⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Business Trip
Author: Jessie Garcia
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Source: NetGalley

The first 3/4 of The Business Trip is original and engaging; the last 1/4 made a mess of the entire story. Two women looking for a fresh start meet on a plane heading to San Diego, and a massive doppelgänger storyline goes haywire. I would also add the story, told from multiple points of view, was repetitious and full of plot holes. This novel needed a little fine-tuning. #murder #duplicity #newsAnchors #badMen #narcissist #psychopath #sociopath @netgalley #TheBusinessTrip #JessieGarcia @stmartinspress #thriler #mystery #fiction
.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.
.
#book #books #bookAddict #BooksOfInstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #reader #pbooklove #bookreviewer

Two women. One flight. A deadly connection. ✈️💼

The Business Trip is a debut thriller where suspending disbelief is key—and it’s absolutely worth it. Fast-paced and far-fetched in the best way, it kept me hooked from the first page to the jaw-dropping finale.

Stephanie and Jasmine, two women with seemingly nothing in common except their flight, find their lives intertwined in ways I never expected. Told through multiple perspectives, the narrative pulls you deeper with each twist, keeping you guessing right up until the unpredictable and wild conclusion.

For me, a great thriller is one that surprises me at every turn, and this book delivered exactly that. Perfect for a cold, wintry night, it’s a gripping read full of suspense and shocking moments.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this debut!

A quick, twisty thriller for fans of The Last Flight and Freida McFadden. Two women meet on a plane. Stephanie is headed for a business conference, while Jasmine is trying to escape an abusive relationship. But Stephanie never returns from her trip, and Jasmine vanishes also. Then a body turns up. What is going on, and who did it? Better to go into the book with as little information as possible. It's a fun ride!


.

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?

I thought I had the whole story figured out and I was wrong. I was so gob smacked. I thought the plot of the book was very clever and it was a fun read.

Thank you Netgalley, St Martin's Press for the copy of this book an exchange for an honest review.

Hello wild ride. This was a gripping thriller that I didn’t want to put down. You follow Jasmine and Stephanie, both take a flight out of town. Jasmine to escape her controlling, abusive boyfriend and Stephanie for a work trip. It doesn’t take long for things to heat up and to have you start guessing what exactly happened. Even when you think you have it figured out, don’t be so sure.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Business Trip is a twisty, turny, addictive new thriller from Jessie Garcia that will have you gripped until the very end. The story was very addictive and I couldn't put it down!

Jasmine is trying to flee her abusive boyfriend, Glenn. She leaves in the middle of the night and gets on a plane to Denver, hoping to start a new life there. Stephanie is a successful news director in Madison, heading to San Diego on a business trip to a news conference. It is on this plane that these two women meet. Soon after, they both seemingly text their friends and coworkers about falling for the same man -- Trent McCarthy. And then the women vanish, and all the evidence points to Trent. But nothing is what it seems.

Oh, my goodness, this book was a wild ride!! I spent the first half very confused, but mostly in a good way. The story is told from multiple POVs - primarily Stephanie and Jasmine's but also from their friends and coworkers, and few chapters from Trent. The timeline also jumped around to the time before and after the flight, which was hard to keep track of sometimes. Somewhere around the 3/4 mark, I thought I finally had it figure out and it was getting SO GOOD! I just kept reading all day (and past sleep-time) to find out how it was going to end. But the last 2 chapters THREW ME and my "solved it" out the window! Bravo! Well done!

The characters in the story were relatable (however unreliable) and likeable (except Trent; barf). He was such a sleezeball you couldn't help but not feel sorry for him when he gets arrested for murder. I loved the pacing and build-up in this book and the twists were SO GOOD! Fans on mystery/thrillers, Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, and BA Paris will love this one! I can't wait to read more books from this author.

I will definitely be recommending this book to family and friends and my book club.

I couldn’t put this book down. If you love a Freida book then you will love this one. I found it to be the perfect length and the ending was satisfying and a twist I didn’t see coming. The only draw back was how many different characters there were as I sometimes forgot who was who when reading it.

It definitely creeped me out a little as I could see this actually happen to some degree. I will definitely be double locking my hotel room door and always check for my wallet.

