Great thriller that kept me engaged from start to finish. Fabulous plot and characters, and author I will definitely read more of!

Nick Finn is an agent with Customs and Border Patrol. Mona Jimenez is a human-rights attorney attached to a firm that provides legal services for people caught crossing the border illegally.

Of course they're married.

They also wind up being the trope-ish investigative team that looks into the murky death of Carmen,who was caught and placed in a detention center after crossing the border to escape her drug cartel-associated boyfriend. There's also the spectre of dirty CBP agents, as Finn notices interdictions in one particular office is solely resulting in rounding up people illegally crossing the border, and zero drug traffickers or their mules.

The story takes a bit to get moving, and in my opinion, the actual opening of the book is a little ways in from where it starts here. However, it is a necessity to give us some information on our main characters.

Curiously enough, these two could just as easily been colleagues instead of husband and wife, as there's no real zing in their relationship. Whatever the case, they do at least work well enough together to investigate what's happening here and bring a little justice into play.

The setting and subject matter are certainly topical and important, the story is decent, and the writing is fine. Some of the Spanish in the text was not translated in the text - I'm not sure if this was because I was reading an ARC or if this was intentional, but it's just a note for folks who may not be able to read the language.

A solid three star out of five read.

Thanks to Forge/Macmillan-Tor and NetGalley for the review copy.

A compulsive page turner. Alex Gilly sophomore effort is a winner. Read it. Political intrigue, suspense, and does not bog down. Highly recommended.

In Death Rattle, Finn and Mona are a team in their marriage—but not at work. Finn is a border control agent patroling the Pacific Ocean off Orange County, California. Mona is an attorney at a non-profit that provides free legal services to illegal aliens caught crossing the Mexican border. However, when Finn saves a woman using a boat to enter California, he asks Mona to review her case.

The woman, Carmen, was dating an enforcer for a drug cartel. When she had tried to run away before, he burned her breasts with battery acid. This time, she knows he will kill her. Can Mona get her asylum in the US?

In the meantime, Finn is suspicious of the Riverside spotting team. They haven’t spotted any drug dealers in quite awhile. Instead, Finn’s boat has only been chasing illegals. When Finn gets temporarily assigned to Riverside, he decides to find out what is going on.

I loved the exhilarating scenes when Finn and his crew were chasing the bad guys on the ocean. However, most of the book is a combination of US corruption, Mexican narco gangs, and a legal thriller. Death Rattle is highly recommended for fans of those genres. 4 stars!

Note: I live in California so, of course, I understand Spanish. If you don’t, I recommend that you read this on an e-reader. Some of the Spanish sentences are not translated in the text. Most e-readers will translate words if you highlight them.

Thanks to Forge Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

So so good! Full of action and tension. It's edge of your seat reading as you read as fast as you can to find out what's going on. A strong plot with lots of twists and turns to keep you happily reading. Pick this up and check it out. Happy reading!

Nick Finn and his wife Mona Jimenez might seem to be opposites but they aren't. He's a Customs and Border Patrol officer and she's a human rights attorney. When Nick rescued and detained Carmen, he didn't expect that she would die in the facility where she was being held but she did. Mona knows something's wrong (beyond the obvious) at the facility, which is a private concern now about to get a huge contract from the USG. She investigates and then sues. No spoilers on what she finds but regular readers of the news might not be surprised but will be disappointed in how inhumane things are. It's a topical read with good characters- not just Nick and Mona but others as well. Gilly tells a strong story but doesn't beat the drum too hard. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read.

Alex Gilly takes on a very powerful and sensitive topic that is right on point with current affairs in the world today with great understanding, sensitivity and compassion. His characters are well developed and the action is non-stop. It grabs you on the first page and takes you on a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns throughout the book and ends with a satisfactory conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forg who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alex Gilly's Death Rattle stars Marine Interdiction Agent Nick Finn and his wife Mona Jimenez, a human-rights lawyer who works for a non-profit, helping migrants.

Together, they unravel a conspiracy involving the biggest private-prison operator in the world, whose CEO is about to be appointed Secretary of Homeland Security, and Mexican cartels.

Death Rattle is an engrossing, disturbing and thought provoking thriller.

Free ARC from NET GALLEY

An okay book, but the married yet objective couple buddy team formula doesn't work well with me. A few times I felt the author's politics got in the way of the plot. 3.5 for me