New fear unlocked! Wow was this book anxiety inducing! I was so stressed out that I was in tears during the whole beginning. T.J. Newman excels at writing action-packed disaster novels filled with people working together to save the day. I really enjoyed the unique storyline she came up with here. There were a few things I didn't like though. For one thing I didn't love the plot with the boy in the car. It went on for too long and took away from the situation at Clover Hill which was much more interesting. Also, and I do understand that it would be an absolutely soul crushing decision, but I do think the second firetruck should have been at the plant. Stopping a nuclear meltdown is of the utmost importance. It's really an all-hands-on deck situation, but one of the only two firetrucks they had spent the entire day trying to save one person. Or better yet! Drop Dani off to stay with the boy and wait for help and let the rest of the firefighters go help other people. Another small issue I had was that some parts were a bit too sappy for my liking. I found myself rolling my eyes a few times. And finally, and this was something that bothered me in Drowning too, can a plan just never work out properly? Seriously, there are so many problems to fix in these books and it feels like Plan A always fails and Plan B always fails and oh, here's another thing that went wrong! Can just one plan go right? Like even one time? There's enough going on, I feel like we don't need every plan to fail multiple times. Maybe that's just me. Having said all that though, Worst Case Scenario is still an amazing read that had me filled with tension and fear and I sobbed through the entire heartbreaking ending. 4.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC!

Thank you @netgalley and @LittleBrownandCompany for this ARC. The pilot of a commerical plane has a medical incident and it crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota. The nuclear power plant is now extremely unstable and the town must try to not only save themselves but the US as we know it. A nuclear meltdown would make the country fall. If you haven't read any of TJ Newman's books, they make sit down and BUCKLE UP! This one made my heart race so fast, I had to put it down and come back. She is an amazing thrill writer and hope to read more and more of hers. PS: the first 2 books deal with an actual plane crash so if that is a trigger, you are warned. #WorstCaseScenario #TJNewman #LittleBrownandCompany #Aug2024

“Two hundred and ninety-five lives were in the hands of a pilot who was having a widow-maker heart attack at 35,000 feet.”

T.J. Newman knows how to get her readers' attention … and KEEP it. This one’s a little different from her other two airline thrillers as (1) most of the action is on the ground instead of in the air as in her previous books and (2) readers see how an airline disaster affects those on the ground rather than the passengers in the air.

Coastal Airways Boeing 757 Flight 235 from Minneapolis to Seattle is on a collision course with disaster. Not only does the pilot succumb to his heart attack, nobody can regain control of the aircraft as it heads towards Earth. Newman's masterful narrative piqued my morbid curiosity, keeping my eyes open and my nervous tension well-balanced as she wrote about the large commercial airliner filled with fuel, travelling hundreds of miles an hour heading straight for a nuclear power plant.

Newman’s focus is on the ‘whole’ rather than the ‘individual’. She showed us how in a disaster of this scale, the collective worked together for the greater good. My eyes teared as her story tugged on my heartstrings and my nails were ‘bitten to the quick’ as she wrote the countdown to zero hour. I learned about islanding/island mode, NEST, the International Nuclear Event Scale, and a little about decommissioning nuclear facilities, but I think what will stay with me the most is the villain in this book - invisible as it may have been, it acted quickly and took lives. So often we fear what we see, a monster or a renegade with a gun, but Newman investigates the fear of the invisible. My imagination was working overtime with this fantastic story that will translate very well to the silver screen.

I was gifted this copy by Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Let's GO!! T.J. Newman has done it, again. This is her best book yet!

I don't remember the last time I started an ARC so fast. Thank you, Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company, for the ARC.

I've read Falling (4⭐) and Drowning (4⭐), so I was thrilled when I saw Newman was coming out with a third book.

I found this story to be very well researched and her most atmospheric thriller yet. It flowed seamlessly and the characters were very well developed.

It was the perfect length and the pacing was exceptional.

Newman is 💯 an auto-buy author for me and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next!

I don't give out many 5⭐ reviews, but this one is well deserved.

Worst Case Scenario by T. J. Newman is exactly the kind of thriller I have come to expect of this author. As in as soon as I start reading, it absolutely had a chokehold on me and I did not want to put it down for anything.

Worst Case Scenario starts out straight into the action so when I say it was impossible to turn away from it immediately, I mean it. This also means it kind of feels like a more abrupt introduction to characters than a book might typically have with setup of a slower burn variety, but in my opinion it worked so well. Getting introduced to the various point of view characters right in the midst of this strife acts in its own way as a means of getting to know them, just in a highly tense, high stakes situation that really reveals the truth of who they are. And I somehow felt so invested in their survival and success this way which made me feel like it was so well done.

