This story had so many unexpected twists and turns that kept me intrigued. I liked how it had the story is told in different point of views.

With its attention-grabbing setup and its constant twists, The Business Trip makes for a gripping thriller—the kind that will keep readers guessing...and re-guessing...as it continues to shift its perspective. But while it’s an often riveting journey, readers may feel dissatisfied in the end.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

The Business Trip is an engrossing thriller by debut author Jessie Garcia. The story takes place over a short time period and has multiple narrators. It feels like a James Patterson story with the easy-to-read compelling story divided into short chapters.
The Business Trip begins in January in Madison, Wisconsin. 40ish Jasmine Littleton has had a hard life: abusive mother, living in her abusive boyfriend’s trailer, working at a bar, and no car. The only thing she has going for her is her looks and Anna, her lifelong best friend, who also works at the bar. Jasmine has been hiding money and waiting for the perfect opportunity to leave Glenn, her abusive boyfriend. Early one morning she gathers up her dirty laundry off the floor, stuffs it in Glenn’s suitcase, and sneaks outside to call an Uber to get a ride to the airport. She pays cash for a plane ticket to Denver.
45-year-old Stephanie Monroe is Jasmine’s opposite in life. Stephanie is the News Director at a Madison TV station, where she works very hard and earns a large salary. She is universally liked and respected by all of the staff because of her professionalism and dedication. She has been divorced for three years from Jason, and has a young adult son, Evan. Stephanie loves in a townhouse with her cat, and has a wonderful neighbor, Robert, who she regularly socializes with. Stephanie isn’t thrilled about being sent on another business trip, this time to a national conference in San Diego. She arranges for Robert to care for her cat while she is gone.
Jasmine sends Glenn a text to let him know that she will make him a nice steak for dinner, in an attempt to delay him finding out that she has left him. Once he comes home to an empty trailer, he immediately begins sending her nasty texts. Then he starts contacting her best friend and co-worker, Anna. Anna knew that Jasmine wanted to leave Glenn, but she had no idea when it would occur or what her plans were.
Stephanie send Robert a text saying that she has met a man at the conference and she will be traveling to his home in Atlanta to spend another week with him. This is so unlike Stephanie that Robert is alarmed. When she doesn’t show up to work on Monday, Bruce, her Assistant News Director, texts her and she tells him that she’s taking the week off. Bruce tells another employee, Nora, before notifying Dave, the station’s General Manager. When Lucy, another employee, texts Stephanie a joke and she doesn’t respond appropriately, Lucy sends a second message to test if it’s really Stephanie using her phone. Then Lucy, Nora, and Bruce go to Dave and beg him to call the Atlanta Police. Lucy and Robert travel to Atlanta together to visit the home where Stephanie is supposedly staying but encounter police working a crime scene.
Thew reader is left to figure out what is going on. Stephanie and Jasmine are the same age and blonde and were on the same flight from Madison to Denver. How did Jasmine encounter Trent McCarthy and wind up in Atlanta with him? Where are their bodies? How did both ladies get fooled by Trent’s sleazy slime ball personality?
I couldn’t put The Business Trip down! Each chapter has a different narrator, and the day is indicated at the beginning of each chapter, in order for the reader to keep the chronology straight. The story is engrossing, and the reader gets invested in the characters early on. This is a spectacular debut novel and I can absolutely see it being made into a movie. I highly recommend this book!!
I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had a hard time believing that The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia was a debut novel. It's a propulsive thriller that kept me guessing.

It's one to read for fans of The Last Flight by Julie Clark.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Switched identities, missing persons, and murder? This was a fast paced thriller that you won’t be able to put down! I sped through this book and was shocked by the ending.

I found this book very interesting. The premise was unusual. The two women are on the same plane for different reasons. Stephanie Monroe, on her way to a conference and Jasmine Littleton trying to run from an abusive partner. They are seated in the same row. They have casual conversation that changes their lives forever. Turns out the last few messages they text their close friends mentions being charmed by a man by the name of Trent McCarthy.

I found the story slow in the first half with a better pace by the second. It was drawn out and I could not connect to any character. It’s written in four parts. I felt it rambled in many places.

I was surprised by the ending but I had known something wasn’t falling the way the writer was trying to point the reader.

I was given an advanced readers copy by Netgalley and these are my opinions.

This is a debut novel, and I absolutely cannot wait, and really hope, there are more to come!

Stephanie and Jasmine are on the same plane, and this is all they have in common or so you think. jasmine is currently on the run and trying to get away from an abusive boyfriend. Stephanie is a news director, she's divorced, and her son has little to do with her. She just wants to disappear while traveling to a conference to just maybe help with her and her son's relationship.

But how can different women, be involved with the same man, from the same area and both of them are missing?!

This book is a page turner. lots of twists and turns. I absolutely did not want to put this one down! If you're a fan of thrillers, I would highly recommend picking this one up! I thought I had guessed the ending a few times... and I was wrong. Cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this book. Pick it up and hope Jessie Garcia has another book in the works soon!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the ARC copy.

The way the book was told through others view points made it like a documentary, which was a cool way to tell a story. I did feel it jumped a lot. I could not guess the ending and felt there were some good twists.

This book grabbed my attention right away! It was fast-paced, and I was dying to find out how Stephanie and Jasmine's disappearances were connected! And who the heck was this Trent guy? I couldn't wait to find out what was happening!! However, once I got past the halfway point, things got way too unbelievable for me, and I wasn't as invested in the story.

This was a debut novel, and I'll definitely be interested in reading the author's next book!

Thank you, @netgalley and @stmartinspress, for the #gifted e-arc!

