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A Rip in Heaven: A Memoir of Murder And Its…
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A Rip in Heaven: A Memoir of Murder And Its Aftermath (original 2004; edition 2004)

by Jeanine Cummins

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3601870,741 (3.73)6
The acclaimed author of American Dirt reveals the devastating effects of a shocking tragedy in this landmark true crime book—the first ever to look intimately at the experiences of both the victims and their families. A Rip in Heaven is Jeanine Cummins’ story of a night in April, 1991, when her two cousins Julie and Robin Kerry, and her brother, Tom, were assaulted on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River just outside of St. Louis. When, after a harrowing ordeal, Tom managed to escape the attackers and flag down help, he thought the nightmare would soon be over. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Tom, his sister Jeanine, and their entire family were just at the beginning of a horrific odyssey through the aftermath of a violent crime, a world of shocking betrayal, endless heartbreak, and utter disillusionment. It was a trial by fire from which no family member would emerge unscathed.… (more)
Member:PinkyMac
Title:A Rip in Heaven: A Memoir of Murder And Its Aftermath
Authors:Jeanine Cummins
Info:NAL Trade (2004), Paperback, 302 pages
Collections:Your library
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A Rip in Heaven by Jeanine Cummins (2004)

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English (17)  French (1)  All languages (18)
Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
I had a really hard time putting this book down. This is the story of Jeanine's brother and two female cousins - - all in their late teens/early twenties who have a horrible crime perpetrated against them. Unfortunately, one of the three is subsequently blamed for the crime, and this book relates the story of this injustice and the family's reaction to it.

It really is a gripping, if horrific, story on so many levels - - the crime, the senselessness and viscousness of the attack, the completely unfair accusations against one of the victims, and finally the resolution of the case. I had a very hard time putting the book down. ( )
  Anita_Pomerantz | Mar 23, 2023 |
This is the true story of three cousins. Nineteen-year-old Tom Cummins is on vacation with his family visiting grandparents and cousins in the St. Louis area. The Cummins family is to leave for home the next day, so everyone is to go to bed for an early start in the morning. Tom sneaks out for one last night with cousins Julie and Robin. They go to an old bridge that crosses the Mississippi River. Four men assault the trio and shove them into the river. Tom survives and tries to tell the police what happened, but the police do not believe him and keep him overnight. The terrible ordeal begins for the whole extended family. ( )
  dara85 | Feb 18, 2023 |
A Rip In Heaven is the true-life story of the brutal rape and murders of Julie and Robin Kerry that took place in 1991 in St. Louis, MO. Considering this is a memoir about her own family, I believe the author did a fantastic job bringing the true story to life. I was riveted to the book from the first page and experienced many intense emotions as I read. The crime itself is horrendous and heartbreaking, but the staggering injustice Tom Cummins suffered at the hands of the Missouri Police Department was almost more challenging to comprehend than the atrocious crime. I have researched the status of the four men who were convicted. Only one has been executed of the three sentenced to die by lethal injection. Another has had his sentence reversed to life in prison, and a third had his sentence thrown out by the Supreme Court. I believe he was released in 2015. The fourth, the youngest, got released in 2011 but is now in prison for other crimes. I do not include their names in this review because they do not deserve to be remembered. Jeanine Cummins’s message in the book that the victims—silenced by death—are unfairly forgotten while, at the same time, their murderers are portrayed as victims by media and activist groups is entirely accurate and so unjust. RIP Julie and Robin. ( )
  PaulaGalvan | May 19, 2022 |
This book tells a very compelling story of a horrific crime that devastated the author's family. Not only were her two older cousins murdered, but her older brother was wrongly arrested for the crime and coerced by overzealous police into falsely confessing. Fortunately for him, the actual perpetrators were found, tried and sentenced. Some of them received the death penalty, and at least one has since been executed.

