Anyone who’s ever gone on a trip knows that traveling is HARD.

Whether trying to follow the rules and make it to the airport literally hours before your actual flight... worrying about whether or not your toiletries are “small enough” to please the TSA gods... or knowing you forgot something vitally essential back at home (be it turning a would-be flammable electrical thingy off, or packing the laptop you’re definitely gonna need)... the whole act of traveling is A LOT.

But one thing most of us rarely factor into that already-bonkers list of variables is... MURDER.

Jessie Garcia’s no-holds-barred debut, The Business Trip, seems destined to add that concern to your list of OMG-what-ifs, though.



Jasmine is like plenty of women you may have met—or not, depending on how you spend your off-hours. She’s a middle-aged bartender in a low-brow tavern in Madison, Wisconsin. She lives with a boyfriend who... well, leans way more to the negative side, if the proliferation of bruises on her is any indication. She has no family to speak of. Basically, Jasmine is just getting by... barely.
Stephanie, meanwhile, leads what looks like—from the outside—a pretty glamorous life. She’s a director of a Madison affiliate’s TV news programming. She has her own condo—which she shares with her cat—but her marriage ended a few years ago, and her kid is now a young man, in college, off on his own. As for the dating scene, in mid-life? She’s finding it less than awesome.

Jasmine is taking the only chance she sees, and secretly escaping the relationship that turned out so horribly.

Stephanie is headed to a work conference in Southern California... one that everyone at the news station knows about, as does her neighbor, who’ll be looking after her cat.

When fate puts these very different women on either side of a chatty, elderly woman on a Denver-bound flight, neither imagines how their lives are about to change.

But change, they will... in ways no one could’ve ever predicted.

Their friends and co-workers receive similar texts... about the same man—one Trent McCarthy—a handsome, charming fellow... whom both women have apparently fallen for, separately.

Everything is exciting, each woman gushes, and Trent wants to take her back to see his hometown of Atlanta... until suddenly, the texts stop. And no amount of anxious questions from friends or colleagues elicit any further communications from either woman.

They simply... disappear.

Somewhere in Atlanta, if the text messages are, indeed, anything to go by.

Which leaves two completely different sets of people wondering... exactly who is this Trent guy... and what the hell did he do to the woman (women) they know??


I love a story full of twists—particularly if I don’t really see those twists coming, AND if said twists are actually believable. And those in The Business Trip? Fall smack-dab under both headers.

Aside from a cracking plot, though, there are so many things newcomer Garcia has done that simply must be mentioned.

First, she creates some dead-on relatable characters, doing things and living lives I understand. I really get each of these women... and have met more than a few Trent McCarthys, for that matter. (The auxiliary characters are also well-drawn, from Stephanie’s neighbor and her closest co-workers, to Jasmine’s friends and her abusive boyfriend.)

Garcia also gives a nice sense of places—yes, multiple—which is so important in establishing an overall vibe. I haven’t been to Madison (although I could probably sub in numerous other small midwestern cities and be good-to-go), but the other places visited? Spot-on.

Finally, she employs an ingenious storytelling technique which I, personally, haven’t experienced—that of multiple storytellers.

Okay, I know you’re raising your hands and saying, “But... but...” with all sorts of examples, but... believe me, this is different. Because Garcia doesn’t just use a couple of voices—she uses a BUNCH.

No, honestly. There are upwards of ten different first-person narratives, over the course of this tale. That’s... well, it’s SOMETHING. And it works... oh, how it works.

Whether or not The Business Trip goes where you’re thinking it’s going to is up for grabs. But as for me, I was surprised... again and again and again.

And loved every single second of my uncertainty.

The Business Trip would be a triumph for any thriller writer. But for one just out-of-the-gate, like Jessie Garcia? It’s like a master course in how to do suspense.

Trust me. Read this one, the second it comes out. It’s a ride.

[Publish date set for 14 Jan 2025]

~GlamKitty

[Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.]

Well - I was looking for a fast paced thriller to entertain while I did some chores and picked up The Business Trip. At the beginning it seemed to be just what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the twists became so over the top and unbelievable that I found myself rolling my eyes through the whole second half. This one was a miss for me. Thank you to the publisher for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"The Business Trip" by Jessie Garcia
was an addictive debut thriller that sucked me in rightaway.
It well written with multiple POV's that slowly revealed the full story.
There was so many twists that kept me guessing until the very end.
I can't wait to read what Ms. Garcia
decides to write next!

