As a former flight attendant, TJ Newman writes frightening “plane crash” books. With this one, she takes a different spin - what if a plane crashes into a nuclear reactor? So this book is not really about the plane crash, but all the things that can wrong when this happens and how it effects the small town in MN where the nuclear plant is part of everyone’s lives. I read this in one sitting.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have loved both of Newman's previous works - Falling and Drowning. LOVED. I felt that they were different than anything out there and that she really nailed the atmosphere and inner workings of plane travel. This story centers on a possible nuclear meltdown following a plane crash. I enjoyed the read and would recommend.

Screaming. Crying. Throwing up. Ok the crying part yes, the rest no but OMG. She’s done it again. I flew through this book in 48 hours … the same way I did Drowning. This book was heart wrenching, anxiety inducing and made me feel part of humanities best and worst.
It’s amazing with how much concise clarity Newman writes. She allows you to both visualize the true horror of what she writes but also the true emotion of it.
I hope she continues to write and sells the deals to these as movies - I’d both continue to read and watch them in a heartbeat

Worst Case Scenario is relentless. It begins at jet speed at 35,000 feet and doesn't let up until the very last page. The pilot of Coastal Airways Flight 235 suffers a widow-maker heart attack, initiating a series of events that lead to disaster. T. J. Newman’s narrative style and strength shine through from the very first page. In the opening scene we are continually given hope that this will work out OK even though we’ve read the description of the book and know better. Much like re-watching the movie The Perfect Storm, you will root for the attendants, the co-pilot, and the passengers on Flight 235.

Waketa, Minnesota, is home to the United Grace Church. The action takes place all over the town, along highways, and as far as the White House, but the very heart of this story is community and belonging. Nowhere is that more evident than the Church led by Reverend Michaels who talks about family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. About how everyone is family and how belonging to each other means you are responsible for each other.

Today, this will be tested. The nearby Clover Hill Power Plant is the final resting place for a good amount of Flight 235. The International Nuclear Event Scale has seven levels, Clover Hill might be the first level 8, worse than Fukushima and Chernobyl. Chapter one fittingly begins: Countdown to zero hour.

Everyone is in a race against time. The race is full of unknowns, death seems to be around every corner, and people are going to have to make some tough decisions. There are no good decisions, just less-bad and those depend on timing. It will take everything everyone has to get through this, for some it will simply take everything. Heroes and everyday heroes will rise to the occasion as Newman’s prose takes your breath away.

This is a real page turner with a cast of characters who will make you laugh, make you mad, and make you cry. So, what do you think, will belonging and responsibility be enough to get everyone through this?

If you want to know the answer, dear reader, you’ve got 16 hours and 38 minutes until Zero Hour. You better get moving.

This is the second book I've read from T.J. Newman and I liked this book so much more than the other.

A commercial airplane crashes into a nuclear power plant and cuts the small town off from the rest of the world. Due to the location of the plant, if it reaches the status of meltdown the impact can affect so much of the land/ country. There are multiple subplots with different POVs and each one is intriguing. It's almost like there are two different books happening at once but it does open the world up and shows the reader how an event can affect many individuals simultaneously.

I was lucky enough to be approved for an early copy of the eARC and audiobook. I very highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator does a fantastic job with voices and acting that really made this feel like a movie. Also, the audiobook has some sound effects when it comes to radio transmissions that was a nice touch. There was a lot but an appropriate amount of this in the book to make this effect beneficial.

This is “dude flick” thriller to the max. It's so exciting and has so many explosions and carnage. So if you like those type of movies then you'll love this book.

However, this book also has a lot of heart. The reason I didn't care for the other book I read from Newman is that the “heroes” were infallible and no one else could solve the problem except them. In Worst Case Scenario the protagonists were very much human. They cared and made sacrifices but also mistakes. I became attached to many of the characters and I teared up at times.

I highly recommend this if you're looking for a thrilling page turning book but also want your heart wrenched.

Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for allowing me to read this book early for an honest review.

5⭐️

I was a big fan of the author’s other two books, but this book sealed the deal: T. J. Newman is an auto buy for me from now on.

This book was relentless. It hit the ground running at chapter one and did not let up for a second. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

There were a couple moments where little comments were made that made me laugh, and some times where I was holding my breath. It was beautiful seeing the community come together to support one another.

And then I got to the end of chapter 37, and I started crying and I didn’t stop. It has been a long time since a book has made me cry like this.

I cannot recommend this book enough. And it definitely is in my top books of the year.

