Kill Me, Darling — Max Allan Collins; Mickey Spillane

Things turn personal when hard-boiled PI Mike Hammer discovers his ex-lover has high-tailed it to Miami -- and landed in the arms of a notorious gangster
 
“Mike Hammer is undeniably an icon of our culture.”' -- New York Times
 
The course of true love never did run smooth for PI Mike Hammer. His secretary and partner, Velda, has walked out on him without explanation, sending Hammer on a four-month bender.
 
But then an old cop turns up murdered -- an old cop who once worked with Velda on the NYPD Vice Squad. What's more, Mike's pal Captain Pat Chambers has discovered that Velda is in Florida, the moll of gangster and drug runner Nolly Quinn. 

Hammer hits the road and drives to Miami, where he enlists the help of a horse-faced newspaperman and a local police detective. But can they find Velda in time? And what is the connection between the murdered vice cop in Manhattan, and Mike's ex turning gun moll in Florida?

“In a manner similar to Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, Hammer was a cynical loner contemptuous of the ‘tedious process' of the legal system, choosing instead to enforce the law on his own terms.” -- The Washington Times