Caught Dead — Brett Halliday

A South American coup can't stop PI Mike Shayne from helping a friend in need in this wild ride of a crime thriller from the hardboiled mystery author.   For Mike Shayne's friend, reporter Tim Rourke, it all started with a fan letter. A Venezuelan student at the University of Miami wormed her way into his good graces, and into his bed. Now, as her home country is rocked by a coup, Rourke is given an exclusive interview with the jailed president. But unknown to Rourke, his Latin lover is a guerrilla who's setting him up to take a big fall . . .   When a bomb blows off the top of the prison, killing the president, Rourke becomes the prime suspect. Enter Mike Shayne. Against all odds, he'll have to bust his friend out of jail, because the breaking news is not great: the American government is washing their hands of Rourke. And Shayne is his one and only chance at freedom.   The hard-drinking, hard-fisted, quick-thinking private eye! —Dayton Journal-Herald