This was a new to me author and it was a fantastic read. I was hooked from chapter 1. The book starts with a plane crashing due to a pilot suffering a heart attack and it is heading straight towards a nuclear power plant. Everyone on the ground is trying to solve problems as they arise (and there are lots of problems happening) You see the point of view of many people in the town, across the country including the White House. This action filled thriller had my heart racing and I have now added this authors previous two books to my “to read” list. 5 stars.

I listened to the audiobook while also reading the digital arc of this novel. Once again, TJ Newman has delivered an incredibly intense, nail-biting thriller with exceptional ease. The level of tension that she can invoke in a reader is just amazing. While I loved 'Falling' and 'Drowning', this one is surely my favorite. I swear I was holding my breath the entire time, and finished it in two sittings. I would highly recomme nd the audiobook, as the CB radio broadcasts were a nice addition, as well as a terrific narrator.

I have been wanting to read a T.J. Newman book for awhile now and I am happy I started with this one.
This book started out with a bang and stayed there. To say I was stressed out reading this is an understatement. I loved this book and if you want a book to keep you at the edge of your seat I highly recommend this one.

WOW! T.J. Newman never lets us down with a disaster thriller that left me gasping for air with my stomach in my throat!

When a commercial airliner is filled with passengers, flight attendants and the pilot suffers a massive heart attack while the co-pilot is in the bathroom, the plane suddenly starts to rapidly drop down - heading directly towards a nuclear power plant!

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.

In the small town of Waketa, MN, ordinary people are called upon to do extraordinary things to save not just those in their community but what could be the largest disaster area from a nuclear power plant disaster. The book did slow down a bit as the massive amount of damage done was described along with what could be the worst possible outcome, but soon the story took off with me gripping me seat. Don't miss this book! - I sure won't miss any book TJ Newman writes!

Her first two books - Falling (Universal Pictures) and Drowning (Warner Bros) - will soon be movies that I will NOT miss!

My thanks to Net Galley, Little, Brown & C0, and Hachette Audio for advanced copies of this e-book and audiobook.

A disaster procedural that is impossible to put down -- so clear the calendar because you will want to read this in a single sitting.

The pilot of a large commercial aircraft has a medical emergency and dies instantly while at the controls in the cockpit. Unfortunately, the first officer is in the lavatory and can't get back in time to save the nearly 300 people on board. The plane nosedives into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota. Soon this town will become the epicenter of a crisis on par with an extinction event.

I think this is the author's best work yet and I was glued to my chair until I turned the last page. I have always enjoyed a disaster novel because it gives the opportunity for such great character development and this one shines in that department. The courage and determination of the plant management, engineers, and scientists are on full display as are the heroics of the local fire department and all of the National Guardsmen called in to do whatever they can. The community rallies and provides for its own at the local church. Fires rage out of control, there's no power, the cooling pool level is falling, the gas is building up, and the pump room is flooded. Doom is imminent.

Now, I know next to nothing about nuclear power plants and how they function, but the author's research makes it understandable. Complex technology is broken down into bits that explain the dangers and hazards. But in this book, it's the characters that really inhabit the narrative and the drama. The lengths that some went through were inspiring and yes, I shed a few tears. I don't want to imagine this scenario further but I'm glad I read this.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while following along with the e-book ARC (both provided by the publisher) and that really enhanced the experience. The production was great, even down to having the voices come out garbled over the radios. Sound effects really can make an audiobook more amazing. My only complaint about Joe Morton's narration was that he often mispronounces the word nuclear as nucular. But his inflection and expressiveness were very well done.

Enjoy! Now this is a movie I would love to see.

I've been meaning to read a book by this author for quite some time, and when I saw Newman has a new book coming out (that was not going to be any sequel to her previous novels), I decided to start with this one.
WORST CASE SCENARIO is a true thriller. That's my biggest compliment to this book. A lot of books out there are sold as 'thrillers' but many of them are anything but that. Not this one. This one is a genuine thriller, all the way. So, that's a great thing to thriller readers out there. If you don't wanna be fooled by mismarketing, you want a real thriller and you're into plane accidents high stakes situations, this book might be for you.

Personally, I've never read a book like this one, or anything close to that. And unfortunately I now know that this kind of story (regardless of being a thriller or not) is not for me. I was curious, I was intrigued at first but now I realise I'm not the audience for stories like this one. I've never enjoyed watching movies or tv series about plane crashes or something like that, but I'll admit I was curious to read something from this author in specific. Now that I have, I know it's not my cup of tea, and it's fine. Like I said before, readers who enjoy real thrillers and plane crashes/survival related stories might enjoy this one.
The audiobook was very decent. The narrator was pretty good, in my opinion, and the sound effects (not that many, but they exist) are really cool. It pulls you in. I'd recommend the audio format if you're an audiobook lover/addict.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free advanced audiobook copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

If anyone listens to any thriller recommendation from me this summer, I hope it is Worst Case Scenario!

