Television news director Jessie Garcia is right at home in her debut novel, The Business Trip, a thriller in which Madison, Wisconsin TV news director Stephanie Monroe sets out for a conference in San Diego. During a Madison-Denver flight, the first leg of her business trip, Steph is seated next to Jasmine, who is fleeing Glenn, her abusive boyfriend. Within the next few days, as Glenn is seething over Jasmine’s disappearance and threatening her best friend, the two women’s friends and co-workers begin receiving texts reporting that each has met a new man. Steph announces that she is extending her time away from the station to spend a week with “a great guy”--TV news director from Atlanta--while Jasmine reports she has met a man who makes her “feel safe and beautiful.” Who are these two men? Both women identify their new dream man as Trent McCarthy. Over the course of several messages from Steph and Jasmine to those back home, Steph and Jasmine’s whirlwind romances take an ominous turn, eventually leading to Atlanta police investigation.

Garcia writes the novel from several points of view, including Steph, her friend and neighbor Robert, coworkers, and her boss on the one hand and Jasmine, her irate boyfriend Glenn, and her bar co-worker Anna on the other. Each such change is clearly marked with the person’s name and time in relation to the initial flight on which Steph and Jasmine met. Garcia furthermore divides the novel into four parts and an epilogue, with an attention-grabbing shift between each part. For instance, Part Three shifts the point of view to womanizing Trent McCarthy, himself, for several chapters, but his isn’t the final word.

Rarely is anything what it appears to be. In a thriller rife with deception and surprise twists that will keep readers turning pages, the facts gradually come together, but not without more jaw-dropping surprises.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader egalley of Jessie Garcia’s captivating debut novel. I will be watching for her next book.

The twists and turns in this one!! Loved it. Loved the ending. It was one that left my mouth open wide!!! Z

This one has some serious twists and things zoom to the finish at the end! I found myself not liking a single character in the story, other than Jasmine’s next door neighbor, and I really liked the ending to Jasmine’s story!

If you want to start a book and be unable to stop, this is your book. Cancel your plans for the next 36 hours and buckle up.

One thing about me is that I love a child abduction story (I know, something is definitely wrong with me). But HOW can a baby go missing on a plane. This is the ultimate locked room mystery.

Readers will have to think a little outside of the box (especially at the end) because this takes some interesting turns and could never ever ever happen in a million years. But it is the ADVENTURE of a lifetime.

The author being a former NICU nurse and pilot's daughter makes so much sense and definitely adds layers to the details of this story.

Wow — just wow. I’m always on the hunt for mystery/suspense/thrillers that meet my somewhat picky criteria:

* Not too scary (I need suspense, not nightmares).
* Unputdownable — it has to keep me hooked and eager to know what happens next.
* Well-paced reveals — revealing too much too soon kills the intrigue, but dragging it out too long gets frustrating (looking at you, Stuart Turton)
* Clever twists — I want to be surprised and impressed by the cleverness when the twist is revealed.

It’s a tall order, I know, but this book absolutely checks all the boxes!

I received an ALC from Macmillan Audio and was so hooked about halfway through that I had to grab the ebook, just so I could devour it faster. I was completely enraptured.

Don’t get me wrong — the audiobook is fantastic. The story alternates between a few different POVs and each one is performed by a different narrator — all of whom do an incredible job. The only downside? This is the kind of story you’ll want to binge in one go, and audiobooks are harder to consume that way (at least for me, since I tend to listen while doing other tasks). Make sure to listen to this one during a long road trip or when you have uninterrupted time. Otherwise, grab the ebook or a hard copy and binge away!

Whooo boy this book was a wild ride! The story introduces us to Jasmine, a woman in a tough situation and I was immediately invested in her situation. I started listening to the audio and I didn't want to put it down. I read almost all of it in one sitting I was that engrossed. The story is split between multiple povs and that really helped increase the tension for me because each perspective included information that added to the intrigue. I will say the final plot twist lost me a little bit. That's where it stretched the bounds of belief a bit. I was on board for all the twists and turns up to that point though and I still had a great time. I'm so glad I picked this book up! I'm very excited to read more from this author.

Reminiscent of Freida McFadden with unexpected twists and turns. The story is told from multiple points of view but starts with the central characters of Stephanie and Jasmine. They both are boarding a plane but for very different reasons. Stephanie is going on another obligatory business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. Then the story takes a turn when they seemingly vanish after running into the same man. Some of the twists were jarring almost like boarding a roller coaster that knocks the wind out of you. I would have loved more details of the RAJE trio and a few chapters told from Raven's point of view. She was by far the most colorful side character and deserved more of the spotlight.

This book was absolutely wild. I went in completely blind (my favorite activity) and was blown away by the twists and tunes this took me on. By about 30% I was fully convinced I knew what happened but of course in usual style I was completely wrong.

Such a good thriller! Hands down of my top five favorites this past year! I loved the twists and I just couldn't get enough of all the perspectives that moved the story. So happy for this author's debut and look forward to what she does in the future!

4.5 Stars (rounding up)
The cover of this debut thriller immediately caught my attention, and after seeing the rave reviews pouring in, I knew I had to read it.
I received ebook and audiobook copies from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio. There's something so enjoyable about reading along while listening to the audiobook, and this particular gem features multicast narration that truly elevates the experience. It's easy to keep track of the many characters while listening, and I can't recommend it enough!

