Fit to Kill — Brett Halliday

A friend's disappearance sends Mike Shayne to the Caribbean

Timothy Rourke made his name as a Miami crime reporter, but he never knew true evil until he came to the Caribbean. In a corrupt tropical country, where beatings and murders pass for ordinary politics, a student group begs him to report the truth about the dictatorship. Rourke has never been one to refuse a story -- or a beautiful blonde -- but he soon discovers that the men who run this country are experts in more than hiding the truth; they also know how to make a reporter disappear.
 
When Rourke's investigations get the best of him, it falls to Mike Shayne to save his life. As revolution simmers under the tropical sun, Shayne takes on the worst the dictatorship has to offer. The officials may be ruthless killers, but they have never met the likes of Shayne.

Fit to Kill is the 31st book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.