I thought this was such an interesting premise with the first half of the book being a completely different story about the two main female characters compared to the second half of the book.

I can't say much without spoilers, but I enjoyed the Gone Girlish aspect.

The problem was I felt that I couldn't really connect with either character during the second half of the story. The things that happened seemed so out of character for the women that...I don't know. I just couldn't really connect it all together.

I thought the pacing was good, but the repetition of events was a bit boring.

This would be a good popcorn thriller for mystery enthusiasts.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-book copy of THE BUSINESS TRIP to review.

I rate THE BUSINESS TRIP three out of five stars.

Promising book that grabs you from the first chapter. Multiple povs and open story plot that lead to what should have been amazing thriller. The bad part is the characters were all so paper thin. The main fmc which again who was she , the author left you with zero attachments to any of them. The plot is odd at times and seemed forced ending.

This book absolutely floored me. I had written all these notes to add to my review, but eventually I decided that the synopsis is just about all you need to know. Two women meet on an airplane, and let’s just say, things get WILD!

Stephanie is a news director who is heading to a conference in San Diego. Jasmine is a woman In an abusive relationship, who is finally leaving her partner for good. The two women end up in the same row on the plane, and eventually strike up a conversation. Within the next couple of days, they are both oddly texting people in their lives that they met a man named Trent McCarthy, and they are going to his house in Atlanta.

Before you find out about that though, you will read about the days after the conference. When Jasmine doesn’t come home, her boyfriend Glenn is enraged and begins texting her friend, threatening to kill her if she doesn’t tell him where Jasmine is. When Stephanie doesn’t return to work, her colleagues are concerned. They are texting her, and she’s responding, but they feel like something is amiss…they are journalists, and are all trying to figure out this story.

What happened on that plane? What happened in San Diego? Who is Trent McCarthy? You’ll find out later in the book, and it’s SO FREAKING GOOD! There are several surprises once all is said and done, and I didn’t see any coming. This is one of those books you may want to read a second time, once you know everything; it’s written from the points of view of several people, and going back to see the differences between their interpretations would be fun.

I laughed a lot towards the end, because it was all so perfectly devious. One small thing I loved was that many of the characters have pets - more people in books should, because pets are in many lives but they are rarely mentioned in stories. This was super suspenseful, very unique, I loved the layout, and I was shocked to see that this was a debut novel. It was fantastic. Five stars!

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Jessie Garcia and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on January 14, 2025.)

A chance encounter between two women on a plane sets off a string of unbelievable deceit and murder. Both women texted loved ones that they were with a man named Trent McCarthy and then went missing.

This book was reminiscent of Frieda McFadden books. Quick pace with twists on twists.

I had fun reading but have to mention that most of the twists (especially the last one) were so unbelievable and off the wall. There are many plot holes. However, I flew through this book and had a great time doing it. This book will not stick with me long term, but I enjoyed my time with ir.

I gave up on this book at about 15% through. The first few chapters are giant backstory info dumps, sprinkled with unnecessary information (three paragraphs describing the outfits and other items one of the characters packed for her business trip) that does nothing to advance the story. On top of that, with all the switching POVs, I couldn’t get attached to any of the characters, who came off as juvenile and two-dimensional. The writing was lackluster and amateurish, and the plot boring and slow. I would not recommend.

8/10

I couldn’t put this book down.
But first, let me explain.

The writing is not wonderful. In fact, the male characters were very much written by a woman. If you’re looking for great writing, this isn’t that book.

The details are unrealistic. So many aspects of it just wouldn’t happen in real life. If you’re looking for a completely realistic story, this isn’t that book.

However, the plot and structure are so engaging I couldn’t let them go. Every chapter sucked me into the next.

Jasmine is a bartender in an abusive relationship who grew up in a poor family.

Stephanie runs a TV newsroom has some money to her name.

The two of them meet on a plane and, from there, things go a bit afoul. Telling you anything will destroy the story.

So if you like mysteries with a twist, and you don’t care about the realism of every aspect, this is well worth the read.

Thanks #netgalley !
#TheBusinessTrip

Stephanie is the newsroom manager with a large group of staff reporting to her. She is accomplished, beautiful, and successful. Jasmine’s life has always been a struggle. She was an unwanted third child raised in poverty and hardship with no formal secondary education. She works low-wage jobs to get by and is now fleeing an abusive and controlling man who will kill her if he catches up with her. The two women sit beside each other on a flight, and Jasmine sees a golden opportunity. Trent McCarthy is a middle-aged divorced newsroom manager on his way to the conference that Stephanie is attending. Trent is a blowhard, full of self-importance and braggadocio, and perpetually looking for a willing woman to sleep with him. Their lives are going to intersect in a newsworthy way.

