Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman

 A disaster procedural that is impossible to put down -- so clear the calendar because you will want to read this in a single sitting.

The pilot of a large commercial aircraft has a medical emergency and dies instantly while at the controls in the cockpit. Unfortunately, the first officer is in the lavatory and can't get back in time to save the nearly 300 people on board. The plane nosedives into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota. Soon this town will become the epicenter of a crisis on par with an extinction event.

I think this is the author's best work yet and I was glued to my chair until I turned the last page. I have always enjoyed a disaster novel because it gives the opportunity for such great character development and this one shines in that department. The courage and determination of the plant management, engineers, and scientists are on full display as are the heroics of the local fire department and all of the National Guardsmen called in to do whatever they can. The community rallies and provides for its own at the local church. Fires rage out of control, there's no power, the cooling pool level is falling, the gas is building up, and the pump room is flooded. Doom is imminent. 

Now, I know next to nothing about nuclear power plants and how they function, but the author's research makes it understandable. Complex technology is broken down into bits that explain the dangers and hazards. But in this book, it's the characters that really inhabit the narrative and the drama. The lengths that some went through were inspiring and yes, I shed a few tears. I don't want to imagine this scenario further but I'm glad I read this.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while following along with the e-book ARC (both provided by the publisher) and that really enhanced the experience. The production was great, even down to having the voices come out garbled over the radios. Sound effects really can make an audiobook more amazing. My only complaint about Joe Morton's narration was that he often mispronounces the word nuclear as nucular. But his inflection and expressiveness were very well done. 

Enjoy! Now this is a movie I would love to see. 

This is a standalone and not part of any series.

Genre - disaster, thriller, suspenseful