There are few things I love more than a great debut, and I’m so happy to end 2024 with one!

If you want the nutshell synopsis, two women board a plane and things go all kinds of sideways when they land. I’d love to leave it at that, because this is one of those books that the less you know the better, but I’ll flesh it out just a tiny bit more.

In Madison, Wisconsin, waitress Jasmine has been secretly plotting an escape from her abusive boyfriend, and has finally saved up enough money to buy a plane ticket to Denver. In the same city, Stephanie is the news director at a local TV station being sent on yet another work trip to a conference in San Diego, with a layover in Denver. As fate would have it, they end up sitting next to each other and talking during their flight, but what happens when they land?

Well, if you’ve heard the saying “fate is a fickle thing” … that sums up the rest of the book pretty perfectly!

I know this is all very vague and intentionally so, because this really is best gone into as blind as possible. I’ll only say that this book will make you rethink ever talking to the stranger next to you!

If you enjoy mystery, intrigue, and suspense with twists and turns that reads like a true crime Dateline episode, this might be fun for you! My only minor ding was a bit too much of an exposition dump at the end on how the perpetrator was caught which I thought could’ve been handled a little better and a kinda ‘meh’ epilogue, but honestly I thought Garcia did a fantastic job and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next!

3.5/5⭐️

This was an OK book for me, and I would recommend it…but with some caveats.

There’s a good suspense factor and a decent plot line.

However, it could be a bit too over-the-top in that decent plot line, and I found the chapters slipping back and forth between characters sometimes confusing and actually slowing down the momentum that had been building. My other peeve is that I didn’t feel that there was a good ending wrap-up. It felt rushed and incomplete, and I still had some questions that I was left with.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing the free early arc of The Business Trip for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

What a wild ride! I was immediately drawn to both Stephanie and Jasmine and their life stories. My heart broke for Jasmine and I was so happy that she was finally getting out of her abusive relationship and going to start her new life. I never imagined that she would become the villain in the story. There were times I felt like that plot got a little predictable but I never in a million years so the twist at the end coming! I loved getting to see Jasmine's childhood and how she became the woman she is today. I would have enjoyed learning more about Stephanie and her character, but I don't feel like that took away from the story. Overall, I loved this book and will easily read whatever Jessie Garcia comes up with next! Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
#onehundredandtwentyfourthbookof2024 #arc #thebusinesstrip #lastbookoftheyear

CW: death, murder, domestic violence, sexual assault

From NetGalley: 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?

My thoughts: I cannot believe this is a debut! This is a perfect popcorn thriller complete with multiple timelines and perspectives. It was extremely propulsive and I read it in a few hours. It was also very complex and I loved seeing the same event occur from two different points of view. I don’t always love that, as it can be boring and repetitive, but it wasn’t in this case. It added dimension and understanding. Although I had vague suspicions that ended up coming to fruition, I did not see the ending coming and I don’t know how the author came up with such a complex story. Is it a bit implausible and far-reaching? Yes, but that doesn’t matter. I really loved this one and will gladly read another from this author.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advance copy. (Pub date is 1/14/25)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this E-ARC.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. What a fun read. I am still a little dizzy from all of the twists and turns in this book. Honestly ending the 2024 reading year with a BANG.

I would like to compare this book to “Look Closer” by David Ellis.
I didn’t even try to guess what was going to happen next. I was just entirely enjoying the way this book was written. I haven’t read anything like it.

I just went back to read the blurb on this book to make sure I didn’t spoil anything in this review and it says that it’s Jessie Garcias debut book. Big applause. What an amazing debut.

Jasmine flees from her abusive relationship in the middle of the night with only a bag of dirty clothes and a one way ticket to Denver.
Stephanie is a news director going on another business trip that she hates. Also to Denver.

The two ladies happen to be in the same row two seats a part.

They also happen to both disappear. They also happen to both text their friends about a man named Trent.
What did Trent do to them? How did he manage to get both women to come with him?

You’ll have to read to find out. And please do. You won’t regret it.

