The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
Format: ebook/audio hybrid (thank you for the advanced reader copies @netgalley)
Pub Date: 1/14/25
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book had me hooked from the jump and I was expecting a fast pace popcorn thriller! You do, in some ways, get that. But the back half of this book sort of really went off the rails for me.

I think this book had a very fun premise and definitely had me intrigued from the jump. I really enjoyed both female main characters’ POV and there are things that had me wondering what the heck was going on from like 5% in. It certainly had me flying through and turning pages!

First half has these super fast chapters (like 3-5s each) from so many different POVs. It took a second to get used to, but I wasn’t against it. But then you get into the second half and we’re switching to these like 30 page chapters that kind of threw a wrench in the pacing.

I also just think the end of this book is bananas and also a little bit confusing. I found myself texting @marishareadsalot like help did I miss something? (I did not). A lot of the characters whose POV we get in the beginning never end up tied in at the end either which left it kind of unfinished feeling.

All in all this is not a bad book and I think the narrators did a good job, but it would not be a top recommended thriller for me!

Two women. Two different lives. One trip that changes everything.

Stephanie seems to have it all. A great job, a kind neighbor, a sweet cat, and happiness. When she sets off for the news conference, it seems she doesn't have a care in the world. Jasmine lives in an abusive home. With no money, no family, and nowhere to go her life is misery.

Chance puts them on the same plane, and one takes fate into their own hands. What starts innocent, turns into a twisty path of who done it as both women disappear after sending similar messages about who they're with and where they are.

I was constantly searching for the next piece of the mystery and who had done it and yet the ending still had me shook. What a great thriller!

I did an immersive read as I was also given an audio arc of this book. I really liked this book. it was really good. I rated this a 5 stars.

This is a fast-paced and twisty debut novel! It kept me guessing until the end. I was genuinely surprised by some of the twists, especially toward the end. The plot was intriguing and layered, keeping me invested in seeing where it all led.
There are several POVs, but the author does a good job of weaving them all together and making them distinct. The beginning is a bit of a slow burn, but the second half is suspenseful and hard to put down. The way the author used text messages to build tension was clever and well done. I did have to suspend disbelief a few times, and the ending is pretty over the top, but overall, this popcorn thriller was a fun read. This was a solid debut, and I look forward to whatever Garcia writes next.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the gifted ARC!

*3.5 rounded up

Thank you @jessiegarcia_author & @stmartinspress for the ebook and @macmillan.audio for the gifted ALC! #MacAudio2024

A great debut from this author. Awesome audio as well, narrated by a full cast. I was intrigued right away with the narrative and ready to see what this woman was up to as she ran away from her abusive ex.

Parts were predictable, but flowed well with the storyline. However there was a twist I absolutely didn't see coming that I loved. Overall a great entertaining read that I binged quickly.

This was my first book by Jessie Garcia and I loved it. This book kept me turning the pages way after I should have been in bed. I never guessed what was really going on in the book so that was a plus. The plot flowed nicely and there was never dead spots in the book for me- I gave this 4 stars and will be reading her next one.

The Business Trip Jessie Garcia
Saucy psychological thriller told from multiple points of view. Excellent debut novel. Wicked webs are weaved. Beware! #JesseGarcia #TheBusinessTrip #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

Thank you NetGalley! This book was definitely different from others I’ve read. I totally did not guess where it was going. Looking forward to reading more by this author

Two women on the same flight vanish after sending increasingly worrying texts to friends about the same man.

This book started out promising, and I flew through the first 2 parts. However as the story goes on we get an increasing number of POVs, which gets confusing and makes it so that none of the characters are fleshed out. The twists were very unrealistic and therefore unsatisfying. I would unfortunately recommend skipping this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

3.75 stars
Jasmine and Stephanie meet on a flight. Jasmine is running away from an abusive boyfriend and Stephanie, a news director, is going to a conference, where she meets another news director, Trent McCarthy. Jasmine texts her friend, Anna, about meeting Trent. And then they both disappear.
When Stephanie’s friends and co-workers start piecing together the strange texts they all received, they start getting suspicious. Then, Stephanie texts her neighbor and cat-sitter, Robert, an alarming text and he alerts the authorities, and Trent is arrested for their murders.

Told from multiple points of view (Stephanie, Jasmine, Robert, Trent, Anna and some others) and spans the days around the flight they both took.