This book strongly veered towards the implausible. While the plot had a few intriguing 'gotcha' moments that kept me momentarily engaged, the overall storyline was hard to buy into. The main character's sudden transformation—from being unable to escape an abusive relationship to plotting and executing multiple murders within a short time frame—was simply too far-fetched. It overly stretched believability, leaving me feeling more exasperated than entertained. Despite some suspenseful elements, the implausibility of the character’s arc ultimately undermined the story's potential.

I really enjoyed this book. I'd give it a 4.5.

The business woman is tired of traveling, but she's used to it because she's the one her boss always sends on the road. She's got her neighbor watching her cat, friends and colleagues at work temporarily filling in for her.

The woman sitting next to her on the plane has just left her abusive boyfriend and is going to start a new life. They chat on the plane and that is that.

The conference is okay. Stephanie is being hit on by a yucky, entitled guy. But then she starts sending messages to her friends and colleagues that just don't seem like her. And now she's taking an extra week to go to Atlanta with a guy that she met at the conference. What's going on?

This story has so many twists and turns. Although there is violence and murders, this book is a fun mix of twists and turns. Some the reader might figure out, some perhaps not.

Jasmine and Stephanie are seat mates on a flight. Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. Stephanie is headed to a business conference. They share general information as seat mates often do. But one takes things farther than we could ever believe possible.

Congrats to Jessie Gracia for her wonderful fiction debut. Well written, full cast of unreliable characters. Plot twists aplenty. Characters are well developed; likable, totally unlikable, manipulative. Once you think you have everything figured out, the author throws another curve. From the first page till the last, I couldn’t put it down. I just added this author to my must read list. I can’t wait for her next book.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia is an action packed thriller, that keeps you turning the page until the very end. I would recommend this book to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Wow!! Did'not know how I would like this story but I have got to say it was very easy to read, had very interesting storyline and enough twists and turns to really keep me hooked from start to finish!

Two women from very different lives are seated next to each other on a plane. This is where the unexpected begins.

I thought I knew where this one was going, I was wrong. This is not our typical predictable read. I kept picking up the book so I could find out what happens next.

I liked most of the characters. But just maybe I shouldn't have.

Expect twist, turns and the unexpected from many characters. Even though there were multiple characters I did not have any trouble keeping them straight.

This is intentionally vague as I don't want to include any spoilers.

Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

In The Business Trip, Jasmine and Stephanie are both trying to escape their lives for very different reasons. But as they vanish amid erratic texts to friends about the same man, we are left wondering who is this man and what did he do to them?

This book kept me engaged with the multiple POV and fast moving plot. I was worried about the different chapters from different characters at first but it did a great job at moving the story along. I loved all the twists and really didn’t see the ending coming. This would be a great read for fans of Freida McFadden and other thrillers.

Pub date: today! 1/14

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the review copy.

✨Book Review!✨

The Business Trip
By Jessie Garcia @jessiegarcia_author
Published: 1/14/25
Genre: thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

That was a fun and wild trip! What a debut novel! I thought this was a very bingeable modern thriller. It was full of twists, especially at the end! I actually just booked a flight for a trip today, and I just know I’ll be thinking about this book in a couple months when I’m side-eyeing the other passengers and travelers. I’d definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a brand new quick and twisty read.

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read the digital arc! I also grabbed a physical copy from @barnesandnoble 🤭


Synopsis:

THE BUSINESS TRIP is the gripping, page-turning debut from author Jessie Garcia.

Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic.

And then the two women vanish. The texts go silent, the red flags go up, and the panic sets in. When Stephanie and Jasmine are each declared missing and in danger, it begs the questions: Who is Trent McCarthy? What did he do to these women— or what did they do to him?

Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, The Business Trip takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who?

#thebusinesstrip #debutnovel #twistythriller #modernthriller #bingeablethriller #newbook #newrelease #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookstagram

3.5 ⭐️ (rounded up to 4, because I’m pretty impressed that this is a debut novel. I thought the first 70% was REALLY good then it started to fall a little flat for me. Without going into detail because of possible spoilers, I’ll just say Jasmine’s character was not what I expected (in a shocking way). The last 30% seemed to be a bit repetitious explaining how things played out. The ending did contain a pretty big shocker but it was also a very unrealistic shocker….but that happens a lot in psychological thrillers so I can’t really criticize the author too much about that. Overall it definitely kept my interest from beginning to end and I look forward to seeing what comes next from Jessie Garcia.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

To see other reviews I’ve left, check out my Instagram and Goodreads:
*Instagram - bookworm_traveler808
*Goodreads - Cherihy808

The Business Trip: 🧳🔪🎫⁣
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Thank you @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy!⁣
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This is a short but jam packed book, l’ll tell you this much. So many wild twists and turns. Two women are off go out of town for two separate reasons. Both have their IDs found in Atlanta, presumably dead with the arrogant News Director as prime suspect. But everything really isn’t what it seems, is it? ⁣
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I liked the book. Definitely not likable characters are you want everyone to get in trouble. You have to suspend belief for this to work, but it was entertaining. The ending was satisfying, but I felt like a large part of the book was repetitive and not providing additional help to connect pieces. ⁣
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This is a full cast narration, so I’m definitely recommend the audio if you’re an audio person. Some of the POVs I felt were excessive as it was a retelling from their side. We already knew the story and it didn’t really fill in gaps.⁣
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Anywho, we’re on our last day of our anniversary trip and woke up in @mammothcavenps to the beautiful snow dropping. Honestly, a dream to wake up and have my coffee every morning. Back to the real world we go.

This is a very twisty thriller. If you like those and morally ambiguous main characters, this may be for you, but it didn't work for me. I found it to unbelievable, and the characters felt a bit one dimensional. It's a quick read though.