What a book! This one grabbed me from the very beginning and did not letup.
This one started out with the pilot of a commercial airliner as the victim of a heart attack, and the plane crashed into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota. This becomes ground zero for the disaster, and the rest of the story is a roller coaster. The tale is told from multiple perspectives, and I was afraid for the fate of most of them.

This one has heartwarming instances when the townspeople came together, tense and dangerous scenes in the power plant, crises with the firefighters who were trying to rescue a little boy, teachers directing children to safety, and families and neighbors huddling together and hoping to help. It was a really good book! Other reviewers have commented that there were too many characters, and admittedly there were a lot, and they were sometimes hard to track. That’s the only negative for me.

I switched back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook. The narration was really good, and the different voices were believable and easily remembered.

Five great stars for this one!

This book was amazing. It kept my attention from first to last page and I flew through it. It was gripping and immersive and I absolutely loved the research that must have went into this novel regarding the logistics of nuclear power plants. I left this book more knowledgeable and also with a full heart as TJ Newman always writes about the best in humanity when times are tough. Though a nuclear power plant was hit by a plane and a crisis ensues, we see the locals come together in selfless acts to help their community. Sacrifices were made and this book tugged at my heart strings.

One of my favourite books I read this year. I will always read anything TJ Newman writes.

Thank you so much Netgalley and TJ Newman for the advanced readers copy!

5 stars

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Grab a box of Kleenex and enjoy the sad wild ride. I was hooked by the first page of this book. I thought about the book all the time when I was reading it. The storyline is so incredibly true and scary. Thinking this could happen is so scary. You feel so connected netted to the characters and only want the best outcome for them.

TJ Newman’s latest book Worst Case Scenario is another five star read as were Ms. Newman’s previous books Falling and Drowning. As with the author’s previous novels, this is another action packed, heart stopping, wild ride. What is it called when a plane full of passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant? Worst case scenario.

What I love about Ms. Newman’s books are how well researched and detail oriented they are and this one is probably the most detailed. I almost feel like I could run my own nuclear power plant after reading this book.

Another thing the author does so wonderfully is creating characters that the reader can really relate with and connect with. I found myself really caring about what happens to these characters. I could see myself or someone I know in almost all of them. I was biting my nails down, so nervous for the characters in dangerous situations. I loved Joss, Ethan, Steve, Dani, and so many others. They are all so well written.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. It has it all. I am sure this will also be made into a movie. I cried in parts, laughed out loud when I was reading it on a plane (coincidentally). I recommend it to anyone who loves a great story, cliff hangers almost every chapter that keep you reading into the night, characters you can really root for, and an ending that is fully reconciled with no loose ends.

Thank you TJ Newman for writing this amazing book and to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for proving this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Worst Case Scenario is a literal action movie, brought to life on the page. Addictive, fast-paced and impossible to set down, this is must have entertainment this summer.

I LOVE TJ Newman's books, and this latest did not disappoint. High octane action that doesn't let up for a minute is served from the very first sentence to the very last page and I absolutely loved every minute of it. It is big, over the top, dramatic, crazy, rollercoaster fun, and it's the type of popcorn thriller reading that I love to sprinkle in my TBR for a refreshing palate cleanser when I want something easy and hugely entertaining.

While being action packed, TJ still manages to create characters that you care about and that you are rooting for, and despite this being a totally wild story about a plane crashing into a nuclear facility, and the race to stop the subsequent meltdown, TJ still managed to pack a wallop of emotion into this plot. Cut to me crying actual tears through the last third of the book as the heroes of this story are all fighting to save the day.

If you love the big dramatic action capers (think Mission Impossible, Speed, Armageddon, or James Bond) you are going to love this book. It is perfect summer reading and it should absolutely be the next book you add to your summer TBR. You just don't want to miss the fun, I promise you.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy.

I don't know how many more horrible airplane scenario books Newman can possibly come up with, but I will read every last one of them. They are addicting and it is physically impossible to force me to put it down until I have finished every. last. word,. I think because they are SO inventive and imaginative, it doesn't occur to me to be afraid of flying after I read one. It would be like if a book about ferocious wolves made me scared of dogs. I am a huge fan.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown & Company, and Hachette Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest thriller by TJ Newman, with the audiobook narrated by Joe Morton. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications. The International Nuclear Event Scale tracks nuclear disasters. It has seven levels. Level 7 is a Major Accident, with only two on record: Fukushima and Chernobyl. There has never been a Level 8. Until now.