The story revolves around two intriguing women: Stephanie and Jasmine. Stephanie is navigating life after her divorce and works as a TV executive for a news station that takes advantage of her. On the other hand, Jasmine has a difficult past marked by emotional and physical abuse. Fate brings them together when they find themselves seated next to each other on a flight—Stephanie reluctantly heading to yet another uninspiring conference and Jasmine escaping her abusive boyfriend. Just days into their trip, their friends start receiving strange texts about a man named Trent, which marks the beginning of their real adventure! I found myself completely engrossed in their story.

This tale is packed with twists and unexpected surprises, making it challenging to share many details without giving away juicy spoilers. If you prefer realistic fiction, you might find some aspects of the story a bit far-fetched, but "The Business Trip" completely surpassed my expectations. I'm a fan of wild plots that leave me breathless, and this one definitely delivers! The ending is exhilarating, but be prepared to keep an open mind as you navigate this chaotic adventure.

#NetGalley #TheBusinessTrip #JessieGarcia #MacmillanAudio #MacAudio2024 #giftedARC #freereview #SMPinfluencers #stmartinspress #lovetoread #readmorebooks #bookishlife #bookaddict #bookworms #booksbooksbooks #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #thrillerbooklovers #bookreviewer #thepulse #pulsepoint #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerobsessedbookishclub #bookedandbingo #TalkWordyToMeTeam #lovetoread

Wow! It’s little slow to get going and it seemed to drag a bit initially- on top of all the characters- but keep going and hang on to your hat! Things start twisting and speed up quickly, as everything falls into place. The chapters are mostly short and very fast paced. I quite liked it!
Thank You to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this widget-the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC.

Stephanie is a news producter going on a business trip, and Jasmine is a woman escaping a relationship rife with domestic violence whose fates are sealed when they sit together on a plane. Soon after, both women are identified as having been murdered by the same man, although he swears he is innocent. What happened to the women, and where are their bodies?

What I thought was going to be a DNF ended up being a decent read with an unexpected twist at the end. The first half of the books sets a lot of background and other people's perspectives on what is happening, but stick with it - the last half makes it worth it. The book is divided into parts, which makes the storytelling easier to digest. This is going to be a hit with the thriller lovers, and I can see this being offered by the Book of the Month Club.

Stephanie and Jasmine are the two main characters who don't know each other at first but end up on the same plane. Stephanie is going on a business trip while Jasmine is fleeing his abusive ex. The two women end up vanishing after texting about the same man, Trent, from the plane. The plot was slow in the first half, but picked up at the end. The twist at the end was mind blowing and the plot was way better in the second half. I'm not usually a fan of slow burn thrillers, which is why this isn't a five-star for me.

The Business Trip had me on a bit of a rollercoaster. In the beginning I was vibing with both Jasmine and Stephanie. I felt bad for Jasmine and the hardships in her life. I thought Stephanie was an interesting business woman albeit lonely and in need of a real vacation. When things changed to even more viewpoints, I felt it bogged the storytelling down. When it went back to Jasmine's storyline I felt intrigued again even though I hated her decision making and reasoning but I don't feel the need to always love a main character. The twist at the end just made it all a little too neat and unrealistic in my opinion. No matter, The Business Trip has good readability and I did find myself wanting to get back to reading to see how it would end.

At first I was a little leery about this one. That sometimes is the case with “fast-paced thrillers” but wow, color me impressed.

The pacing was great. I loved the multiple POV’s with the multiple timelines. You never know if an author is going to do it well but I had no issues keeping track of the people and the time periods. Also, each character’s chapter and tone was unique to who they were. From an egotistical douche to a gen Z social media intern.

Definitely impressed and I flew through it! In the best way, this is the next airplane read!

This is such a twisted tale of two woman who have nothing in common until one day their paths cross and both lives are changed forever. Jasmine needs an out. Her relationship with her ex is not a safe one and she finally has pulled together the funds to escape. Stephanie is going on a business trip. Shortly after they both leave for their trip’s friends of either woman get texts that lead them to think that maybe something is not quite right. This book is filled with twists and turns. It has multiple people providing the narrative that all come together to form a very twisted story. This is a perfect story for readers who like a good mystery but don’t want a lot of blood or gore.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

4.25 (may change to 4.5) stars

I really enjoyed the pacing of this, even though it slows down in the middle when we find out more of what is happening because we rehear a BUNCH of things that already happened and not from a very different viewpoint.....however that doesn't slow it down too much and then the ending had me gasping. I did not expect it. Is it out there? Yes. Do you have to suspend your beliefs over it? Some. Was it still a fun and wild ride? Yes. This was Jessie Garcia debut and I can't wait to see what else she turns out for us!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessie Garcia and St. Martins Press for access to an e-arc in exchange for my review.

The Business Trip
By Jessie Garcia
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In her debut novel, Jessie Garcia weaves a story of desperation and opportunity into the fast-action pace of a thriller.

The result is one of the best twists I have read this year!

And the ending is fantastic.

If I say much more I’ll spoil it for you. ADD THIS TO YOUR TBR. Release date is set for January 14, 2025!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The story is light, but still has enough depth to keep you interested. Garcia’s writing is witty and easy to get into, and the characters are super relatable. There’s a nice mix of humor, romance, and a little bit of drama, which made it a really enjoyable page-turner. If you're looking for a fun, breezy read that’s perfect for a weekend, this one’s definitely worth picking up!

3.5 stars, but rounding up.

Two Women, One Flight...

...then everything gets crazy from there. This was a fun and engaging domestic thriller with so many twists and turns I had no idea what was going to happen by the end. Several times I thought I had the mystery all figured out, only to discover that I was completely wrong. Some of this crazy did seem a bit far-fetched to me...but then again, if you read the news frequently, then it's quite possibly not that out of the question. 
I think this was a great debut thriller for this author, and I would look forward to reading another one by her.