A good read, though could have had more mystery and less education about turtles. Having been to Costa Rica many times, I was hoping for more of the culture than what I got.

Murder in Costa Rica was an interesting novel. I was very much interested in all the aspects regarding Sea Turtle rescues, conservation issues and even the perspectives of the poachers. It did not occur to this reader there was actual politics involved when it came to saving an endangered species. Once the murder occurred, I liked the way the investigation was depicted - as a lot of questions, gathering clues, waiting for forensics and listing possible suspects.
However, the "bad guys" were 1-demential. Their characters depicted as cold, violent, drug addled and, well, stupid. Very stupid. To the point of disbelief. The Leader of the "bad guys" was also boringly 1-demential. Other than being ruthless, he too was depicted as foolish. Again, he seemed unbelievable.
I am well aware the depiction of drug smuggling is very much an issue all around the world. I am also well aware many poachers are poachers simply to survive.
At times the writing was awkward, stilted in a sort of amateurish style while at other times, it flowed and and was well written. It is obvious the author is passionate about Turtle Conservation as that was where the book was wonderful. This reader cannot point her finger on what went "wrong", but it was almost as if 2 people with 2 different writing styles wrote it. Or the author wrote parts of the book separately and then inserted them into the book.
For anyone who wants a book about Costa Rica and turtle conservation, this will be enjoyable.
Trigger Warning: there is sexual violence, and brutal depictions of animal abuse

I received this book via Netgalley in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed this fictional re-telling of a real life historical event in Costa Rica. The story is based on the brutal killing of a local Costa Rican environmentalist, and the kidnapping, torture, and rape of four eco-volunteers helping the green sea turtles. I thought the author did a great job bringing the characters to life, and exploring the drug trade and bribery in the government agencies of Costa Rica.

I love this book, could not put it down. I also learned a lot. It felt so real, like I was there. I highly recommend it.

This book is a wonderful quick read! It has all the perfect elements: a great beach setting, heart pumping mystery to keep you guessing, and a handsome man interested in our main character. How could you not read it??

The resume of the story sounded good - environmental protection for, and of, nesting turtles versus the locals collecting their eggs in order to make money to survive plus a second string bringing in drug related crimes, distribution and so on, all set in Costa Rica. To start we had very brief descriptions of the main characters but with a lot of stilted dialogue which felt more like a script for an average to poor movie. There were odd sections with an immense amount of detail, for example the life history of the turtles, and that felt like a wiki entry rather than part of the book as well as moving swiftly back to plain dialogue. The story got darker with the murder of one of the environmentalists and general harassment of the others by the various drug dealers and we did start to get some context inserted. Too little too late to rescue the book though. The romance between an environmental volunteer and the "good" policemen was teenage I'm afraid especially as the lady concerned was apparently an adult divorcee. Still, it was a first novel and the story had potential, just not achieved for me.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest review.

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon in Costa Rica which promoted me to request a copy of this book. The cover also intrigued me with its bright colors and great scene. That being said I would like to leave an honest and objective review. The story was hard to follow at times and character development was lacking. I think the idea behind the story or the story being told was good. It was fun reliving our vacation through this book (the places not the story in the book of course) and I think many readers who have visited Costa Rica will feel the same.