This book was hot garbage! It was okay—badly written with stilted dialogue—during the first half when the mystery was still unfolding. At the halfway mark when we began to find out what had happened, the book became completely unbelievable and ridiculous. Not only did the ultimate twist in the book make no sense, but the twist also hinged on one of the major characters making a career-ending decision for no discernible reason. Such a waste of time. 0/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for letting me read a digital galley of this book, even though I wish I had never requested this book.

I’ll start with the..,I didn’t see that coming ending. I was wholly unprepared for the way that book unfolded.
I did however overall enjoy this read. Main characters Stephanie and Jasmine are on two different paths in life when they meet on a plane and share polite conversation. Jasmine is fleeing from a terrible relationship dynamic while Stephanie is on her way to a work conference.
The wheels were turning in Jasmines mind on that flight as she takes the lead role in the story. I enjoyed the different twists and turns of Jasmines current and past lives.
Overall, a good read and would recommend to others.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so compelling! It has been a while since I was truly surprised by a story. It felt like a wave of adrenaline, propelling me through the pages. I loved every twist and turn, constantly trying to figure out the truth. I wish I could read it again for the first time! I would recommend this to anyone who needs an exciting escape from reality.

Loved every word of this! Great writing, great story telling fun twisted minded characters. Well done Ms. Garcia, please write more like this. I’ll be in the lookout for more. Highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc of this book. Once I started this book I could not put it down. The book starts with Stephanie and Jasmine. These woman could not be more different and they eventually will cross paths on a plane. This book is fast paced and told from multiple perspectives. This book is a suspenseful thriller and the author has a unique writing style that grips your attention. There are so many unexpected twists and turns. I look forward to the next book from this author.

The Business Trip started out strong and had me hooked. Jasmine plans to escape an abusive relationship. Stephanie, a successful news reporter, plans to attend a conference out of town. Their paths cross and neither woman will ever be the same. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book where the reader gets acquainted with several different perspectives to try to figure out what exactly is happening. It’s like each character is given a breadcrumb about what is going on with the main character (MC). One of the MCs gave me the chills. Between the backstory and the overall callousness, yikes. It felt like I was really in the character’s sick, twisted head. Some things that could have been better- It’s a little confusing how Jasmine isn’t afraid of anyone or anything except Glenn. His whole storyline built up and then just kind of dropped off. I was also confused with the introduction of Stephanie’s friend (IYKYK) and why on earth that was necessary. Overall, a fun thriller about just how ugly jealousy is. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This one drew me in right away and I had a hard time putting it down! I can't say I was a fan of the last twist but otherwise I really enjoyed!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for this advance readers copy in exchange for my honest feedback. Oh this one was one twisty rollercoaster!! Buckle in because it’s a wild ride! Loved the multiple points of view!

This was a fast-paced, intriguing suspense/thriller. The story unfolded from multiple point of views which was easy to follow. I recommend this debut novel!

This book had potential to be a solid thriller. The characters were interesting and I was genuinely curious to see how Jasmine and Stephanie’s stories would connect. However, there were way too many characters POV, it was hard to keep track of. The story just didn’t make sense and did not seem remotely feasible/realistic. On top of that I just did not enjoy the writing style at all. I wanted to like this book based on the premise but I would not recommend.

Ok not my favorite book. It reminded me of another book but then had a plot twist. I dont know why It didnt catch my eye as much but I didnt hate it just didnt love it. The once in a lifetime meeting of Jasmine and Stephanie just didnt seem like it could actually happen like that. It just seemed far fetched again not the worst book ive read so thats good.

For the guys who pick up this book at an airport book rack and want to give up after the first chapter : continue reading. But stop at chapter 43. Nothing promising or good after that. I read it because the plot synopsis was intriguing - the full story not so much.

I was provided this ARC by NetGalley for an honest review. Here it is

The book starts weakly : an abused girlfriend of limited education begins with her POV and embarks on a story that picks up pace quickly. The story takes the reader from rooting for her to quite literally hating her by chapter 42. The male characters are hate-worthy from the very beginning. There are so many characters telling their (sometimes pointless) POVs that i had to check myself into reviewing whose perspective I was reading.

A rredeeming quality of the book is contained in the interesting twists that continually reveal themselves at a surprising frequency. A strong suspension of disbelief remains necessary to look past the weak plot points.

But the book should’ve ended with something - anything - different beyond chapter 44. Impossible and implausible.

Final thought : If you are a flyer who likes to talk to stranger seatmates - come up with a fictional life story and tell it with consistency. Keep your real self to yourself.

This book drew me in from the beginning and I found it hard to put down! A chance meeting between Stephanie and Jasmine on a plane changes both their lives. Within a matter of days both are declared missing. Lots of unexpected twists and turns. Really enjoyed this one! Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this fantastic ARC!

