THE BUSINESS TRIP is the gripping, page-turning debut from author Jessie Garcia. The plot cannot be guessed and I really enjoy this novel so much.

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I am an avid reader, especially of thrillers, and I can say I have never read anything like this before. The arrangement is totally unique, and I love that even more minor characters narrate some chapters. There are a lot of strong and smart female characters in this book. I loved the little details like Stephanie & Robert both being Broadway fans and cat lovers. I really tore through this book, looking for spare minutes to keep reading and see what would come next.

I was pretty sad when it appears to find out what was happening, but late in the book comes a crazy twist. This was the one part that I wasn't a huge fan of, but I am also not sure what I would have personally preferred as the conclusion! So perhaps this twist was the best option.

One of the best, most engrossing books I have read in a while with fantastic characters and development.

I was really excited at the start of this book. It was really engaging, and the story started off with a really interesting premise and I was really invested until about half way through. I love books that are told from different POV's, but with this one I found some of the POV's were just unnecessary. The second part of the book was really stretching credibility. There were also so many plot holes that I couldn't get past.
I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

The Business Trip- 2 women, one flight, crazy story. This book has a little bit of everything- envy, misogyny, abuse, friendship, and more. I really enjoyed the first 60% or so, but then it began to slow down until the end. In all honesty, this won't be the only book I read from this author. I enjoyed the writing style, and think the multiple POVs were well done. It kept a good flow of the story overall. I am going to happily recommend this book to others once it is published for all. Thank you for the chance to review early.

WOW, WOW, WOW! My mouth is still open in shock after reading this book. I was hooked on this book from the very beginning! The plot twists kept coming in every direction, and the ending was the biggest twist of them all. At first, I didn’t think I was going to be a fan because there are so many characters to keep track of in the beginning, BUT I was so wrong. It was so easy to keep up with and every chapter fits so perfectly with the plot.

This novel is about two ladies: one, Jasmine, attempting to get away from her abusive marriage, and one, Stephanie, trying to have an exciting life outside her newsroom and successful life as a news anchorwoman. They meet on a plane and their conversation seems very casual, but Jasmine has other plans for them than just casual conversation. She follows her to San Diego, murders her, and takes over her life. She finds someone to frame, and she escapes to Tijuana in the end… that’s all I can give without giving away too many spoilers!

THIS IS A MUST READ! MUST PUT ON TBR! It will be published in January of 2025.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!

This is a hair raising ,unsettling noir thriller mystery. Maybe it will give you a few wake ups. Unfolding in a type of documentary form. Very clinical with nonrhythmic dialogue that puts you off some. Will give a warning abused woman situation. Characters are nondimensional but the flare in the sky comes over the way someone working in the newsroom reacted after taking a flight. You would go to the source not sit back & watch second hand. & you use your chips. There were glaring & blaring other points after that that could have been caught & fixed to make everything mesh seamlessly. It's unexpected in some things but tropeish in a lot of other areas. It is a crime mystery thriller & have to say while characters seem like cardboard effigies their counterparts are walking around as has been shown by too many actual cases.. I don't regret reading this at all & suggest if you can grab it on kindle worth the price if you like thrillers.

I gave this story three stars. I found it to be a little slow going. The story line was ok but felt a bit rushed closer to the end. There were to many character points of view to hold my interest.

This book grabs the reader from the first page. So many twists and turns that are actually hard to predict. A good thriller.

Check your common sense and all credibility at the door.......

The Business Trip is a high-wire act that is infused with an overdone devious nature from the get-go. There was so much potential here. Jessie Garcia needed to reign in the wild horses that seemed to overtake this unusual storyline. Let's chat.

Jasmine is a 44 year old waitress working at a casino bar in Madison, Wisconsin. She's in a deadend relationship with her boyfriend Glenn. Ol' Glenn is an abusive, controlling, ignorant fool. Yet, Jasmine stays. Glenn was renowned for all those negative attributes. No one warned Jasmine ahead of time and Jasmine failed to read the sign posts.

She finally concocts a plan to get out from under all this. We're secretly cheering Jasmine on as this plan unfolds. She's saved and borrowed money to fly to Denver. And it's here that this flight just seems to be grounded. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

Jessie Garcia chooses sizzlin' over substance from here on out. Jasmine is seated next to Stephanie Monroe on that plane. Stephanie is a news director in Madison headed to San Diego for a news conference. Our Jasmine is now a card carrying deviant who dismisses social and moral codes. She's dipping into Stephanie's handbag and pulling out her ID. Yes, there's a bit of a switcheroo in the making. We've gone from an abused victim to the victim herself injecting a whole different gamut of abuse.

The Business Trip entertains. But it seems that that entertainment comes with incredible highs and lows. We'll experience Jasmine's backstory with an eye on transformation: rigid backbone to jelly spine to a lifestyle revamp. There's so much "telling" rather than interaction. But I would say that you have to experience this one for yourself. It's still has some good bones for a debut novel.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to Jessie Garcia for the opportunity.

Lots of twists and turns! I really enjoyed the story and the craziness of the main character, but the wrap up at the end was a bit weird. It didn't really make sense. 3.5 rounded up. Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia interested this mystery lover as I’ve often wondered about the lives of seatmates on a bus or airplane. I thought it a great premise for a book and was curious where the author would go with these two very different women.