Wow - TJ Newman has done it again! This book was gripping from beginning to end, tension ratcheting up throughout. We get to see how this event affects the people in town - power plant employees, teachers, firefighters. Each chapter leaves us with a cliffhanger from a different vantage point, and my heart was pounding the entire time. This book showcases how people step up when they need to, becoming heroes for the rest of us. I loved being able to go between both book formats so I didn't have to put this one down, and the audio was fabulous with sound effects making it even more chilling., As with all TJ Newman's books, this is a must read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

A wild ride. A disaster. A dying town coming together in the worst scenario imaginable. A commercial airline pilot suffers a medical emergency causing the disaster. A town dying due to the upcoming closure of the nuclear plant, becomes the site of the crash. In two separate, but linked, actions, the town comes together to save the children, and the plant workers come together to save the surrounding area. There are great sacrifices and deserving survivors. The story is fast paced and comes to a satisfying conclusion. The author has become a favorite and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Worst Case Scenario is TJ Newman’s third book. Like her earlier books, Falling and Drowning, this one involves a plane crash. However, this time, the plane has crashed into a nuclear power station in a small town in the US. Time is of the essence to save the power station before it implodes. At the same time, firefighters are trying to save the life of a young child who is stuck in his family’s van hanging off a bridge, covered in fuel, after it was hit by part of the plane’s debris.

The story starts off with a bang and there are some good, tense scenes. The child in the van storyline is very well done. However, I found that the nuclear power station storyline required technical descriptions that at times took me out of that part of the plot. I found myself skimming those descriptions.

Having said that, the author does a good job of weaving interesting issues and questions into the nuclear power plant plotline around family, sacrifice, community, the value of one life versus several, and motherhood.

This is a different story to Falling and Drowning which were action-packed with full-on tense scenes which fed into most people’s fears around airplane travel. While a plane crashing into a nuclear power station is frightening in an end of the world type of way, it is a less immediate kind of fear, at least for me. The child stuck in a van teetering on the edge of a bridge was intense as I could relate as a parent to the fear of losing a child.

Worst Case Scenario is a very enjoyable read that kept me entertained and that had a great bittersweet ending.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I can't recommend this book enough. It is really a great book and a great story. If there was a danger at a nuclear power plant, and you knew all about the work, would you be willing to sacrifice yourself to save others? That is what a number of characters in this book have to consider. At some point or other you'll need to shed a tear. There are great characters that the reader learns to like and love. Again, highly recommended

T.J. Newman is one heck of a thriller writer!

In the course of one book:
• I’ve sworn off airplanes
• I (to my regret) searched my proximity to nuclear power plants
• Learned that ‘decommissioning’ in regard to said nuclear power plants is mostly just a comfort word for a scarily long process
• Used way too many tissues to blot my teary eyes

And now…I want another book from the author!

This is an exhilarating and heartbreaking roller coaster ride of a book that, honestly, also needs to be a movie.

Have your popcorn read!

• ARC via Publisher

This was an absolute roller coaster ride that yanked my heartstrings! I legitimately cried while reading this book! TJ Newman knows how to write an action-packed story while also making you feel all sorts of anxiety! Her novel Drowning had me feeling claustrophobic, but this story had me feeling an overwhelming sense of dread for all of humanity. A plane crashes into a town, and unfortunately, this town happens to house a nuclear power plant, which the plane crashes into. Clearly this type of crash gets national news, and even the President is involved. This book shows the courageous side of people who are in a horrible situation. I absolutely loved this book!

WORST CASE SCENARIO is a slight detour from Newman’s typical fast-paced novel all set within a plane. Thank you @littlebrown for my early copy of @tj_author new release, out August 13th!

So Newman’s past two novels have centrally revolved around planes, and while Worst Case Scenario begins quickly with a plane crash, the remainder of the novel is literally the “worst case scenario” from TJ’s conversation with a pilot. The plane crashes into a nuclear power plant.

As someone who lives near Three Mile Island and constantly asks random questions like “how does that REALLY work??” Worst Case Scenario hit close to home! I will also say that this is the novel where I have connected the closest to the characters and the impossible decisions they have to make.

