Michael Collins: Act of Fear (USA 1980)

From the Publisher:
IT BEGAN WITH THE MUCGING OF A COP.
Even in this tough Chelsea district of New York, nobody loved a cop, but there was no reason to connect the attack with the murder of a show girl the day before, until Dan Fortune began investigating the disappearance of a neighborhood kid. Jo-Jo was just a decent guy, not the kind who would drop out for a few days, but he worked at a garage near the scene of the mugging and may have seen something he shouldn t have. When Jo-Jo's father warns Fortune to lay off the search, however, the detective is convinced there's more involved than protecting a frightened boy. And when Jo-Jo's friends turn up dead, Fortune uncovers some surprising alliances, leading right up to the boss of the mob.

Michael Collins: Act of Fear. A Dan Fortune Detective Mystery. New York: Playboy Press Paperbacks, 1980, ISBN: 0872165930, 189 p., $1.75.