10 Free Cozy Mystery Books

Are you a cozy mystery reader who's looking for a free read? Or maybe an introduction to a series you haven't read before? 

Here are ten cozy mysteries, all first in a series, that are free (in ebook format). All are available from several online retailers, too, including Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble (Nook), and Apple Books.

 A Devilish Punishment by Jennifer Bramseth

Prosecuting a pervert. A dead mentor. A new boss. What else could go wrong?

A Devilish Punishment is the first book in the Devil Springs Cozy Mysteries series. 



 
Charm School by Kate Martin

Amanda Clarke thinks of herself as perfectly ordinary in every way. Just a small-town girl who serves breakfast all day in a little diner. . .

Charm School is the first book in the Witches Three Cozy Mystery series.



Deadly Gamble by Connie Shelton

In this debut almost-cozy mystery series novel, Charlie Parker, accountant and partner in an Albuquerque private investigation firm, is visited by her old school friend. . .

Deadly Gamble is the first book in the Charlie Parker Mystery series.

How to Bake a Murder by K. J. Emrick 

"I can't get a pulse. Cookie, call for an ambulance."
Definitely not the words you want to hear when a man has just collapsed in the middle of your bakery.

How to Bake a Murder is the first book in the Cookie and Cream Cozy Mystery series.







Last Chance for Murder by Estelle Richards 

 

One last chance to get things right. Too old for Hollywood at age 29, Lisa Chance leaves her failed acting career and a cheating boyfriend in LA and goes home. . . 

Last Chance for Murder is the first book in the Lisa Chance Cozy Mysteries series.



Murder& Mayhem by K. P. Stafford

Within twenty-four hours, Alexis Danforth's world is shattered. She loses her parents and her job. . .

Murder & Mayhem is the first book in the Cryptic Cove Cozy Mystery series.Murder in Cherry Hills by Paige Sleuth



Murder in Cherry Hills by Paige Sleuth

How do you solve a murder when the only eyewitness can't talk? Kat Harper has barely settled back into small-town life when she spies her neighbor's cat Matty sitting on her doorstep. . .

Murder in Cherry Hills is the first book in the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series.


Murder at the Mayan Temple by Mary Jane Hathaway   

Kitty Swift travels around the sunny Yucatan peninsula assisting luxury cruise ship groups as an interpreter for the deaf. After a disastrous broken engagement, she's perfectly content to spend her days with her service dog, Chica. . .

Murder at the Mayan Temple is the first book in the Starling and Swift series.


Pretty is as Pretty Dies by Elizabeth Spann Craig

  
Life in this small Southern town just got ugly . . . and exciting! No one in Bradley, North Carolina, is exactly crying into their sweet tea over the murder of Parke Stockard. . .

Pretty is as Pretty Dies is the first book in the Myrtle Clover Cozy Mystery series. 

 
Starboard Secrets by Hope Callaghan

Millie Sanders’ happily ever after is suddenly destroyed when her husband of 35 years comes home one day and informs her that he is leaving her for another woman. . . 

Starboard Secrets is the first book in the Cruise Ship Mystery series.



                                                                                                                              

Make a No-Sew Mask in a Minute

Here's a quick and easy way to make a no-sew face mask. You will need just three components, and one of them is optional:

20-inch by 20-inch square of cotton fabric
1 coffee filter (optional)
2 rubber bands (or two ribbons)

Step One
Lay out the fabric square, right side down, on a flat surface. If there is a selvage edge place it on the left side.

Step Two
Place the coffee filter on the center of the fabric. Mine had fluted edges, so I ironed it first to flatten it. Note that this step is optional. The coffee filter just adds more filtration, and, unlike fabric, it's a nonwoven product.

Step Three
Fold the fabric up from the bottom to the halfway point.

Step Four
Bring the top half of the fabric down so that it covers the coffee filter and the edge meets the bottom edge that you folded up in Step Three.

Step Five
Fold the bottom up to the center and fold the top over it. After completing this step, you've made a total of four folds since you began.

Step Six
Slide a rubber band over each end.

Step Seven
Fold the ends to meet in the middle. Tuck the right end into the center of the left end. If your fabric originally had a selvage that you placed on the left side, the selvage edge will be on the outside so that no stray threads or raw edges are showing. Pull the rubber bands to the ends.

Step Eight
Put on the mask by pulling the rubber bands over your ears. Adjust the mask on your face.

If you find that you don't like looping the rubber bands around your ears or it's uncomfortable, you can use ties instead. I used two 28-inch lengths of ribbon for an alternative. Place the ribbons on the fabric, and pull them to the fold at each end. The following picture shows the left end folded.

When both ends are folded, tuck in the center.

Center the ribbons so that they are the same length and then tie the top left and right together and tie the bottom left and right together. You can use knots or bows.

With all these layers, it will be difficult to breath if you use a heavy fabric. A quilting-weight cotton should work, or if you don't have any fabric scraps around, you might try fabric cut from an old pillow case or sheet as long as it isn't worn thin.