Quick Synopsis

When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant, creating a potential of nuclear disaster unless the damage can be quickly contained.

Publisher’s Synopsis

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.

In this heart-stopping thriller, ordinary people—power plant employees, firefighters, teachers, families, neighbors, and friends— are thrust into an extraordinary situation as they face the ultimate test of their lives. It will take the combined courage, ingenuity, and determination of a brave few to save not only their community and loved ones, but the fate of humanity at large.

Book Review

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!

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