A great debut novel!

honestly completely unhinged. what did I just read. loved the begging started off like the last flight by Clark. The ending was crazy. will be interested to see if this becomes very popular like the housemaid.

When Jasmine and Stephanie meet each other on a flight to Denver, they are each looking to make a change in their lives. Jasmine is running away from an abusive relationship while Stephanie is heading to another tiresome business conference and wishing for more attention from her grown son. This story was told in such an unusual way. Once the plane lands, the reader is left to wonder what happens to these two women while the following days are described through the voices of all the secondary characters. To avoid spoilers, I will just say this was an incredible book. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an advance copy to read and review..

Jasmine fleeing an abusive relationship, and Stephanie traveling for business to a conference, end up sitting next to each other on a plane. The two women’s lives couldn’t be more different, but after they both turn up missing, it’s discovered they both came in contact with the same initially knight in shining armor man, Trent,

Having sent the same messages to friends, Trent is instantly a person of interest, but what really happened on that flight ?

For a debut, this book was amazing, I will definitely look out for this authors books in the future.

The chapters were short and thrilling which I love, but the repetition of conversations at the end of the book was unnecessary, and the coincidences were a little too much for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia ⭐️⭐️💫

A true definition of a thriller as I was flipping pages to see what happened next in this fast-paced debut. While it had me hooked, I couldn’t get over the unlikable characters and the suspension of disbelief needed to buy into this.

I never could connect with nor root for any of the characters in this one. From their descriptions and character arcs, I didn’t feel like their actions matched their motivations. One big lingering question for me for most of the plot points was: BUT WHY? Also, no part of this felt rooted in reality.

I will applaud the author for how the book was delivered. I liked how it alternated POVs in different parts. Revealing everything that way kept the pace. I also did feel like the author connected most of the strings together by the end (even if it was super unrealistic.)

Fans of fast-paced popcorn thrillers, manipulative characters, and books to read in one sitting will enjoy this one.

Stephanie and Jasmine don’t know each other but wind up on the same plane. Stephanie is heading to a conference in San Diego and Jasmine is escaping a terrible relationship and going to Denver. They then send similar texts to their friends about meeting the same man. Then the women disappear and the texts stop. Trent McCarthy is the man that they met, but who is he really?

I will always write honest reviews so this one will be no different. Reading this book was a struggle, especially for the first half of the book. The first half was a ton of backstory and description that had nothing to do with pushing the plot forward. I didn’t need to know any of it; it just didn’t enhance the story. Then we get to the 50-55% mark and things started to get better. There was finally a mystery happening. I sat up straighter and said to myself, “okay, this is getting good.” And it did…for a little bit. But then it lost me again with the big reveal explanation. It was such a long explanation that it felt so convoluted and so over the top. The reveal towards the end is supposed to be a jaw dropping moment but by then, I was so over the book that I just said “eh.”

I know we’re not supposed to like the main character, and I didn’t. But I didn’t like any of the characters. Well, maybe Robert, but that would be about it. Everyone else only cared about themselves. We learn a bit about Jasmine’s past and it made her so unreliable, but maybe that was the point?

The chapters are told by various different characters in the beginning so it’s awfully strange to have it start that way. It also means that you have to pay close attention to the chapter names so you know who is speaking.

This book has gotten a lot of great reviews, so it could just be me being a harsh critic. So take my opinion with a grain of salt; after all, it is just my opinion. What may not work for me, may work for you.

I loved parts of this book and hated other parts, which really confused me! I loved the parts about Stephanie and Jasmine. Their perspective of their current life, their friends and co-workers POV when they disappeared. I really thought it was fascinating and well done how different people viewed similar things so differently. And handled things so differently. I truly despised Trent from the start and did not like his POV at all. I skimmed through the entire middle of the book. It just felt very mechanical and forced, where the earlier POVs of the book were engaging and interesting. I thought the ending was farfetched, by fine. I didn't really have complaints, but it took work to read through the middle 30-40% of the book. Overall, a fascinating and interesting psychological thriller that definitely kept me on my toes and threw some fun twists and turns into the book.
Stephanie and Jasmine are on the same plane, but that is where their similarities end. Then they both send similar messages to friends about a man, Trent, before they go missing. What happened to these women? Or what did they do to Trent?
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

This was really fun. I was immediately intrigued and wondered how this story was going to play out. The quick chapters leave you wanting more and I really loved the multiple POVs. There were a lot of side characters, but I had no issue following along. There were lots of twists throughout, including a couple that I didn’t expect.

