The Laughing Falcon. Even leaving aside the Costa Rican setting it's a very enjoyable book especially if you like murder mysteries. The author, William Deverell, is a well-known Canadian author who lives part of the year near Quepos. He's appears to be an avid birder as well. Read this book for an insider's jaded view on the tourist scene in Pacific area but also for very authentic bits about the Manual Antonio and Tortuguero landscapes with a few interesting tips for single women travellers in San Jose.

Another good book is Natural History of Costa Rica, by Dr. Alan Jensen.  Dr. Jensen was the man who studied the last dry rain forest on the Pacific Coast of Central America, now called the Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica).  Anyone interested in knowing in detail about natural history will enjoy the great work of this man with a vision of the future.  Without him, the National Park would have been destroyed by the cattle farmers.

An excellent travel guidebook is Explore Costa Rica (Fifth Edition) by Harry S. Pariser. This new guide covers a lot of places not found in other guidebooks. It makes a wonderful companion to this website. The maps, charts, tips, bus schedule, etc. — all are useful! Highly recommended.