I started this book out as an audiobook. So many different narrators…..but that actually helped me keep all the characters straight. Each chapter is from one characters POV.
I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it very far after listening to the first chapter TW for all of the DV victims out there. I know I personally had a very visceral reaction. Luckily after that it settled down some and I was able to finish the book.
I never actually saw the plot twist at the end. I had an idea of what might be happening somewhere in the middle but never saw that last bit.
A solid 3.5/5 stars for me.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.

Jasmine is a woman running from a bad relationship. Stephanie is a news director headed to yet another work conference. They both get on a plane, and then their friends start receiving strange texts from each of them; the thread tying the texts together is a name: Trent McCarthy. Who is Trent? Why is Stephanie requesting extra time off to be with him? And how does Jasmine fit in? This mystery is made all the more intriguing as it’s told from multiple points of view. Readers get to hear from not just Jasmine and Stephanie, but also Trent and worried friends and coworkers. This story is absolutely captivating and addictive. Readers of Lisa Jewell and Lucy Foley will fall in love with Jessie Garcia.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Two women from completely different backgrounds are on a plane together headed to different places for different reasons. Stephanie is a news room manager heading out on a business trip, and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship trying to start over. The only thing that these 2 have in common aside from being on the same flight to Denver is that they bear a striking resemblance to each other. When the 2 women vanish, the questions from their family and friends circle around a man named Trent McCarthy and what happened between the three of them.

This is a fast paced read full of interesting characters, suspense and so many twists and turns! As the character's stories unfold and we begin to learn more about them, it becomes apparent that they are not who they seem to be. I could not put this one down and holy smokes, the ending was fantastic. There are a lot of characters in the story but all play their part and are easy to keep straight. Throw in a few red herrings, plot twists and a stunner of an ending, and all of my boxes are ticked!!!

5 Stars - highly recommend!!!

ARC REVIEW: the business trip by jessie garcia 🛬 ready to take off? prepare to descend into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. but just who is playing who?

the concept of this debut had me book my ticket for an early copy! we follow two women escaping from their lives (for very different reasons) who happen to end up on the same flight.

there were many different pov’s and timelines to keep track of throughout this popcorn thriller but that’s what took it to the next level 👀 at times the internal monologue was a bit questionable, making me forget this was an adult thriller and not something targeted for a younger audience!

if you like endings with every single detail played out and explained to the reader, this is the thriller for you! you know those free pretzels you get 40,000 feet in the air… think about crumbs from those in the form of hints dusted in each chapter! I swear the last 40% of this book was the ending. the big twist at the 96% mark I unfortunately ended up guessing… to an extent!

at the end of the day we followed two characters at a baggage claim trying to pick up their own emotional baggage 💼 thank you st. martin's press for the early copy! 3 stars!

2.5 stars. This is a very creative thriller debut but needs some additional editing. The book is divided into parts: the setup, the investigation, and the reveal. We got a lot of duplication with the setup and the reveal, revising the same few days in painstaking detail.

I enjoyed the main characters Stephanie and Jasmine but there were so many additional characters to keep track of, especially those from whom we got POV chapters. Some characters were very important for all of three minutes before coming back at the end to contribute.

Overall this was a good setup but got too caught up in the twists to be an enjoyable read.

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

i read this in 12 hours and it was a fabulous ride! i was hooked immediately and HAD to know what happened. reading wise this was exactly what i needed: suspenseful, thrilling, fast paced. brava!

Jessie Garcia's "The Business Trip" is a gripping thriller that defies expectations from its very first pages. What begins as an apparent domestic disturbance quickly evolves into a far more complex and sinister narrative, keeping readers on the edge of their seats throughout.

Garcia's masterful use of multiple points of view adds depth and intrigue to the story, weaving a tapestry of perspectives that both enlightens and confounds. Aside from the interchanging POV, the timelines also heighten the suspense, as each new viewpoint peels back another layer of the mystery, revealing shocking twists that will leave even the most seasoned thriller aficionados gasping.

