UNPUTOWNABLE - GRIPPING - BEST WHODUNNIT of first quarter in 2025!

Jessie Garcia makes a fantastic debut with “The Business Trip”, a suspense thriller that I couldn’t put down a minute! As I used to take a ton of business trips on a regular basis, I was shocked at the possible devastation resulting from a kind conversation with a stranger on a plane! I mean how often would I give away conference or hotel locations and answer a bunch of personal questions as I didn’t expect to run into that person again.

But, what if?

Garcia deals exactly with this question and weaves a thrilling story about vengeance, gullibility, betrayal and murder.

The portrayal of the protagonists and their character development is to all readers‘ utmost satisfaction whilst Garcia leads us from Madison to San Diego over to Atlanta and Mexico in her book. The writing style is superb: Fluent and logical - my favourite! As Garcia is a news director herself, her insights into the world of news channels are refreshingly authentic!

I am so happy to have received an advanced copy of this book. Thanks Jessie Garcia & NetGalley. It’s the best whodunnit I read so far this year.

I loved the. Business Trip! Great premise with two unrelated strangers on a plane. Stephanie and Jasmine traveling for different reasons become enmeshed into a thrilling, cunning thriller where the reader really has no idea of how it will end. Fast paced, with twists galore! Recommended.

I struggled to get through this book - my heart broke for the characters as they went through their past relationships but it was hard to relate to them/

Garcia’s debut was SO MUCH FUN! I could not put this book down until i found out how it ended. It’s really best to go into this completely blind, the story twists and turns multiple times and the author does a fantastic job of weaving misdirections and its multiple moving parts made me so invested in this story. it’s definitely an over the top thriller with a few too many coincidences but it was just so readable that i didn’t care.

This book kept me wanting to turn the page but I felt there were too many points of view, becoming confusing at times. I did feel the twist at the end was shocking.

Thank you to netgalley for an advance copy. My opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Business Trip.

The premise of The Business Trip sounds very familiar, a Lifetime drama I've seen and/pr read before but I hoped the author would surprise me.

Unfortunately, The Business Trip didn't hit the mark for me for a number of reasons:

1. Heavy handed exposition in each chapter; for example, in Jasmine and Stephanie's POVs we get details outlining what they're eating for breakfast, putting on their makeup, a literal info dump.

2. When the mystery begins, so do the multiple POVs and boy, are they a doozy! At the same time, they added some urgency to the narrative but also it was confusing to remember who was who and how they related to the two female characters.

3. The biggest cliche found in nearly every domestic thriller I've read in the last few years is the 'twist' which is ridiculous, silly, and painfully hard to suspend disbelief for.

I thought Jasmine was a silly antagonist; her voice was immature, childish, and irresponsible and her reason for 'taking' Stephanie's life was just as dumb. That's not to say there aren't people who think like that but that made me dislike her more.

The writing was okay, but tedious and repetitive.

I didn't care about Jasmine, not even Stephanie; there wasn't even a dog to like since I don't like cats. I'm allergic.

I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book well enough, but somehow it took me forever to finish. Maybe because I didn't much care for any of the characters. I felt there were some minor plot holes and certain twists felt predictable. That being said, I did like the multiple POVs, which I thought were well done.

This is a quick read and I really enjoyed the way the story was told from different viewpoints and timelines. The story follows two women both struggling with their lives /lifestyles. At one point I thought this would be a funny story where the two just changed places... haha! But this is a much more sinister story of what happens to these women and how others in their lives are affected. And even an unlikeable character getting framed - I almost felt bad for him! I have to admit I hoped for a happier ending - I was definitely surprised by all of the twists.

We meet our 2 FMC’s in part one and the next few parts are telling the story from the outside looking in via a number of different POV’s. It was a unique way to tell the story, but ultimately became convoluted and unbelievable. The speech choices for some of the characters also turned me off. While this will be for some, it was not for me.

I found myself getting into this book rather quickly! The beginning pulled me in from the start. I enjoyed the plot and the characters were very interesting to read about. I thought I had figured things out at one point (regarding the ending) but I was wrong- all of the twists were very well done. For an author’s debut, I felt this book was excellent. I’m excited to see the well deserved praise this will receive once it it’s published. The Business Trip is definitely a must read and one i recommend to other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Thank you, St Martin's Press, for the gifted e-copy of The Business Trip {partner}

Genre: Mystery
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date:  1.14.2025
Pages: 352
Star Rating: ☆☆

Y'all… I don't know where to begin with this book. It had SO much potential. The first 30% of the book was full of intrigue, mystery, and just enough uncertainty that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

But then the story changed, and we were privy to a different perspective of one of the characters, and the whole thing fell flat. 

I felt like the author just repeated everything from the book's first section, added a few quick (obvious) twists, and then plastered one of those cheap dollar-store plastic bows to the top and said, "Ta-da!".

It was a complete letdown, and my only hope is that the book has quite a bit of time before the actual publication, so maybe (hopefully) a few changes can be made to the storyline that would give it some redeeming qualities. Because, if I'm being honest, I think two stars are generous.

