There's nothing like the approach of a New Year to get you thinking about time, and clocks, and grains of sand. So I thought I would put together a rather unusual collection of cozy mysteries that mark the passing of time. Happy New Year everyone!

​If you love audiobooks or use the Whispersync for Kindle facility, then you can often download the audiobook versions of the free books for a huge discount once you have the Kindle book, even when you get the Kindle book for free. Below are the audiobook versions of this week's free Kindle books. Amazon will generally ask you if you want to add the audiobook version once you get to the checkout. 

We're coming to the end of our historical cozy mystery book month, but there are still a few more collections to share with you before the month is up. Today's collection is a Victorian themed one, set between 1837-1901 during Queen Victoria's reign (they may or may not be technically considered cozies!). If you haven't done so already, don't forget to download your free historical books and previews here - this is a great way to try out new authors and books you might not normally read. You can also join the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook for more free books and book fun.   

Whenever you 'buy' (download for free) the Kindle version of a book, always check if to see if you can add the audiobook version at check out at the same time. Audiobooks are often reduced from over £20 to around £2.99 for folks who have the Kindle ebook already. This usually means that you can make use of the Whispersync function on your Kindle device and switch between reading and listening to the story - perfect for when you are at the gym, or driving your car. You can also get the audiobooks as part of an Audible subscription, or sign up for a free 30 day trial to see if you like audiobooks first. 

I don't know about you, but I'm a huge fan of the Downton Abbey series, and with no more new series on the cards, I figured I would try and find some cozy mystery books with a Downton Abbey vibe instead. Because, well, let's face it, you can NEVER have enough cozy mystery books in your life! So without further ado, I present to you....today's historical cozy mystery books!!  

Whenever you 'buy' (download for free) the Kindle version of a book, always check if to see if you add the audiobook version at the same time. These are often reduced from over £20 to around £2.99 for folks who have the ebook. This usually means that you can make use of the Whispersync function on your Kindle device and switch between reading and listening to the story - perfect for when you are at the gym, or driving your car. You can also get the audiobooks as part of an Audible subscription, or sign up for a free 30 day trial to see if you like audiobooks first. 

Since November is all about celebrating historical cozy mystery books, I thought we'd take a moment to appreciate author Kerry Greenwood and her female sleuth and fearless flapper Phryne Fisher. These books are set around 1928-1929 in Australia. They have some of the most beautiful book covers too! I'm not 100% certain that they are cozy mystery books, but they are certainly close enough and it would be too sad not to include them. 

Whenever you buy the Kindle version of a book, always check if to see if you add the audiobook version at the same time. These are often reduced from over £20 to around £2.99 for folks who have the ebook. This usually means that you can make use of the Whispersync function on your Kindle device and switch between reading and listening to the story - perfect for when you are at the gym, or driving your car. You can also get the audiobooks as part of an Audible subscription, or sign up for a free 30 day trial to see if you like audiobooks first. 

A rather self indulgent blog post from me, since I'm not only celebrating my birthday today, but I'm also celebrating the launch of my publishing company Isla Britannica Books, going full time as a cozy mystery author...and an announcing some rather special first editions of my new cozy mystery book Dead on Doughnuts!! But in case you need some more birthday themed books why not take a look at my Pinterest board and see if any of these birthday mysteries take your fancy!!

Grand Theft Retro isn't especially birthday themed, but it does have a 1970s theme, and since I was born in 1975 I figured it might be fun to add some retro to the birthday collection!!

You may or may not know that for every copy I sell of my books, a percentage of the royalties is given to my UK registered charity Oceans Project to fund a teen to go on a citizen science expedition with Earthwatch - tagging sharks, protecting coral reefs, working with archaeologists....

Funds are also used to provide free, online, environmental and STEM education to young people aged 5-25 worldwide, in particular those without formal access to school because of things like gender, poverty, war, natural disaster, or disability. This is something I have been doing for free since 2010, reaching over 100,000 young people each year, mainly through Skype in the Classroom. I was even named by Microsoft Education for International Women's Day 2014 as a 'woman changing the world through technology'. 

The charity doesn't generally accept donations as it raises funds through passive income from my books, but to celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books, and it being my birthday and first year as a full time author, I've decided to set up an annual birthday fundraiser for anyone who wants to contribute towards the charity's work, to see how many teens we can fund to go on expeditions that will raise their awareness of the environment. You can find out more about the charity here.  