I was nervous starting this book because there were so many characters. I felt like every chapter we were introduced to a new one and I struggled keeping track. But as the story progressed, it made sense and it was all crucial to the plot. I ended up loving it!

3.5 stars rounded up
This was such a twisty wild ride! 
*
Quick synopsis: Stephanie and Jasmine are two women who don't know each other, but are both traveling from Madison - Stephanie to San DIego on a business trip and Jasmine to Denver to escape an abusive boyfriend. Shortly after leaving, both women start sending strange texts to friends about a man they met, and then soon both women vanish. 
*
This is set up like Gone Girl - you get one perspective of what happened, and then you go back and get the same events from a different perspective, and then a third. And the stories are dramatically different - whatever you think is going on at first, you will be completely wrong. 
*
It definitely requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, and the characters are all pretty one-dimensional, but it kept me guessing and I flew through it!

I definitely enjoyed The Business Trip, well written with multiple POVs that slowly reveal the full story. We meet two women in the first part of the novel. Jasmine is an abused women who has finally saved enough money and worked up the courage to leave her boyfriend. Stephanie is news director who has been asked to attend a conference in San Diego. Stephanie is a responsible, divorced mother of a grown son, who is growing slightly weary of travel assignments, as her peers have families at home.

The story is organized into parts, which is where the POVs really switch directions. The first part introduces us to Jasmine and Stephanie and ends as they board the same plane. The book then moved to friends and coworkers of the two women, who are getting updates on their journeys. Both women are acting a little out of character in how they are communicating, and both seem to have met the same wonderful guy, Trent, with love at first sight. As is becomes clear that something is up, we switch POVs and hear Trent's story. We ultimately learn what happened in the following parts, which really have you guessing until the end, and a little horrified on how it all plays out.

I liked how the author really gave small breadcrumbs throughout the book that were small details at first but really tied it all together as we got to the reveal. Book also touched on how looks could be deceiving, and you really cannot judge a book by its cover. Assumptions on how people of certain classes look and act, but really that past experiences should not be used to classify everyone. There were true victims in several of the characters as well as some truly unsavory people.

I highly recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy!

The plot was intricate and well put together. The final twist required a bit more suspension of disbelief than I usually like, but the story was engaging and suspenseful right up to the end. A solid four-star read!

This is definitely not a “meet cute”. Two women randomly meet. Two women vanish. Red flags are raised. What is happening? I found the story, at times, slow but toughed it out to the end, where there is a quite the twist. All the things that I decided were happening were off base. There were surprises galore. I would recommend adding this to your TBR list.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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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?
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I have a lot of good things to say about this book. The premise was intriguing, and the first two-thirds of it really had me zipping along, eager to see what was going to happen next. It is told from multiple points of view (many, many points of view), which was initially difficult for me to get used to, but once I did, I appreciated hearing the story from so many characters' viewpoints.

Unfortunately, the characters were just so unlikeable, and so many plot points became so far-fetched that the story fell apart a little bit for me. I once had a beloved English teacher tell our class, "It's fiction; accept it." However, so many events fell into place so conveniently in this book that it was difficult for me to do that in this case. Once we got to the big twist at the end, it was hard to suspend my disbelief enough to find satisfaction in the conclusion of the story. Still, it was an enjoyable read, and I will be interested to see what we see from this author in the future.

This is the first time that I'm writing this in a long time - I LIKED THIS BOOK! A lot! At first, it was quite predictable and then ... BAM! A twist that you don't even see coming! This one is a solid 4.5 star read. Go get it - it comes out January 14, 2025!

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

4.5/5.0 Stars

THE BUSINESS TRIP – by 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.’

I love how the story plays out with an ending I did not predict—Highly Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with an eBook and Audiobook of THE BUSINESS TRIP at the request of an honest review.

Scheduled For Release, January 14, 2025, Though Subject To Change.

4.5 stars!!! Thank you to Macmillan Publishing for this ARC, it was so so good.

I finished this book in less than a day. This thriller kept me intrigued the entire time and I absolutely loved the way it was written.

The book starts out with two different POV’s; Stephanie & Jasmine.

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.

