Ms. Wesselmann grabs her readers in Trutor & The Balloonist by taking them on a breathtaking ride with her through the mountains of New Hampshire into the center of Derbysville. It is in Derbysville, a small town away from Boston, that the Balloonist and Trutor meet. A request to investigate a legacy of artwork brings them together. It is a request that affects the Balloonist and his entire family. Reaching back more than ten years, the request threatens the Balloonist’s dead sister’s massive estate and the validity of each of her works. The request comes from the Balloonist. He wants Trutor to help him determine the authenticity of his dead sister’s artwork.

Trutor moves in with the Balloonist. She stays at his dead sister’s estate, the place where the Balloonist, his brother and sister reside. No one, except the Balloonist, wants Trutor there. Strange things begin to happen. Trutor awakens in the middle of the night to find someone has been in her room. Soon she realizes someone is trying to stop her investigation. Early into the novel, Ms. Wesselmann introduces domestic violence into her story’s plot, and, at once, the plot thickens.

Ms. Wesselmann’s writing is of the highest literary quality. Trutor & The Balloonist reads like a mystery. Along the way, the reader is left wondering who is threatening Trutor’s life. It takes the reader through America’s New England states. It takes the reader into the hearts of two women: Michelle Trutor and Caroline, the Balloonist’s dead sister.

The main plot centering on the life of a dead artist, those who love the arts will treasure Trutor & The Balloonist. Ms. Wesselmann did a fine job of researching her novel. Literary book lovers will be enticed and satisfied with Ms. Wesselmann’s style. She proves herself to be a promising novelist. Readers of good fiction should keep their eye on her.