The plot twist in this book was incredible. I was reading the book following along trying to figure out what was happening when, bam, the story curved in a way I never saw coming. It’s a wild ride. It’s definitely thought provoking. I highly recommend it. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

A very twisted tale of two women escaping from their lives for a while with disastrous results. I found both Stephanie and Jasmine to feel authentic and relatable, but so different from each other. When their paths intersect, both lives tilt on their axes. From that fateful flight, I was on the edge of my seat! I have never before read a book in which I felt strongly one way about a character only to feel the complete opposite one page later. Garcia expertly deals out clues in a way that surprises you and keeps you scrambling to keep up. And the twists don't stop until the very end! This was an exciting read that evoked a lot of emotion!

Started out strong and promising; but derailed quickly once Jasmine developed her (second) murder plot on a whim. The reader has to suspend belief at this point in order to stay invested in the story.
It also felt like it should have ended at about 94%; the last plot twist with Stephanie was fantastical and disappointing.
Overall it kept me engaged because I wanted to see how it would all play out; but I was dissatisfied with the execution and ending.

Wow wow wow wow. I want to give this book MORE than 5 stars. I loved it from page 1. It held my attention and I could not believe the twists and turns!!! What a fantastic book!!!! I am completely blown away right now.

OMG! This book! WOW!

Told in four parts by several POV, this story is so good and unbelievable! The twists and turns are non-stop!
Jasmine and Stephanie sit together on a plane to San Diego. Jasmine is escaping an abusive boyfriend and Stephanie is going to a work conference. Both women disappear and both are possibly murdered by the same man. What happens on the plane? How can they both vanish and who is Trent McCarthy?

This book is clever and very devious! My kind of crazy story! This one is hard to put down and I almost read it in one sitting!

Gripping, Suspenseful, and Jaw-Dropping! 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy! This book will be released 1/14/25.

I'm not going to give a star rating on Goodreads because I don't want to pull down the average and I appreciate that every author puts their heart and soul into their debut. I also love the cover. This book is clearly an attempt at capturing the magic of <i>Gone Girl</i>, with its twists and diabolical female character(s), but the writing doesn't come close to that of its predecessor. The premise starts out strong, but quickly goes off the rails. I will say, it kept my attention enough to finish the book, but I think that may have been merely to see how the author managed to dig herself out of the plot holes that were created. Spoiler alert: it just gets more outrageous and unbelievable as she tries to stitch things together. The biggest issue for me, though, is that none of the characters are likable or believable. The men are one-dimensional 'baddies', possessing zero positive qualities, yet are somehow self aware enough to reflect that <i>"...it made the devil in me expand. Every hair on my head was angry. My devil had a pitchfork in his hand and flames behind him and was taunting me to do something..."</i>, and <i>"We all knew men made better leaders. I would never say that out loud, of course, or the woke mafia would come after me, but everyone knew it was the damn truth.</i> Meanwhile, the female main character, Jasmine, has pretty much no plan and zero legitimate motivation for her actions <spoiler>are we supposed to believe that she falls into two murders, without any forethought?! What was even the point of the first murder, when she was in high school?</spoiler>. Unlike the brilliant Amy Dunne, who we love to hate-- or hate to love-- or even the delicious <i>Last Mrs. Parrish</i>, Jasmine lacks all cleverness, so there's never any part of us that wants her to win.
All of this aside, I will say that the book moves along at a clip and it definitely juts off in unexpected directions. I could see this working for a certain subset of readers, namely BookTokers and Lifetime movie lovers.

Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this eARC to read and review. Pub date: January 2025.

I read a lot of books by St Martin's Press and almost always love them. I love mysteries and thrillers as a rule! But I did not love this book.

I disliked the one-dimensional abusive relationship between Jasmine and her boyfriend that the book opens with. I was hopeful when we switched to TV news manager Stephanie's POV, as she seemed a more balanced and nuanced character.

We get some extraneous POVs, including Jasmine's bartender friend, Stephanie's co-workers and neighbor. I hoped those 'normal' characters would add appropriate weight and logic to the book, but no such luck.

By the 50% mark we had learned a lot about Jasmine's history (reveal #1), which made the entire second half of the book unpleasant and stretching credibility in countless ways. Jasmine's character progression as written was so wildly inconsistent I couldn't buy it, and Trent was a caricature. The only reasonable people were Stephanie's work colleagues, but the author didn't write too much about them. And by the last 5-10% we get reveal #2, which stretched credibility even more in ways I can't even write about.

I just learned a term reading another review: hate-reading. I'll modify that term to 'hate-speed-reading,' which is what I did for most of this book. If you are an avid reader who enjoys well crafted characters, plots and logical reveals, I would pass on this, sorry to say. 1.5-stars rounded up for the author pulling together a series of reveals and making a book of them that will be published.