When Christmas Comes by Andrew Klavan

 A pretty good short novel of suspense. It introduces Cameron Winter, an ex-Army operative with a melancholy nature. Good enough I'll try the next in the series.

While the Clock Ticked by Franklin W. Dixon

 #11 in the Hardy Boys series. This is a good one, featuring thieves stealing from ships in Barmet Bay and a mysterious old house with secret rooms. Chet Morton has a prominent role and is critical to the Hardys solving the case.

So far the best two Hardy Boys books are The Mystery of Cabin Island followed by this one.

The Leper of St. Giles by Ellis Peters (again)

 Re-read of an excellent Cadfael medieval mystery. This one is not just a good mystery, but has good spiritual insight concerning love and sacrifice. Maybe my favorite Cadfael.

Hunting for Hidden Gold by Franklin W. Dixon

 #5 in the Hardy Boys series. I had forgotten how violent they can be. In this entry, the Hardys are chased and shot at by criminals multiple time, nearly drown in an icy river, barely escape being crushed in a mine collapse, fight against a criminal with a gun with shovels, and nearly get devoured by a pack of hungry wolves.

Of course the violence is cartoonish in the sense that no one ever really gets hurt. The bullets never find their mark. When Joe or Frank get cold cocked, they wake up with a bit of headache but never any lasting injury. What's remarkable is how blasé their father Fenton is at his sons getting shot at.

The story is pretty good, standard Hardy.

The Mystery of Cabin Island by Franklin W. Dixon

 #8 in the Hardy Boys series. This was a surprisingly good mystery, actually a page turner.

The Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

 Long and involved autobiography by the very influential French Enlightenment figure. Paul Johnson's evaluation of the man is on target in his book Intellectuals: How could anyone have ever taken him seriously? He certainly could write well, and had some original and unorthodox ideas, but they really don't ultimately make sense and the man himself was vain, paranoid and childish.

It's a testament to the gullibility of modern man that this man had the influence he did.

The Block Party by Jamie Day

 A neighborhood thriller along the lines of Big Little Lies. Pretty good.