This is perhaps a weird qualifier but the thing that fully pushed me to rate this book as a five star read is the fact that it made me cry or tear up. Multiple times. I was so emotionally invested that I was all over the place, and for me this makes for a stellar book. Not least when it’s done in such a brief span of pages, AND a standalone to boot.

I also hugely enjoyed how informative this book is. It takes information, in this case about nuclear plants, and makes it accessible to the average person who probably isn’t going to know, or even have known to think about, the finer workings of it. Not only that, but it manages to make it interesting, not done in a way that feels like you’re getting the textbook breakdown of the complexities of how nuclear power plants work.

I honestly feel like T. J. Newman gets better with each subsequent book. I’ve enjoyed all of them, but I’ve continued to love each book more and more, and Worst Case Scenario continues this streak. I legitimately just wanted to read it from start to finish it was so good and had me so completely sucked into the story and the characters. This is for sure the kind of book that is bittersweet to end because I was so addicted to the story and just needed to know how things turned out, but was also so sad that it was over. I don’t know how I’ll get by waiting for the next release because I am so completely a diehard fan of this author at this point. Moral of the story: read Worst Case Scenario. It is 100% worth it.

What a white knuckle ride from Newman. I keep thinking she cannot possibly do it again, and then she does - a breath taking thriller that still manages to showcase the best of humanity in a story. Fan for life.

This was my first read of T.J. Newman's books and I was really excited to finally be reading "one of the books with the planes on them." Unfortunately, I didn't LOVE it like I had hoped. I think it might just be this particular novel of hers though. Overall, I enjoyed the suspense of the novel but it was just way too technical for my liking. I felt a bit in over my head with all of the scientific jargon surrounding nuclear power plants. Not gonna lie, it was also pretty depressing! I'm giving this one 3.5 stars rounded down BUT I'm still planning to read her other two novels and hoping I will like them more!

Worst Case Scenario stars off with a pilot suffering a heart attack and losing control of the plane. The plane crashes into a power plant. This threatens to cause a nuclear disaster. Will they be able to stop it and save more people?

I really enjoy TJ Newman’s books. They always have me on the edge of my seat. This was a wild book. I really enjoyed it. I do have one critique. It bothers me that all three of her books have the same cover. It seems a little bit lazy to me. But other than that I really thought this book was good. I suggest this book and her others.

Thank you TJ Newman, Little Brown and Company, and Netgalley for the arc of this book.

I ABSOLUTELY loved this book—wow!! It was intense, scary and utterly gripping! A plane crash leads to a nuclear disaster and locals rush to try to save the planet. I could not put this down!

I just need to finally come to terms with the fact that I’m not a fan of Newman’s writing style. Her writing is punchy with a fast-paced plot and very action packed. Every book I’ve read by her makes me feel like I’m watching Independence Day or Armageddon (you know the type). I certainly get the appeal, but it’s just not for me. I know plenty of people that love her books and know I’m totally in the minority. I never feel connected to the characters, they feel more like general archetypes than people to get invested in.

I’m glad her books are becoming movies because I think her stories work better that way. She’d be a hell of action movie screenwriter..

Almost read this in one sitting! A passenger plane crashes into a nuclear power plant in a small Minnesota town and a race starts to save not just the town, but the entire country from cascading nuclear disaster. A bit more character development would have been nice but this was a thrilling read that will make a fabulous movie. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book!

Hold onto your seats, folks! TJ Newman's third book is here, and it's a rollercoaster ride from start to finish! I couldn't put this one down—it’s that gripping. The story kicks off with a bang as a plane plunges towards Earth, destined to crash into a nuclear plant. Talk about a heart-pounding start!

As the characters scramble to solve one life-threatening problem after another, I found myself frantically flipping pages on my Kindle. The tension, the fear—it’s all there, keeping you hooked. Newman has a rare talent for writing a book that not only educate but also keep you on the edge of your seat. She absolutely nailed it with this one!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown, and Company for letting me dive into this ARC. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this pulse-pounding read!

5⭐️
There is just something captivating with TJ Newmans writing. I have read everything she has published and just ate it up. It's over the top and exhilarating in all the right ways.

This one was about a community coming together in the face of a catastrophe. Making sacrifices and difficult decisions. This book pulled on my heart strings and I found myself tearing up.

