This fast-paced thriller had me hooked from the first page and I could not put it down! Filled with twists and a shocking ending, I was able to finish this in one sitting.

Admittedly, when I first started this book I felt it was very reminiscent of Julie Clark's The Last Flight and was worried I was going to be reading something similar. Happy to report I was wrong :) The book starts with Jasmine, a waitress at a local bar, who is sneaking out of her house in the middle of the night to finally leave her abusive, controlling boyfriend and start a new life in a new city. On the plane, she meets Stephanie, a woman who "seems to have it all" - a successful career as a news director, loads of money, nice home, etc who is also looking to shake things up in life. From the point they both get off the plane both of their lives change and not in the way they had hoped. I don't want to say too much in fear of giving away all the twists and turns but I was overall quite surprised in the direction the book went in. The plot was somewhat unique and kept me interested the whole way through. I found myself not wanting to put the book down because I needed to find out how everything tied up in the end (I couldn't figure it out for the life of me). This was a great debut for Jessie Garcia (and fun fact - Jessie is a news director herself!)

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this amazing book.

This story has more twists and turns than a roller coaster. Jasmine is a waitress at a bar, she is living with her abusive boyfriend, Glenn who she desperately wants to get away from. Stephanie is a news director for a Madison TV station, she is headed to a news director conference. When these two ladies meet on a flight to Denver, life goes awry for both of them. What happened to both these ladies? Who is Trent McCarthy and what exactly was his role?

What a great debut novel from Jessie Garcia, if I hadn’t started the novel so late in the day, I would have finished it in one reading, it is that gripping. Chapter after chapter, the plot unfolds revealing tidbits until at last the story is revealed. This novel has a well-constructed plot, the author definitely leads you down a path where you are stumped trying to figure out what is going on. Well done, I am looking forward to the next novel.

The Business Trip is the kind of novel that keeps you up all night, with something always happening, relentlessly pushing the “one last chapter” mark again and again. While the characters are a bit stereotypical—some of them downright unpleasant to read—it works well. My only disappointment is that it lies on a foundation made of a too-large number of coincidences. However, this book is highly entertaining and superbly crafted with its multi-character narration. I’ll be sure to follow Jessie Garcia’s future works.

This book kept me hooked, and the ending took me by surprise.

Jasmine, fleeing from her abusive boyfriend, ends up on a plane next to Stephanie, who is heading to a work conference for her job at a news station. Suddenly, both women vanish, and Trent, another news director attending the conference, comes under scrutiny.

While the story was a thrilling ride, it also had me rolling my eyes at times. The concept was intriguing, but the execution lacked finesse. There was excessive fluff, and many details were unnecessarily repeated. A more concise version could have made for a better read. I didn't enjoy the writing style and had to push myself to finish it.

Still, I would recommend this book if you're looking for a quick read with a plot twist. It just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

What a debut! This book was absolutely amazing. A one-of-a-kind psychological thriller that holds a tight grasp on the reader until the very last word. The unique writing allows for significant character building and subsequent character bonding.

A fast moving and cleverly written book. I could not put this one down. The story of two women is told thru multiple characters. Many times, having several points of view or voices is distracting. In this book, it was what made this story unique and fresh. The reader is learning something is wrong as the characters are figuring it out. I loved the short chapters that moved the story along at a rapid pace.

The story line was predictable in a few spots with satisfactory twists and surprises.. What prevents be from giving this five stars instead of 4 is the ending. The ending was wrapped up and summarized too quickly. I expected the story to bounce back to some of the original characters as the mystery was unraveling. It never diid, I was disappointed as I enjoyed the earlier characters.

I loved reading this debut book from Jessie Garcia. I was hooked from the start, enjoyed the mystery and loved her writing style. This is an author to watch and I am looking forward to reading more from her.

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Two women who don't seem to have much in common, besides a guy named Trent, get thrown together in flight- one escaping domestic violence, and the other the hum-drum stagnancy of marriage and middle-age. Things go awry...

The story was chilling and the DV history compelling without being graphic- it's a well-written airplane read! I will be looking out for this author's next book!

What just happened?

I started The Business Trip with the intention of reading the first few chapters, but four hours later, I found myself poring over the final words.

This heart pounding, psychological thriller will draw you in and transfix you until the very end. Told through multiple points of view, from the affable to the wretchedly loathsome, the characters in this treacherous tale are well developed and all disturbingly believable.

A stunner of a debut novel. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Wow! This nail-biting, mind-blowing thriller will have your jaw dropping to the floor! I can't believe that this is a debut. It was extremely well-written and originally creative with its portrayal. You will be clueless as to what happened to Jasmine and Stephanie for a large part of this story. The author delivers multiple POVs from others, building up to the reveal with short, tension-inducing chapters that leave you wanting more and more. You will think you have it all figured out, but I bet you won't. My mind is still reeling! This is the type of thriller book that I love. One that is hard to put down, keeps my interest the entire time, and leaves me questioning everything I read. I flew through the pages like my life depended on it. I can't sing enough praise for this book. I think that it will most definitely be a top favorite in 2025. I look forward to reading more from this author and I highly recommend that everyone add this to their TBRs now. This one is a must read!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for granting me early digital access in exchange for my honest review!

