Raised by a Serial Killer, April Balascio
Raised by a Serial Killer, April Balascio
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Raised by a Serial Killer
Discovering the Truth About My Father

Author: April Balascio

Narrator: April Balascio

Unabridged: 13 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/03/2024


Synopsis

The untold story behind the hit true crime podcast The Clearing, this “engrossing and absolutely terrifying read” (San Francisco Chronicle) traces one daughter’s moving quest to understand the truth about her father, the serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards, while confronting cold cases, unsolved murders, and the haunting mysteries of her larger-than-life childhood.

One evening in 2009, April Balascio was searching online, as she had been every night, for unsolved murders in the towns her family had lived growing up, when she stumbled across the latest investigations into the “Sweetheart Murders” cold case. All at once, the buried memories of her father’s dark history were awakened, and she knew she had to take action. She picked up the phone to call a detective and the rest is infamous true crime history.

In her unflinching memoir, Balascio bravely reveals an astonishing tale of a lifetime of manipulation, unexplained upheavals, and silent fear. Some part of her had always known what her father was capable of, but the full truth of how she came to these revelations is as riveting as it is quietly terrifying. Through searing storytelling, dedicated research, and intimate insight, Raised by a Serial Killer is a gripping, courageous memoir unlike any other.

About April Balascio

April Balascio is the daughter of American serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards and the feature of the acclaimed 2019 true crime podcast The Clearing. She lives in the Florida panhandle.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brendan on September 11, 2024

I need a hug. I think April Balascio needs a hug, too. She is the author of Raised by a Serial Killer. I don't think I need to explain the plot at all because the title pretty much tells you what you need to know. Her father was Edward Wayne Edwards. He was not a good man. He was also April's father......more

Goodreads review by Sheila on September 23, 2024

I received a free copy of, Raised by a Serial Killer, by April Balascio, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. April Balascio, is not so different then the rest of us, except she was raised by a serial killer! April father could be very charming, manipulative, abusive, a......more

Goodreads review by C on December 11, 2024

Way too long. Editor failed at job by not cutting out so many redundant childhood recollections. Author/narrator spoke incredibly slowly, had to turn speed up to 1.5x for normal pacing. Less is more for this story, and the points could have been made more effectively and concisely to create a more c......more

Goodreads review by R.J. on February 20, 2025

This was the scariest book I’ve read as it is a true story of children growing up with a psychopath serial killer for a father. April describes having a dad who could flip out unexpectedly and physically punish anyone he deemed fit. He also had a cruel streak that manifested itself in ‘pranks’. Apri......more

Goodreads review by Erin on December 17, 2024

What if you realized that your father was responsible for the murders of several young people that took place during your childhood? This is the conundrum that April Balascio faces in her book, “Raised by a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father”. Obviously, there was no way I was not......more