A Rip in Heaven

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.

Author: Jeanine Cummins
Publisher: Berkley Books
Published: 06/01/2004
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.44h x 4.92w x 0.77d
ISBN: 9780451210531
Age Range: 18-UP

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 7.7
Point Value: 16
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 105294 / Rip in Heaven: A Memoir of Murder and Its Aftermath


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2004 pg. 255
Publishers Weekly 04/19/2004 pg. 51
Entertainment Weekly 06/11/2004 pg. 128
People Weekly 06/14/2004 pg. 55

About the Author
Jeanine Cummins is the bestselling, award-winning author of the groundbreaking memoir A Rip in Heaven and the novels The Outside Boy, The Crooked Branch, and American Dirt. She lives in New York with her husband and two children.