Townspeople in a small town will have to make choices that will rock their world. They have less than 24 hours to react to a plane crashing into the nuclear power plant. The worst danger in history at a category 8 catastrophe. Some won't survive, some will. It all depends on them and the ticking time bomb that is fast going off in their brains. Get your running shoes on, because this definitely is the worst case scenario anyone could have imagined.

THIS BOOK!!! I couldn't put it down and I, myself, found my heart racing and the ticking time clock going off each chapter as I needed to discover what happened to everyone. JOE MORTON everyone. Many know him as Olivia Pope's dad in Scandal, and I literally screamed and ran to request this when I heard he was narrating. He brings the perfect tension, spacing and tone to his voice that brought this story to life in the most vivid way. I could not and would not for any situation stop listening as I needed my beloved characters to be safe! Worst Case Scenario is non-stop action that had me googling about nuclear power plants afterwards and had me thinking about where impact zones may be. Readers, run... don't walk and pick up this heart-stopping novel when it hits audio soon!

Worst Case Scenario was another riveting read from T.J. Newman. I listened to the audiobook version of the story and loved it. A word of warning, do not read before a plane ride!🤣

TJ Newman you have no place to have me sitting on the edge of my seat again - stressed, hopeful, crying and entertained! This one is yet another thrilling read by this author. It's fast paced and action packed, the suspense just continues to build and we see some of the best sides to humans and how we can pull together in events of catastrophe.

This book will have you hooked from start to finish, sitting there biting your nails as you hang on to every word that is written!

The narrator was brilliant! The audiobook was like watching a movie and not only did the narrator do a perfect job at pacing, they also added to the book by being able to pull all these emotions out of us.

Honestly the book is a roller coaster and this is one I'll ride again and again when it comes to this author! Thank you TJ Newman & Hachette Audio for this banger!!!

If you like stories that come in hot and don’t stop until the very end then this one is for you!

I’ve seen great reviews for TJ Newman’s books and couldn’t wait to get my hands on one. Worst Case Scenario reads like a blockbuster action movie. Think Die Hard, Independence Day or Armageddon but with a plane crash into a nuclear power plant. Holy crap, my blood pressure was raised for the entirety of the book and here’s what I realized… It’s not for me.

Don’t get me wrong, this was a very well-written book and the amount of research the author had to have put into it must be applauded because there is a lot of scientific explanation given related to nuclear power plant operations and other highly intelligent stuff that left me feeling a little overwhelmed, if not impressed.

This story really does have everything you want in a disaster/action/thriller type book. First, there’s the shocking plane crash into the nuclear power plant and the tangential effects from the crash. That, in itself, is a lot. Then, you have the responders. There are the ones who buck the system, choosing to save the one soul they’ve encountered rather than obey orders and head to ground zero. There are the fierce leaders who ultimately sacrifice themselves for the greater good. There’s the love story, only one of whom will survive. And, there’s a young, inexperienced President who really does nothing but keep the public abreast of the situation.

I’m grateful to have received this audio ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. For the most part, Joe Morton did a great job with the narration though there were many pieces where his cadence was off. It almost had an A.I. feel in those sections. I’m not sure if he had to redo certain excerpts and they were just plugged into the body of whatever bit he was reading. There were also portions that were spoken as though from an intercom, CB radio or bull horn. This added to my enjoyment of the book.

For me, from now on, I think I’ll enjoy my catastrophic like events through television or the big screen rather than from the written page. I have to give credit to the author though that I really could see the whole thing play out in my mind as I was listening to it. I’ve read that her first two novels are being turned into movies and I can’t imagine that this one won’t be adapted as well.

Thank you to the author and publisher for this ARC! This was such a well-written story with action packed in from start to finish. Some of the scientific themes were a bit over my head, but that’s more of a personal problem. I really enjoyed this read and am looking forward to reading the author’s other titles.

Hachette Audio ALC
This was one of my most aniticipated books of 2024, and it did not disappoint. What I love about Newman's books is how she starts right away with a terrifying scenario, and the anxiety doesn't go away until the ending. This book, while terrifying, also captured the heart of a small town and what it meant to be a community member. I liked how the devastation was juxtaposed with normal people doing what they could for those around them. I also knew nothing about nuclear plants, and am now more informed and terrified. This book was a fast-paced, edge of the seat ride from beginning to end, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
I also highly recommend the audio. The narrator captured each character expertly and I couldn't imagine it done in any other way.

