Big Book Summer Challenge

I love chunky books. When I saw that there is a new reading challenge concentrating on them I had to join in on the fun.

Rules:

1.  Anything 400 pages or more qualifies as a big book.

2.  The challenge runs from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend (May 22 this year) through Labor Day (September 7 this year).

3.  Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal. Wait, did you get that? You only need to read 1 book with 400+ pages this summer to participate! (though you are welcome to read more, if you want).

4.  If you are a blogger or YouTuber and want to share your Big Book Summer plans, book reviews, or wrap-ups, you can add your link(s) to the links list in the challenge post so others can find you (it will remain open until September 30). If you post a YouTube video for Big Book Summer, please tag Melinda (@awebofstories) and I (@SueJacksonDE), so we can visit and share it with others.

5.  Join the 2026 Big Book Summer Goodreads group to enjoy Big Book discussions all summer long! Or if you prefer, join the Big Book Summer Storygraph group and/or Big Book Summer Storygraph Challenge

6.  For chatting on other social media platforms, use #BigBookSummer

7.  What kind of   books "count"? All kinds! Middle-grade, YA, graphic novels, classics, all genres, all types as long as they are at least 400 pages. Yes, e-books and audio books count, too--just check online for the number of pages in the print edition.  

I am currently reading The Sapphire Child (515) by Janet Macleod Trotter and plan on reading All This and More by Peng Shepherd (472) sometime this month.  Later in the summer I plan on reading Joseph Finder's The Oligarch's Daughter (440), Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards (412), The Calamity by Kathryn Stockett (640). Last month I picked up an 840 page fantasy novel The Priory of the Orange Tree. I don’t know if I will have time to finish the novel though. The Daughters of Shandong (400) and The Young Will Remember (448) both written by Eve Chung are also on my tbr list.

Ice Cold Body

I selected this book for the What's in a Name Challenge. I needed a book title that referenced cold weather. Icy Cold Body is a cozy mystery set in Alaska and is the first book in a five book (to date) series by Kelli Fudge. The Snowy Alaskan Murder Mystery series features Maggie Calloway as an amateur sleuth. 

The publisher's summary:  

She came to Alaska for peace. Her cat found a killer.

Retired schoolteacher Margaret "Maggie" Calloway traded her Ohio life for a cozy cabin in remote Frosthaven, Alaska. With her enormous cat, Kodiak, by her side, she dreamed of quiet days amid breathtaking wilderness. But on the first big snowfall, Kodiak drags her to Frosthaven Lake—where the ice-entombed body of beloved fish hatchery owner Earl Benton stares up from below.

The sheriff calls it a tragic accident. Maggie spots the truth: Earl's boots are bone dry. He didn't drown—he was placed there. As Maggie digs into Frosthaven's secrets—over diner coffee, in dusty archives, and among tight-lipped neighbors—she uncovers land disputes, buried grudges, and a missing deed worth a fortune. Someone will kill to keep it hidden.

With a blizzard sealing the town off and 300 suspects snowed in, Maggie and Kodiak race the storm. Clues are vanishing under feet of snow, and the killer knows she's closing in.

I loved this story! Maggie discovered a frozen body on the lake and was struck by the deceased's boots being dry. I never figured out how this could happen because the entire body was in the lake. It was never explained either. However, the story moved along at a quick pace and I kept reading. Initially, there weren't many characters introduced. There was basically Maggie and her cat Kodiak. About the midway point in the story we are introduced to town archivist Harriet Voss, Leland Gruber, owner of the Trading Post diner, Sheriff Miller and a few secondary characters. 

Harriet and Maggie became a team. They researched the belief among Frosthaven's citizens that their lakefront could not be developed. There were whispers that a deed from 1972 prohibited any development. Earl Benton, the deceased, was known to have proof. Together these two ladies solved the mystery of the deed as well as who killed Earl. Harriet and Maggie worked so well together that I think they will be the amateur sleuths in future releases of the series. 

Maggie's former career as a schoolteacher helped her deal with adversary characters. On almost every page Maggie is thinking back to her classroom and how she dealt with students, other teachers and school administration. She instinctively knew how to handle difficult people. It was fascinating to see how she was able to use her skills in a different setting.

I was surprised that the book only had 145 pages. I checked the page length of subsequent books in the series and they all were short. Despite this, the book followed the mystery formula to a T. It was an exciting novel. 5 out of 5 stars.