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.

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.

The twists kept coming in this thriller and I couldn't put it down. Jasmine and Stephanie have opposite lives that they are both trying to escape from, just for a moment...but little do they know that one plane ride will change both of their lives forever. A twisty mystery that fans of Gone Girl will love, The Business Trip is a thrill ride that delivers!!

I don't even know what to say. It sounded like an interesting thriller that did not live up expectations. I think at the 'reveal' part of the book everything fell apart for me. I didn't even understand what was going on. And the multitude of people we follow in this one just has you reading and reading, hoping to get to something that made sense. The ending wasn't great and it didn't make a lot of sense.

"The Business Trip" follows two women, Stephanie and Jasmine. Stephanie is divorced, with one son, and currently working at a news station. She's resentful of her job constantly having her going to conferences and despondent on how much her son has pulled away from her since the divorce. She ends up meeting Jasmine on her flight to San Diego. Jasmine, we find is running from an abusive boyfriend and dead end job. The book follows their friends and coworkers left reeling when the two women vanish.

The thing is, most of this book just follows Jasmine. I don't think we really get a sense of Stephanie at all. And then when it shifts over to following Stephanie's neighbor, her coworkers, and Jasmine's best friend from childhood, etc. We then shift over to a man [no spoilers] and then back again to you are on a never ending loop. I also had to look to see who was "speaking" in the chapters I was reading because some of the characters we get sound so similar that I was getting confused.

The plot is just a mess. I think Garcia was going for a popular book I won't name here since that will reveal things, but there were so many plot holes and just out and out incorrect things that I just didn't really ever jibe with this one.

The ending had me going okay then. It just kind of ends...badly. We get a limp ending that made me think that I was supposed to feel empowered I guess. One grudging star given for this one.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

The story is told in 4 parts with multiple points of view. Part 1 is told by the two women preparing to travel for very different reasons. We learn about their lives, their relationships and why they are traveling. Part 2 is told from multiple POV’s – the friends and co-workers of each of them. This is where the suspense takes off – especially when they learn that their friend doesn’t return as expected. What happened? The 3rd part is told mainly in the POV of the man they met and finally the 4th part wraps up the story with the original women’s’ POV’s. This is where the story fell short for me and became easy to put down - suspension of disbelief. This section was mostly telling instead of showing. Once I accepted having to suspend disbelief, I finished it quickly – I wanted to know how Garcia was going to wrap up the story – too many twists added a bit more suspension of disbelief. Despite that, it was entertaining. Plot was intriguing although motivation and method needed a bit more thought to make it more credible.

Garcia is a debut author and the premise made for a good thriller. I’d read her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessie Garcia and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

I did enjoy this book but there was just something missing. Things lined up a little too unbelievably, especially at the end.
However, I liked the writing and thought most of the twists were great and unexpected.

This book kept me guessing the whole time… right up until the end. A super interesting story with multiple POVs (that were easy to follow and keep up with).

The author does a great job of honing in on all of the characters, helping you understand why they do the things they do. Some I loved, some I couldn’t stand (intended), and some I felt so bad for.

If you love a twisty turny thriller that will keep you guessing, this is it!

A great debut novel for this author. This was one book that once started I couldn’t and didn’t want to put down. I devoured this book and loved the twists and turns given!

Loved this book. The ending was such a surprise that it made the entire book better. I haven’t been surprised by a book in a long time and this one actually made me gasp. I look forward to reading more by Jessie Garcia.