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
⁣
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
•
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.
•
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.
•
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.
•
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.
•
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!
•
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.

What happens when two ordinary women with nothing (and everything!) in common meet on a plane?

Buckle your seatbelt.

Get set to embark on a gripping and tumultuous journey.

You'll discover a business trip like no other.

Characterizations were strong, pacing was deliriously fast, and twists were plentiful, furious, and gasp-worthy.

The book was unpredictable, unputdownable, and refreshingly different.

I listened to the audiobook read by Andrew Eiden, Dylan Fitzpatrick, Fred Berman, Gail Shalan, Hillary Huber, Jennifer Pickens, John Pirhalla, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Kirby Heyborne, and Tim Campbell.

Full-cast audiobooks are always a treat and the narration by all 10 narrators was absolutely, positively brilliant.

Kudos to author Jessie Garcia for a very, very, very impressive debut.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of my besties of 2024.

All the stars!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this book. Never heard of Jessie Garcia, and didn't read the premise of the book before requesting on NetGalley. Don't roll your eyes - I am the quintessential "choose a book based on title and cover" reader you will ever meet. The Business Trip kept me company from tub to couch to bed to treadmill and last night I knew I'd pay the price in the morning, but I stayed up till 2am because I had to know.

The premise involves several main characters, friends of the characters, a business trip, disappearance and subsequent investigation. I seriously had no idea what was going on and couldn't even hazard a guess as to the ending, but I loved the whole thing. I thought the writing was interesting, the characters compelling and I appreciate having no idea where we will end up.

Add this one to your 2025 tbr list. And start it on a Friday so you can catch up with sleep on Sunday afternoon.

The Business Trip is, in my opinion, one of those fast-paced, intriguing and entertaining thrillers that will keep you guessing and rooting for the main character throughout the entire book.
The multiple POVs and different timelines make the whole story more fun and entertaining. This book has some very unlikable characters, so that might not please every reader. Luckily for me, I do like unlikable characters, so I had a blast following all the POVs - from everyone, the 'good' and the 'bad and toxic' characters.
This book is also divided into 4 parts, which makes the narrative more compelling, in my opinion.
On the other hand, this is not the type of book full of twists and turns. There is, pretty much, only one at the very end - which I did not see coming.
If you enjoy thrillers with many POVs, characters with hidden dark secrets, a battle for survival and the 'I'm gonna steal your life' trope, this book is for you.

Also, the audiobook is amazingly done! With a full cast of narrators and every single one of them is great. They make this story even more dynamic and exciting to follow. I highly recommend the audiobook for this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for allowing me to listen to a free audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This book! What a fun, twisty ride. I love a good mystery but this is one I didn't see coming. I will look for other books by this author.

I love a full cast on an audio production and this cast is terrific. There are quite a few characters, but with different voice actors they are easy to keep straight. The story gets pretty far fetched with its citizen’s gone rogue and revenge tropes, but it’s definitely entertaining.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for an ALC of The Business Trip.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio book.

The twists and turns that this book took were totally unexpected and kept me on the edge of my seat, which is a difficult task these days given how many mystery/thrillers are out there. The characters were compelling and the plot was fun and exciting, and I loved that it was a full cast of narrators.

3.75 stars

The full cast on this was excellent, and it was a solid 4 until the very end. There was one aspect of the ending that unfortunately lost me just a little bit. Still, for a debut thriller, this is largely a good one. I really enjoyed the various perspectives and how the story unfolded.