This story touches on a number of timely issues: the effects of violent crime on the survivors, false confessions, the death penalty. It is interesting reading a personal narrative concerning these topics rather than the usual scholarly roundup of evidence. I know that it must have been very difficult for the author to write a book chronicling such a painful event. However, some of the choices she made worked against her. She chose to refer to herself in the third person using a childhood nickname, which I thought added a layer of removal from the story she was telling. She also did not discuss a lot of the emotional reactions of other family members, particularly her cousins' parents. It seemed like she was trying to simultaneously write about their personal lives but also shield them, and it left her with little to say about their reactions other than cliches. I felt she did best in eulogizing her cousins and describing how their passionate belief in equality and justice inspired and guided the rest of the family in dealing with the aftermath of their murders. ( )
  sophroniaborgia | Oct 14, 2020 |
This is an interesting and thought-provoking book about a violent crime that was committed in St. Louis on a bridge in 1991. The author, referred to as Twink in the book, is the cousin of two young girls, Julie and Robin, who were raped and thrown off the bridge into the Mississippi. Their cousin, Tom Cummins, was with them and survived only to be accused by the police of the crime.

The story tells of the family relationships, the crime, the four young men who committed the crime, the investigation, the accusation, and the finding of the men who really did the terrible deed. This does not make the St. Louis detectives look very competent, but says a lot about the horror the family goes through not only regarding the loss of the two girls, but the accusation of their cousin.

The four young men were arrested and charged. One was sentenced to the death penalty which brings a whole reliving of the ordeal as the media takes up the cause of one of the young men. The author writes what seems to me a fair look at the death penalty knowing the the two young women killed had been opposed to capital punishment. Wouldn't a long life sentence be better for all. Interesting read. ( )
  maryreinert | Jul 14, 2020 |
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Epigraph
The river moans and sighs, Swallows my memoiries, And spits back currents of regret, To drown careless swimmers, 'Neath onion's shield, She sheds saltless tears, Howling at the moon.

The bridge has long since collapsed and now the river boasts her danger for fear of drowning.

I no longer cross to meet you, I stand on muddy banks waving, but can't you see clearly, My dreams take me down, To rocks and the cold current below, And I have lost myself, In the water's wailing drone, That lulls me to sleep

-Julie Kerry

Dedication
For Robin: my true friend, my blood, my laugh-maker

And for Julie: my sunshine, my awe-inspirer, my soul-waker.

May God grant us the strength and wisdom to do your lives a sliver of justice in the telling. We love you always and miss you every day. Kisses and Revolution.
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In 1991, I was a sixteen-year-old high-school kid living on the outskirts of the nation's capital and I thought I was invincible, I thought I was tough.
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The acclaimed author of American Dirt reveals the devastating effects of a shocking tragedy in this landmark true crime book—the first ever to look intimately at the experiences of both the victims and their families. A Rip in Heaven is Jeanine Cummins’ story of a night in April, 1991, when her two cousins Julie and Robin Kerry, and her brother, Tom, were assaulted on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River just outside of St. Louis. When, after a harrowing ordeal, Tom managed to escape the attackers and flag down help, he thought the nightmare would soon be over. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Tom, his sister Jeanine, and their entire family were just at the beginning of a horrific odyssey through the aftermath of a violent crime, a world of shocking betrayal, endless heartbreak, and utter disillusionment. It was a trial by fire from which no family member would emerge unscathed.

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A Rip in Heaven is Jeanine Cummin's story of a night in Apriol 1991, when her two cousins Julie and Robin Kerry and her brother, Tom, were assaulted on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River just outside of St. Louis. When, after a harrowing ordeal, Tom managed to escape the attackers and flag down help, he thought the nightmare would soon be over. He couldn't have been more wrong. Tom, his sister Jeanine, and their entire family were just at the beginning of a horrific odyssey through the aftermath of a violent crime, a world of shocking betrayal, endless heartbreak, and utter disillusionment. It was a trial by fire from which no family member would emerged unscathed.
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