At the heart of this page-turner lies a protagonist whose journey from sympathetic figure to morally ambiguous anti-hero is both fascinating and unsettling. Garcia's skillful character development challenges readers' empathy, forcing us to grapple with our own perceptions of right and wrong as we witness the main character's transformation. While the protagonist's unlikability may polarize some readers, it undeniably adds a provocative dimension to this already compelling narrative.

"The Business Trip" offers a relentless pace that will have readers devouring pages well into the night.

In sum, this novel is a must-read for those who relish psychological thrillers that dare to push boundaries and subvert expectations.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for my free copy.

This one is so twisty and just crazy. I love it. I could not predict the ending at all! You cannot top that in a book. I was actually rooting for a "bad" protagonist for a while.

This was a fun enough read but with 10? POVs, I found that I never got enough of one character to care about them. It was smatterings of so many people that instead of getting invested in either the storyline or a character or two it plodded along. The writing was also just okay which took away from the story for me.

The concept of 2 women escaping from their lives for very different reasons and being on the same flight was intriguing and I think set me up expecting to be thrilled. This was a compulsive popcorn read, I just wanted more. I will say the twists did surprise me!

I really enjoyed this one! A quick read that I allllllmost finished in one sitting, but it got so late and I just could not keep my eyes open! 😆 But as soon as I woke up, I went right back to it to finish. This is one of those books where you think you have it figured out, but there's one last twist you didn't see coming. Solid 4/5

An entertaining suspense novel that will leave you gasping with the twists and turns that the plot unfolds. Very interesting character development that leads to a truly evil villain. Definitely a page turner!

The Business Trip hooked me from page 1! Multiple POVs and short chapters pulled me in right away and this popcorn thriller had me eagerly turning the pages. I read this book cover to cover in one day and while it started to get a little silly toward the end, I really enjoyed the ride.

3.75 stars

If you are looking for a quick, easy, twisty read, this is the story for you. The author must have taken super-detailed notes to keep the plot of this story straight. It has many different PoVs and timelines to keep track of. I was pulled into this story right away, but as it went on it got a little unbelievable. 

The characters are unlikeable and some of their internal dialogue was pretty cringey. The side characters were interesting, but we didn’t get any resolution with them. 

The ending of this story is unguessable, and I was pretty shocked by it. The synopsis also didn’t really match what happened in this story. However, I still found myself wanting to see what was going to happen, and it was a pretty decent story overall. 

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this eARC to review. All opinions are my own. This book will be available on January 14th. 

Read if you like: 
🤯 Unguessable twists 
👓 Multiple POVs 
🍿 Popcorn thrillers

4.25 stars!

What a wild ride! My jaw was on the floor very early on with this one. So many gasping moments throughout the first 50%! A page turner, gripping. Went directions I was not at all expecting. A few characters I loved to hate! I felt like the storyline was very original and unique in the best way. I liked the style of writing and I loved that it was written in multiple points of view.

Without revealing spoilers, there were some moments that were a tad far-fetched for me. With all the travel to different cities I had a difficult time keeping track of who lived where and where the scenes were at the time. Also, I felt like the "reveal" and explanation lasted exceptionally long. What typically unfolds in a few chapters took up about 40% of the book. In a way it was fun to get all the nitty gritty details of the hows and whys. But on the other hand it was a bit wordy and got sort of boring.

Overall I really did enjoy this read and was a great debut novel! Would absolutely pick up another book by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jessie Garcia for the ARC and chance to give my honest opinion!

Boasting quite an intriguing premise, I eagerly dove between the pages of “The Business Trip, drawn into the story from the very first page and held captive right up until the very end. This bizarre tale of two missing women—Jasmine and Stephanie—is told through multiple points of view and unfolds in a rather unique and compelling fashion. The author cleverly lays out all of the puzzle pieces for the reader and then slowly drops them into place, revealing the entirety of the picture as a whole. While I’m usually pretty good at deciphering all of the clues, I must admit that this one had me stumped, which only enhanced my overall enjoyment of this rather enthralling and suspenseful thriller. For those about to plunge forward into this mysterious thriller, I’d suggest going in blind so as not to spoil the unraveling of events that awaits.