When Tough Cookies Crumble

SouthWest Writers 2024 Writing Contest - Honorable Mention Opening Pages of an Unpublished Memoir This true crime memoir is about a murder written from the perspective of the victim's best friend.

Janice Starr and Eva Booker were young Army soldiers in Korea in the late 1970s. As women in the military, they found themselves on the front lines of the women's liberation movement, pushing the boundaries of what women could do in their professional and personal lives. After leaving active duty, they relocated to the Washington, D.C. area together, where the challenges they faced included continuing their miliary careers in the Army Reserves, navigating jobs, school, interracial dating, and a playgirl lifestyle. Their bond was often tested but never broken.

Three months after Janice moved to southern Virginia on her own in the summer of 1981, she disappeared without a trace. Eva knew Janice had been murdered by a fellow soldier who was a psychopath. The only one who believed her was Detective Kay Lewis, who had her own challenges as a pioneering woman in law enforcement. Together these tough cookies would not stop until they found Janice. After Janice's murder, Eva also fell into a trap set by a sociopath. The final chapters tell the story of how Eva came to write this book forty years after Janice's murder. The process proved to be a healing journey for Eva, Kay, and Janice's family.

Each chapter begins with one or more relevant photographs.