The Mediterranean Caper is a fun but ridiculous 70s action novel with a focus on old airplanes and smuggling. The sexism in the book is particularly maddening, making it more of a completionist read than a must-read.
The Mediterranean Caper is the first Dirk Pitt book published and the second chronologically. It's a fun read with a focus on old airplanes and smuggling, but it lacks the ocean salvage and underwater adventure that made Pacific Vortex! and later books so engaging. The sexism in the book is particularly problematic, with Pitt's behavior towards women being both offensive and outdated. This book is more interesting as a completionist read to see where the series began, rather than a standout in the series. If you're not reading the series in order or only picking the best Dirk Pitt books, you might want to skip this one.
Quick quotes
It's 70s action at it's finest, with more of a focus on old airplanes and smuggling than ocean salvage.
The sexism is ... pretty ridiculous in this book, wherein early in the book, Pitt meets a woman, finds out she's a widow of several years, slaps her and tells her to move on with her life, and has sex with her--all within minutes of meeting her.
Overall, it's mostly an interesting book in a completionist state / to see where the series came from.