4⭐️ The best part of this book was the phenomenal audiobook narration by Joe Morton. Wow, my heart was pounding so hard and times I had to pause because I thought I was going to break out into a sweating mess! His gripping narration was fast paced, he perfectly encapsulated the characters emotions and had some cool radio sound effects that made it feel like you were right there in the story. Like TJ Newman’s previous books, it’s a roller coaster of emotions. I was terrified, horrified, cried for these characters (many times) and held my breath in moments of suspense. This time it is not about saving the passengers on the plane but the devastation a plane crash causes, the victims on the ground and the ones dealing with the fall out of a possible nuclear disaster that would affect millions of people in the event of a meltdown. I’ve never wanted to know less about nuclear power plants in my life - it is truly terrifying. The story itself worked better for me than Drowning (I haven’t read Falling yet), the locked door plane scenario didn’t work for me but a nuclear catastrophe? Apparently sign me up, haha.

My biggest criticism of the book is the amount of characters and stories, it did get confusing at some points and I think the ending was really abrupt, I was a little confused. But overall I really liked this story. I don’t know why I read stories that give me such heart and panic attacks - so if you’re looking for something to test your blood pressure, look no further and pick this up on August 13.

Thank you to Hachette Audio, NetGalley and TJ Newman for the advanced listeners copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first T.J. Newman book and it won’t be my last. This book started off quick with an intensity that kept you on the edge of your seat. A plane crash that is about to change the United States forever if solutions can’t be found to an ever growing problem. There are several storylines going on within the book and Newman deals with them flawlessly. Each story line is action packed and at some point I found myself holding my breath waiting for the outcome and hoping it was a good one. This book is filled with heroism, self sacrifice, grief, friendships and a bit of stubbornness by a few characters that realize in the end, community is what holds all the pieces together.
I listened to this book in one day. The narrator was good and he was able to portray many different emotions; anxiety, sadness, dying, confusion and sentimentality. He had a bit of trouble with women’s voices and they sometimes didn’t seem any different than the men But, let me say, whether reading or listening, you will be on one heck of a ride

Is it possible T.J. Newman's books are becoming even better? You can believe it! Worst Case Scenario is one of the most anxiety-inducing, emotional books I’ve read or listened to this year. A nail biting, teeth grinding masterpiece. Don’t miss this one with fantastic narration by Joe Morton.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Little, Brown & Company for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you Netgalley and TJ Newman for an arc in exchange for a review.

Okay I got my first audio arc ! To start the narrator was fantastic ! This was my first book by this author and the narrator knocked it out of the park ! They had my heart racing and palms sweating to see what would happen next.

Now on to why I didn’t rank it higher. It started off thrilling from the first chapter but quickly slowed down to create suspense and never picked back up as fast paced. The constant jumps in stories of the local citizens and everytime it seemed they solved an issue, a new one emerged somehow bigger than the last. It became repetitive. While I didn’t love this book I think many others will and I still plan to read her 2 other novels.

T.J Newman is back with another flight gone wrong thriller, but this time it follows one of the most unthinkable scenarios: a plane crashes into a nuclear power plant. Now the community must come together, with many life or death rescue situations, to save the town and what could be a global disaster.

I was on the edge of my seat during this entire book, switching between my physical copy and the audiobook. The audio production was gripping with special sound effects for plane announcements, countdowns and phone/ walkie talkie calls. This transported me right to the scene and made the fast paced story come to life. Overall a highly emotional and gripping thriller with a fabulous cast of characters that show us the best of humanity.

Thank you Hachette audio and Little Brown for the early copies!i

WORST CASE SCENARIO is T.J. Newman's next novel coming August 13th, & is as fantastic and thrilling as I hoped!

I immediately started reading the digital format when I received it from @novelsuspects and could barely set it down. When I saw that @hachetteaudio was offering the audio through @netgalley I was so excited to hear this cinematic story! It is a very propulsive read with the eyes, but paired with Joe Morton's narration, it came alive in an even more intense way. This may be too much for squeamish readers in places, but I loved it.

The premise is that a plane accidentally crashes into a nuclear power plant. What ensues is the quick, and often selfless decisions that must be made.

I really, really enjoyed this story. It is an action-packed novel that, not unlike another nuclear disaster book, plays out a terrifying scenario. This one gives a peek at some of the specific people who would be in the mix and made me feel the impact in regards to the individuals. This is a plot heavy story with less character development, but there is enough to make me care deeply for them as the story unfolds.

What I ended up loving about this novel, beyond the research that is done quite well (I had to do a safety class about radiation poisoning once), was the hope/faith in humanity. In a year where certain people will be exploiting differences in all of us, this book made me feel like there are so many more things that unite us. It also makes me sad that it takes tragedies to make us come together, but let's not focus on that. Instead, let's choose to be like Mr. Rodgers and look for the helpers and find ways to be those helpers. This book feels inspiring in that way.

I am a huge fan of this author’s first two books and this one was just as well written. Full of suspense, emotions and kept my attention from page one. The narrator was amazing! Highly recommend this one!

4.5/5 rated up. Fast paced, enthralling and anxiety inducing.
The audiobook was so enveloping. With the radio transmissions feeling so real.