I received a complementary ARC of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the author and the publisher. This book has been totally hyped up and it is well worth the read! It kept me guessing the whole time. It is written by a few different perspectives and they pull the story together by the end. A lot of thought went in to this story, especially Jasmine's part.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the fiction debut by Jessie Garcia, with the audio narrated by a fabulous cast. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Jasmine is fleeing an abusive partner and Stephanie is headed to a conference for work when they meet on the plane. After a few days, both women text their friends and coworkers the same message about meeting the same man - Trent. But the texts start sending red flags and then the two women disappear. Who is Trent and what did he do to these women?

I love having both the audio and digital versions of books for a totally immersive experience, but once I started listening to the audiobook, I was hooked. The cast is fabulous and I could picture all the characters from the voices, especially Trent. The book is told from multiple POV and different timelines but it was never confusing. You may have to put aside your realism radar a bit, but this was pure escapism on all levels, and isn't that why we read fiction? While I thought I had a clue of how things would end up, I couldn't have been more wrong. So many twists and turns perfectly played out. Wonderful debut and looking forward to more from this author.

A hard miss, unfortunately, for this reader.

Brimming with unlikeable characters, an outlandish plot, and a pacing that was, quite frankly, uninteresting and even boring.

As per my review policy, this unfavorable review will not be shared with social media or retail sites.

Thank you to #Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Huge thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Well, to start off this book was absolutely bonkers. I should have known it would be since it was blurbed by Freida McFadden on the front cover. The Freida wild and crazy vibes were strong with this one. There were a couple times I GASPED; Jessie really went there!

This was one of those books that you know you won't be able to put down the second it starts. Just when I felt like I knew what was happening, I was thrown for another loop. The twists kept coming and coming. Some of the twists were a little unbelievable/over-the-top in my opinion, but that's what makes reading fiction fun; it doesn't have to be believable.

I think this book will be a huge hit!

First of all I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press, Jessie Garcia, & NetGalley for an advance copy of this amazing book! I was looking forward to reading it ever since I heard about it & it did not disappoint! The synopsis alone will suck you in, but the whole story is just so riveting!! After reading it, I realize why it was highly recommended by Freida McFadden. It definitely has the same vibe as one of her books. If you think you know what’s going on or what’s going to happen, you’re probably wrong lol. There’s always a twist 😉 The only part I didn’t care for too much was Trent’s section because he’s such a slime ball (to put it nicely), but I understand why his story has to be told. Overall I would highly recommend this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this read. The book was wild. In the middle I found it was getting a bit slow and I almost put it down but because it is an Arc I pushed on. It did get better but not as good as the beginning and then the ending...it didn’t make sense to me. It was an okay read.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 1/14/2025
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The Business Trip is the story of Jamine and Stephanie, two women who are complete opposites who meet on a plane. But then both go missing, the craziest part? They both were seeing the same man.
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Listen, I binged this book in a matter of hours. I was literally hooked to this story from start to finish. Were parts of it a bit far-fetched? Sure... But I devoured every single second of the drama, deceit and pure insanity of this book.
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The entire story is told in multiple parts, some parts are before the flight, some are during and then after. It is also told from multiple POV's which was really awesome to really get everyone's perspective on the situation at hand. I absolutely loved how this was written, I loved the split in timelines and the change in POV, I feel like it gave this such a fresh and unique vibe. Some are the characters are easy to love, others are easy to hate. They are easily distinguished and you will have no problem following along with a fairly decent size character list.
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This is such a fast-paced book that you will not be able to put this one down. It's addicting. Not to mention the twists that had my jaw on the ground. I loved them. Also, everything was explained so perfectly in the end, that left me feeling so satisfied.
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I listened to this one via audiobook while simultaneously reading my ebook. This had a full cast of narrators - Andrew Eiden; Dylan Fitzpatrick; Fred Berman; Gail Shalan; Hillary Huber; Jennifer Pickens; John Pirhalla; Kimberly M. Wetherell; Kirby Heyborne; Tim Campbell and they were all phenomenal! Listening to this audio really made me connect with the story and its characters. The audio was amazing and I highly recommend it!
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Overall this is a totally diabolical, twisty and fast-paced psychological thriller that you need in your life. I highly recommend this book. I loved it. Be sure to check this one out! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Jessie Garcia, MacMillan Audio and St. Martins Press for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fast paced thriller that will have you asking yourself “what the heck is going on?” multiple times. I am honestly so torn with this review. On one hand I enjoyed the build up with the multiple POVs and trying to piece together this puzzle, but I actually hated the ending. The timeline of the events just didn’t make sense to me and left me a little frustrated.

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. There are several characters to keep
track of throughout this book. The story is also told through a wide variety of POVS.
A lot of what happened in this book really wouldn’t happen in real life, which is something I struggle with when it occurs in thrillers. I was shocked at the terrible actions of one of the main characters and couldn’t believe what she had done. I feel like it kind of came out of nowhere too?
This book did keep me interested, but a lot of it was repetitive, just told from a different POV. Sometimes this can be beneficial, but I think it could have been trimmed down in this instance.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Upon reading the synopsis I was totally psyched about this book. Then I saw reviews that weren’t so enthusiastic. So I put it off…until I saw a bunch of glowing reviews. So I couldn’t wait any longer, I needed to find out for myself 👍🏻👎🏻. I’m here to tell you this one was a 👍🏻👍🏻.

This book was good from start to finish, it held my interest the entire time and the pacing worked well for this one. I never felt bored or like I need to skim over fluff…the writing was done with specific intent.

