finished! Highly, highly, highly recommended! The Last Twelve Miles would be a great stand alone read. But I do think that reading The Woman Who Smashed Codes and Code Girls: The Untold Story of American Women Code Breakers of World War II really made The Last Twelve Miles much more "personal". Coincidently, I talked to a woman today who was reading (or just finished) Code Girls.

At 75% … loving this book. Usually I skip ahead to the authors note. I did read the extensive Bibliography and noticed two books that I had read (years ago) about “code breakers” in WWII, loving this historical fiction a decade later.

At 26% … strong female protagonists. Code breaking vs booze smugglers in the 1920’s. Wow. This is good historical fiction!

Will update progress daily.

Thank you to NetGalley (for yet once again) introducing me to a “new to me” author Erika Robuck. Thank you to NetGalley and the publish Sourcebooks Landmark Paperback for approving my request to read the advance read copy of The Last Twelve Miles in exchange for an honest review. Approx 368 pages, publication date June 4, 2024.

Thank you Erika Robuck and NetGalley for the ARC. This is a new historical fiction author for me. I really enjoyed the story of these two smart and strong women on both sides of the law. I was also unaware of this part of prohibition history. I will definitely be reading the author’s previous novels.

Favorite quote:

“Elizabeth’s heart feels a pang of jealousy, followed by a burst of love at seeing her happy family. It’s both freeing and agonizing not to be needed.
That is the nature of motherhood, she thinks.”

Historical fiction from the days of Prohibition about two smart, strong women? Always, but from the synopsis alone, I wasn’t fully sold, however, I found the story was very engaging.

Told in a dual POV, with both stories equally interesting. I love smart, well written and plotted historical fiction, and this fit the bill nicely, and kept my interest - I had a difficult time putting this one down.

This one’s a recommendation.



Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the DRC

The stories of two women with separate lives and opposite - but similar - objectives are woven together in this incredible prohibition tale of adventure in "The Last Twelve Miles."

Elizebeth and Marie are brilliant women and working mothers who are dedicated to their professions and strive for excellence with every move. The only problem is that in order for one to succeed, the other must fail.

Even though they exist on opposite sides of the law, I could not stop rooting for both of these women with every turn of the page. I lost so much sleep because I could not put this book down and I do not regret it one wink! I found myself thinking about these women when I was away from the book and looking forward to diving back into their adventures as soon as possible.

Erika Robuck truly provided a gift to readers in this fast-paced, action-packed tale that will prove what bananas, boats, and a baby all have in common. Characters were well-developed and the plot action never lagged.

I raise my glass to Erika for this glorious, enthralling work that kept me hooked from beginning to end and inspired me to investigate the real lives and stories of these women! Cheers!

Thank you, NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Erika Robuck for this ARC! I anticipate "The Last Twelve Miles" will be a favorite book for many in 2024!

I loved The Last Twelve Miles! It told a different story than I have read before and I especially enjoyed learning the 2 main ladies personalities. Author did a great job with the character development and helping the reader fall in love with both. Highly recommend for a book you won't be able to put down!

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m so excited to review my first ever ARC, The Last Twelve Miles from the brilliant historical fiction author Erika Robuck. If you’ve read any of her other books, you know that Robuck specializes in bringing to life bold portraits of remarkable women, and her latest novel is no exception.

This story follows two women on opposite sides of the law in Prohibition-era Florida. Elizebeth is an expert codebreaker who is tasked with intercepting boats stocked with illegal booze trying to make landfall in the Keys. Marie is the smarter half of a husband and wife rumrunning duo seeking to make a name for herself. The two women become intertwined in a cat and mouse pursuit in which each is clearly a formidable opponent.

I love that Robuck writes about these women as whole people, considering both their professional and personal motivations that drive them to take extreme measures in their chosen careers. I also appreciated that she took us to a new time period rather than revisiting WWII (the era of her previous works), and 1920s Florida provided a rich backdrop that was brought to life within these pages.

Where I wished for more was around the rise of Elizebeth within the Coast Guard. I could have read an entire story that explored more deeply her code breaking expertise and how she successfully navigated the patriarchy of the US Military. Regardless, this was an engaging book that historical fiction lovers should definitely grab when it comes out on June 4th.

4.5 Stars

Many thanks to Erika Robuck & Sourcebooks Landmark for this advanced copy.