Killer Whale — Elizabeth Quinn

A PERSONAL MISSION
When Lauren Maxwell, the Anchorage-based investigator for the Wild America Society, arrives on Alaska's Prince of Wales Island to prevent the capture of wild orcas, she knows she has a prickly assignment. French biologist Raoul D'Onofre has won the right to take the animals from the deep, wild waters -- and he's not about to let eco-activists stop him. But then Sam Larrabee, Lauren's host and friend, is found floating in Cordova Bay, and she must turn her attention from the killer whales to a deadly mystery.

Her investigation snakes from the island's carved totems to the cold ocean floor, revealing a dangerous enemy, unlikely allies -- and evidence that Sam may have been murdered. Meanwhile, the showdown between the ruthless D'Onofre and a flotilla of activists threatens further tragedy. With her eight-year-old daughter Jessie caught in the fray, Lauren must make a difficult sacrifice to protect the orcas -- and her own family.