The author drew me in and kept me page turning for answers, and what a lot of twists and turns.
You will not see most of the of the twists coming.
We have a women in a bad relationship, and she is planning her escape, and we are along for a very bumpy rides.
The author does a good job of making the twists in this story come alive. Was I surprised, oh yes, and then just when you think you know all that could possibly happen, well, be prepared.
Now I'll be looking for more by this author!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin's Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

Thank you to @netgalley and @StMartinsPress for this ARC. Jasmine is running from an abusive husband. Stephanie is headed out once again on a business trip but this time to San Diego. When they have a chance meeting on the plane, both their lives take a turn. When Stephanie doesn't show up for work the next week, the texts messages she sends friends and family don't add up. This book was good, especially for a debut author. The book is full of twists but the final twist at the end really threw me! Well done @JessieGarcia. #TheBusinessTrip #JessieGarcia #StMartinsPress #Jan2025

This is a tough book for me to review.

I was totally enraptured with the first 45% of The Business Trip. There were many points of view in that time with each chapter heading making me aware of who was telling their side of the story. It worked even if they were fair number of them but it's always great to see a story from different angles.

Right away I liked Jasmine, I felt for her and cheered her on as she escaped an abusive relationship. For Stephanie, she is in the opposite situation in that she is single but questioning things going on in her life. When these two women vanish the red herrings start popping up. It was intriguing trying to figure out what was going on, the shorter chapters worked well.

Then I started to question things as the twists started happening, overtime I had to suspend my belief a fair number of times. The ending was out there and I’m not sure what to make of it. It was unexpected that’s for sure.

All in all I was genuinely curious as to what was going on but the execution in the last half just felt off

You can find The Business Trip on shelves early 2025.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for advanced copies in exchange for a honest review.

Very good and interesting story! Intense and entangled between the lives of these two women and the mystery man between them

The Business Trip is told through multiple POVs and in a way that has the reader wondering what is going on and how is everything going to come together. I thought the beginning half or so was really intriguing and I was invested in seeing how it all played out. I thought the overall idea and twists were great, but the execution of some of the reveal felt anticlimactic for me. It was the telling rather than showing that kind of brought me out of it. Overall, it was an interesting plot and I would read more from this author.
Thank you St. Martin's Press for the copy through NetGalley!

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. The characters were one dimensional and the writing wasn’t very sophisticated. I liked the first half of the book better than the second. The changing POVs and shorter chapters made for quick reading. In the second half the POV switches to one of our main characters and it got to be a slog. Like a long list of telling what happened instead of action and plot. I also thought it was far fetched in a way that was out of character for some of the players in the story.
•
I appreciate the chance to read early and encourage readers to try it out for themselves!

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?

so many complex and twisty layers to this story. I love it. Cannot wait to read more from the author.

Stephanie and Jasmine are two people with completely different lives but yet have so much in common. They are two complete strangers, who end up on the same plane. One going on a business trip, the other running from an abusive man. What's strange is, a few days following their flight they begin sending the same texts to their friends and family at home. All of these text pertaining to a dreamy Mr. Trent McCarthy. The real mystery begins when the texts stop completely with no warning and now Stephanie and Jasmine are both missing.

This is a little bit of a slow burn. It takes a little time to create a connection with the characters and determine where exactly this plot is heading.
What I really enjoyed was the fact that I had the ending all wrong. I thoroughly love a good book that can fool me! Lots of unexpected twists that kept me intrigued and helped me finish this story in a single day. Always expect the unexpected, and that is the truth with this book. Overall, the story and the conclusion were satisfying to me.

There are what feels like a lot of characters to keep track of. This is written in a multi-perspective format which at times made it difficult to keep up with who was talking. The timeline also moves back and forth some that can make it confusing for some.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, Jessie Garcia, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Business Trip is a fast paced book where crazy meets crazy.

Expect the unexpected but that wont prepare you for what is to come.

Two women Jasmine (running away from home) and Stephanie (on a business trip) meet on a plane

Stephanie has the world at her feet and Jasmine is just glad to escape with her life.

Both disappear.

Both have secrets.

Both send eerie text messages citing the same man's name.

Jessie Garcia leads the reader down a twisted path that will both surprise and shock you.

I will warn you its a hard book to put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read and review The Business Trip.

Excellent suspense! In the beginning, I was reminded of The Last Flight, but the story quickly becomes it’s own. Told from many viewpoints, keeping the book on a steady pace. Unlike any suspense I’ve ever read. Twists and turns til the very end! So glad to see another great new author! Will be on the lookout for her next book!

This was such a great thriller I could not put it down. I loved the twist and they kept coming . I did feel like some things weren’t super believable, but overall it was a great plot.
Thank you St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Jasmine is trapped in an abusive relationship, but determined to escape. Stephanie is a News Director on her way to an important conference, but so tired of the travel for her job. These two women happen to meet on a flight. From that point the first half of the book was so hard to put down as I was trying hard to figure out what was going on. Then in the second half things to start to unravel as the author backs up to explain things. But the twists and turns in the entire book kept me glued to the story! Well-written, fast-paced, and a bit heart-pounding!

My thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this e-book and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of the audio book.

The Business trip is a thriller that focuses on Jasmine, who is escaping an abusive relationship and Stephanie who is going to a conference business trip in San Diego. They are on the same initial flight, they text the people in their lives that they’ve met a man and are staying with him. The texts become hectic and their loved ones are starting to worry and question who the Trent guy is. The book is very dynamic as listen to Stephanie and Jasmine, as well as the people in their life tell the story of what happened during and after this trip.

The plot is initially going somewhere and right when you think you have it figured out, PLOT TWIST. If you are a Freida McFadden fan, this book is a must. I enjoyed having multiple POVs and putting together the pieces of the puzzle, even if it lead me a different route.

I enjoyed the writing style and the plot in general. It was twisty enough to keep me intrigued but not overly confused.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book.

I am okay with unlikable characters, but yo… This book had zero that I could vibe with (except maybe Robert and Fred). And like, many character voices were just completely abandoned once they served the purpose of the plot. Rumor has it that Glenn is still in the hospital. Anna’s character arc was getting her $500 back. Lucy, Dave, and Bruce could have been combined into the same character. And as I right this review, I cannot remember a single thing about Bill.

Then there is Jasmine. Girly, how you be that way, and not just deal with Glenn yourself. I don’t understand you, baby girl.

The writing was okay. I do understand that it is a debut and I appreciate the that the author put into this. However, I think that it would have been better if the author had focused on fewer characters and added more veered away from so many “I” statements. Example: “I started calling her. She didn’t pick up so I left a voicemail. If she was still pissed because I had squeezed her arm hard the night before, maybe she would come right back and make that steak if I sweet talked her, so my first message was nice. I told her I’d changed my ways and I loved her” and on and on. I am not a writer, but so many first person statements back to back just drives me crazy. I also caught a few and formatting issues typos in the book (these never affect my review since I consider that more of an editing issue).

And I think the above quote also shows that the author was very good at villainizing male characters, but often relied on lazy tropes to get the job done a la “shut up and cook me dinner.” In the case of another awful male character, we see him being overly sexual (predatory?). I wanted to see more psychological thrills here, rather than in my face stereotypes that basically reduced the male villains to cave man caricatures.

I had a lot of issues with this book, but I did end up binging it once I got into it. The writing was not great (in my opinion); but I think it’s somewhat comparable to Frieda McFadden, and lord knows she sells. I think there were also a lot of plot holes and dumped character arcs. Just wasn’t for me.

This is a book that makes you think you know the plot, and that you are just reading how the plot unfolds. What you don't realize is that you are actually reading something entirely different. Then the twists start showing up and they are jaw dropping. Definitely not what I was predicting this to be. What a fun and wild ride! This was a unique and clever story.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a story of a business trip gone horribly wrong. One woman attending a conference and one woman on the run from her past. A man who is so into himself and now arrested for the disappearance of both women. The women have vanished without a trace and a series of texts led them to the mysterious man. I liked the pace of the book and how it came out about the connection and what actually happened to these woman.

This is one of the best debut thrillers I have read in a long time and what a sensational plot! The story is narrated by various motley characters, some likeable and other not so much.

Stephanie is an executive at a TV station in Madison and she is scheduled to go to a conference in San Diego which she really does not want to go to. Jasmine grew up poor and is a bar maid who lives with a controlling abusive boyfriend. Jasmine finally has the courage to leave him and has booked a flight to Colorado. Stephanie and Jasmine end up sitting in the same row on the airplane and strike up a conversation. Hang onto your hat for all the twists, turns, and surprises that you are going to encounter in this fantastic book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book that kept me mesmerized from start to finish.

Wow this is a debut?!?! Incredible! Loved the style of writing, loved the story line, the unique way of telling this story. I could not put this down and finished it in one day!! Had me guessing and wondering what was going on, in a very good way! LOVED LOVED LOVED!!

This is a book with a very interesting premise and very poor execution. The twists in the plot kept me turning pages, but the writing made me want to quit at every page turn. The dialogue was silly. There were way to many points of view that made no sense and added nothing to the story. There was way too much showing and not enough telling. All of the characters were unlikable, except the nice cat-sitting neighbor. And the ending went completely off the rails. Do not waste your time with this book.

The Business Trip
Jessica Garcia
Pub: 1/14/25
4☆

A gripping and twisty thriller that instantly draws you in and will keep you entertained throughout. That one final twist on a twist might need you to suspend reality just a tad but all in all this was a solid debut and I’m looking forward to more from Garcia.

I alternated between digital and audio copies and would definitely recommend giving this one a listen. The full cast narration of Andrew Eiden, Dylan Fitzpatrick, Fred Berman, Fail Shalan, Hillary Huber, Jennifer Pickens, John Pirhalla, Kimberly M, Wetherell, Kirby Heyborne, and Tim Campbell Was so well done.

Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copies.