As someone who travels a lot, I had some issues with this book. It might have been different if I could have fully shut my brain off and just got lost in the absurdity of this book, but it doesn’t always work that way. This book also had way too many points of view, and I really could have done with less. The slimy abusive boyfriend would have been a great one to cut or Trent’s boss (just why?). Because there were so many points of view, towards the second half of the book there was overlap in the book, and it was frustrating. I think the author used so many points of view to keep the reader guessing, but instead it was frustrating and convoluted and I just got angry. I think that this book had potential and I wish I would have enjoyed the ride a bit more.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for trusting me when an ARC of The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia. The Business Trip is the story of two women, Jazmine and Stephanie who meet on a plane ride to Denver. Jazmine is running from an abusive relationship and Stephanie is a news director who is on her way to a conference in San Diego. Given Jazmine's abusive relationships, I was rooting for Jazmine's successful escape from Glenn. That is until Jazmine decides to assume Stephanie's identity and follows her on to the conference in San Diego. What follows is a series of twists and turns that involve others in Jazmine's web of deceit.

This book drew me into the story and the characters. I could not put it down, that is until the end. I was along for the ride until the ending and was a bit disappointed in the ending. I certainly did not see it coming despite the clues along the way. Overall, well done for a first book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to more from Ms. Garcia.

Keep turning those pages....

I really enjoyed this read, there was a twist I didn’t quite expect and the pacing was done really well. As a debut novel it’s a great one I look forward to hopefully more books in the future!

Wow! I loved this book and all of the twists and turns; so many things happened that I did not expect. Moreover, I never felt quite sure which character I should be rooting for. Two very different women, Stephanie and Jasmine, end up sitting together on a flight, and another passenger remarks on how much they look alike. Jasmine, fleeing an abusive relationship, steals Stephanie’s ID, in order to aid her escape. From this chance encounter a wild tale emerges, told from multiple points of view. The friends and co-workers of these women push the story forward in bits and pieces as they receive texts from them, see their social media posts, and other brief communications. I loved this structure and this book will keep you guessing until the very end. Highly recommended! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. This was an alright read, it was quite predictable and the characters were rather one dimensional. The writing style was also heavy on telling instead of showing, and the different POVs all had the same voice.

Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this eARC to read and review. Pub date: January 2025. I was very honored to be invited to read this title and had high hopes - the synopsis sounded very promising and I was ready for a thriller. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this story and found the characters lacking credibility, depth, and logic. The inner monologues of the characters were difficult to stomach and were just so one dimensional. The twists were creative, but lacked sound plots and even a suspension of belief was a stretch. I had to put the book down various times, but wanted to do it justice and finish.

This might appeal to those who enjoy twists, multiple narrators, and unreliable narrators.

The twists, the turns, the surprises!!!
This was definitely a story that kept my interest and my brain trying to figure it out.
Jasmine is finally taking the steps to leave her abusive controlling boyfriend. She’s leaving town and starting fresh.
Stephanie is going to a conference in San Diego. If only she knew how much her life would change with this one trip.
Trent is also going to the conference and his slimy ways are going to catch up to him.
Told through multiple persons and sure to keep you guessing. Loved hearing the details through all parties involved.

Couldn’t put this book down!!
It was so good. Multiple perspectives helped keep the book moving. So many different things were happening. The twist at the end was so good!!!!

From the description I thought I was getting into a "strangers on a train" type situation but it was darker and twistier than expected! There was a lot of detail and buildup which I think could have been a bit less but overall a great storyline. The big twist in the middle of the book was not expected and I was again hooked on what seemed like a new. storyline! great read

3.75⭐️ - Overall this debut novel is completely bingeable and sure to get you out of a reading slump with some edge-of-your-seat fun. With a major ‘Strangers on a Train’ vibe I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what happened to Stephanie and Jasmine, two seemingly strangers who met on a plane with two different end destinations whose lives cross with one awful guy. ⁠
The beginning is fast-paced and I truly couldn’t believe I was reading a debut fiction novel, however once we got to the second half the book lost me a little. The pace slowed down quite a bit and we got the exact same sequence of events from a different point of view which ended up being incredibly repetitive rather than shifting the focus to mostly introduce new information.⁠
In the end we picked back up with the bingeable theme of the first half of the book which I was happy about. Overall this is an excellent debut and I can’t wait to see how this author evolves, as I’ll certainly read more by her going forward.

Unbelievably thankful to have been given the honor of reading this arc. This book was thrilling with many plot twists that I did not see coming. This writing was easy and sucked you in immediately. The change up in POV was unlike any other book I’ve ever read. Cannot believe this is a debut novel for this author and am excited to read more from Jessie in the future!

