Every once in a while, I love a great thriller. The adrenaline rush, the non-stop action, and the heart pounding plot really appeal to me in between other more thought-provoking or literary reads. If you are in the mood for a great thriller, author T.J. Newman’s books will fulfill that desire.

“Worst Case Scenario” is her third book, released in 2024. T.J. Newman’s books are about potential plane crashes: fitting, as she was a flight attendant for 10 years before her first novel was published.

One of the questions she kept asking pilots was, “What is your biggest fear as a pilot?” She got numerous and varied answers, but the answer that floored her was, “My biggest fear is a commercial jet slamming into a nuclear power plant.”

She argued with the pilot that officials had done whatever was needed to safeguard them post 9/11.

“The pilot smiled and replied, ‘And that’s exactly what they want you to believe,’” she says. This became the plot of “Worst Case Scenario.” 

The people of small-town Waketa, Minnesota, are used to having the Clover Hill Nuclear Power Plant in their backyard. The schools do drills once or twice a year to prepare for an accident that has always seemed unlikely; the residents receive information in the back of the Clover Hill wall calendar sent each year to every household.

However, no one could have prepared for a commercial jet crashing into the power plant because the pilot had a fatal heart attack at 35,000 feet at  just the wrong place. Now, Waketa is ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications. 

Newman’s first book, “Falling,” was released in 2021, and I also read it. It, too, is filled with nonstop suspense. In that novel, a pilot is faced with an impossible choice: crash the plane he is flying, killing all 149 people on board, or have his family killed by the man who holds them hostage.

Newman’s second book, “Drowning,” which I have not yet read but plan to, is about a commercial plane that crashes into the ocean and sinks to the bottom with passengers trapped alive inside. 

Any of these titles will deliver an edge-of-your-seat, can’t-put-down reading experience! Choose whichever plot appeals to you — or read all three!  Newman’s books are available in Lincoln County libraries and as ebooks and audiobooks in the Libby app.