Publication Date: April 14, 2026
In the summer of 1895, President Grover Cleveland and his pregnant wife, Frances, retreat to their secluded Cape Cod home, eager to avoid Washington’s heat and hassles. The very day that Frances gives birth, their three-year-old daughter vanishes. A ransom note surfaces, demanding a mysterious and peculiar sum.
Is the kidnapper a political enemy or someone closer to home? Secret service agents chase multiple leads but reach dead ends. Desperate, Frances Cleveland searches for answers on her own. As the hunt continues, the kidnapper carefully plots each move and determines to settle a score.
The historical record documents threats against the Clevelands, but no actual kidnapping. Yet, what if the president and his wife, known for keeping secrets, concealed a terrifying chapter of their lives? In this gripping blend of fact and fiction, the line between public duty and private anguish blurs in a mother’s fight to save her child.
Although Americans have always fostered a sense of curiosity about the First Family, secrets surround Grover Cleveland’s time as president.
Author Marlie Parker Wasserman plays on that angle in creating a fictional attempted kidnapping of Cleveland’s eldest daughter. First Daughter takes place during the summer of 1895, as the presidential family vacations on Cape Cod, and continues through 1904.
The author combines a mix of fact and fiction for a mystery with both historical and political implications. A second storyline serves as a counterpoint, highlighting a woman whose actions intersect with the main story.
Much of the focus is on the investigation, with Frances Cleveland coming up with new angles in an attempt to protect her family. While Frances serves as an interesting character, the action of the story is controlled by the investigation, similar to puzzle pieces being placed.
The lengths the Clevelands went to keep secrets from the public in real life support the possibility that the author’s creativity could have crossed over to reality. However, even more interesting are the bombshells that were successfully hidden.
First Daughter explores a fictional event involving an American president seemingly oblivious to the real threats around him.
Marlie Parker Wasserman loves writing historical crime fiction. She has published three novels–First Daughter will be her fourth. After a career in publishing in New Jersey, she moved to Chapel Hill, NC with her husband. When she is not writing, she travels, reads, and sketches. One of her goals is to visit every national park in the U.S., and she is close to her goal.
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