Stephanie and Jasmine are two complete strangers who meet on the same plane; Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. A few days pass after the flight when each woman sends the same message to their friends about the same man…and then they both vanish.

THE BUSINESS TRIP is this author’s debut psychological thriller and it’s quite a ride! It’s a fun, easy, and compelling story with lots of secrets and deception. The audiobook narration features a full cast narration, which was really well done. It’s written in a style that I think readers of Frieda McFadden would love.

I went into this story entirely blind so was unsure of what was to come. It’s a quick and gripping popcorn thriller type story. The story is well paced, starting off at a nice pace and speeding up as the story progresses. The second half gets a bit convoluted with many details that border on repetitive which slows the pacing but still kept me gripped. There are many twists that kept me guessing, right up until the last page. The characters are shallow and not very likable but their narration tells a whole story that’s easy to binge.

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.</i>

You first meet Jasmine and feel sympathy for her and her circumstances. She is on a flight to Denver to start her life over. She meets Stephanie on the plane, who is on her way to a conference in San Diego. Both women send messages to friends/family letting them know they have met a guy and are now heading to Atlanta for romance, then they disappear. All is not what it seems.

The story was interesting, but I struggled with the alternating POVs. Each chapter is written in the POV of various characters, and there is a rehashing of the events, which became a little redundant. Overall, the story moves along, and you think you might have it figured out. The twist at the end was a good wrap-up.

Thank you for NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jessie Garcia for the eARC.

The business trip was on of the best thrillers of 2025. Has so many twist that you don't see coming. I would give this 5 of out 5 stars.

Jasmine Littleton is pretty sure that if she doesn’t figure out a way to escape her life in Wisconsin, her boyfriend Glenn is going to kill her. He had seemed wonderful at first, showering her with affection and attention, but he’d slowly taken over her life, curtailing her independence and physically harming her when she resisted. With the help of her co-worker and childhood friend Anna, she’s hatched a plan to flee the state by plane.

Stephanie Monroe is a television news director somewhat reluctantly en route to yet another professional conference in San Diego. Being the divorced mother of an adult son, she’s considered to have the most flexible schedule of all the employees at her TV station, so is constantly sent out on work trips by her bosses. It seems churlish to complain, as jetting around for work is many people’s idea of glamour and fun, but Stephanie longs for a real vacation getaway.

A chance meeting between Jasmine and Stephanie will spark an idea. Jasmine, whose first taste of freedom has been delicious, is understandably still fearful of the unknown:

QUOTE
As we descended through the clouds and into the range of Denver, I looked down and saw snow-capped mountains and sprawling suburban areas, and I began to feel scared. Where would I go? What would I do? I knew no one, and I had no place to sleep that night.

The hazy plan I had dreamed of for a year was all in front of me: get to Colorado, figure it out. But the plan that had just twinkled at the edges of my psyche during my conversation with Stephanie began to dance again. It was like one of those giant blow-up, vinyl creatures you see at car dealership openings, where the arms and legs move around wildly and the body dips and lifts in all sorts of awkward movements, bolstered by a fan of some sort. That’s how I felt. A little out of control but buoyed by air.
END QUOTE

This encounter and the subsequent plans it encourages will lead to a harrowing experience for more than one person, as both women seemingly go off the grid. The narrative fractures as their concerned friends begin trying to contact them and ask questions. Only infrequent texts come back in response, but one thing soon becomes clear: a man named Trent McCarthy is involved in whatever choices the women are now making.

Trent is a news director from Atlanta, and just all-around one of the most awful people you can meet who isn’t (yet) an actual criminal. There’s no denying that he has charm, but he also has a huge sense of narcissism and entitlement, even when beset by illness:

QUOTE
Who gets sick and sits around like a loser on NFL Sunday? I thought of my buds at the bar, laughing and whooping it up, maybe playing the retro video games the place also had. It was a good spot to meet chicks too. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I barely ate the rest of the day and hit the bathroom a few too many times. I found myself dozing on the couch.

By 8:30 p.m., I even contemplated texting my secretary to say I needed a sick day Monday, but I never took sick days, priding myself on how steely I was. All those wimps who used every sick day they had and then complained about not having more. Nope, not me. I would go in come hell or high water.
END QUOTE

Trent is admittedly a womanizer, but would he ever stoop to actually physically harming a woman? As Jasmine and Stephanie’s increasingly frantic friends investigate their connection with him, a reckoning will be had. No one is quite what they seem, as betrayal and murder enter the picture, changing both women’s lives forever.

