Book Title: The Business Trip
Author: Jessie Garcia
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: January 14, 2025
My Rating: 4.4 Stars
Pages: 352

Story starts with Jasmine sneaking out of the house to get away from her abusive husband.
Stephanie is a news director divorced, and often travels for work and best friends with Robert who is a neighbor and also takes care of her cat while she is away

Stephanie and Jasmine don’t know each other they meet when seated next to each other on the same flight heading to Denver.
A day or so later Robert gets a text from Stephanie saying she has extend her trip one week and mentions a man named Trent McCarthy.
In the meantime, Jasmine’s high school friend Anna gets a text saying she has met a guy named Trent McCarthy and will be staying with him at his house.

Really strange things are going on.
I read a lot of psychological thrillers so knew things just might be what they seem.
The ending had added suspense and I LOVED the jaw dropping- eyes popping ending - which lead me to do a ‘Fist Pump’!

Thank you Ms. Garcia for what turned out to be a great fun ride!

Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for to this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 14, 2025

take the day off when you buy this as you won't want to put it down

The story is about two Madison, WI women who meet on a flight to Denver. Jasmine grew up poor and unloved. She is escaping an abusive boyfriend. Stephanie is headed for a work convention in San Diego. When Jasmine decides that she deserves to have the life that she assumes Stephanie has, problems arise.

I started this book early one morning and didn't stop until it was finished. The plot is very good. There was one twist at the end that seemed a little unlikely (people do have vacation days), but that is all I will say.

What a great debut novel ! This one really kept me guessing the whole book. It was a different concept than the thriller/suspense books I have read lately. It was easy to get through this book fast and kept me really entertained. I recommend giving this one a read and I look forward to her next book.

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press for the copy of The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia. I took a break from thrillers and this was the perfect way to rediscover this genre. I didn't read the description before I started, so it was full of surprises at first. I was disappointed in Part Four because much of it didn’t feel plausible and it went on too long and I started to get bored. The ending was a shock, but it all happened so quickly and with no hints I was disappointed, even though I can see why some readers will love it! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because the book was good except for Part Four.

Wow! If you like domestic thrillers, this is a book for you! Two very different women who look very much alike end up on the same flight seated next to each other. After landing, both women begin acting out-of-character as noted by friends, family and coworkers. Following along as the story is told by multiple characters (even the bad guys!) is intriguing and adds to the suspense leading to the story's culmination. Many twists and turns, and I kept second-guessing who the victim really was.

I've enable notifications and alerts for this author - I look forward to reading more from her!

Full of unexpected twists and turns, some more believable than others. Dark and entertaining. Thanks to netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[arc review]
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Business Trip releases January 14, 2025

<b>*contains spoilers*</b>

Jasmine and Stephanie are both women in their mid-40s living in Madison, and end up boarding the same flight to Denver.
One of them is escaping an abusive relationship, and the other is heading to a conference in San Diego for work.

Two days after their flight, they both text their closest friends to tell them that they’ve met a man named Trent McCarthy.
What happened on that flight for two strangers with different final destinations to end up with the same man?

This was the most nonsensical story I’ve read in a while.

The pacing and structure did not work for me, and the dialogue was extremely stilted and unnatural. I grew frustrated with it being overly detailed in places where it didn’t need to be, and the many character pov’s of everyone other than Jasmine and Stephanie.

There was actually no reason why Jasmine needed to take Stephanie’s identity. She was already free and clear in Denver with an additional $2K in cash and could’ve started a new life for herself… I find it hard to believe that her abusive partner, Glenn, who lives in a trailer and refuses to cook his own meals, would ever exert enough effort and search for her across all 50 states. Jasmine wasn’t even tech savvy enough to know how to order an Uber that same week, so it’s not like her social media presence was extensive enough to track either.

Since Jasmine seems to be such an expert killer, why couldn’t she have come up with a way to kill Glenn in the year that it took her to save up her tip money? I’m sure she could have thought of something that would’ve looked accidental instead of the whole fiasco she drummed up involving Trent, which actually drew more attention to herself.

Wow at first I was not sure what to think as the beginning chapters didn’t hook me right away. However once I got to chapter 3, I couldn’t put this book down. The multiple POVs were at times a lot, but I enjoyed learning more about each character. The twist in the middle, I did not see coming. Trent is a character I had a hard time reading about mostly because of his personality. But it was a great representation by the author and she certainly made the readers not like him and think he did it. The twist at the end floored me!! I enjoyed this fast pace moving plot and can’t wait to read it again. I give it 4”5 out of 5 stars. I will definitely be reading more by this author whenever they publish a new book.

It took me a minute to connect to this book, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down! Stephanie and Jasmine have no idea who each other are, but both text friends about a man they both met who has the same name, Trent. Then they both disappear.

I enjoyed the alternating POV’s in this book and watching it all play out in many pieces that eventually has you on the edge of your seat. This book was fast paced and held a lot of emotions. Can coworkers and friends put together what has happened to both ladies?

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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!