Death at SeaWorld

Marine biologist Naomi Rose works for the Humane Society of the United States, and for two decades she argues against keeping killer whales in captivity. Her opponent is the marine park industry, a multimillion-dollar business with a practiced public relations machine.

The book is non-fiction, reported in the pace of a thriller. It follows the dispute through the people involved: former trainers who become animal rights activists, and the men and women who defend SeaWorld and the keeping of whales.

As attacks by orcas on trainers grow more violent, scientists issue warnings that go unheeded. In 2010 trainer Dawn Brancheau is killed, and the author places her death in context as the most publicized of several brutal attacks at marine mammal theme parks.

The later chapters cover the media backlash and the eyewitnesses who step forward to contradict SeaWorld's polished image. They end with the OSHA case, which puts the practice of holding killer whales in captivity itself on trial.