A Rip in Heaven

In the Afterword Cummins states, “We forget our victims” (298). True crime stories capture our collective attention, and we tend to focus on the murderers because that is where most of the action is. Cummins elaborates that “the larger social injustice is not that the victims’ families are peripheral to our attentions. The larger wrong is that, because of their death-imposed silence, we forget about the victims themselves” (298). Cummins’s goal in writing this book is to correct both of these wrongs. While she does provide some narrative attention to the four who murdered Julie and Robin, she focuses primarily on Julie and Robin and on the effect of their murders on their families.

The book acts very much as a memorial to Julie and Robin. Cummins frequently cites the positive influence that Julie and Robin had on others in their families. In particular, Cummins develops Tom’s character by constantly referencing how Julie helped him mature and become his own man. Tom’s journey, even after Julie’s death, is guided by the memory of Julie, her influence, and her good nature. Likewise, Kathy idolizes her cousin Robin, who, like Julie, is a passionate activist. Their posthumous influence frequently steers Tom, Tink, and Kathy toward good decisions and maturity as the book progresses.