The whole plot of this book was intriguing to me and it didn't really slow at all which I liked. You pretty much got right into the good stuff right away. When I got to Trent's character I almost stopped reading. Not because of the writing but just because of his personality. But humans like that do exist, very cringe. Anyway, I am so happy with the ending because as I was reading I thought if it didn't end the way I hoped then I would be quite upset. I thought it was a quick and easy read. I believe some parts like the repetition of texts didn't need to be there but I understand it was sharing another character's POV at the time. Would recommend.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia is one of those books that pulls you in from the first chapter and doesn't let go.. The suspense kicks in right away, and I found myself constantly wondering what was really happening. Is Trent pulling the strings, or are Stephanie and Jasmine playing their own twisted game? Just when I thought I had it all figured out, something would happen to throw me off. The pacing is perfect—intense without being too much. It’s definitely one of those books where you keep saying, “just one more chapter.” If you’re into psychological thrillers with lots of twists, this one’s a must-read!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! What a twisty, turny, thriller! This kept me intrigued and surprised through the last page. Written first-person by multiple characters, everyone has a past, everyone is trying to cover something up, everyone has their own purposes, and they all have their schemes running into each other. The book has everyone from newsroom executives to outright criminals, murderers, forgers and identity thieves. The protagonist has a fantasy she shares with a neighbor about being taken by a “friendly” kidnapper. It happens… or does it… or in a way she doesn’t expect? The twists and turns go through this story all the way to the end! Kept me on the edge of my seat, and considering what could be happening while I was away from the book.

Well, this was a wild ride! I really enjoyed the plot of this story and the several twists the author threw our way. I am usually pretty good at guessing where these types of thrillers are headed, but that final twist really shocked me!

My biggest gripe was the large number of POVs. I'm sure the author's intention was to use these to keep the reader guessing what really happened to our main girls and to help provide some backstory. But I feel like many of those clues could have been added elsewhere to keep the story tighter. Did we really need a chapter from the POV of Trent's boss? Or all those folks in Stephanie's newsroom? The lack of a distinct voice made all of these kind of blur together and read more like info dumps.

Also, many of the characters rang hollow and were bordering on stereotypes. This could have been remedied had some of the extra POVS been removed to give them more space to be fleshed out.

I did really enjoy just how unlikable Trent was. I laughed out loud at some of his scenes because I know a few men that are just like him. I found myself hoping for his comeuppance regardless of whether he was guilty of murder.

Two strangers meet on a plane. Shortly after, both of them go missing.
Jasmine is fleeing to Denver from her abusive boyfriend. After a year of saving up she finally has enough money for a plan ticket to start her life over.
Stephanie is a divorced program director from Wisconsin laying over in Denver before heading onto San Diego for a news convention.
Their lives can't be any more different from one another, yet somehow both of them are texting their friends about a man they met, Trent McCarthy who lives in Atlanta.
As the text messages become more worrisome to their friends about how controlling and erratic Trent can be, it sparks them to alert the police when the texts go silent.
How did these women, seemingly in different parts of the country end up in Atlanta with Trent and what really happened to them?
The layers in this story from each character's perspective show that all is not as it seems and the twists and turns of this plot will have your head spinning till the very last page.

wow!! what a twist!! this was a quick read that literally had me on the edge of my seat!! i’ve never read the author before but will definitely check out more of her books. i loved how in the end Jamie got a surprise of her life lol!!!

This was pretty good. I had no idea what was going on through like 75% of the novel, so it kept me reading.

2.5⭐️s. The characters and dialogue in this were so cheesy and overdone it was obnoxious. Even psycho misogynists don’t talk to others or themselves like this. It was bizarre - like it was attempting to be comical but definitely wasn’t.

The concept of the story was actually good - interesting and had twists that you didn’t anticipate. However, the way it got there was so completely unbelievable, with plot holes, insane perfect-scenarios, and inconsistent characters, it totally ruined it. Also, so much of the other dynamic of characters was just weird, forced, and unrealistic as well. I felt like I was waiting for the punch line in all of it but nope, it was intended. So ridiculous.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

I really liked this one. A thriller with multiple POVs and manipulative people? Yes, I'm here for it.
This book does have some not-so-realistic situations...but I, for one, don't mind that at all. I usually looove a thriller with ludicrous characters and/or plot twists.
I had fun with this book and I can see a lot of thriller readers enjoying this one, too.
Thank you, NetGalley and St, Martin's Press, for allowing me to read an eARC of this novel.