Della Streetwise's Sneak Peak

I'm a born sneak. Or so my brothers would tell you. Their bedrooms were off limits, mysterious and irresistible. No professional thief or spy worked so hard to avoid detection because no professional thief or spy faced my brothers if caught. I'd creep into a bedroom, my heart jackhammering and my fingers trembling, long enough to filch a book. On the lam, I'd collapse into the arms of a tree or behind the shed to read. My brothers were high on thrillers and espionage, so I was too. Ian Fleming, John le Carré, Len Deighton, Trevanian, Robert Ludlum.

Adrenalin rush comin' right up

I like the pounding excitement that a good spy novel or thriller generates, but these days I read more widely. Mysteries of all varieties, good fiction, satire and comedy of manners, history, current events, astronomy. My reading has benefited from friends who've introduced me to Irish and Japanese fiction and great series such as Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books set in the days of Napoleon. I'm looking forward to hearing about what you've been reading too.

Some books of mystery fiction I've liked lately are Leighton Gage's Every Bitter Thing (Mario Silva series set in Brazil), Paul Levine's Mortal Sin (a Jake Lassiter legal mystery set in Miami), Ross Thomas's Chinaman's Chance (first Artie Wu and Quincy Durant book), S. J. Rozan's The Shanghai Moon (Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series, book 9) and Colin Watson's Hopjoy Was Here (a Flaxborough Chronicles book). Currently, I'm enjoying Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa and Dream of the Red Chamber by Tsao Hsueh-Chin.

When I'm not reading, my life is a blur of work (I'm a nurse), family (assorted critters, the likes of which include a husband, two sons, a dog of mysterious genetics and cats mysterious by nature) and the outdoors. Camping, skiing, kayaking and hiking are my family's major passions. I squeeze in cooking when I can, but it's easier to be passionate about the outdoors when you live in the beautiful part of the world containing the Rocky Mountains.