Jasmine is on the run from an abusive relationship with no real support network. Stephanie is a workaholic news director begrudgingly heading to a conference. When both women vanish the POV turns to Jasmine’s friend and furious boyfriend and Stephanie’s neighbor and coworkers. A nice touch leaving no doubt what everyone is thinking with the story heading for a neat and tidy ending…wait, what?! I definitely did not predict where we were going in the second half of the book, which I appreciate. My smugness evaporated and I thoroughly enjoyed reading what happened next. No spoilers, just read it! A great weekend escape read, no pun intended.

Thank you NetGalley, Jessie Garcia and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was not my favorite. It had potential but the story was so unbelievable and the characters were so unlikable and under developed I just didn't care what happened in the book.

Wow!!!! What a twisty, turny read. I could not put it down. The author did a great job telling a complex story from multi view points without leaving me confused or disconnected from the characters. Highly recommend!

Holy sh*@ the plot twists on this one was a show stopper! I thought I had this book pegged from the beginning and I am not ashamed to state I was way off!

Two women that are in two different places in their lives meet on a plane heading to Denver, CO. One if fleeing an abusive relationship and the other is heading to a news conference. Neither woman will ever be the same by the time they land. This book is done in multiple POVs and specific dates from before the flight and after. The details and writing will grip you from the very start and get you pulled in wanting to turn the page and see what the hell is going on. At about 50% of the book, your jaw will drop and the twists just keep on coming. The pacing of this book was spot on and the only negative I will have to say is at some points there was what felt like unnecessary information.

I HIGHLY recommend you get this book when it is published in January 2025.

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book had so much promise! I was already recommending it to people when I wasn't even half-way through. And then Trent was introduced and I realized that the characters are caricatures, and it felt like there should have been an editor who would have noticed. Trent was the first to be over the top: gelled hair, arrogant, and icky with women. And instead of showing the reader who the characters are, the author tells us (repeatedly).

We're introduced to Jasmine, a person living in an abusive relationship. Her boyfriend's jealous, angry, controlling, and violent. He takes her earnings from the bar for "household expenses," leaving her dependent on him. With help from a friend, she is able to escape and create a new life far away.

We meet Stephanie next. She's the successful, single news director at a station in Madison, WI who is always being sent to conferences because the rest of the staff has family/children. She has a cat. And a gay next-door neighbor (who also has a cat), with whom she is friends and hangs out. He is also willing to cat-sit when she's away.

When Stephanie and Jasmine sit next to one another on a plane, Jasmine starts to get ideas about what life could look like for her. And Stephanie is just waiting for this business trip to be finished. She meets Trent and some other news directors, and except for Trent being smarmy, it's all good.

Then the texts start coming from Stephanie to her neighbor, her boss, her coworkers, telling them she'll be staying a couple extra days. She tells one that she's met someone and will be going to Atlanta with him for a week. The others get some excuse or another as to why she's not back at the station. It all seems a little fishy, but there are photos of her trip and a voicemail saying she's having fun, so everything's fine, right?

I wish the author hadn't written stereotypical characters, or at least not so obviously. The descriptions only double down on their traits, which made them 1-dimensional. The twists at the end didn't work for me, but maybe they will for you.

This is a debut novel and I like so much of what the author wrote. I look forward to her second book. I hope she will have more robust characters and an ending that makes me catch my breath.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

AMAZING!!! I absolutely was NOT expecting the ending at all. If you love a good thriller with twists and turns I highly recommend this book, definitely adding it to my top 10 Books.

I enjoyed the narrative told in several voices, notably those of Jasmine and Stephanie, two women who meet on a plane. Jasmine's clever way of escaping from a controlling and abusive boyfriend includes stealing Stephanie's ID on the plane, and then her complete identity later. Friends of theirs back home try to keep up by emails and text messages with the two women. Stephanie seems to have become a different person with an unbelievable reason for why she is not back at work.

The entire suspense plot rests on the machinations of Jessica to plot and get away with stealing Stephanie's identity so that she can escape to Mexico, her ideal final destination. Stephanie's next door neighbor and cat sitter, Robert, is a main character too, who even tries to fly to San Diego to find Stephanie.

Showing unbelievable ways to fool people, this is a great book for travelers on what to look for to protect themselves from scammers and thieves. Jasmine is a truly Machiavellian character. Great plotting and character development.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC and the opportunity to leave an honest review.

A debut psychological thriller that keeps you hooked from the opening pages and delivers a very satisfying read. I would have never guessed “The Business Trip” is a debut! I couldn’t put it down. Alternating multiple 1st person POVs (author does a great job), the character building, intrigue, and suspense are exceptionally well-done. I found the plot compelling. Stephanie and Jasmine, two incredibly different women, cross paths and a mystery ensues. There are plenty of twists and turns. I thought I had the ending all figure out, but no I did not! I also enjoyed how the conclusion is thoroughly wrapped up for a satisfying, clean ending. This makes for the perfect travel book for the plane or train, a beach read, or bedtime indulgence. Fair warning, be prepared to stay up later than you intended. I will absolutely seek out this talented, author’s future work.

The Business Trip is a wild and crazy ride! Two women are seated next to each other on a plane to Denver; Jasmine is very poor and trying to escape an abusive relationship, and Stephanie is a divorced workaholic going on a business trip. Soon, Jasmine’s friend and Stephanie’s neighbor each receive a text independently that their friend has met a wonderful man named Trent and will be going away to his house to be with him. Both women disappear and then Trent is arrested for murdering them both. Nothing is as it seems. Despite this story being a bit over the top, it is clever and mesmerizing, with nonstop twists. With thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

This was an edge of the seat thriller! I thought it was going to be a completely different book than it ended up being and I was pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed the unique story and multiple POVs. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to everyone! I was very surprised by not only the ending but all the twists and turns!