I loved the relationships she placed in the novel (lost time, father-son relationship, saving a young boy no matter the costs). These really brought home the reality of the “do or death” seemingly unmanageable scenarios the normal people working to save the power plant have to face throughout the novel.

I could not put this down, if you like her past novels and you enjoy thrillers you will like this.

Content Warnings: mentionings of cancer and miscarriage, parental loss, radiation exposure, car crash, plane crash, hypothermia, nuclear disaster.

I love TJ Newman!

I was reading this book while visiting my parents and I was so invested and interested in this book that I told them about it and got them interested in it too (and they're not the biggest readers). I'm planning on buying it for them when it comes out :)

I was hooked from the very beginning. I read Drowning and have Falling on my TBR, so when I saw this on NetGalley I knew I had to request it. I am a big fan of multiple narrators, and I actually felt like we needed all of the perspectives we were given. If it was only one I think we would have missed a lot of the intensity.

I gasped, I cried, I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Co for the eARC!

✨ 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 ✨

Worst Case Scenario
T.J. Newman
Pub Date: August 13, 2024

A huge thank you to @littlebrown @tj_author @netgalley and Novel Suspects for the #gifted pr box!

I have been looking forward to this book for quite some time. I really loved Falling by this same author. Drowning is on my list to read as well, and I’m sure it will be just as good!

This book, just like T.J. Newman’s others starts out with a bang. The prologue completely sets the stage for the rest of the book and I was HOOKED! This is one of those books where you’re so invested in the storyline and characters that you stay up late into the night reading. Oh and did I mention crying.. because there will be lots of crying (or it did for me😂)

T.J. Newman did an amazing job explaining the nuclear power plant and the impact the plane crash had on it. She did this in such a simplistic way to make it easy to understand even if you had no backstory of these types of things. There are quite a few characters in this book and it jumps from POVs often. At first I was getting a bit confused with who was who but as I kept reading I was so invested in these characters the swapping of POVs wasn’t an issue.

You want a thrilling book that will keep you engaged and also completely wreck you at the same time? Then make sure to pick this one up. I’ve already recommended this multiple times to family members and will continue!

If you have been following me for some time, you know that I loved T.J. Newman's debut and sophomore novels, Falling and Drowning. And I am so excited to tell the world that T.J. Newman has done it again!

Worst Case Scenario is a propulsive, urgent thriller that unfolds at an unrelenting pace after a pilot has a widow-maker heart attack, igniting a series of events that will put the entire country at risk. Born from Newman's time as a flight attendant, this novel imagines the worst man-made disaster possible - a plane crashing into a nuclear power plant - and examines how communities come together and triumph in the face of tragedy.

Unlike Newman's other novels, the plane crash is the least exciting part of this story. It simply acts as a jumping off point for the rest of the plot. Worst Case Scenario really focuses on the on-the-ground response to the crash at the nuclear power plant and in the local community. While that may sound boring, I promise you that Worst Case Scenario is a gripping, edge-of-your seat thriller that you will want to devour in one sitting. And if you are able to keep your eyes dry through this novel, you are a stronger person than me.

Newman manages to do what so many thriller authors fail to do - pack the story with emotion, memorable characters, and nuance. Not only does Newman give us the president that millennials deserve, she created a slew of heroic, multi-faceted characters to become emotionally invested in. They are well-developed, and in the end, felt like neighbors to which I was close.

Because the workings of nuclear power plants are unknown to most, I do recommend that you watch Chernobyl beforehand. I watched the series some time ago and was grateful to have the knowledge about nuclear power plants so that I could understand and visualize everything that happens in Worst Case Scenario. I do not think it is absolutely necessary to have intricate knowledge of nuclear power; however, I think understanding the very basics will enable you to enjoy this novel to its fullest.

(Honestly, the worst part of Worst Case Scenario is the cover. I hate the computer-simulated photo and the font. The font reads to me like a cheap mass market paperback. But I guess that is what happens when you change publishers. I, of course, do not hold the cover against the author, but I felt like something had to be said about the artwork as it does a great book a disservice.)

Between the characters and the plot, Worst Case Scenario goes beyond a typical thriller and takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster. You will be anxious, enraptured, heartbroken, and proud over the course of this novel. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see what Newman comes up with next!

