Worst Case Scenario: A Novel

by T.J. Newman

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

If you're looking for chills and nonstop action, start here. (Don't read this one if you're afraid of flying.)

"Worst Case Scenario is the best thriller I’ve read so far this year. It’s a chilling idea with great characters and near-perfect execution." -James Patterson

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.

#1 internationally bestselling author T.J. Newman is back with Worst Case Scenario, following her explosive debut thriller Falling and its harrowing follow-up Drowning.
 

“Worst Case Scenario is the best thriller I’ve read so far this year.  A jetliner crashes in the worst possible location – and I mean the worst – the site of a nuclear plant.  It’s a chilling idea with great characters and near-perfect execution.  T. J. Newman is the kind of gifted storyteller that comes along every 5 to 10 years. Don’t miss Worst Case Scenario.” -James Patterson   

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316577878
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	16,043
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

T.J. Newman is a former bookseller and flight attendant whose first novel, Falling, became a publishing sensation and debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list. The book was named a best book of the year by USA Today, Esquire, and Amazon, among many others, and has been published in more than thirty countries. The book will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures. T.J. lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Her second novel, Drowning, was released in May 2023 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. 

Editorial Reviews

07/29/2024

Former flight attendant Newman (Drowning) parlays her professional experience into another nail-biter centered on a commercial airline accident. Nearly 300 people die when the pilot of a plane en route from Minneapolis to Seattle suffers a heart attack and crashes into a nuclear power plant shortly after taking off. The resulting leak at the Waketa, Minn., energy facility raises twin concerns: first, that 900 locals will be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation; second, that the breach could ignite an impossible to extinguish fire that would spread radioactive material across the entire Midwest. Waketa fire chief Steve Tostig spearheads an effort, with support from Nuclear Emergency Support specialist Joss Vance, to contain the radiation and save the country. Like Michael Crichton and other disaster novelists before her, Newman loops several ordinary people into her sprawling narrative, including Waketa schoolteachers and employees at the power plant, but she sets herself apart by giving notable weight and color to the human-scale dramas. She doesn’t skimp when it comes to action, either, resulting in a rip-roaring adventure that’s anchored in palpable emotion. This should satisfy the author’s fans and win her new ones. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

[Newman] sets herself apart by giving notable weight and color to the human-scale dramas. She doesn’t skimp when it comes to action, either, resulting in a rip-roaring adventure that’s anchored in palpable emotion. This should satisfy the author’s fans and win her new ones.”—Publishers Weekly

Praise for Falling—.

“Falling is the best kind of thriller (for me as a reader anyway). Characters you care deeply about. Nonstop, totally authentic suspense.”—James Patterson, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“T. J. Newman has taken a brilliant idea, a decade of real-life experience, and crafted the perfect summer thriller. Relentlessly paced and unforgettable.”—Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Attention, please: T. J. Newman has written the perfect thriller! Such a cool, high-concept idea: commercial airline pilot forced to make the ultimate life-or-death choice. Newman’s background in the air grounds the story in reality, while her writing amps up the suspense to unbearable levels. Terrific and terrifying, a true page-turner. A must-read for summer vacation—but my advice is, don't start this book until you’ve gotten off the plane.”—Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl

“Heart pounding. Heart wringing. Heart STOPPING! A great book! One of those where you’re afraid to turn the next page, but you can’t stop.”—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series

“Amazing . . . Intense suspense, shocks and scares plus chilling insider authenticity make this one very special.”—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Think Speed on a passenger jet—with the cockpit dials turned up to supersonic.”—Ian Rankin, #1 internationally bestselling author

Praise for Drowning—.

“Drowning is the first terrific thriller of 2023. Honest. It has at least a dozen legit cliffhangers and a dozen huggable characters you can’t stop rooting for. T.J. Newman has the goods. Make that the greats!”—James Patterson, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A stunningly vivid tour de force! Gripping. Shocking. Heartbreaking. You will not be able to come up for air until the very last page!”—Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead Fall

“Stunning, emotional, and unforgettable. Drowning reads like Apollo 13 underwater.”—Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of City on Fire and The Border

“Masterful.”—Patricia Cornwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Drowning is The Poseidon Adventure meets The Martian. It is another can’t-put-down, edge-of-your-seat thriller from T. J. Newman, one of our most exciting new authors.”—Adrian McKinty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chain and The Island

“Drowning is pure adrenaline and all heart. Gripping, relentless, effortlessly assured, T. J. Newman’s thriller is tense and moving. You’ll be grabbed from page one as the crew and passengers of a downed airliner fight for survival and rescuers race to reach them. Drowning is an incredible ride—strap in, brace, and remember to breathe.”—Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author

From the Publisher