The number of times I put this book down to catch my breath.... whew...Worst Case Scenario is similar to Newman's other works in that it will increase your heart rate, tug at your heartstrings, and cause you to sit and read for so long that your sit-bones ache. The writing is fantastic. The story is engaging, exciting, and heart wrenching. The characters are likeable, relatable, and will have you in tears throughout but especially at the end. Read it, and, if you haven't read her other two, read those, too. I just really hope that Carla apologized to RJ.

The number of times I put this book down to catch my breath.... whew...Worst Case Scenario is similar to Newman's other works in that it will increase your heart rate, tug at your heartstrings, and cause you to sit and read for so long that your sit-bones ache. The writing is fantastic. The story is engaging, exciting, and heart wrenching. The characters are likeable, relatable, and will have you in tears throughout but especially at the end. Read it, and, if you haven't read her other two, read those, too. I just really hope that Carla apologized to RJ.

"Worst Case Scenario" by T.J. Newman is an electrifying thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. The novel kicks off with a chilling premise: a commercial airliner crashes into a nuclear power plant, triggering an unprecedented Level 8 disaster. Newman's storytelling is masterful, as she deftly weaves together the lives of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Each page is packed with tension and suspense, making it nearly impossible to put down. The characters' courage and resourcefulness are inspiring, and the stakes couldn't be higher. This book is a rollercoaster of emotions and a testament to the human spirit in the face of unimaginable odds.


I panicked. I cried. I became invested in characters like nobody's business. The book started with a tragedy on the very first page, and only gained momentum. If you loved Newman's previous works, "Falling" and "Drowning," you'll be enthralled by "Worst Case Scenario." A must-read.

Thank you TJ Newman, Little, Brown and Company, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you Little Brown for the #gifted galley and e-arc to read and review.

Wow. Holy expletives. TJ Newman’s ability to write a heart-racing story is unmatched.

Worst Case Scenario is a story that will stay with me forever. It is jaw-dropping, fast-paced action that is unputdownable.

Expect —> thriller, global crisis, sacrifice, fast-paced, wonderful characters, tears

A commercial plane crashes into a nuclear power plant and the ramifications are catastrophic.

Never have I ever cried while reading a thriller. Until today. The way I care for these characters is astounding. Whether the character had one sentence or half the book, each one was significant and played a part in this epic ride. Newman hooked me immediately and refused to let me go.

This book was fantastic. Be prepared for your heart to race the entire time you read.

After reading TJ Newman’s first two books, I was so excited to read this one. I was not disappointed! This book was a fast read for me, mostly because I could not put it down. So many emotions came from reading this book, fear, anticipation, anxiety, sadness, and tears. This book was a reminder there are good people in the world, community is important, and family and friends are everything. I highly recommend this book!

I loved TJ Newmans first two books but this one fell a little flat for me. The nuclear power plant plot was a lot to wrap my mind around and I found it harder to follow the story. The stakes were just as high as the other books if not higher though!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the ARC of Worst Case Scenario.

Are these books literary greats? No. But are they super entertaining? Yes, definitely. This was another example of a heart pounding thriller by TJ Newman. It definitely drew me in and made me want to keep reading! I enjoyed Falling, loved Drowning and enjoyed this one as well. It was definitely a different vibe than the first, as it didn’t really have much to do with the actual plane crash after the first few chapters. At some points it did get a little too “science-y” for me, and I didn’t completely understand all the Nuclear power plant jargon, but the cliffhangers and intensity still was strong!

If you enjoyed Newman’s first two books, or are just looking for a unique thriller I would recommend this one for sure.

Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman is an absolutely phenomenal thriller that I couldn’t put down for a second—finishing it in just one day! The multiple POVs enrich the story, weaving a gripping and emotional tale that pulls at your heartstrings in all the best ways. Newman masterfully brings to life a harrowing situation where a plane crash leads to a potential global catastrophe. Her compelling storytelling ensures that the story flows well from one tense moment to the next. The stakes are sky-high, and the bravery of the characters facing a disaster of unprecedented scale makes for a riveting and unforgettable read. As you read, it will be like a movie in your mind- 5 star read! ( will this become a movie?! Because I NEED it!!)

Pub date: August 13, 2024

Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher Little, Brown and Company for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

Another 5 ⭐️ can’t put down edge of your seat thriller from TJ Newman. This was even better than her last one, also 5⭐️, Drowning. Publishes mid-August.

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!