This was definitely a very far fetched story, but it was wildly entertaining. If you’re in the mood for something fun, suspenseful and quick, I’d recommend you adding this one to your TBR! I feel that those who are into Freida McFadden would enjoy this one.

This publishes on Jan. 14th/2025. Thank you to author Jessie Garcia, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one is a page turner! I stayed up until 4AM reading it because I couldn’t put it down. I thought the pacing was great and found it to be unpredictable. I enjoyed all the twists. The first one really shocked me because I thought I knew where the story was going and was way off. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that’s hooked me like this. Check it out if you’re looking for a twisty, bingeable thriller.

Idk what I was expecting going into this but this definitely exceeded my expectations. This book has so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Definitely a thriller worth reading. The only thing I didnt like was that there were so many different character perspectives that didn’t seem too necessary. Otherwise, great read!

Strangers on a plane

Two women end up sitting with one another on a plane headed from Madison WI to Denver CO. They seem to have nothing in common....one is a waitress who has finally saved up enough money to flee an abusive relationship, the other a divorced news director at a local TV station off to a work conference. Days later each woman is texting friends and co-workers talking about meeting this great guy named Trent McCarthy, which could maybe be a coincidence, but when both women go missing people expect the worst. Are they victims of this man, or is there more going on then meets the eye? With multiple narrators (including those who received text messages from the missing women) and little else on which to base an investigation, can the authorities or anyone else get to the bottom of what happened?
This debut thriller from Jessie Garcia is a bit of a nod to the classic Strangers on a Train, and is chock full of twists and turns which make for an enjoyable read. The story progresses quickly and builds up a great deal of anticipation, and while I didn't readily warm up to the characters I definitely wanted to see the tale through to its conclusion and find out if my guesses were correct (some yes, some no). Was the plot completely plausible? Maybe not, but I was willing to give the novel a mulligan in return for a fast-paced adventure and would rate it a solid 3.5 (rounded up given its status as a debut). Readers of authors like Lisa Unger, Frieda McFadden and Lisa Gardner should give this high-octane ride a try. My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for granting me early access in return for my honest review.

So many twists, turns and a very unexpected ending. The character does some things that I don’t agree with…but it’s a fictional story.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Publishing for the complimentary copy.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Twists. Turns. Loops. Somersaults. Omg.

This was a really twisty debut that had me hooked. It’s broken up into four parts following several POVs. With each perspective, I fell deeper into the mystery and the confusion of trying to figure out what happened to the two missing women. Even though we have multiple POVs, it was fairly easy to keep track of this fast-paced story.

As the story unfolded, I did find some aspects a bit hard to believe. However, it was still an exciting story that kinda reminded me of None of This is True mixed with Yellowface. What a combo 😂 there were a couple of highly unlikeable characters in this, so I spent much of my time hoping that karma would get them. It’s hard to talk about more without giving too much away 😅 like I said, I had a hard time believing some of it. However, I had a fun time reading this one and enjoyed it overall!

Thank you so much @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the copy of this eARC!

What happens when two women meet on a flight? Both send messages to their friends saying they've met a man, but soon after, both women mysteriously vanish.

Wow, where do I even start? I finished this book in just two days—it was that good! I found myself telling my husband, "Please don't talk to me," more times than I'd like to admit. This fast-paced thriller grabbed me from the first page and didn't let go. The suspense is relentless, and I was hooked the entire time. The twists and turns kept me on edge, and about halfway through, I was left wondering, "Where is this going?" And then, just when I thought I had it figured out, Garcia dropped a bombshell twist that completely floored me!

The story is told from multiple POVs which only adds to its intrigue. We follow two women—one fleeing an abusive boyfriend and the other on a business trip to San Diego for a conference. They meet on a plane, and that's when the ride takes off. I won’t give away too much, but let me tell you, things get wild!

This book deserves way more attention, and anyone who loves a good thriller should be adding it to their TBR list ASAP. It’s captivating, perfectly paced, and incredibly unpredictable. And that ending? Absolutely flawless. You’ll never see it coming.