I greatly admired the tight pacing and clever construction of Jessie Garcia’s debut novel. She writes her flawed characters so compellingly that it’s impossible to not understand their motivations for doing underhanded things, even if we ultimately can’t excuse them. I was actually a little mad at how sympathetic she made me towards someone who’s almost inexcusably awful!

The twists are also presented with excellent timing, ratcheting up the suspense as readers try to unravel the mystery alongside Jasmine and Stephanie’s increasingly bewildered friends and co-workers. I did feel pretty badly for Stephanie and Diana at the end, but sometimes likeable people do terrible things, and sometimes terrible things happen to innocent people. It was some consolation though that everyone else gets their just desserts.

This was a bit confusing with the use of multiple POVs and trying to keep up with who everyone was. I did like the story but it just felt like too much work to try to keep everything straight and really enjoy it.

I wasn’t expecting the big twist at the end and was surprised when all was revealed. Some of the characters were really unlikeable as they should have been so that was nice.

Two women meet on a flight to Denver, one heading to a work convention, the other looking to create a new life; both disappear, leaving friends and colleagues frantic and baffled.
This was a fun read. It started out really intriguing, but didn't finish as strong, though, as it seemed that the author was trying too hard with the twists.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this #arc of #thebusinesstrip in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fast paced thriller! I loved all the different points of view (there are several) and how quick it made this one. You bounce back and forth from person to person until it creates the whole picture. I really liked how it connected, even it the plausibility was a bit stretched, it still was a nice twist. The unlikable characters were truly unlikable, like want to punch them in the face unlikable, so it made it easy to side with certain people.

I truly cannot believe this was a debut novel for Jessie Garcia, I will immediately be adding more from them in the future. I stayed invested and couldn't wait to see how this one unfolded. Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jessie Garcia for allowing me early access to this one! It is on Kindle Unlimited (which is where I read it since it was after pub day. Let's get those authors paid!) to definitely check it out!

The Business Trip is Jessie Garcia’s Debut Novel and it is written quite well. While reading the book, I was intrigued…continuously wanting to know what was going to happen next. When I thought I had the storyline figured out (which was several times), I discovered that I was very wrong. The plot contains so many twists and turns. At times, it kept me on edge and I wanted to stay up to read “one more chapter”...which turned into a late night and many chapters later. You should definitely expect the unexpected. You should definitely expect your jaw to drop at least once.

Do I recommend this book to thriller junkies? Absolutely! Will I read Jessie Garcia’s next book? Without a doubt!

There is Stephanie and there is Jasmine…and they are not the same person. However, they have absolutely more in common than either expected. Stephanie is on a flight headed to a Business Trip and Jasmine is attempting to flee an abusive relationship. A couple of days after Stephanie’s conference has begun, she and Jasmine text their friends the exact same message referencing a man named Trent McCarthy. The texting becomes erratic and then the messages completely stop. Their friends have determined that something is wrong and have notified law enforcement. Who exactly is Trent McCarthy? Is he dangerous? Are Stephanie and Jasmine missing? Are they in danger? Why have they stopped communicating? How was everything orchestrated? So many questions and so little time. The search clock is on and you might just be surprised to find out the conclusion.

This was a twisty thriller of a book with a lot of characters to keep track of. Samantha and Jasmine meet on a plane. Jasmine is feeing an abusive ex and Samantha is going to a work conference. Soon, both women disappear and the only thing they have in common is that they each texted their friends about a new man they just met named Trent McCarthy. But who is he? As details about his life are revealed, things become stranger and stranger. This was an enjoyable ride. 3.5 stars rounded up.

This was an excellent debut thriller with twists to the very end. I raced through this book to the satisfying conclusion. This book offers different points of view, and I really enjoyed the back and forth in the novel. Overall, I think that was an excellent debut. I could not put this book down and if you like thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat, I think you will enjoy this as well.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a wild and entertaining read! The plot was very clever, and the concept in general was just very interesting!

It’s very suspenseful and keeps you on your toes. I couldn’t put it down in the beginning, but at times it was very over the top and repetitive which made it harder for me to get through the second half of the book.

The story is told by lots of character’s POVs. This definitely adds to the suspense and helps you to slowly piece the mystery together. However, I did find that it sometimes got confusing due to the amount of characters.

Overall, it’s a fun read if you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller!

Very creative plot! The book synopsis gives a little information, and I don’t want to provide any spoilers! I had no idea just how the author would tie all the loose ends together, but by end we figure it out.

