The Business Trip is a fast paced, addictive, head spinning thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. At first I was a little scared with all the character POV’s but in the end the author truly made it work. It added to the book and to the reading experience. This book was a non-stop adrenaline rush of wanting to know what is happening, what will happen and who did what. You will want to suspend disbelief a little but ultimately this was a great popcorn thriller.

The plot is intricately constructed leaving little crumbs here and there, but without revealing too much. I had thoughts, well Garcia threw them all out the window, she absolutely slapped me in the face with shocking twists and turns I never would have imagined. I have to commend the author on the cleverness of the plot. The suspense was constantly building, the pressure and the climax kept bubbling until it exploded. It was very juicy, crazy, unhinged and just so much fun!

Overall, this was a great popcorn thriller that kept my heart pounding from start to finish. The pacing for me was perfect, keeping me hooked and engaged. The shocking twists were just 👌 (maybe far fetched) but I loved them!

🎧 The narration is done by a full cast as there are a lot of POV’s in the story. It is truly a great listening experience. They all have a distinct voice and I didn't have a hard time distinguishing them. They all kept the suspense high, built it and made me not want to stop listening. Great audio production!

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio, @stmartinspress & @jessiegarcia for my gifted ARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.

One of my resolutions for 2025 was being honest in my reviews and allowing myself to DNF more freely and sadly, this book is not doing it for me right now. I was excited to start it because the premise seemed really interesting but after the POV changed at the very beginning, I quickly lost interest. I made it to the 11% mark and just couldn't pay attention anymore.

I will try to circle back around to this audiobook at a later time but right now, I do not foresee myself picking it back up. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for this ARC!

I was rooting for Jasmine to make her escape, and wondering just where this story was going to go. I never would have guessed the twisted ideas she came up with, but certainly didn’t think she would actually get away with it. The more we learned about Jasmine, the more unlikable she became. I think this was intentional. The author did a really good job of making Trent unlikable as well. I was disappointed though that in the end, Stephanie wasn’t made more endearing. Regardless, the story was exciting and original - just would’ve preferred it had ended differently.

Such a great suspenseful story! A lot of characters to keep track of so it was a little confusing at the beginning but I was easily hooked after a couple chapters! Twists I didn’t see coming. I loved every minute of this audiobook!!

The plot is well-paced, with a mix of tension and lighter moments that kept me interested.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A twisty, turny multiple POV story across several days and characters. Jasmine and Stephanie are both on the same flight, and Jasmine has a lot more to escape from, a terrible relationship with an abusive partner. Stephanie is bound for San Diego to a business trip for people in local news to learn and bring back to her team. A few days later, both women send identical texts to their close friends saying that they met a great guy named Trent and they are going to spend some time with him in Atlanta. Then both of them go missing.

50% of the way through I thought it was definitely a five star read and I could not, for the life of me, understand why the reviews were averaging 3.77. Now that I have finished, I understand where the ratings go. The short of it is, the ending is not exactly what you want it to be. But it is definitely a surprise. Somewhat unbelievable, but books in this genre usually are. This is a really fast paced thriller with parallel content. Some of the "friend" and "Coworker" characters go away and never come back once the narrative goes back to the main characters. And you really do miss them, I loved some of those characters, or at least, I wanted to know them better. There are a couple of male characters that are utterly detestable, the kind you love to hate. 

This is definitely one that is better on audio. Ten different narrators! WOW. That is pretty unheard of. It gives the narrative a transparency and an authenticity that I really enjoyed. I will admit I was SO engaged in this book that I kept speeding it up so I could get to the conclusion faster.

Thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the ARC. Book to be published January 14, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for granting me the opportunity to listen and review “The Business Trip”. This audiobook is very well done. I love when audiobooks have a full cast narration. I binged this book in one sitting. I was hooked from the prologue! This book is giving Gone Girl vibes, but in a completely different storyline. I loved this! The story was super fast paced, so many twists and turns, and it had me guessing. The ending was a little predictable, but it didn’t make the story any less enjoyable. I hope you all take the time to enjoy this story…. Especially the audiobook!

Definitely a twisty thriller.

There is multiple characters reading so it can get kind of confusing but the voices are all different so that helps!

I don't want to give anything away because the ending is insane!

There was one point of the book that made me really hooked when both characters mentioned a similar thing because I had to know how that all connected!

Listened to this very quickly, but didn't love the way that the story was told. I feel like it would have packed more of a punch had we not known exactly what was happening at the beginning.

Jessie Garcia's debut shows promise in the thriller department, but ultimately left me wanting more. Stephanie and Jasmine leave the same morning to catch a flight, Stephanie for a business trip and Jasmine fleeing her abusive boyfriend and lackluster life. The women end up sitting next to each other on their flight and their paths seem to get tangled up here. A few days later both are texting their friends that they've met a great guy and aren't ready to come home. This story was told in different parts, which each part told from a few different characters points of view. The audio was great and each voice actor did a fantastic job representing their characters. As the reader/listener, I found it was just too many POVs and many of them were not fleshed out enough to warrant their own view point. A lot of the plot was too outlandish, which is saying a lot for a thriller these days and there was not a single likable character. All that to say, this was not a favorite, but I would still be interested in what Garcia comes out with next.

The Business Trip by Jessica Garcia is a very twisty ride. Narrated by a full cast, it opens with a sympathetic look at the main character Jasmine and wants you to believe that she deserves a better life. Then get ready for the ride, as everything changes and you're kept guessing whats really happening until...the "Real" Jasmine appears. Making you wonder how many psychos like her are really out there in the real world to be wary of. Read it or listen to it which is what I did, my thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this Audio in return for an honest review.
It moved along at a great pace and had a rewarding ending. I will recommend this title to all mystery lovers looking for something new.

The Business Trip is a mystery novel filled with plot twists that’ll keep you guessing until literally the last page. We follow two women from vastly different points in life who serendipitously meet on a flight. Stephanie is a divorced mom and TV news director, headed to a conference in San Diego. Jasmine is a down-on-her-luck bartender, trying to run from an abusive boyfriend. They are on the same flight from Madison to Denver, with Stephanie continuing on to San Diego, and Jasmine continuing on her journey to hide from her boyfriend.
There are multiple narrators and multiple timelines, and it definitely took some concentration to keep everything straight in my head. The twists got crazier as the story progressed, but the plot itself started to drag in the middle. Then the side characters started to get more heavily involved, and the pacing started to pick back up.
All in all, this was an insane ride that kept me entertained. There were some rough patches, and the ending was right on the edge of being too ridiculous, but it was a great popcorn thriller!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free advanced copy and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

The Business Trip is a fantastic debut by new-to-fiction author Jessie Garcia with twists and turns from start to finish. I binged this book in about a day- I just could not put it down. If you listen to audiobooks, I highly recommend the audio version of this book- each character is voiced by a different narrator, an effect that really brings the story to life. I also recommend going into The Business Trip as blind as possible. This was such a clever story and I look forward to reading more from Garcia! The Business Trip gets 4.25 stars from me. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio for inviting me to review The Business Trip, which is available everywhere on January 14, 2025.

This debut mystery/thriller—authored by a television news director, who has written nonfiction previously—requires a fair amount of willingness to suspend disbelief. That's one of the beauties of fiction, though, isn't it? It doesn't have to stick to reason—it can be as imaginative as the writer wants.

From the beginning, you might want to make a relationship chart to keep track of the connections between friends, family, coworkers, and strangers. Content warnings abound, including domestic abuse, gaslighting, murder, and theft (including identity).

One of the male characters makes reference to his fraternity experience at the University of Illinois, and he fits the stereotypical negative frat boy persona.

The shit really starts to hit the fan around 91%, with a significant plot twist in the next chapter. To me, the weird ending leaves too much up in the air, but the last line is perfect. Do not, under any circumstances, jump ahead—it will ruin everything. Really. In fact, don't even read a bunch of reviews before digging in, for fear of having the fun spoiled. If you are an avid murder mystery/thriller reader, give this book a shot.