3.5/5
Today I am talking to you about Jessie Garcias debut book about a wild and crazy business trip. How wild and crazy?! Well buckle up for this plane ride because it’s not what you’d expect! In this book we meet Stephanie and Jasmine who actually don’t know each other. Stephanie is a business woman who is run ragged by her boss basically throwing her name in the hat for each business trip no one wants to go to. She’s getting sick of going and being the one who always has to sacrifice. Jasmine feels stuck in an abusive relationship and cannot get out…or can she? Jasmine gets creative and hops a flight where her path crosses with Stephanie. And both then vanish. 😱 All communication goes dark. Except for this man named Trent. Who is he and how is he involved? You’ll just have to read to find out!

I was very intrigued from the get go in this one which made it easy to become addicted to and want to keep going. I was very intrigued to see how these women’s paths would cross. There was a good amount of tension and suspense the whole way through. This is the type of book that you’ll need to suspend belief for because the twists did seem far fetched to what would happen in real life. My favorite part of the book is how the author truly made it so you could not trust anyone. 👀

This book is fantastic! It grips you from the very first few pages. I am not joking when I say it had my heart racing in the first chapter.

You follow along with Jasmine and Stephanie as they both try to escape their past and live a new one. Jasmine is trying to escape an abusive relationship with her boyfriend (trigger warning), and Stephanie is looking for a break from her single, fast-paced life as a news director.

While I usually think multiple POVs (there are probably 20 different POVs in this story) can be very confusing, the way this was done was not confusing at all and added so much to the story. I have never read a book where the multiple POVs were done in the way this one was done. All the secondary characters' POVs, which usually are unnecessary, were incredibly important to setting up the story and gathering the full picture.

There is not an overabundance of details (which I loved because I am not a fan of too many details), and the ones that were provided are important.

This was a fast-paced book that I could not put down. Jessica makes you fall in love with characters and makes you hate others, as if you have personal relationships with these people. The twists kept coming and will keep you engaged until the very last page. I recommend this book if you are someone who enjoys mysteries and suspense without all the gore. The best thriller I have read this year by far!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing The Business Trip reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was definitely not about an ordinary business trip, but one filled to the brim with twists. By far the best psychological thriller book I have read so far this year! The plot was unique and kept my attention from the first page. The story was told by many different characters in the book. There weren't too many characters, just enough to build a very wicked plot. Nothing on the surface is what it seems. Be prepared to be manipulated and deceived. I can't wait for more books by this author.

Okay this book blew me away AND IVE BEEN IN THE WORST SLUMP EVER. Beware for spoilers.

Immediately was addicted to the storyline and the alternating POV's, despite having the worst memory. I think it worked well to get all sides to this crazy puzzle and was so intrigued where the story would go. I felt for Jasmine and Steph--especially Steph when it came down to it--and loved everything up until the 50% mark when we got the first bomb.

After that, I was a tad sad in where the story was going but was still all for it. I read so fast and just wanted to get to the end to see what would happen. Was the big reveal necessary in terms of a certain someone still being alive? Ehhhhh. I think it would have had more impact if she was dead and stayed dead. Jasmine pissed me off at the end and I was like this girl deserves jail time.

Anyway, this was a quick read, so addicting, and was the perfect suspense/thriller I needed.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Wow! Wow! Wow! This storyline was wild! We follow two women, Stephanie and Jasmine, strangers who met on a plane, each with their own internal struggles. However, Jasmine, has a bit more on the line as she is actively trying to disappear. Loved how the book was broken into multiple parts providing the prospective of each character and ultimately how they overlap or deceive each other. I really did not see the twists coming! Appreciated how it all came together!

This was a whole lot of crazy with a good amount of eye rolling added in. Everything had to be very fortuitous for this storyline to even be possible. That being said, it was good and kept you on the edge of your seat while watching it all play out and the pieces come together. I definitely don't see how this could or would have happened in the real world, but in the book world it was a fun thrillery adventure.

I could’ve sworn I already wrote a review for this book, but maybe it didn’t save. This was a weird read as it was entirely unclear what was going on throughout parts of the plot.

I don’t want to fill this with spoilers, but I will say that when scenes or conversations seem weird or without context in the beginning of the book, it will all make sense as you enter the last third.

It’s always fun to explore new authors - thanks to NetGalley for that opportunity!

The book started out very fast paced and I couldn’t put it down. Unfortunately, we found out what was really happening too early, and that ruined it for me. I appreciated the last unexpected twist, but even that I suspected when the truth was revealed early. The last quarter of the book was where I lost interest but I never “do not finish” a book so I pushed through.

Stephanie and Jasmine, seat mates on a flight that will change both of their lives. Stephanie the polished and accomplished businesswoman off to attend a conference and Jasmine, running for her life from an abusive boyfriend. Surely, Jasmine thinks, Stephanie will never miss the money she plans to steal from Stephanie's accounts when she palms Stephanie's id. But why stop there, why not steal Stephanie's life? They look similar enough and Jasmine has learned over the years to assimilate in order to survive. But when Trent McCarthy enters their lives at that very same conference everything in Jasmine's plans changes leading to setting up Trent for Stephanie's disappearance and possible murder?

With plenty of twists and turns and characters that you can't help becoming invested in, this novel will keep you up all night- wanting to finish it in just one sitting! But don't jump to conclusions too soon, for the answers you think you've found are no where near the truth!