Stephanie and Jasmine just happen to be seat mates on a plane from Madison to Denver, and the plot hatches on that flight. There are twists, turns, and surprises which occur pretty quickly after that initial flight. I did not figure out the unknowns beforehand, and the ending was most definitely unexpected.

The pacing was somewhat uneven and the story dragged a little from the middle onward. This one is 3.5 stars rounded up. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy of the digital ARC via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

So so many twists! I had theories, but as the story went on everything I thought was dismissed by all the secrets, twists and lies. Great thriller everyone can get into. I would LOVE this as a movie/tv series. So good!

The Business Trip is a debut novel by Jessie Garcia that is highly enjoyable despite some glaring plot holes. But I’m willing to overlook that because I read this in a day and it was a very fun ride. Well…as fun as a domestic thriller can be! I had many theories and was right about a big one, but I had no idea how it was going to be revealed. I enjoyed the multiple narrators which was a clever way of getting around exposition. And it gives you more insight into the insider view of the main characters. Recommend if you’re looking for a good read that’s not incredibly heavy. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for kindly providing this arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars
Interesting story where Stephanie goes on a business trip and while away she meets someone and texts her friends and boss that she isn’t coming home right away but everyone feels like something is off and doesn’t make sense. They don’t think it’s her. What happened to Stephanie?

The book starts with Jasmine, a young woman trapped in an abusive relationship, sneaking out in the middle of the night desperate to get away from her boyfriend, her dead end job, and her small town.
Then we meet Stephanie a divorced mother whose life seems to have fallen into a rut, she doesn't have a good relationship with her child, It doesn't seem like she has many friends aside from her neighbour, but she does a good job.
Both women are on the same flight. Jasmine on her way to a new life, Stephanie on her way to a work conference.
While gone, both women message their friends raving about a man they met Trent McCarthy.
So when both women go missing, all eyes are on him

This book was a lot of fun. There are a ton of people and multiple, multiple POV's. I don't know if it was my brain working on overdrive or if it was the author's writing, but somehow I was able to keep every single character in line and knew exactly who they were.
This was an attention grabbing thriller. It kept me hooked. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen, but unfortunately, at the end… when all the twists were revealed, it was a little bit of a letdown.

Having said that I still enjoyed the ride. I loved the writing and I will definitely check out more by this author

Well that was quite the bingeable read!

Jessica Garcia’s debut thriller was a fast paced read that had me addicted right from the start.

I listened to this on audio in one sitting. I loved the full cast and would highly recommend going this route if you plan to read this one!

Yes, this one was slightly predictable and there were moments that were a bit far fetched, but I still very much enjoyed it. And I honestly didn’t see that one final twist coming!

If you want a quick, page turning, fast paced thriller then I highly suggest picking this one up!

Stephanie, a business woman, and Jasmine, fleeing from an abusive relationship, have nothing in common. They don’t know each other but their friends start getting the same text messages about the same man, Trent McCarthy. When the messages become concerning, panic sets in.

The first half of the book was a slow read for me, I had a hard time relating with the main characters, but the second half has twists & turns I didn't see coming. Mind blown at the end.

I received this advance review copy from NetGalley & the publisher for my honest review.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia is a fast-paced, twisty thriller that will keep you on edge until the very last page. When two women with no connection suddenly vanish under eerily similar circumstances, secrets unravel, and nothing is as it seems. The tension builds with every chapter, making it impossible to put down. If you love Freida McFadden or Riley Sager, this one is a must-read!

Two women, Stephanie and Jasmine, are on the same plane, sitting in the same row, but have never met.

Their circumstances are very different. Stephanie is traveling to a business meeting; Jasmine is escaping from an abusive relationship.

Days later, both women begin texting friends about the same man. The texts become increasingly strange and concerning. Then Stephanie and Jasmine disappear...

"The Business Trip" is a story I was drawn into immediately and found seriously addictive until Part Three, which began to slow down and feel repetitive, often quoting the same dialogue from previous chapters. I did enjoy the author's creative storyline and the balance of likable and unlikable characters, but I wanted to know more about them. Perhaps giving the characters more depth of backstory would have been better than using so many pages to explain what happened.

I never stopped reading and remained curious about the final denouement. I understand how thrillers can feel over the top, and I am okay with that in this story. What I was looking for and didn't find were reasons why I should root for characters I didn't feel a connection to. For me, the characters are the most essential part of every story.

An immersion read, the audiobook has an entire cast of narrators recounting each character's first-person narrative. It was well done!

"The Business Trip" is a story I liked, and Jessie Garcia is a creative storyteller and author to watch!

3.25⭐

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Jessie Garcia for a DRC and an ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.