Death Rattle    by Alex Gilly Order:  USA  Can Forge, 2020 (2020) Hardcover, CD, e-Book     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson 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. As the novel opens, Finn and his crew intercept an illegal entry vessel taking on water. Transferring the migrants off the boat, a young woman goes overboard and Finn dives in to rescue her. Twenty year old Carmen Vega ends up in a migrant detention center outside Paradise, California, which is where Mona hears her story. Carmen stole from her psychopathic boyfriend Soto, a cartel enforcer who already threw battery acid over her and has threatened to put her in a box with rattlesnakes. Though Mona pleads her case, she's unable to save Carmen. Meanwhile, Finn is on the trail of an insider feeding the cartel information about surveillance drone flight plans. His efforts, and Mona's investigation of the company that runs the Paradise detention center ('the biggest private-prison operator in the world' whose CEO is about to be appointed Secretary of Homeland Security) draws them both into dire peril. Death Rattle is an engrossing, disturbing and thought provoking thriller. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews