Whoa! This one had me hooked from page one. I can’t say this was the best thriller I’ve ever read, but it was definitely one of the most entertaining! I found that the excessive number of perspectives to be confusing, and would have been better written in third person, so we didn’t have to worry about keeping the names straight. The ending totally blew my mind, and while I found it to be pretty far fetched, it somehow felt fitting.

My biggest gripe besides the number of perspectives is how blasé Jasmine felt about murdering Stephanie and stealing her life. I know self preservation can be a powerful thing, but it took me from feeling empathy towards her to feeling like she was the villain all along.

This is a “do not finish” for me. The premise sounded so good but I’m 15% in and I just cannot deal with the poor writing. There is a TON of explaining. I prefer when writers “show” not “tell”. Did we really need to know every single item she packed and every step of her skincare routine? I also found the pop culture references to be trying a little too hard. The writing was just too corny for me, I knew I wouldn’t enjoy reading the rest of the book. For example, the line “I guess I was just a normal American female executive”. Like show us she’s a stereotypical exec, don’t have her say that about herself! And the gay character calling her “sister”? Cmon.

DNF at 44%. Too many different perspectives for me, and I couldn’t get into it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love escaping into a popcorn thriller now and then, but unfortunately this book was not for me. The writing was inelegant (very tell, not show) and took me out of the story. I bet the writer had a lot of fun writing it, though, and congrats to her on her debut!

Thank you @netgalley and the publisher for the #AdvanceReviewCopy

Genre: Thriller
Release date: January 2025

Summary: Two women meet on a plane while sitting next to each other. Stephanie is on a business trip to attend a conference and Jasmine is running away from an abusive relationship. They have zero in common, each coming from different worlds. When their contacts receive out of character texts from each, they wonder what is up. The women are texting about the same guy! When the two woman disappear, we learn a little about the mystery man who supposedly is with them. As the questionable texts continue we see the upset coworkers, concerned neighbour and friends of the women are as perplexed as the reader! How does one know whom to trust?

My Thoughts: What a love/hate relationship I had with this one.
It started strong. It was structured uniquely with many POV’s. It was definitely thrilling and a fast read. But some of it was just so over the top crazy and unbelievable and by the time we get to Jasmine’s chapters, things really get convoluted in a way that has you scratching your head but in an entertaining way.

The final twist at the end almost seemed too much.

If you enjoy a far fetched twisted story, this is for you.

Overall, I enjoyed it. And rate it 3.5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What a great thriller! Thanks @macmillianaudio for the audiobook. The full cast definitely added to the suspense!

When Jasmine goes missing, her abusive boyfriend, Glenn pulls out all the stops to find her. But Jasmine has some plans in place to ensure she disappears and isn't found. Stephanie is a journalist who is gone on a business trip, and her neighbor is concerned that she is gone and hasn't come home. Did something more nefarious happen to her? Is she in danger, what's the connection to Jasmine?

Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Business Trip follows Stephanie and Jasmine who are both looking to escape their lives. They meet on a plane and Jasmine tries to steal Stephanie's identity, but then a man that Stephanie meets at a confefence is arrested for both of their murders. There were a lot of twists and turns and I didn't see any of them coming. I thought there were too many POVs and side characters toward the beginning and we only really needed to hear from Stephanie and Jasmine, and maybe Trent but his misogynistic viewpoints didn't really need to be as exaggerated as they were. I liked learning about the news industry as Stephanie was a news director as I don't know much about that.

3/5 stars

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the advanced reading copy!

This book was soooo wild from start to finish. I can tell you one thing — I never knew what to expect or where we were going next. Though reading it would still be fun, I recommend listening to it on audio. That definitely enhanced the experience — with different narrators for each of the (many) characters, you got an added touch of dimension in the story. I don’t think the writing of this one was exceptional but I was definitely intrigued and entertained the entire time! The beginning was fairly chaotic and hard to follow, but but towards the middle things significantly picked up. If you’re looking for a quick thriller with tons of characters and even more twists, this one is for you!

I went into this blind and I am so glad that I did!

How is this Jessie Garcia’s debut? The Business Trip, is a masterful blend of suspense and psychological intrigue. From the moment Stephanie and Jasmine's fates intersect on a plane, the tension builds without pause. Garcia’s writing is sharp and immersive, drawing you into the lives of these two women as their seemingly separate paths collide in a chilling and unexpected way. The author expertly layers one twist after another, keeping you on the edge of your seat at every turn. With relentless pacing and richly developed characters, this gripping thriller is impossible to put down, culminating in a shocking conclusion. A five-star must-read!

This one ended up not being for me. I found it to be somewhat predictable so when the twists occurred, I wasn’t shocked. The dislike of the characters had a lot to do with why I didn’t enjoy this one. They were all unlikeable and I didn’t form a connection with any of them to pull me into the story. The ending was not what I expected but I still found it odd and a little far fetched.

Take my review with a grain of salt though! Even though I didn’t like this one, you may enjoy it.

First I would like to thank Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and advanced audiobook of this novel.

I went back and forth between the audiobook and the kindle addition and I enjoyed them both.

First I really loved how the beginning of this book was laid out. We met the two main characters and then switched point of views to all the different friends and other connections to these main characters. I loved how we got little pieces of the story and each persons view of how everything was going down.

I was hooked from the beginning. The narrators were great and I think having different people narrate each character helped me keep all the characters straight in my head.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first twist that happened just over half way through the novel. I felt that one was a little predictable but the final twist I didn’t see coming and I loved that one.

If you are a fan of fast-paced thrillers that are fast-moving and keep you guessing I highly recommend this book.

3.75/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.

The Business Trip is a crazy, twisty romp that digs through the lives of two women and those around them. I listened to this on audio with a full cast and it was awesome to hear the distinction between the several different POVs.

I loved the pacing of this one and it was definitely a book that I couldn’t stop thinking about until I finished it. With an ending that I definitely didn’t see coming - this thriller is one that I can definitely recommend! I don’t want to give too much away so I am going to leave this review short and sweet.

Check this one out if you love books with multiple POVs and never-ending twists!!

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this wild title!!**

This was told from multiple points of view, from our two main characters to the peripheral people in their lives. We start with Jasmine, who is secretly running away from her abusive boyfriend. Quietly leaving in the middle of the night, she heads to Denver, where Glenn will never think to look for her. We also meet Stephanie, a TV news director on her way to a conference in San Diego with a connecting flight in Denver. Sitting in the same row, Jasmine and Stephanie get to know each other during the flight.

Then we start changing perspectives, from Anna, Jasmine's best friend, and Glenn to Stephanie's neighbor Robert, her assistant Bruce, and Lucy, another newsroom employee. All of the different viewpoints add to the plot, which isn't exactly clear at the beginning. It was all a jumbled knot, and just when one string started coming undone, another one showed up. There were so many twists, I didn't have any idea what was going on for the longest time...and that made it even better!

All in all, this was a great fiction debut from Jessie Garcia. There was suspense, an interesting plotline, a diverse set of characters, and an ending you can't see coming. Grab this one right now!

This was a twisty and suspenseful novel that I finished in a day! I enjoyed the clever concept of switching places but then it took an unexpected turn that completely blew me away. I look forward to more from this author!

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia was a great debut novel. I was quickly drawn in with the fast paced chapters. I enjoyed the multiple POV. I wasn't sure how Jasmine and Stephanie's stories would be related but soon found out. I thought I knew where it was going and was wrong. I found some of the chapters repetitive because they told the same story but in a different POV. Right when you think you know how this book is going to end something huge happens that I never saw coming.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's press for an ARC of The Business Trip for an honest review.

Over the last few years, I have read a few thrillers. I've backed off from them a bit because they started to feel formulaic to me. This one caught my eye and I’m glad it did.

The basic premise of this book is: 2 women (unknown to each other) get on a flight. One is on a business trip, the other running away from a violent relationship. They end up with the same man. But no one knows what is happening, why the women aren't returning their texts or returning home. The friends and co-workers left behind texting each woman, wondering what was happening. Tearing their hair out.

In the first half, the chapters rotate from one person to the next. The chapters are short which enables continuity. The reader is as stumped as the friends of the missing women.

Then the perspective changes. And it gets more challenging for the reader, not in a bad way. It turns into a train wreck…..convoluted, demented, deranged. I could not turn the pages quickly enough.

The twists and turns do not stop. For me, nothing was predictable……everything was a surprise. Some of it was not very realistic. But, it was entertaining. That's the main reason I read, to be entertained.

And, the ending, just weird!!!! But, the whole story was weird. That's why I couldn't stop turning the pages, late into the night.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

This book started out strong. We first meet Jasmine as she is smack in the middle of sneaking away from her abusive boyfriend. It reminded me of The Invisible Man. Not the original, the new version where she tries to escape in the night without waking him. It was so suspenseful, and I was holding my breath every time she made the slightest noise.

From there, we meet Stephanie as she prepares for a business trip. These women have never met and have polar opposite lives but they will meet on the plane, with shocking consequences.

I usually have no problem with stories that are told from multiple points of view, but this seemed excessive to me. There is Jasmine's point of view, her boyfriend's point of view, her friend's and a coworker at the bar. Then there is Stephanie's point of view, her neighbor's, several of her co-workers, a person at the hotel, a couple of police press conferences and combined with some flashbacks of Jasmine's teen years it was just too much switching around for me.

I enjoyed the beginning and the clever ending of this book but I was frustrated and sometimes bored with the middle. The parts of the book about the newsroom, the convention, and meetings in the hotel were too long for me. I know that some of it was necessary to the plot, but I wanted to get back to the suspense.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for the invitation to read this book.

The Business Trip by Jessica Garcia is a fiendishly clever mystery.

Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship when she meets local tv news director Stephanie. They are seated together during their airplane ride from Madison, WI to Denver, CO. When both women turn up missing, the only other commonality between them seems to be Trent McCarthy. Is he responsible for their presumed disappearances?

The Business Trip is a twisty mystery that unfolds from numerous points of view. They each provide vital information about what is happening with Jasmine, Stephanie and reactions to their disappearances. Details both in the past and present provide incredible insight into the characters. The various characters are well-developed but not all of them are likable. The storyline is ingeniously crafted and extremely riveting. With jaw-dropping plot twists, Jessica Garcia brings this brilliant mystery to an absolutely stunning conclusion. I HIGHLY recommend this marvelous mystery.

This was a twisty little treat and seriously fantastic on audio! There are so many talented narrators performing these roles and I’m so glad I listed to this one versus reading a print copy. It was a little over the top and silly in some of the explanations but I had a blast with it and can definitely recommend it as a popcorn thriller.

Jasmine and Stephanie seem to have nothing in common, or do they? In this twisty, suspenseful and brilliantly thought out story, I kept thinking I knew where the story was headed and on the edge of my seat the whole time.