I wanted to like this book so much, but I felt like I learned the main character’s whole life story in the first few pages. I wish more showing us what had happened and what was happening as opposed to just narrating it as what felt like an outside third party had been utilized. Lots of perspectives and the story is told from multiple points of view. This is a fast popcorn thriller and probably lands well with the right kind of reader it just wasn’t for this kind of reader.

Loved the book and read within two day window, timing was great as I am in San Diego for a work conference…yikes! (Chapter 32 title and first line needs correction. Chapter 36, 2nd paragraph has extra space.). The book grabbed you from first paragraph, loved each chapter was from each character’s POV. Helped move the story along and to be clear what’s going on. Love everything except the twist at the end, didn’t buy it. Didn’t take away from the book or enjoyment. Did love the conclusion with Trent, well played. Highly recommend this book, perfect summer read. Love a good mystery. Thanks for early read.

While this was a fast paced, attention grabbing thriller, the theme of domestic violence was just too much for me. The author does a great job of portraying the fear and complexity behind an abuser! This might just be me.

I enjoyed how the story was told from the people left behind to put together the pieces in the dissapearance of the two women connected to the man. The book felt unique in that way! I love a book with short chapters too. I just felt whilst it started out strong, I started losing intensity close to the end which isn’t what I like to feel in a thriller!

Wow!! Just wow this one had my head reeling on so much going on. It was fantastic! Crazy idea that worked out to be a great story. Loved the character's they were all written perfectly. I couldn't put this book down.
Fantastic just fantastic

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

This book started out with a story of two women who were destined to meet on a plane. One escaping an abusive relationship and the other sent to a conference she didn't want to attend. Through different POV chapters the story comes together. Sometimes it was hard to figure out how things progressed to the outcome . Eight different POV. When it started to become clear my feelings about the characters changed. Can someone do a perfect crime? The end was shocking. All I know is people aren't what you think.
This book is great. I read it in a 24 hour period. Only complaint was I wanted to know if people remained friends with her. You'll know who I mean when you read it! I thought she was punished unfairly.
Thank you NetGalley and Jessie Garcia for a wonderful opportunity to read this.

Jasmine and Stephanie are both flying from Madison to Denver when Jasmine decides to steal Stephanie's identity to escape from her abusive boyfriend. They both continue to san Diego where Stephanie is attending a news reporter conference.

In order to become Stephanie Jasmine decides to eliminate Stephanie and frame a man attending the conference. Lots of suspense and twists as Jasmine tries to trick Stephanie coworkers in believing she ran off with a man. I read quickly to find out if Jasmine gets away with this. This is a good mystery with a great ending

I can't recall reading a book like this, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great read and I wish I read it over the weekend because it would've made a great reading binge. I will be reading more from this author.

Two very different women meet on an airplane, then go disappear. On the surface they have nothing in common, but it turns out they were both involved with the same man. Is he to blame fr their disappearance? Or is something even more unusual at play? A fun, twisted thriller

Thank you Netgalley for this e book. I absolutely loved this book bc it had me wondering all the way til the end, and that's so rare. Usually I have guesses, but with this book, I had no clue what was going on until more than halfway through. It's so refreshing to read something and not figure out what's happening. It really keeps you wanting more, and this book did just that.

Kudos to Jessie Garcia for coming up with a very original story and for telling it in a very creative way. This debut novel is full of surprises and should keep the eyes of mystery fans glued to its pages.

The novel begins by introducing us to Stephanie and Jasmine, women from different socio-economic backgrounds who find themselves in similar situations. They both yearn for something different in their lives and are headed west on the same plane, seated in the same row. Succeeding chapters contain first-person accounts of friends and coworkers. Through them, we learn that both Stephanie and Jasmine have met and fallen for a man named Trent McCarthy. And then, both women disappear. What has happened to them and what, if anything, does McCarthy have to do with it?

The plot twists and turns and nothing turns out to be as it seemed. Garcia has done a great job in creating her characters. Some may seem stereotypical at times. And, at times, Garcia may seem to be hitting some of today’s “hot-button” issues (e.g., sexism, misogyny, and wealth and opportunity inequality) pretty hard. Ultimately, I found those features necessary for and well-integrated into the plot.

All in all, one of the better mysteries I’ve read this year and an impressive debut.

My thanks to NetGalley, author Jessie Garcia, and publisher St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complimentary ARC. The foregoing is my independent opinion.