I love these books so much. They are an incredibly fast read, finishing this one in one day estimate easily. I just feel like I'm in a tv show and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown and company for this advance reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

First, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for this early copy of Worst Case Scenario. I started it on a Saturday afternoon and could NOT put it down. I walked around like a teenager with my kindle in my hand everywhere I went. I have read all T.J.'s books, and I think this is my favorite. Hands down a 5 star read for me. I really would give it so many more stars. It's fabulous!. My heart is racing. Tears are streaming down my face. Fabulous read. The characters. The story. The way the town pulls together. The way the nation offers help. The sacrifices ... oh the sacrifices. This book will stick with me for a very long time. I would go ahead and mark you calendar to do nothing on August 13 when this book comes out. I'll be talking about this one for a very long time.

Thank you again to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley!

With "Worst Case Scenario," T.J. Newman demonstrates remarkable growth as an author, delivering her most ambitious and emotionally resonant work yet. While still rooted in aviation disaster, this novel expands its scope to encompass an entire community facing an unprecedented nuclear crisis. Newman skillfully weaves together multiple storylines, from the immediate aftermath of the plane crash to the larger implications of a potential meltdown. The author's talent for creating fully realized characters shines as she explores themes of sacrifice, community, and human resilience in the face of unimaginable odds. "Worst Case Scenario" is a testament to Newman's evolving craft, proving she can tackle complex, large-scale narratives while maintaining the intimate, character-driven approach that made her previous works so compelling.

Pub Date Aug 13 2024

Traditional format 📕 (digital). T.J. Newman is back with another page turning novel. This time a pilot has a heart attack which sends the plane crashing into a nuclear power plant in Minnesota. Nuclear plants are made to withstand disasters right?!?! Well think again!

The first half of this book was super action packed with two main plots; trying to save the nuclear plant from melting down and causing a catastrophic disaster and then following the lives of the locals who live in the small town near the plant

I ate up the first half of this book and put it down only because my eyes wouldn’t stay open any longer. But upon reading the second half the next day I did find the plot to fizzle a little. I didn’t love the focus on the secondary plot of rescuing a boy from a car as much and thought there was way too much focus on that.

And my major criticism is that I don’t feel the book really finished up well. It left me wondering what happened to the nuclear power plant after the big final plot. The ending was a big letdown for me.

Despite the ending I still overall enjoyed this quick faced paced, action packed book and I will give it a 4/5. It would have been a 5/5 had the ending been stronger.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Time for the latest from my favorite flight attendant author who writes about horrific plane incidents and whose books all have the same cover. Gotta love a girl who isn’t a one hit wonder — these are always a good time. I didn’t re-read the synopsis before starting it. But I figured it was best to get it out of the way before I get on a plane in a few days….

It wasn’t really about an airplane emergency anyway. Well, not an active one. More like, what if a plane crashed into a nuclear power plant? That would be fun, right?

It was her usual shit - which is good shit. Large-scale crisis, and then lots of small-scale ones. Too many characters to keep track of (and I’m still not sure of the difference between some of them). Heroes and sacrifices and tension. Yes, very cliched, but still fun. Well, as fun as dealing with a nuclear disaster can be.

Got an ARC from NetGalley and read it as soon as I could.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an ARC of Worst Case Scenario.

I rarely say this, but I honestly think this is a case where a movie might actually be better than the book. The writing was good and there were a lot of tense, cliffhanger moments, but all the technical information that needed to be included about nuclear power, firefighting equipment, welding gear, and so on really interrupted the flow of the story for me. I kept getting bored and skimming through all the technical details. I also felt like the author tried too hard to include as many sappy, tug-at-your-heartstrings moments as possible that they started to feel overdone by the end.

3 so-so stars.

This is a both a scary book and a heart warming book. It is scary but it is all too possible for something like this to happen and what is being done to prevent it, both on the plane and on the ground side of nuclear plants. Heart warming, a group of people become heroes when their courage, love, creativity and intelligence is needed to save the town, the country and future generations. Despite it being very much an action story, the people and who/what they loved really stood out and made the story. This was my first book by this author, she researched it very well and I could easily see it as a movie.

I have loved the author’s previous two novels - to the point I killed time in the airport bookstore recommending them over and over, later on realizing they might not be the right airplane reads.

This one was much different. Focusing more on the aftermath of the crash instead of the crash itself. While I loved the plot itself, I was really bogged down with nuclear plant stuff I didn’t understand. I know it was needed for the story purpose but it was a little lost on me.