4.5 stars for yet another heart pumping adrenaline blasting book. How does she do it so consistently? This novel takes place in a nuclear plant. A plane has just crashed into it and experts are called in to try and save nuclear devastation in the US. A small community has to pull together to try and save not only its community but the world.

I loved how everything was explained so thoroughly in this book. What each possible thing led to another and what the result would be. I read this book so quickly because I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen. Inside are smaller stories within the big story and I loved those as well.

Thank you to NetGalley, Little Brown & Company and TJ Newman for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This thriller comes out this week.

Holy heck. I knew before going in that Worst Case Scenario was likely to surpass many of my prior much loved reads. What I didn’t expect was that it was also going to make my jaw repeatedly drop, my fingers fly at speed, and my heart feel all of the feels. I’m not kidding. With an adrenaline-fueled plot and poignant emotion, Newman managed to include every ingredient that every reader could ever want into this psychological thriller. Fear not, however, as that was only the starting point for a book that easily established itself as the crème de la crème.

This story hit so close to home. Bringing to life every past shared trauma, it was a perfect rendition of a “Where were you when…” national catastrophe. With a character list full of heroes and ever rising palpable tension, this rollercoaster ride of suspense just didn’t let up. From the first page until the last, the sharp, compelling plot was propulsive as you can get. And while I tried to slow myself down in order to savor the utter perfection, I just couldn’t avoid inhaling it one cliffhanger chapter after the other.

As I mentioned, the many characters met this truly epic plot step for step. Narrated via omniscient perspective, I connected with each and every persona as they entered the story. You could feel their terror as well as their stubborn backbones as they raced towards the disaster instead of away. They felt so alive. So real. It was as if I could reach out and touch them. When they hurt, I quite literally cried. When they won, I cheered. And if that isn’t the sign of a virtuoso behind the words, then I don’t know what is.

All in all, this was beyond good or even great. It was the highest of highs in a downright fantastic year of reads. Already one of my auto-buy authors, Ms. Newman has firmly cemented her name on my list of favorites. Thanks to her addictive, unputdownable, spellbinding words, I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Now I just have the interminable wait for her next pulse-pounding novel. So don’t waste time. Head to your closest bookseller now. I’m not kidding. After all, you need to read this one ASAP. Rating of 5+++ stars.

Thank you to T.J. Newman; Little, Brown; and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I was on the edge of my seat but I felt like I needed a little more dramatics, I would be zooning out at times. So maybe it was just me? I cried to some of the deaths and I felt such high anxiety. The little boy made me feel so sad with what he had to see. This book is good for those who really enjoyed her two other books just like I did. I would recommend this book. This is closer to a 3.8

Worst Case Scenario is one of those amazing books that you start and can't put down! This book starts out with a bang and just continues to ramp up the suspense! I absolutely love TJ Newman's writing and I always know I'm in for a thrill ride when reading one of her books. Wow! A commercial airliner takes off, flying from Minneapolis to Seattle. It's filled with 295 passengers because it's Easter weekend. Just after take-off the pilot suffers a massive heart attack. The co-pilot is in the bathroom at the time. The plane crashes into a nuclear power plant in Waketa, Minnesota. There is a massive debris field and there is damage to the nuclear plant.

This event is considered a Level 8 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. There have only been 2 events at Level 7, Fukushima and Chernobyl. This is the first Level 8 disaster in the history of the world. The radiation needs to be contained, but will it be? Will the radiation in the air impact the people of Waketa? One of the airplane wings has blocked traffic in and out on a major roadway. This makes help arriving very difficult. This disaster is going to need regular people to step up and do things they have never done before. Firefighters, police, and those working at the nuclear plant will be asked to do things that would have been unimaginable before this event.

Will they be able to avert a global disaster that would impact the food and water supply forever? Will volunteers understand the significance of what they're volunteering to do? Will the families understand? The sacrifice that some make to protect the town, the nation, and the world is heartfelt and heartbreaking. This book made me feel all of those things and more. I rate Worst Case Scenario 5 stars with my very highest recommendation. Worst Case Scenario is out on August 13 and should be read immediately. This book is incredible and I'm still thinking about the characters in the book, what they went through, what they sacrificed, what they saved, and what they lost! I'd like to thank NetGalley and Little Brown Publishing for an advanced copy of Worst Case Scenario in exchange for a fair review. #WorstCaseScenario