I had high hopes for this book. It started out slow for me, like I felt there was too much character fluff. But, as it got to the main part it grabbed my attention. There weren't many twist in my opinion. But the one at the end was very shocking!

🧳 Book Review 🧳

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: January 14, 2025

Rating: Not for me!

The plot had a lot of potential but I think what didn’t work for me as a reader were all the different POVs. They all started to sound too similar to our two main women, Jasmine and Stephanie.

I think if the chapters were shorter and we focused more on the two FMC rather than getting our information from side characters, then this book would have been a knock out of the park.

For fans of:
🧳 First Person POV
✈️ Multiple POV
🧳 Descriptive writing
✈️ Character study
🧳 A few twists

This was a really fun and twisty read that gave me all the similar feels of Julie Clark's thriller The Last Flight. The Business Trip is a quick read that kept me guessing until the very end. While there were a lot of points of view, the narrative was laid out in an interesting way, slowly and purposefully peeling back the layers of this thriller. There were some clues that felt overly obvious in the story, and yet, even then, I still didn't piece together the ending -- and I love it when an author manages to surprise me. For readers looking for a page-turner (and okay with suspending disbelief) this was a bingeable and entertaining thriller.

This book was a wild ride. Not knowing what was going on in the book kept me engaged in the beginning. Then the twists started to happen. I didn't predict any of them. I'm glad it didn't end the way I thought it would.

Stephanie and Jasmine happen to be on the same flight. One has everything and one has nothing.

This book is not to be missed.

Wow! Fantastic read, felt like I was reading a Freida McFadden book.

Twisty and not at all what I expected at the end!

I gave this book the whole 5 stars. I could not put it down. I was hooked by the first chapter. I am not familiar with this author but will definetly be looking for more books!

Thank you so much for a copy. Unfortunately this was just too much description and slow moving for my taste. I couldn't stay interested

I want to preface this by saying there are more than five POVs that may be a pain point for some. However, they don’t really take anything away from the story overall.

I have no idea how I feel about this story. To say I was captivated seems like an understatement. I was immediately drawn in and I was completely slack-jawed when the final plot twist was dropped. The ending was slightly underwhelming after everything the reader experiences but I still really enjoyed the book as a whole.


This book is being voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and Jessie Garcia.

This book reminded me of The Kind Worth Killing, in some ways. Two strangers on a mission to do something bad. very bad. I love that this will be available on Kindle Unlimited in January. I hope thriller readers pick this up and give a read because it was a great one!

The Business Trip was probably one of my favorite thrillers of the year! It was such a fun book, and it left me thinking about it even when I was not reading and wanting to come back to finish the book. One thing I really enjoy about thrillers is when you think you can predict the twist and then it goes a completely different direction or the twist has another added layer to it after I thought the twist was over, and this book did both of those things!

Stephanie and Jasmine meet on a plane, and from there, the story unfolds into more than just an on plane meeting. They both text people they know weird things that don't really sound much like them to their loved ones. The loved ones try to figure out what happened in their travels and is it really them on the other side of the phone? Who is this Trent guy they both say they are with? Are they in danger? I really liked how they had the different sections of the story at different points in time, covering for the time being what actually occured in the middle. I also enjoyed the different perspectives of people. I didn't much like the epilogue, but the rest of the book was great.
I will definitely be on the look out for future Jessie Garcia thrillers!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book.

I can confidently say that is a twist I have never encountered before. It was well executed and caught me completely off guard. This was a solid thriller. I thought we were going to get a strangers on the train type situation but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I love being wrong!! The alternating POVs really helps the reader get deeply immersed into the story. Trent’s character caused some visceral reactions from me. We’ve all encountered a Trent sadly lol

OBSESSED!! Fans of Freida McFadden would devour this book so easily! The twists and turns made it such an enjoyable ride!

Wow what a GREAT read! It was super easy to get engulfed in Garcia’s story telling. However, I will say if you have a hard time keeping up with multiple character POVs that this book might throw you. I had to start writing them all down but I loved the perspectives and seeing all sides of this story unfold!

The Business Trip starts off with our two main characters, Jasmine and Stephanie, and quickly goes in to where they’re currently at in life. Jasmine is in a pretty rough situation: dating a controlling and abusive man, barely any money to her name, and very isolated from friends and family. She needs to escape and fast. Stephanie is a very successful high-end news director at a very noble company. She’s divorced and has a son named Evan. Although she has what most would consider everything she needs, she desperately needs a break from work. Instead, her boss sends her to a work conference in San Diego.

Soon enough you find out how the lives of Jasmine and Stephanie intertwine. Through many twists and unexpected avenues the story builds upon itself until the very end right when you think you have it all figured out. Like I said before, I really enjoyed how we got a bunch of perspectives and the order of which the author told the story was very well planned out and purposeful.

Look out for this book come January 2025, I’m sure it’ll be a big hit!