The Business Trip really kept me on the hook—I didn't want to put it down. I will certainly consider reading Garcia's subsequent fiction.

The audiobook is narrated by Andrew Eiden, Dylan Fitzpatrick, Fred Berman, Gail Shalan, Hillary Huber, Jennifer Pickens, John Pirhalla, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Kirby Heyborne, and Tim Campbell. Now maybe you can see why I recommend keeping notes on how the characters connect! I don't often have occasion to read an audiobook with a full cast. I think it worked quite well in this book. [I read the first more-than-half with my eyes exclusively, and read the rest in tandem with my ears.]

I wasn't sure about this one, but I requested it anyway due to the high ratings on Goodreads. Sometimes these "popcorn thrillers" can be a bit derivative and predictable, and for some reason that's what I thought this would be. I was completely wrong, though!

Jessie Garcia’s debut is a slick psychological thriller that truly shocked me in the best possible way. It starts with a simple premise—two women on a plane—and escalates into a twisty journey of manipulation and lies.

Stephanie and Jasmine are two completely different women, yet their paths cross when they find themselves on the same flight. Stephanie’s just trying to get through her business trip, while Jasmine is escaping an abusive relationship. What they don’t know is that they’re both connected to a mysterious man, Trent McCarthy. Over the course of a few days, the two women begin texting their friends eerily similar messages about him—messages that grow stranger and more unsettling with each passing day. And then… they both disappear.

What follows is suspenseful, shocking, and truly jaw-dropping. The listener slowly starts to unravel what happened to these women, leading to a tangled web of questions. Who is Trent McCarthy (besides a Johnny Bravo-esque douchebag)? Is he a mastermind manipulator—or are the women playing a game of their own? The story weaves back and forth between psychological tension and a whirlwind of unanswered questions, keeping you hooked from one chapter to the next.

Garcia is so good at building suspense, adding layers of mystery and misdirection that will have you second-guessing everyone’s motives. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, another twist hits you in the gut. I eventually guessed what was going on, but not until minutes before it was actually revealed. Good work, Ms. Garcia! I haven't had this much fun with an audiobook in a really long time!

Whoa! I didn't see that twist coming! I love a story that keeps me guessing and this one did that. So many twists and turns. One woman is running from an abusive relationship, another is on a business trip. They meet on a plane. What happens next...yeah, read the book and prepare to have your mind blown. If you love a mystery/thriller/psychological whodunit, this one should be at the top of your list for this year!

This book!!! I could not stop reading! Finished this in one day. Comes out January 14th.
The Business Trip By: Jessie Garcia
Jasmine is leaving an abusive boyfriend.
Stephanie is going to a news director conference.
They both end up on the same flight.
Then a few days later their friends receive very similar text messages about meeting a guy ...the same guy.
And then they disappear. What happened to them? Who is the guy they supposedly met? And if you think you know what happened...no you don’t

There are a lot of characters in this book, but the full cast narration of the audiobook really helps to keep them all straight. Also, the way in which the characters are introduced, and the order in which their perspectives are told is also strategic storytelling. The changing of the characters kept the story's momentum flowing and made it difficult to put the book down.

What didn't work for me was just how despicable ALL the characters were. It's difficult to find redeeming qualities in any of the characters or their actions. As such, it was difficult to know who to root for or what to feel.

3.5 Stars, rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access to this audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC opportunity!

This story begins with two women who meet on a plane. They have never met, and seem to have nothing in common, however a few days later each of them will send out the same text message about the same man to the other people in their lives.

Pros: unique plot, the beginning was fast paced, new revelations that keep you guessing, great narration

Cons: I could not get myself to like the characters (which might have been on purpose)

I will definitely read a book from this author again!

Wow! I liked this way more than I expected to. I binged it in just two days. Unpredictable and full of twists. Clever and so much fun to read. The narration was perfect. Highly recommend. I believe this is Jessie Garcia's first foray into fiction and she nailed it! I hope she gives us more!

3.9 rounded up to 4.