Worst Case Scenario: A Novel

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.