This book had no business being this good but man was I sucked in right from the beginning. Super twisted and full of suspense, drama and never ending betrayl. Jasmine is looking to run away from an abusive past and Stephanie is just heading out for her millionth work conference - never in a million years did anyone imagine what would happen when these two met in a plane to Denver! An amazing fast paced read that I could not put down! My first book of the year is setting the bar really high for 2025!

The Business Trip was such a gripping novel. The plot was clever and well thought out. Stephanie and Jasmine both board a flight to Denver, and by chance, are assigned to sit together. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the exact same message about the same man. And then the two women vanish. Both women are declared missing and in danger. I thought I had the whole story figured out and I was wrong. This was a great book and I would recommend to all my friends.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the advance copy.

An all-star cast + a twisty, turny tale = All the Stars!

So that I don't give away any spoilers, I will leave you with five travel tips I learned from this thrilling travel story:
🌟Don't pay cash for your plane ticket and also claim you are going on a business trip

🌟Have a catsitter with flexibility. You never know when you will be back.

🌟Don't leave your purse/wallet at your seat while using the plane restroom.

🌟Make sure you dead bolt or throw the extra lock on your hotel room door -- especially while sleeping.

🌟Be sure to get plenty of rest. Getting away with murder is really hard work.

Last year one of my favorite early reads was First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston --her first thriller. This year one of my favorites for January will have to be this debut thriller by Jessie Garcia.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an early audio copy and to St. Martins Press for a DRC in return for an honest review.

DNF @ 10% - y’all, the premise was right up my alley so I tried, I really did… but the writing style was not my friend… the details and extra information per scene were way over the top and irrelevant, and after the fourth chapter of not caring what clothes each woman packed for their trip, I called it 💀 2025 is the year for DNF-ing books that don’t hit right for me

Debut novel, The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia is a shocking psychological thriller with many twists and turns. The first half of the book is a little slow, I found myself skimming through chapters to get to the good part. The problem is, it is very far fetched. The characters are awful people, all of them, except maybe Stephanie’s neighbor, Robert, he was pretty cool. The chapters are told by alternating characters, and there are a few, so you need to pay attention to who is telling their story. At the end, the final twist was very surprising, but came out of left field. I feel I invested a lot of time trying to read through this book only to have an unbelievable ending that would probably never happen in real life.

I would like to thank Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Jessie Garcia for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. St Martin’s Press is one of my favorite publishers, so I’m hoping Ms Garcia’s next book is better than her first. I think there is real potential, maybe just needs a little cleaner, more streamlined storyline.

Jessie Garcia's debut fiction novel is fantastic! In the first half, I thought I had the story all figured out, only to realize I was completely wrong. After the first twist, I assumed that would be the big reveal, but then—BAM!—another unexpected turn completely blew me away. It was such a fun and thrilling ride. I absolutely love when a book has me saying "OMG!" out loud! I'm excited to see more from this author and hope she continues to write fiction. So happy to start 2025 with such a great book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced reader's copy.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
Narrators: Andrew Eiden; Dylan Fitzpatrick; Fred Berman; Gail Shalan; Hillary Huber; Jennifer Pickens; John Pirhalla; Kimberly M. Wetherell; Kirby Heyborne; Tim Campbell
Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 1/14

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy and to Macmillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook.

The story follows Stephanie, a career-focused businesswoman, and Jasmine, a woman on the run from an abusive relationship. Their lives cross paths on a trip, and soon after, both women disappear under mysterious circumstances. Add in some cryptic text messages about a man named Trent McCarthy, and you’ve got a mystery that’s impossible to put down.

The book really nails the twists and turns. The multiple POVs make it super engaging, and the fast pace had me hooked from the start. The surprises are shocking, and the layered plot made me appreciate how cleverly everything was pieced together.

That said, not everything hits the mark. The supporting characters feel a bit one-dimensional, which makes it harder to fully connect with the story. And while the twists are fun, some of them stretch believability to the limit. Plus, the synopsis kind of oversells the vibe—it’s more popcorn thriller than psychological masterpiece.

I’m so glad I listened to this on audio! There are ten different narrators, and they all did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life.

If you’re into authors like Freida McFadden, this one’s definitely worth checking out. It’s fast-paced, entertaining, and perfect for a weekend binge-read. Just go in expecting a fun, twisty thriller and not a deeply realistic tale, and you’ll have a great time. For a debut, Jessie Garcia shows tons of promise, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

This one was interesting. I found the beginning of the book to be a little slow. There was also a lot of POVs, which made it a little confusing on how they all were connecting. Once it switched to part 2 the story started to pick up the pace. There was also a lot more twists. The ending was full of surprises.

This was a fun read and I couldn't put it down till the very end.. Going in, I thought I knew where this one was going, but the multiple points of view gave a twist around every corner. Looking forward to more by this author,

What a fun, unique read from a first time fiction writer! Told from several different viewpoints, it was very hard for me to put this one down. Two look alike women get on a flight together and intrigue soon ensues. I can’t get into much because I don’t want to spoil anything but just when you thought you have figured out everything, the author throws in an exciting curveball. Pick this one up if you want to binge read a juicy popcorn thriller!

Wow- this book was quite the roller coaster ride! Just when I thought I knew what was going on something happened to change my thought process. If you’re a fan of Freida McFadden you’ll enjoy this one as well - lots of twists and turns!
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for the digital ARC!