Thank you to T. J. Newman and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed all of this author’s books, and like the others, this one is a suspenseful page turner about a situation one hopes to never be in! Worst Case Scenario is about a plane crashing into a nuclear power plant: sounds improbable maybe, however the snowball effect this could have was one I had never thought of and I learned a lot! I will note there is a good bit of disaster and trauma, especially in the beginning and a sensitive reader may need a trigger warning for some of it. But overall, it is as exciting and propulsive as her other books and I can recommend all of them! It comes out next week so grab a copy! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy..

This book truly shows the ups and downs of a community working together after a plane crash- seeing all the damage that was done from one pilot having a heart attack caused on not just a town but a nation. They way the community came together to work towards helping in whatever way possible to getting the school kids on a bus to safety or the fireman or engineers working to prevent anything else from happening the small town.

This book really kept me on the edge of my seat and was a fast read since I didn’t want to put the book down.

I’m always here for a T.J.. Newman. It’s like action movie in a book. I went into this one with no idea what the plot was because I absolutely loved her previous two books. This one was a surprise because surprise! It doesn’t take place on a plane. This one concerns a plane (don’t get attached to the passengers) that crashes into a nuclear power plant in Minnesota. I read this really quickly, but unfortunately I didn’t connect with the characters as much as in the last two books. It was a fun read, and although I’m sure she did her research on nuclear power and all, I skimmed some of the details that she probably put in to make it more realistic. I was just a bit bored with all that. I would prefer more set up to introduce characters to make us care for them. It was still a lot of fun though.

I'm the biggest TJ Newman fan, and WORST CASE SCENARIO only solidified this fact further. I've rated each of her books five stars, and somehow they keep getting better every time! I can honestly say this one was by far my favorite.

This author can paint a picture like no one else. My favorite books are always the ones I can vividly picture in my mind, and TJ does this so well. I felt like I was in Weketa with these characters as I was listening, feeling it all alongside them. Joe Morton's narration absolutely made the emotions come alive.

I know nothing about nuclear power, but I felt that I could easily picture this power plant and feel the pressure of the global threat if these characters couldn't contain the fallout. I felt so strongly for the characters in this book, and love how they all come together for the good of the town and the nation.

I only wish this book was longer! No pressure, TJ, but I already can't wait for your next novel.

3.75 stars rounded up. Thank you to Novel Suspects and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows multiple characters dealing with the aftermath of this tragedy and their fight for survival. Like any TJ Newman book, this story is incredibly high stakes and fast paced. This is a book you’ll likely want to finish in one sitting and not anywhere close to your next flight. I really enjoyed the pacing and the action throughout, however similarly with other TJ Newman books I didn’t feel I was given enough backstory on any particular character to really connect to them. I think for the sake of moving the plot forward the way the characters are portrayed makes sense and this book totally read like an action movie in that regard. I do however think the overall story would benefit with flashback anecdotes on the characters to really bring them to life.

WOW! This book had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning.
It opens with a plane crash when the pilot has a widow maker heart attack and falls on the control lever which plunges the aircraft straight down. It breaks apart as it falls leaving a trail of fiery pieces which hit a nuclear plant causing radioactive exposure potentially to the small community nearby.
TJ Newman describes the activities of the plant personnel, the community, and others who are caught up in this disaster. She paints pictures of the individuals as they are affected, what their lives are like and their thoughts. She even has the President interacting with a scientist from the plant.
I appreciated the amount of research that the author did in order to bring this story to life. Her characters were real people with real dilemmas as a result of the crash. She described heartbreaking and heartwarming situations. The ending made me cry, but also provided closure to the people in the book.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and highly recommend it. The opinions expressed are my own.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Let me start by saying I'm familiar with T.J.'s work. Fallen? Good book. Drowning? Amazing. This book? Phenomenal. Each book gets better.

Worst Case Scenario is a fast-paced book with an interesting story and all the feels. There were certain parts that had me tearing up. Absolutely amazing 👏.

Tightly-written heart-stopping thriller. This is a book that you'll inhale. Well-researched, good character development and great ending. I like everything about this book and this author. One caveat: I do not recommend reading it on an airplane!
#TJNewman #LittleBrown&Co #Netgalley

4.5 rounded up to 5

This was another great thriller from T.J. Newman. In this book, a plane has hit a nuclear power plant in a small town in Minnesota. From there, the countdown is on to prevent a major disaster. This took me a little bit to get into, but once I was hooked I couldn't stop reading. This book has lots of characters to root for - making the story that much more tense as they put their lives on the line. Another fantastic thriller that is perfect for summer.