Once they get on the plane, their POV’s stop and you then start reading POV’s from all of their friends/people in their life trying to figure out what happened to them.

UGH! So good!! Genuinely will be thinking about this book for a long time.

This was SO much fun. I read a lot of thrillers and signs of a good one is when I can’t put it down and don’t guess the ending. This had both! Definitely recommend.

This read like the author was trying to cram everysingle trope within the pages. The plot was implausible and not at all organic. Much of the dialogue was cringey.
The writing, not at all poor, but too much of this felt like the author was trying to cram everysingletrope within the pages - the plot felt implausible and not at all organic as I was reading.

I was excited about starting this one, and I’m sorry I didn’t enjoy it more.




Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a DRC

This book was wild, the synopsis did not give away anything, so you have to read this book to be able to understand exactly what I’m feeling right now. Because my jaw has stayed open throughout this whole book. Nothing is as it seems, you are on edge from beginning to end, because you don’t know what’s going on, and then when you finally get to the part where these two female characters are the center, everything just starts to break down, and it is wild. The TWISTS!!!! I can’t even talk about it…. It’s crazy.

The Business Trip (audio) 5⭐️

What a wonderfully unhinged roller coaster.

The book opens introducing two women both headed to the airport. Their circumstances are very different. I looked forward to seeing how their paths were going to cross, but then POVs switched to their friends/coworkers. Things seem “off” and then I REALLY needed to know what happened on that plane. This was so smartly written, especially for a debut novel. I loved the chaos throughout and how everything wrapped up by the end.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date Jan 14 2025

This book was one of those, where you will think about these characters even after you put the book down.

We are following Jasmine who works in a bar and is in an abusive relationship and is fleeing the situation. Then we meet Stephanie. She is a TV station director. When they meet on a flight to San Diego.

The book switches points of view between the two women and other key secondary characters. Which keeps a great flow throughout the book.

This was a 4 star read for me. I really enjoyed it. In this review, I don’t want to share too much. I would hate to spoil anything, as there are twist and turns, I did not see coming. I would say, read this book, and you will not be disappointed. Unreliable characters, twisty plot and revenge. This book has it all.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

LOVED this one! In the first half I was liking it, but not loving it. It had a slow burn. I felt like the book was missing something. I then found out that I didn't have a connection to the characters. I was very intrigued though to find out what was going to happen next.

In the second half I loved it I thought it was a great twisty read. I was gobsmacked! I thought I had the whole story figured out and I was wrong. I was so surprised. I thought the plot of the book was very clever and it was a fun read. I was able to have a better connection to the characters in the second half The story became very suspenseful and gripping. The characters are unlikable. Who is Trent McCarthy?

The twist were so good especially the one at the end. My jaw dropped to the floor.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia was such a fun thriller! There were definite Freida McFadden vibes in most complimentary way! This was a quick read that kept me guessing and I loved that there were so many POVs! I was thinking it would get confusing but it didn't, and to piece things together from different viewpoints made this book extra fun.

Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing in common. They meet on a flight to Denver, Stephanie going on a business trip and Jasmine fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they both start texting their friends that they've both met the same man - but their messages become stranger and erratic as time goes by. And then they both vanish. Who is Trent McCarthy? What did he do to these women, or vice versa?!

This was a totally clever read with such fun twists and pressure!! It was definitely a book that kept me up past my bedtime in the best way possible. A stressful but satisfying conclusion sealed the deal on my rating!!

This was my first Jessie Garcia book and I will definitely be back for more!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jessie Garcia for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Releases January 14, 2025!

Stephanie is a radio station executive on the way to a work conference. Jasmine is a resourceful woman, looking to escape an abusive relationship. These two very different women’s paths collide when they end up boarding and sharing close quarters on the same plane.

Soon after landing cryptic, out of character texts come from Stephanie’s phone telling friends and co workers she met the man of her dreams. But something just doesn’t add up. Before long, both women are announced as missing, an unassuming conference goer the main suspect. Now everyone is looking for Stephanie and only one person is hunting down Jasmine.

The Business Trip gives new meaning to the term baggage claim. With twists and turns at every corner, this debut will definitely keep readers guessing. However, not unlike a lot of thriller territory, there is a bit of believability to work through- specifically with regards to traceable mistakes and identity related improbabilities. Without giving too much away, I had a hard time moving past these issues, even if the trip itself was a decent one.