There wasn’t much character depth in this one but honestly it didn’t need it and I think the lack of character depth was a good choice by the author because the plot was so twisty, more details about the characters would’ve been doing too much.

The plot was fun and the twists just kept coming. A few times (only at the end) I had to rewind the audiobook to make sure I knew which character was narrating because as the twists get unpacked emotions are running amongst the characters.

I definitely suggest you read it for yourself because the reviews seems to be so mixed. . Don’t let the negative reviews make you turn your nose up at this one. I’m a tough customer and I really enjoyed it. If you and I have similar tastes in books please let me know your thoughts after you’ve read it.

4.5 stars!!

This was WILD. The premise of this was so intriguing and the execution was fantastic. I had so many theories and while I was right about one of the twists- the final one got me. I had NO idea it was coming and that is one thing I love most in a thriller!

The characters were almost all horrible people- a testament to how well written they were that I hated them so much.

Go into this one blind and enjoy the ride!

The book starts off strong with Jasmine leaving the house before her husband wakes up. She has tried to leave him twice but has failed. But this time she has to succeed. She cannot live with her abusive boyfriend.

Stephanie, the news director, is flying to another work conference. Why is she always the one who has to attend meetings and conferences all over the country?

Two women sit next to each other on a plane. They exchange life stories and then leave, but their paths cross in a very unexpected and unusual way.

Very suspenseful story. Both women fly on the same plane, split up and go to different cities, where they presumably meet the same handsome but controlling man. From that moment on, everything starts to get complicated.

I thought I knew where the plot was going pretty early on, but the twist surprised me. This was an intriguing and exciting book to read.

This was a wild ride. If you're a fan of Freida McFadden you will enjoy this, if you don't like that style of writing, I would steer clear.

Stephanie and Jasmine board a plane at the same time. Both have secrets and both will soon go missing.

This one was super cool and I was so invested for about half of it. The characters were unique. I felt so bad for Jasmine. Her back story really pulls on your heartstrings as she flees from an abusive relationship. Stephanie is more stuck in her life and just looking for a little break. The story is told in an interesting way where you focus in on whatever POV you have going at that moment, which hides so much of what is really going on under the surface. It was around 50% through that I started to not be so invested in the story. There was a lot of telling of what was really going on that I don't think I needed all of. The twists were fun! And I really liked where the story was going but didn't need the scenes in different POVs to still be invested in the story.
The side characters really made this story for me. Their panic comes through strong when Stephanie and Jasmine go missing. That kept my heart pounding for those early scenes. Overall, I liked the narration and the concept, but wanted a little less of the explanation.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

The Business Trip was an interesting ride but not one that I would recommend for all. The storyline sounded intriguing and started off okay, however the twists were a little too twisted. I understand wanting to have "the big twist" but the last one kinda made everything fall apart for me.

The Business Trip threw me for a loop. I thought I had it pegged. And then I thought - incorrectly again - that I had it all figured out. I was very wrong. And I was eating it up. And then the final twist? It was so unreliable to me that the entire storyline fell apart. I get that we want shocking twists, but please, make them make sense.

SOOOOOOOO good. This book grabbed me from the very first page. It had so many terrifying Dateline moments that I could not put it down. A must read for sure.
I finished this a few weeks ago and the plot is still coming back to me! So good!

Stephanie and Jasmine don't know each other but they 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 and coworkers eerily similar messages exact messages about the same man. But how could that be? What is really going on? How are their stories linked?

It's best to go into this one blind. I originally read the synopsis and thought it sounded good, but by the time I got around to reading it I had forgot some of the details. That is a good thing as you can be left in the dark right along with the people Stephanie and Jasmine leave behind.

The book opens up with brief introductions to Stephanie and Jasmine and what is immediately going on in their lives. Then they're both off on a trip and we are left in the dark as to what happened to them. It's not immediately clear to friends and coworkers that something bad happened but something is definitely off. Only the reader knows that there are two women to worry about.

I like the way the story is told. Anxiety and mystery is created through texts. We see everything from these other characters' perspectives. It's chilling thinking about it. The characterization of some disagreeable characters is done well.

The perspective shifts later on to another character and we begin to learn what happened from another point of view. Parts of these chapters dragged a little and there was extensive detail on some of their activities that I didn't care to read about.

The truth about everything is a little over the top and unbelievable but I think it's meant to be that way. I found myself laughing a little at the villain's last words. There is one final twist that I enjoyed very much despite it not being realistic. It does give you something to think about though....

If you want to read a thriller that's told in a different way then The Business Trip is for you!

3.5 stars

The Business Trip started off strong and I was interested pretty quickly but the last half became a bit of a struggle to finish. I didn't really enjoy all the differing points of view and something about the writing style just kind of bugged me. There were a lot of twists that were surprising and kept me guessing where it was going. The final twist thought for me was a bit much and I didn't love it. Three stars from me and would recommend for anyone to give it a try. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty solid debut thriller, with lots of twists and turns. This is about two different women who have nothing in common except that they are both on the same flight. A few days after the flight friends receive messages about meeting someone named Trent McCarthy and then the two women disappear.

I’m a bit conflicted on this book because some parts seem well-written and engaging, then in the middle/end it was a confusing mess and the twists were quite predictable. This is a quick read and I feel with thrillers a 3 star can scratch the itch. It is a fun ride, and a quick read. I’d recommend it to fans of McFadden, but want something a bit different.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book. The opinion in this review is my own.