I loved the different points of view in this book. How all the characters were intertwined and you found it all out in the end. I did not want to put this book down, I wanted to know what happened next.

wowwww!!! this was soooo good!! def reminded me of strangers on a train!!! such a great thriller! 5/5 stars

This book kept me wanting more and I couldn't put it down. It kept my interest and I would definitely recommend this book to others

3.5* This book hooked me at the start with its intriguing premise and fast-paced storytelling. However, like some other readers, I found the plot took a turn toward the overly far-fetched around the middle, which pulled me out of the story a bit. That said, the writing style kept me engaged, and I was invested enough to continue to the end. The final twist tied things up in a satisfying and unexpected way.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

*Note: Review is currently posted on the platforms below. I will add a Pub Day post on Instagram on Jan 14th.

This book was a trip!! I thought it was fun and it had me guessing the whole time. It’s a little far fetched, but isn’t that what makes books fun?! The main character, Jasmine, was not likable, but that made the twists all the more enjoyable. Overall, a fun, quick, suspenseful read!

Jessie Garcia's debut novel is a page-turner. Stephanie and Jasmine both vanish after being on the same flight. What happened to them and who is Trent who seems to have ties to both women? This will keep you reading into the night until the jaw dropping climax. I can't wait to see what Jessie writes next!

Jasmine, fed up with her abusive and controlling boyfriend, has been siphoning off money for quite some time. She manages to escape before he can stop her, but she knows that once he catches on, he’ll be furious. And she was right. However, she’s too far away for him to do anything about it.

Our other primary protagonist is Stephanie, a news director from a modest news outlet. Divorced with a son in college, she’s always the one scheduled for business trips. She’s over it and not dispensable. Now, if she could just convince her bosses of that. Well, worrying about that will be the least of her concerns, as she’s soon to find out.

Stephanie misses companionship in life but has a dependable friend in her neighbor, Robert. Robert is just one of the various minor protagonists who’ll appear in this thrilling story.

Sitting side-by-side on the same flight as Stephanie, Jasmine wishes they could be friends. More than that, wants to be her. So, she quickly forms a plan and begins a series of events that will certainly cost at least one of them their lives.

A strange text thread soon begins. Jasmine is sending texts. Stephanie is sending texts. For everyone on the other side of those numerous texts, everything seems to be fine, if not a little bit odd for each of them. Meanwhile, Jasmine appears to be handling her plan expertly.

There’s a buried introduction to multiple protagonists in this thrilling story. Their roles might be small, but their relevance becomes clearer and clearer. It takes a lot of back-and-forth, but one thing is for sure: something is off. Way off. However, putting a finger on it proves to be an elusive task.

This remarkable debut novel reminds me of a jigsaw puzzle. At first, the pieces may seem disjointed and the design difficult to comprehend, but they all come together marvelously. The Business Trip is a brilliant story that captivated me from the very beginning, even if I had to suspend my disbelief occasionally. Listening to the audiobook made the compelling read even more enjoyable. The ensemble of narrators is sure to delight any fan of psychological thrillers.

Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

(Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC. This is my unbiased review )

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia was not what I expected it to be when it came to the end. The story starts with two women on the same flight for two different reasons. Stephanie is on a business trip on her way to San Diego for a News Conference. Jasmine is running away from an abusive relationship to start new.

The two women unexpected end up sitting beside each other and bond during the flight. Stephanie doesn't think too much of the exchange while Jasmine can do nothing more then envy what Stephanie has that she does not. This envy is what sends Jasmine into a change of plans that she and certainly not Stephanie came to expect.

As the story continues Stephanie continues to her news conference, keeping her neighbor and cat sitter up to date on everything going on. It is only when her neighbor starts to feel something is amiss that he begins to wonder what is really going on with his friend and neighbor. Stephanie isn't acting like herself especially when she reveals that she met someone at the conference.

Her neighbor, Robert is shocked when Stephanie confesses she is following her new beau back to Atlanta. While this doesn't seem quite off character for Stephanie he still begins to worry as the trip goes on longer and Stephanie's responses get more and more strange.

During Jasmine's side of the story the reader finds that ironically Stephanie's new beau, Trent, has also caught the attention of Jasmine. Both women begin to text that they are scared because of Trent's temper and worried he will do something.

But this is where the story gets strange. Throughout The Business Trip not only are the viewpoints of Stephanie and Jasmine presented but also their friends, coworkers, and Trent himself. The story first paints Trent off as the slimy womanizing killing sort... but like any good psychological thriller things are not always as they seem.

Back to Jasmine we go and that hint of envy over the life Stephanie leads. This is where it all starts to get weird and the story starts to twist. At first it seems like your thriller rollercoaster dips and dives and twisty surprise but then more and more is thrown into the mix. It is almost borderline unbelievable. There are some plot holes that don't really get addressed and some parts of the story go to a bit of an extreme. Nevertheless we carry on as readers right?

So yes this book is a thriller of the psychological two women in separate lives thrown together scenario. What I expected was not how this book ended which bonus points for Jessie Garcia for that. Yet that being said.... some of the story just didn't flow and the very end was just ... I won't say garbage but just haphazard thrown in. Yes Trent's a slimeball... we get it... but some of what is shown in the final chapter just really didn't make sense and didn't seem necessary. All and all it was a fun unexpected read that I had a great time starting the year off with. Until next time, happy reading!

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

A thriller told in multiple perspectives (like at least half a dozen), Garcia takes the reader on a wild ride to find out what really happens to two women on the same flight. At times too wild, the events of the book become more far fetched as the story unwinds. While I don’t particularly like any of the characters, I was still invested in fitting all the pieces together and there was a nice twist at the end. Ultimately, a quick read and fun if you can don’t mind suspending disbelief.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.