At one point, about ¾ of the way through the book, the story gets re-told but from Trent’s point of view. I’m not really sure that was fully necessary; his version could have been told to just fill in the blanks from his perspective.

Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Stephanie and Jasmine meet on a flight from Madison, Wisconsin to Denver. While the two share a passing physical resemblance, they have little else in common. Stephanie is on her way to a work conference; Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. But when Stephanie uses the plane lavatory, Jasmine takes a look into her designer handbag and slowly begins to make a plan.

When Stephanie's neighbor and catsitter, Robert, receives a text that she's taking another week to visit Atlanta with a man she met at the conference, he's overjoyed that she seems to be ending her long dating dry spell. But as her texts become infrequent and worrying, he knows he must take action. At the same time, Stephanie's colleagues at the station where she works are shocked by her uncharacteristic behavior, and when one of her friends sets a trap that the texter falls into, she knows it isn't really Stephanie who's texting.

This thriller is impossible to put down. Although there are a few plot holes, it doesn't detract from the positives of the fast-paced story. Jasmine is the flawed protagonist you can't help cheering for, even as she reveals her own troubling past (beyond a neglectful mother and many bad relationships). And Trent is the perfectly drawn jerk everyone has met. My one major complaint is the secondary Atlanta setting, which seems to have been described by someone who's never been there. But if you need a distraction from real life, this is the book for you. I read it in two settings--only because I needed a few hours of sleep in between. #TheBusinessTrip #NetGalley

Let’s just say that I speed read through this so I could end the torture. The premise was promising, but it was a big miss. The writing felt very elementary, there was zero character development, and it required suspension of reality to make it through.

The Business Trip is a debut novel by Jessie Garcia (Available Jan 14th). This was an addicting thriller to read - I love multiple storylines where you just get pieces of information revealed at a time and it keeps you guessing.

Jasmine & Stephanie seem to have nothing in common except ending up next to each other on a flight. Stephanie is heading to a news conference and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. Both start sending messages to friends about meeting a guy, Trent McCarthy, and the messages get more concerning as the days go on. As Stephanie stops responding to her friends, they are panicked wondering what Trent did to her. And when they send the police to check on things, it’s not like what it seemed.

This one takes so many twists, right up until the end. I read it in just a couple of sittings. Thank you to the author, @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.






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Wow! I flew through this book! Once Jasmine got on that plane I COULD NOT STOP READING! What a crazy, creative story, that at times is a little far fetched but absolute entertainment. Did not see the twist coming at the end but I’m so glad it happened! Publishes on January 14th! Definitely add this to the top of your TBR! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC.

I loved the twists in this, the kept me hooked all the way through. The characters were very intriguing and this added to the growing suspense throughout.

This was a lot of fun with some different twists… but I’m giving a 3 star because of the implausible factor. The ending came fast with too much of a nice bow on the package for all of the various twists throughout the book. The book needed to end and that’s exactly what happens- just too neatly. Thanks to NetGalley for the fun read.

The concept of this book is unique and fresh, but I really just didn’t enjoy reading it. Every contextual detail was over explained to the point of being pedantic, and the flow of the story felt clunky as a result. Other positives- I liked the multiple viewpoints, which ratcheted up the tension. It was also a very quick read!

Jasmine is desperate to leave her abusive boyfriend and is able to sneak away and get on a flight to Denver. Stephanie, a news director, is also on the same flight. Soon though they are both missing and it seems like something nefarious has happened to them.

Was this quick to read? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Not as much as I had hoped. At the beginning, there were so many different perspectives. I have no idea why we had any chapters from Glenn. They didn't add anything! Like I never once thought Glenn was involved with any disappearances/deaths. Similarly, I could have done without the whole section basically from Trent. He is just so gross and those chapters were hard to read. And then finally when we get back to Jasmine, I just hated her so much! This was mostly just a bunch of characters I didn't like. I will say it felt short and was quick to read. But part of that maybe was going through Glenn and Trent's chapters extra quick to just be done with them.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This was so good!! The twists were incredible!! I didn’t know what was going on! My one and only complaint is so many POVs but it is important for the plot!

Thank you SMP for sending me a copy and NetGalley for allowing me to read before its release on January 14!!

So many twists and turns!! Stephanie and Jasmine are two women who vanish and are declared missing. Nothing is what it seems! What could have happened to them? Could Trent have something to do with it? The story line was very addictive. It had me guessing until the end. Thank you NetGalley, Jessie and St.Martin’s Press for the E-ARC!