Technically, Agatha Christie can't really be included under the heading of Historical Cozy Mysteries because the books were not written at least 50 years after the time period she was writing about. But not to include her in our celebration of historical cozy mystery books would just seem like blasphemy given that Christie is considered the Queen of the Mysteries. The technical term for Agatha Christie's books would really be 'classics' but they certainly give us some insight into the time in which she wrote. Not all of her books are cozy mystery, since they are really crime thrillers, but I'm going to break my own rules and include some of them anyway - such a rebel I know! If you want to explore more of Agatha Christie's books and wonderful book covers, check out my Pinterest board here. 

Every Friday I include free audiobook codes in my Free Book Friday mailing list for you to use to download any book you like from Audible in the UK, US, Germany, or France. You can also get the books on your 30 day free trial if you aren't already a member. What would be super cool, is that you leave a review on whatever book it is that you listen to, as this will really help future readers and help me to acquire more free codes from Audible that I can pass on to you. Need more audiobook suggestions, check out my blog post here or for more Agatha Christie audio books click here.  

Remember, remember, the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason, and plot.....if you grew up in the UK then these words will be etched on your brain forever from history lessons as a child - Guy Fawkes and his plan to blow up London's House of Lords on the 5th November 1605. But more likely, will be memories of bonfire night festivities, the smell of bonfires on chilly nights, hot soup, and treacle (bonfire) toffee you could break your teeth on, and the sky filled with explosions and crowds murmuring oohs and ahhs at the pretty colours. Well, I think I just found a little niche for cozy mystery writers, as there aren't a whole lot of cozy mystery books based on bonfire night, so I'm going to set myself a little challenge and try and write one for you for next year, because it seems like the ideal time and location for a cozy murder mystery to take place!! If I can find enough other cozy authors to write with me, then who knows, there might even be a book filled with stories for all your favourite writers!! Now that would be really cool. And you can never have enough cozy mystery books - right?

FYI, a little fact you might not know about me. I was recently filmed over the space of a year for a television series based on the American and Irish 'Genealogy Roadshow' looking at my love of ice swimming (it's not been on TV yet, but will be on Channel 4 in England). Well, there were two little children there on one of the filming days, and they discovered that they were descendants of Guy Fawkes himself. That has to be a bonus when you're at primary school in England, imagine being able to get one up on your teacher in a lesson about your relative! 

Anyhow, here is a little collection of loosely themed Guy Fawkes /Bonfire Night cozy mystery books that I found for the occasion so I hope that you enjoy them. They may or may not be bordering on the 'cozy mystery' genre, but let's see how you get on. In the meantime, I've put together a Pinterest board of Bonfire (Guy Fawkes Night) books and you can download this month's historical cozy mystery collection absolutely free of charge from here. Be sure to join us in the Facebook Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group if you need more cozies in your life.     

Gunpowder Plot by Carola Dunn was the closest I could find. Set during the annual Guy Fawkes Night fireworks display on the 5th November 1924 at Edge Manor in the Cotswolds, England. 

In Reggiecide by Chris Dolley, Guy Fawkes is reanimated and brought back to life in a steampunk-esque story. 

As part of this month's historical cozy mystery collection, I thought I would share with you all the marvellous mystery books with a museum theme. There were too many to feature here, so I hope you'll enjoy checking out even more on my Pinterest board. If you want to see more historical cozy mystery pins then click here. 

In the meantime, enjoy these museum themed books, and don't forget to download this month's free historical cozy mystery books. If you want to get even more involved, please do come and say hello in our Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook. 

As part of historical cozy mystery month, I thought we would showcase some antiques today. There are some very prolific writers in this category and it was hard to decide which books to chose, so I really hope you will check out the authors and see their whole collection of books. They really are stunning. 

If you need more free historical mystery books in your life, here are this month's books to download for free, and my Pinterest board featuring loads of lovely book covers to wet your appetite. 

If you want the heads up on more cozy mystery book freebies, come and join us in the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook or sign up to my mailing list. ​

This month we are celebrating and exploring historical cozy mystery books from Agatha Christie, to Steampunk, Victorian, antiques shops, World Wars I and II, Jane Austen, Downton Abbey style, and more. Starting with a collection of books that are currently on the bestseller list on Amazon and which you can download for free right now. FYI, each book is on a different promotion and I have no control over when the end dates are for each book, so if you see one you want, grab it now whilst you can.

If you need more free historical mystery books in your life, here are this month's books to download for free, and my Pinterest board featuring loads of lovely book covers to wet your appetite. 

If you want the heads up on more cozy mystery book freebies, come and join us in the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook or sign up to my mailing list.