** I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book - yes I’m an outlier. While it was indeed an adrenaline rush, I was less impressed with the characters. I thought there were WAY TOO MANY CHARACTERS in this novel. It’s hard for me to get fully invested when there are some characters that are central to the plot and another large handful that are ancillary characters.

PROS:

*** Interesting premise

*** I enjoyed the central characters: the firefighters, the people in charge of the power plant, the residents of the town of Waketa, Minnesota who tried to keep the residents informed during a complete power failure, etc

*** I liked the townspeople coming together for the good of everyone. I think that this has been proven time and again when tragedy strikes in a small, rural community.


CONS:

*** This could have been called an apocalyptic thriller since none of the events are based on real occurrences

*** I thought that “FALLING” had a well described and intricate plot while this book was really a lot of “what if this happened”, “what if that happened”.

*** I would have enjoyed a smaller cast of characters that were well developed and that I could really care about

This book did deliver an adrenaline rush as promised and it was entertaining while also being a nail biter.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley. I received the audiobook from NetGalley and Hachette Audio.

I enjoyed the audiobook the most as the narrators did a great job and their voices added to the tension in the novel.

TJ Newman writes awesome, action packed novels. Did I read all of this in one sitting? Yes. While the initial concept seemed like a little of a stretch, I was still invested just as much as her other novels; however, this one felt…. Familiar? It felt like some of the main components (not to go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil anything) were previously used in another one of her novels. The ending was also weak and I felt like I needed more in some of those final scenes. It was still a good novel overall and if this was my first TJ Newman book, my score could be different. However, Drowning is still my number one, followed by Falling, leaving this at a solid 3/5 in third place.

In her Author's Note at the beginning of Worst Case Scenario, T.J. Newman, a former flight attendant, talks about interviewing pilots for her novels. One of the most frequent questions she'd ask them was, "What's your biggest fear as a pilot?" She kept hearing the same types of answers over and over again, until one pilot's response stopped her in her tracks. His biggest fear, he told her, was a commercial jet crashing into a nuclear power plant.

Worst Case Scenario is about that very event, taking readers to the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophe with worldwide implications. As with Newman's previous novels, it hooked me with the first sentence and didn't let go. It's riveting and action-packed, fast-paced and tense, and cinematic in its execution.

But at the same time, Newman keeps her focus tightly on the people. She always crafts characters that I genuinely care about and root for, and the characters in Worst Case Scenario are no exception. Here, they are ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances: everyday folks who become heroes, who display the best of what it means to be human. She's so adept at creating an emotional connection to her characters, while also placing them in an intense, propulsive thriller narrative that never lets up.

Drowning is still my favorite of Newman's books so far, but Worst Case Scenario is really everything I could ask for in a thriller. It manages to be heartwarming, heartbreaking, and horrifying all at once, and I hope it finds its way to the big screen like her previous novels are set to (I'm sure it will). Thank you to Little, Brown and Company for the early reading opportunity.

I discovered T. J. Newman with her debut book, Falling. I was blown away at how it was such an edge of your seat thriller. When Drowning released, I was all in and it was even crazier and more action packed than her first book if that’s even possible. Both books took place on airplanes.

Newman’s third book starts off on a plane with a bang and really never stops… Ever. It’s extreme action packed from the first page. I was trying to read this one late at night and had to stop. I was getting too worked up and needed to relax to be able to sleep, so had to switch and read this during the day or early evenings.

In Worst Case Scenario, a pilot has a heart attack and dies while flying a large passenger plane. The plane ends up crashing into a nuclear plant and puts the whole world in jeopardy almost causing an apocalypse.

I absolutely fell in love with the brave men and women who tried to save the world or even just one child. I had to read the last few chapters twice because… that ending! The feels!

I both listened to the audiobook as narrated by Joe Morton, and then went back and reread major sections by ebook. I thought Joe Morton did a good job with the narration.

T. J. Newman is one of my autobuy authors now since all 3 of her books so far have been 5 star reads for me. Not sure how she’ll top Worst Case Scenario.

*Thanks so much to Hachette Audio, Little Brown and Co., and NetGalley for the advanced copies!*

Thanks to Little Brown and Company for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

I don’t know how TJ Newman does it, but this was another five star read. While this one only takes place on a plane for the beginning, she gives us her signature pulse-pounding, impossible-to-survive scenarios, balanced with beautiful, moral, complex characters that you just root for so deeply. Every single page is filled with disaster and just when you think they’ve solved it, there is another wrinkle that puts them all in peril again. I thought her last book had some of my favorite characters ever committed to the page, but this one is even better. Dani, Ethan and Joss, Steve and RJ… IYKYK! If you like thrillers, make sure this one is definitely on your summer reading list!