The protagonists' portrayal and character development are to all readers‘ utmost satisfaction. At the same time, Garcia leads us from Madison to San Diego to Atlanta and Mexico in her book. The writing style is superb: Fluent and logical—my favorite! As Garcia is a news director herself, her insights into the world of news channels are refreshingly authentic!

Are you ready for a book filled with twists and turns that is cleverly written? Well, then grab this one because it is a real page turner! Filled with mystery and surprises that starts when a woman with an abusive boyfriend makes a plan to leave and ends up at a news conference imitating another woman. Filled with sooo many surprises and twists and turns along the way, a truly amazing mystery thriller that will keep you up all night until the last piece of the puzzle falls into place. Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my review.

This book had me hooked from the first few pages. I highly recommend this for a good, twisty thriller that you can read in one sitting as i did.

This really had me guessing until the very end. I was really impressed how there were so many characters and places but I never got confused who was who. That’s really great writing in my opinion! So many POVs but it really added to the story!!! I love a digital sleuthing!

Promising new author! The book was suspenseful and full of twists. Be careful what you reveal to your seatmate on your next flight. Had a hard time putting it down, had to know what was going to happen next. Well written with good character development. Jasmine wanted to start a new life, had a plan but plans don't always work as we want. All plans, never how thought out, seem to have a flaw that will trip you up and change your life forever. Recommend. Received an ARC and this is my voluntary honest review.

Loved it! What a fun, twisty ride that kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time. I truly did not peice any of it together. Definitely a clever read, and the author did an amazing job of describing each character, I really hated some of the people in this book. There were definitely a lot of POV's, but the author did an amazing job of not making it feel cluttered or confusing. Awesome read!

4⭐

Jasmine and Stephanie are strangers. They couldn't be more different, but both their lives are changed forever when they happen to be on the same flight to Denver.

I inhaled this book. I couldn't put it down. I didn't see the final
twist coming at all. It wasn't even on my radar as a possibility. It flowed well and built the tension and suspense really well. There are several POVs but they are all easy to keep track of. The short chapters keep it fast paced and help to build the anxiety.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC to read and review. My opinions are my own 💕.

A great read that I personally didn’t want to put down. A book that can keep me on the edge of my seat like this one did surely has my vote. Get your copy today!!

"The Business Trip" is a gripping debut novel by Jessie Garcia that follows two women, Stephanie and Jasmine, who have nothing and everything in common. Stephanie is on a business trip while Jasmine is running away from an abusive relationship. They both text their friends about the same man, Trent McCarthy, and then mysteriously vanish. The story unravels with twists and turns, leaving the reader questioning who is playing who in this psychological thriller.

It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel! The chances of two strangers meeting on a plane and experiencing a series of unexpected events are slim. The situation that unfolds is truly unfortunate. As the two main characters begin their separate journeys, their paths intersect in surprising ways, creating a roller coaster of emotions for both the characters and the readers.

With unexpected twists and turns, the story gradually builds to an explosive conclusion that will keep readers captivated until the very end. The ending is unpredictable, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. Personally, I found myself engrossed in this book and finished it in just one day - I simply couldn't put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow loved this from the first page. Face pace thriller with lots of twists with a satisfying ending. Really enjoyed it.

Good book! The plot was interesting and kept me on my toes. The author had great writing. She did a good job with multiple points of views and telling the story in the time line she did.

I really disliked the main character after a while. She was so selfish and thought the world owed her by the end of it. I really liked the twists and turns but think there could have been more hints dropped to leave a path to figure it out.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!

This was a fun and fast paced thriller that had me guessing up until the end. Some parts were not very believable but that’s what made this book such a great beach read. Lots of complicated characters and multiple points of view. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy to review.

I wanted to like The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia. It started with so much promise. The characters were all terrible, with the exception of the neighbor, and not terrible in a love to hate them way. They were all awful people with no development or change over the book. I wanted to stop reading because they were just such bad people.

I did love the point of view and timeline switches but I don’t think the execution was quite there. Some parts were repeated almost verbatim between characters and it caused the pace to slow. It didn’t build up enough tension because it would feel like it was getting there and then we’d start again from another character's point of view.

The ending felt way too contrived. I felt like there was going to be something around those characters but even though that was not what I had guessed, it still felt wrong.

I honestly do not know how to feel about this book. While it was certainly captivating, the story was so convoluted I kept wanting to learn what happened, the book itself was pretty poorly written and the character did not feel believable. I did not understand Jasmine as the main character, nor Stephanie.

For a first time author it was a decent extremely fast paced thriller which that I appreciated.