The Sky Pirates
Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates is the seventh of twelve Indiana Jones novels published in the 1990s. This series, officially licensed by Lucasfilm, is inspired by the Indiana Jones character who first appeared in 1981 with the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. Rob MacGregor authored the first six books. Martin Caidin wrote the seventh and eighth books including The Sky Pirates. Max McCoy wrote the last four books in the series.
The events of this story take place in 1930. Indy is chosen by top intelligence officers of Britain and the United States to be part of an international team investigating the mysterious hijackings of ships and planes. Suspecting a leak in this team, Indy sets into motion a series of events designed to reveal who the traitor is. At the same time, this team comes to the conclusion that an evil organization seeking world domination is behind the mysterious hijackings. The story culminates with a battle in the air.
I have mixed opinions on this book. The first two-thirds are somewhat sluggish and short on action and adventure. However, the last one-third is fairly exciting. Caidin introduces some new and interesting characters in the book, but he left out Marcus Brody who is one of my favorite characters. There is not much archaeology in this book, but I did like how Caidin incorporated aviation history into the story. Thus, I do recommend this book, but with some reservations.