You might have heard already, but this summer’s most explosive thriller is set to hit bookstores on August 13th.

Worst Case Scenario, the full-throttle, impossible-to-put-down new novel from New York Times bestselling author T.J. Newman, has already earned rave reviews from James Patterson, Don Winslow, Publisher’s Weekly, and others. It has also been chosen as an Editor’s pick on Amazon and selected as the best thriller of the month.

The story—which opens in the cockpit of a commercial airliner seconds after the captain suffers a fatal heart attack, kicking off a chain of doomsday-level catastrophic events that sends the plane crashing into a nuclear powerplant—is not about a plane crash.

It’s about everything that happens after the plane crash.

While riveting and hopelessly addictive, Newman—famous for her first two novels, Falling and Drowing, both of which were major bestsellers—chose to tell her latest story through the eyes of everyday men and women, all of whom are forced to band together and face the most devastating nuclear event in history, even worse than Fukushima and Chernobyl, head-on. There is no one protagionist here, but rather multiple heroes: power plant employees, firefighters, teachers, neighbors, families, friends . . . all coming together in an effort to survive. It’s harrowing, hearty, and packed with heaps of action and twice the suspense.

Few writers can pull off what Newman has done with Worst Case Scenario, the kind of story that’ll have you chewing off your fingernails while shedding a tear and triumphantly cheering on the everyday heroes who fill the pages. Whatever you do, do not miss this book. If you’re reading this before August 13th, pre-order now. If you’re reading this after August 13th, stop what you’re doing and buy this immediately. Get it here or anywhere else books are sold.

Just before her book launch, Newman sat down with The Real Book Spy founder turned author Ryan Steck, who hosts authors on Twitch, for a fun and light-hearted hour-long chat. The two discussed Newman’s Worst Case Scenario, including where she got the story idea from and what sort of research was required to write such an epic thriller, and even played several rounds of “Would You Rather,” which is where most of the hilarity ensued. Prepare to laugh, learn, and have some fun as you see another side of T.J. Newman here.

Watch the video embedded below, or catch the full interview, also posted on Twitch. (Keep scrolling for more info on Worst Case Scenario.)