Thank you to Jessie Garcia and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book is So. Much. Fun! I read a lot of thrillers so it’s hard to surprise me but this book did just that. I could not have predicted how this story was going to unravel or end. So big hats off to the author for originality!

As this story unfolds, Jasmine is running from her abusive boyfriend. Stephanie is headed to another boring work conference. Both of these women are on the same plane headed west. But the sequence of events that occur after these women reach their destination is shocking!

This is NOT a perfectly written story. But in spite of that, I had a hard time putting this one down. First I needed to know what happened to Stephanie and Jasmine. Then I laughed out loud through all of Trent’s chapters. That guy is such a slimy dirt bag! And I was shocked at everything that happened till the end. This book is just good thriller fun and I can’t wait to read what this author writes next!

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 14, 2025

3.5 Stars
Quick synopsis: A tale of two women with disparate lives that end up on the same plane. One is running, the other is on a business trip to San Diego.
The Business Trip is a debut book that utilizes all the tricks for deflection, a host of characters connected to each woman, and a few plot holes. All of that, though, still plays out as a compulsive read to find out who and what is responsible for the missing person(s).

If you can suspend your belief for the aforementioned plot holes i.e., dragging a 200lb+ suitcase without mishap, you will find yourself turning pages in rapid succession just to discover the who and why.

Jasmine is escaping an abusive relationship; Stephanie heading out on yet another business trip. They find themselves seated next to each other on a flight to Denver. After sending identical texts to friends back home in Madison, they seem to vanish. Their texts indicate that they have met Trent McCarthy, perhaps the man of each one’s dream, and they are headed to his home in Atlanta. A few more texts filter in, but basically they seem to vanish.

Although maybe a little over the top, I thought this a great read for a debut novel. Written from multiple POVs, it is fast and engrossing. Another one I read long into the night. There are twists and turns; some you won’t see coming! I have to say that the character of Trent was such an obnoxious misogynist that it was painful to read the chapters from his POV. Don’t let him turn you off to the book, though, it is worth sticking with it to the end.

His was yet another amazing book by Jessie. The twists and turns tied up nicely at the end. I read the book pretty quickly but plan on rereading it a little slower paced so I can appreciate all the subtle little details,

Full of surprises. This is a cleaver book with the extent the characters go through. There were some pages that could have probably been left out of the book that didn't seem necessary for the story though. It is split up into 4 parts. Part one is all from the two women's POVs. Getting to know them and their backstory. Part two comes from their friends and colleagues (who really steal the show in my opinion.) As things begin to happen we get the POV from the people on the outside. Part three is from the 'villains' POV. Those first three parts all take place over the same timeframe (so you see the same events from several different perspectives.) Part four takes place after the first three parts and you get to see the characters true colors. This is a suspenseful drama. Not lighthearted. It's not really a heavy read (even if the subject matter is of a serious nature.) It's not a comedy, but it almost has an air about it that if the book were turned into a film, I could picture it as one. Just imaging the events that unfold and how it all plays out in the end. Overall, it was an interesting read and fun to see how everyone reacts and how the friends try to figure out what's really happening through texts.

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

Debut novel. Needed a change from serious, literary fiction.

The setting: Stephanie, divorced, with a grown child, and a cat, works at a television station in Madison, Wisconsin, as the news director, She is headed for a conference in Denver. Jasmine, a waitress in Madison, is in an abusive relationship, decides to leave and head for Denver to start a new life, borrowing money from a friend to enable her escape. They end up on the same plane where Stephanie begins to concoct her elaborate plan to become Stephanie.

What can I say? This was a fast-read, page turner and I wanted to see how the plot came together. Stephanie disappears, telling her office workers and cat sitter she has met someone {Trent McCarthy] at the conference and is going back with him to his place in Atlanta, But it's Jasmine who is doing this. And so it starts,

Lots of planning on Jasmine's part [and an intro to her backstory] and a few twists [should I have caught the one plant? IDK].

I never found the intricacies plotted by Jasmine as believable--no spoiler, but I just didn't think she had the mental capability--it was VERY INVOLVED. I kept on as I wanted to know how it all came together [because there is a HUGE leap].

Save for Stephanie's gay neighbor and catsitter, Robert and some of her male work colleagues, the two main men in this book are pigs--Trent, and Jasmine's boyfriend, Glenn.

The chapters alternate voices: Jasmine [predominantly], Stephanie, Glenn, Robert, Anna [friend of Jasmine's], Dave, Bill, and Lucy [newsroom co-workers].

2.5, not rounding up because I think one could spend time reading a far better book--though I thought for the page-turner factor, a 3--but CANNOT DO IT.

Oh my, I love a book that just plays with you. You think you know what is going on and then there is another twist. Books like these are the reason you stay up reading well past your bedtime, the reason you have to read "just one more chapter." The Business Trip is just such a book. Two strangers are on a plane. The both text their friends about the same man. They both then disappear. Were they both killed by the same man? Be prepared to stay up late to find out.