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An excellent debut novel! Easy, quick read to finish in one sitting. Two women vanish after being in a plane together with a mysterious, strange man.

They had both texted the same message to a friend, even though they didn’t know each other. A story full of manipulation and twists and turns.

The two women couldn’t be more opposite- one has it all, the other is fleeing an abusive relationship hoping for a fresh start. Trent is the man they both met and what seems to be an open and shut case, is much more manipulation than that.

It got a little hard to follow with all of the perspectives from the boyfriend, neighbor, friend, co-workers. I also feel the con job was explained in too great of detail and I missed the buildup from the first half of the book when it was so much focus on one of the characters for so long.

This book kept me curious, and the audiobook was great with dual narration that gave each character a unique voice ! Would read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 1/14/25.

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A chance meeting on a plane leads to some interesting situations. I did have to overlook a few things that just aren't likely but otherwise I enjoyed the ride. I definitely didn't see the ending coming.

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This is a great book, full of surprises and twists. Two women meet on the same flight, traveling for very different reasons. Just as you think you know the characters and your empathy and loathing is in place, something happens to turn the narrative on its head! The full cast of narrators is wonderful - if you like audiobooks, you might want to listen to this one!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

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4.5⭐️
This was a “what the heck is happening?!?!” type of book! I listened to this on audio, and flew through it in less than a day. Just when I thought the ending was going to go one way, I was completely shocked. This book releases on 1/13, and if you’re a thriller lover I recommend it, especially on audio!

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ARC📖

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I wanted to read this after seeing Freida McFadden’s cover quote, numerous rave reviews and finding out there are multiple narrators on the audiobook…

Stephanie and Jasmine, two strangers on a plane. Stephanie is a TV News exec heading to a conference while Jasmine is running away from an abusive relationship. I won’t say much more for fear of spoilers, just that before long their friends and colleagues start to suspect the worst.

I loved the setup and structure, chapters from multiple character’s perspectives, each with their own distinct narrator. It flits about in time and between characters, setting up many angles and dropping clues and details at a rapid fire rate.

I was reminded of some of last year’s big hits, Woman On The Ledge and First Lie Wins, reconstructing the narrative structure.

One of the characters was a little close to parody, which is fine, then things get darker and a little more serious. There are plenty of twists and some moral gray areas, the feel is somewhere between Freida McFadden and Peter Swanson. Personally, I thought there was a twist too far, I was expecting the twist, but not the explanation.

The multi-narrator audiobook production is superb, a great listen.

Overall an exceptional audiobook presentation of a very good book, and an excellent debut.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio

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BOOK REVIEW 📖

Thank you #partners @macmillan.audio & @stmartinspress for my #gifted copies. #macaudio2025

The Business Trip
Jessie Garcia
Available January 14th

The Business Trip follows two women who meet on a plane. Stephanie is on a business trip, while Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. Days later, both send uncharacteristic text messages to friends about a man named Trent McCarthy. Nobody's heard from the women since.

The story unfolds through multiple perspectives, with layers upon layers of deception. It's fast paced and completely unpredictable. While the writing is a bit on the simplistic side, the twists and turns made for a worthwhile read. Readers of Freida McFadden will gobble this one up!

🎧 With a fabulous full cast narration, the audiobook is definitely the way to go here! 5 star audiobook performance!

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Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

When I first started the novel I was a bit concerned with all of the narrators but honestly I think it made the novel that much better. It was extremely easy to follow because most characters had multiple chapters in a row instead a lot of switching back and forth between. I couldn't stop listening! I thought this was great audiobook and look forward to more twists and turns because this one was full of them. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

Stephanie and Jasmine are completely opposite but on the same plane. Jasmine is fleeing and abusive relationship and Stephanie is on a business trip. A few days after arriving they are sending similar messages about the same man that is becoming violent. Both women go missing and what did Trent McCarthy do to them?

Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, The Business Trip takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who?

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The Business Trip is a fast paced, addictive, head spinning thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. At first I was a little scared with all the character POV’s but in the end the author truly made it work. It added to the book and to the reading experience. This book was a non-stop adrenaline rush of wanting to know what is happening, what will happen and who did what. You will want to suspend disbelief a little but ultimately this was a great popcorn thriller.

The plot is intricately constructed leaving little crumbs here and there, but without revealing too much. I had thoughts, well Garcia threw them all out the window, she absolutely slapped me in the face with shocking twists and turns I never would have imagined. I have to commend the author on the cleverness of the plot. The suspense was constantly building, the pressure and the climax kept bubbling until it exploded. It was very juicy, crazy, unhinged and just so much fun!

Overall, this was a great popcorn thriller that kept my heart pounding from start to finish. The pacing for me was perfect, keeping me hooked and engaged. The shocking twists were just 👌 (maybe far fetched) but I loved them!

🎧 The narration is done by a full cast as there are a lot of POV’s in the story. It is truly a great listening experience. They all have a distinct voice and I didn't have a hard time distinguishing them. They all kept the suspense high, built it and made me not want to stop listening. Great audio production!

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio, @stmartinspress & @jessiegarcia for my gifted ARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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One of my resolutions for 2025 was being honest in my reviews and allowing myself to DNF more freely and sadly, this book is not doing it for me right now. I was excited to start it because the premise seemed really interesting but after the POV changed at the very beginning, I quickly lost interest. I made it to the 11% mark and just couldn't pay attention anymore.

I will try to circle back around to this audiobook at a later time but right now, I do not foresee myself picking it back up. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for this ARC!

