3.5 stars, rounded up.

This was exactly what I needed after a streak of thrillers that leaned more toward slow burns than I’d hoped. The Business Trip delivers a fast-paced, twisty ride that keeps you guessing. Was it over-the-top and even absurd at times? Absolutely—but it more than makes up for that with its gripping plot and constant surprises.

Told from multiple perspectives, the story revisits the same scenes as new details emerge. While this approach added depth and intrigue, it occasionally felt repetitive. That said, the payoffs were worth it. And trust me—you won’t see the ending coming.

If you’re looking for a wild, entertaining thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is a solid pick!

On the narration front, I appreciated ALL the different narrators that gave the POVs a more authentic feel. Very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing advanced access to the audiobook in exchange for my honest review. I binge-listened to The Business Trip by Jesse Garcia, and it was absolutely amazing! The multiple narrators did a phenomenal job, each bringing their character to life with such personality and flair.

Publication Date- January 25, 2025
#NetGalley #TheBusinessTrip

This book was just one of those thrillers.
At first I was extremely intrigued by the plot.
A woman’s escape from her controlling and abusive boyfriend, and another woman’s work trip collide on the airplane. I was totally in it at first. And then, after the first reveal, I wasn’t.
This book just felt a bit far fetched for me.
I didn’t like the ending.
And the characters had one dimension.
Wish this would have gone another way, and I could be raving about it now. Oh well. 2.5⭐️
Thank you netgalley for the AAC!

The Business Trip - Jessie Garcia
Pub Date - 1/14/25
Rating - 3/5
Page Numbers - 352
Media - Audio

Summary - Two strangers - Jasmine, fleeing an abusive relationship, and Stephanie, going to a conference, end up sitting next to each other on a flight to Colorado. A few days later, both send texts saying they've met the same man before suddenly going dark altogether. What do these two have in common? And who is this mystery man they both seem to be with?

Thoughts - Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this advanced reader audiobook in exchange for my honest review. I liked this book - the writing was well done, the narrator did a great job and kept me engaged, and the story took a turn that I definitely wasn't expecting. It was a very entertaining story, but I will say, it was far fetched and at one point, I didn't feel like some of these things were possible? I guess that's why the story is fiction. Regardless, great story and entertaining read.

4.5 stars rounded up.
Listed to the audiobook and it was phenomenal. All the narrators fit their role perfectly. Just when I thought I knew where this story was going, I was shocked. And then I was shocked AGAIN at the end. You really don’t know where it’s going at all. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley for this audiobook ARC. This book hits the shelves on January 14, 2025. Make sure you pick up a copy!

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.

Huge thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

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.

The narrators were so good! It was a full-cast and some of there were downright CREEPY (very fitting for their character)! 10/10 on audiobook production!

I think this book will be a huge hit!

This one was not for me. The storyline didn’t flow well and I could not connect with the characters.
****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Business Trip
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Jessie Garcia
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: January 14, 2025
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⇥ I flew through the first 40% of the book at lightning speed. The pacing is incredibly engaging.
⇥ The multiple POVs were a standout feature, adding depth and intrigue to the mystery. Despite my usual struggle with keeping track of multiple characters, this book made it easy.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⇥ It definitely went off the rails at the end. Some elements felt unnecessary and detracted from the overall experience, which is why I lowered my rating.
⇥ One character labeled as a villain felt cliché, relying on stereotypical traits like racism and sexism. The story might have been stronger if the character’s faults were portrayed in a less predictable way.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
★★★★☆
I was immediately hooked by the storyline and the alternating POVs, even though my memory isn’t the best. It was effective in piecing together the complex narrative, and I was genuinely intrigued by where the story would lead. I felt a strong connection with Jasmine and Steph, particularly Steph, and enjoyed the book up until the 50% mark when things started getting WILD. After that, while I was still invested, I felt a bit disappointed with the direction the story took. Overall, this was a fast-paced, addictive read and provided the perfect dose of suspense and thriller that I needed during the worst reading slump ever.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 @netgalley 𝘢𝘯𝘥 @stmartinspress 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

This was quite an interesting and unique book!

There were a lot of twists, but none were too shocking until the very end! The premise initially had me so excited to listen to this audiobook, but I will say it felt way too far fetched and some things didn’t make a lot of sense.

The multiple narrators made this audiobook. I also liked each of the perspectives. Some of the perspectives were a bit useless to the story, but the narrators did a great job. I listened at 2x

All in all, it was entertaining and kept me listening throughout.

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.

More like a 3.5 but it being the debut novel I bumped it up a little because it really is just small things that kept it from a 4 star. I think the way the book had me thinking it was going one way and went in a totally different direction was really refreshing. I do think it got a little silly with the ending but it seemed like a well thought out plot. This book did a good job keeping you guessing and the different povs were really nice to be able to get all the sides of the story. After reading this I’m super excited to see what the author has in store for us next!

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 did really enjoy the full cast, each POV had a different voice and I felt that made it easier to track which character was speaking.

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I listened as an audiobook and was surprised at the large number of narrators. I did appreciate the variety though, as I feel it can get confusing if only one or two narrators are doing several characters.
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.

I loved the Business Trip by Jessie Garcia. I would have never guessed this was her debut novel. It’s a twisty story that kept me super engaged. Two women go missing after they let family & friends they met a guy named Trent McCarthy.

There were a ton of narrators and they all did an excellent job with their characters. Andrew Eiden; Dylan Fitzpatrick; Fred Berman; Gail Shalan; Hillary Huber; Jennifer Pickens; John Pirhalla; Kimberly M. Wetherell; Kirby Heyborne; Tim Campbell

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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. The multiple narrators really help with this. I liked hearing all of the different voices, which helped pull you into the characters and their stories. 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!

Awesome debut! Just when things started to seem predictable, a surprise twists changes everything we think we know.

Thank you Macmillan Audio granting me an ALC!

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.

I did really like the narrators though. Especially the narrator for Jasmine.