Polar Vortex

By: Matthew Mather

Narrated by: Tom Taylorson

A routine commercial flight disappears over the North Pole. No wreckage. No transponder signals.

Mitch Matthews is writer struggling to make ends meet when his wife's brother offers them a first-class seat on a flight from Hong Kong to New York. When his wife needs to stay behind, it becomes an opportunity for some quality daddy-daughter time with his five-year-old Lilly. At check-in, they run into a strange Norwegian arguing with a huge Russian. A mysterious redhead is guarding a package in the business lounge. But everything is fine...right up until the event.

Within hours of Allied Airlines 695 disappearing, a massive international search is launched. Aircraft and ships are dispatched from Russia, America, Canada, and Norway. How can a modern airliner simply vanish in one of the most heavily monitored places on Earth?

Global tensions rise. The media and grieving families whip into a frenzy. The armed forces of America and Russia tip the world toward the brink of an apocalyptic war.

Weeks later, found on the ice in a chance discovery, the journal of Mitch Matthews reveals the incredible truth behind the disappearance of Allied 695, and what really happened in the Polar Vortex.

©2019 Matthew Mather (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Polar Mystery/Thriller

Too many red herrings and coincidences for my pleasure. It did have a couple of very exciting action scenes. Though the story made me feel cold just listening to it, the main character, Mitch, took so little care of himself that I began to skip his whining about being thirsty or hungry and I didn't really care if he survived. As a parent, his behavior seemed foolish.

Kept me interested and it was kid friendly

This is the only free Audible book I’ve really been able to get into and listen to the complete book without loosing interest. This is a good book to listen to in your car with your kids. That was a nice change from my usual true crime picks that I can only listen to with AirPods.

Not awful but not good

Enjoyed the beginning and middle. Was not a fan of the ending at all.

Frozen with suspense!

Really enjoyed this book. Hard to put down adventure story with likeable good guys and who are the bad guys? Original plot and loved the puzzles.

Entertaining and Thought Provoking

While this isn't the typical kind of story I prefer it was entertaining. It made me wonder about being in a similar situation. It also made me curious as to certain scenarios going on in the world, if they're real. It's hard to explain without including spoilers. Bottom line is; it was not a waste of a credit.

A formula things go wrong

Shallow characters coupled with mediocre storyline. I did not get pulled into rooting for anyone in this story. Lots of hand wavy things going wrong, getting hacked etc...
I should have put it down when the wife had a bad feeling about the flight, building tension the same way a soggy pancake would.

Wow, wow, wow!!

Great story! Great action! Just when you think they’re saved, you see how much of the book is left and know another twist is on the way! Loved it! Will definitely check out more books by this author!

Wonderful twists and turns!!!

(Review is for Audible book)
This book and the narrator were great! I wished the book would never end!

great book and very compelling

great story
good performance
a wee bit fantastical here and there, can unprepared and untrained folks really survive in such a situation
keeps you wondering the whole time about who is good and who is not

recommend

Almost

This is a story that keeps you guessing as works its way out. I would have enjoyed it much more if the main character Mitch wasn't so much of a wimp and extreme self-examiner of all of his feelings, inadequacies, and actions. Since he is the main character, you simply can't get away from him, and he seemed to be deep into self-criticism and second-guessing himself much of the time. Also some of the arctic action is not wholly believable. The audiobook DID keep me listening, but a different story by this author could well be more enjoyable.