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I was rooting for Jasmine to make her escape, and wondering just where this story was going to go. I never would have guessed the twisted ideas she came up with, but certainly didn’t think she would actually get away with it. The more we learned about Jasmine, the more unlikable she became. I think this was intentional. The author did a really good job of making Trent unlikable as well. I was disappointed though that in the end, Stephanie wasn’t made more endearing. Regardless, the story was exciting and original - just would’ve preferred it had ended differently.

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Such a great suspenseful story! A lot of characters to keep track of so it was a little confusing at the beginning but I was easily hooked after a couple chapters! Twists I didn’t see coming. I loved every minute of this audiobook!!

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The plot is well-paced, with a mix of tension and lighter moments that kept me interested.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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A twisty, turny multiple POV story across several days and characters. Jasmine and Stephanie are both on the same flight, and Jasmine has a lot more to escape from, a terrible relationship with an abusive partner. Stephanie is bound for San Diego to a business trip for people in local news to learn and bring back to her team. A few days later, both women send identical texts to their close friends saying that they met a great guy named Trent and they are going to spend some time with him in Atlanta. Then both of them go missing.

50% of the way through I thought it was definitely a five star read and I could not, for the life of me, understand why the reviews were averaging 3.77. Now that I have finished, I understand where the ratings go. The short of it is, the ending is not exactly what you want it to be. But it is definitely a surprise. Somewhat unbelievable, but books in this genre usually are. This is a really fast paced thriller with parallel content. Some of the "friend" and "Coworker" characters go away and never come back once the narrative goes back to the main characters. And you really do miss them, I loved some of those characters, or at least, I wanted to know them better. There are a couple of male characters that are utterly detestable, the kind you love to hate. 

This is definitely one that is better on audio. Ten different narrators! WOW. That is pretty unheard of. It gives the narrative a transparency and an authenticity that I really enjoyed. I will admit I was SO engaged in this book that I kept speeding it up so I could get to the conclusion faster.

Thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the ARC. Book to be published January 14, 2025.

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Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for granting me the opportunity to listen and review “The Business Trip”. This audiobook is very well done. I love when audiobooks have a full cast narration. I binged this book in one sitting. I was hooked from the prologue! This book is giving Gone Girl vibes, but in a completely different storyline. I loved this! The story was super fast paced, so many twists and turns, and it had me guessing. The ending was a little predictable, but it didn’t make the story any less enjoyable. I hope you all take the time to enjoy this story…. Especially the audiobook!

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Definitely a twisty thriller.

There is multiple characters reading so it can get kind of confusing but the voices are all different so that helps!

I don't want to give anything away because the ending is insane!

There was one point of the book that made me really hooked when both characters mentioned a similar thing because I had to know how that all connected!

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Listened to this very quickly, but didn't love the way that the story was told. I feel like it would have packed more of a punch had we not known exactly what was happening at the beginning.

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Jessie Garcia's debut shows promise in the thriller department, but ultimately left me wanting more. Stephanie and Jasmine leave the same morning to catch a flight, Stephanie for a business trip and Jasmine fleeing her abusive boyfriend and lackluster life. The women end up sitting next to each other on their flight and their paths seem to get tangled up here. A few days later both are texting their friends that they've met a great guy and aren't ready to come home. This story was told in different parts, which each part told from a few different characters points of view. The audio was great and each voice actor did a fantastic job representing their characters. As the reader/listener, I found it was just too many POVs and many of them were not fleshed out enough to warrant their own view point. A lot of the plot was too outlandish, which is saying a lot for a thriller these days and there was not a single likable character. All that to say, this was not a favorite, but I would still be interested in what Garcia comes out with next.

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The Business Trip by Jessica Garcia is a very twisty ride. Narrated by a full cast, it opens with a sympathetic look at the main character Jasmine and wants you to believe that she deserves a better life. Then get ready for the ride, as everything changes and you're kept guessing whats really happening until...the "Real" Jasmine appears. Making you wonder how many psychos like her are really out there in the real world to be wary of. Read it or listen to it which is what I did, my thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this Audio in return for an honest review.
It moved along at a great pace and had a rewarding ending. I will recommend this title to all mystery lovers looking for something new.

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The Business Trip is a mystery novel filled with plot twists that’ll keep you guessing until literally the last page. We follow two women from vastly different points in life who serendipitously meet on a flight. Stephanie is a divorced mom and TV news director, headed to a conference in San Diego. Jasmine is a down-on-her-luck bartender, trying to run from an abusive boyfriend. They are on the same flight from Madison to Denver, with Stephanie continuing on to San Diego, and Jasmine continuing on her journey to hide from her boyfriend.
There are multiple narrators and multiple timelines, and it definitely took some concentration to keep everything straight in my head. The twists got crazier as the story progressed, but the plot itself started to drag in the middle. Then the side characters started to get more heavily involved, and the pacing started to pick back up.
All in all, this was an insane ride that kept me entertained. There were some rough patches, and the ending was right on the edge of being too ridiculous, but it was a great popcorn thriller!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free advanced copy and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

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The Business Trip is a fantastic debut by new-to-fiction author Jessie Garcia with twists and turns from start to finish. I binged this book in about a day- I just could not put it down. If you listen to audiobooks, I highly recommend the audio version of this book- each character is voiced by a different narrator, an effect that really brings the story to life. I also recommend going into The Business Trip as blind as possible. This was such a clever story and I look forward to reading more from Garcia! The Business Trip gets 4.25 stars from me. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio for inviting me to review The Business Trip, which is available everywhere on January 14, 2025.

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