4 stars

This is easily one of the best mystery/thrillers I've read in a while, and the fact that it's a debut makes it even more exciting to me. If this is the starting point, I cannot wait to see what comes next!

Jasmine and Stephanie are featured here, but they are joined by a number of other characters as this twisty, well-paced plot evolves. Readers get close to Jasmine early because she's in a rough situation. She has an abusive jerk of a boyfriend, and she cannot seem to extract herself from the situation without extreme measures. Those extreme measures - acting like things are normal but then heading off on a secret flight to Denver for which she has been saving all year - happen early in the novel. It's clear, though, that there's more to Jasmine than readers might originally believe. She starts getting ideas, and we get to watch.

Meanwhile, Stephanie is living a totally different kind of life. She's divorced, has an adult son who has done well thus far, is in the thick of a successful career (further evidenced by her comfortable lifestyle), and has a great neighbor/circle of friends and coworkers along with a rock-solid cat. On the outside, things are great for her. Inside, she's hungering for more of an adventure than she's had in a while. When she and Jasmine cross paths on a flight, readers can assume that there may be some kind of connection, but it's tough to predict the details, which makes for a fun journey.

In addition to featuring these two intriguing characters, Garcia weaves in various ancillary characters perfectly. They have a purpose, they have distinct personalities, and they lead readers to question what the heck is going on here.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this debut, and I am really looking forward to reading more from this author. I absolutely recommend it for mystery/thriller fans.

If you’re looking for a fun book to binge, this one is a great choice! I binged the audio of The Business Trip (which is excellently captured by a full cast) over one evening. Thanks to Macmillan Audio, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for early access to this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

SYNOPSIS:
"Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic."

The Business Trip is split into four parts with many different POVs. However, I was never confused about whose perspective I was reading. From the start of part two, I knew I needed to keep reading until I found out what happened to the two individuals from part one (from their perspectives). The end had a twist I did not see coming, and while it is a little far-fetched, I was completely engaged in the story. Put this on your TBR for mid-January when it comes out!

The story begins with an intriguing and carefully crafted mystery that kept me fully engaged from the start. The plot unfolds with well-timed twists, and the atmosphere pulls you into its world effortlessly. The narrator does an excellent job bringing the characters and tone to life, adding depth to the suspense and keeping the pacing just right.

As the narrative progressed, I found myself completely invested in the unraveling of the mystery. However, the ending didn’t quite land for me. While the resolution tied up the plot, the emotional impact of the characters’ journeys fell a bit flat. Their feelings in those final moments felt underexplored, making it difficult to connect with the conclusion on a deeper level.

Even so, the overall experience was enjoyable. The narration elevated the story, making it easy to stay immersed even when the ending felt less satisfying than the beginning. If you’re looking for a compelling mystery with a strong setup, this is worth a listen, though it may not leave a lasting emotional impression.

I wish I could give this book 10 stars because it was phenomenal. The twists were twisting, the narrators were *chef’s kiss”, and the writing was great. I loved everything about this story and the writing. I could not wait to finish this book and figure out what the heck was going on and read the whole thing in one sitting because I was simply obsessed.

The good: I can see potential in the debut author’s storytelling and will check out more from her. Multiple narrators made the audiobook more interesting and engaging. There were some pretty good twists.

The not-so-good: Some of the things that happen in this thriller are so far fetched that it was impossible to suspend belief. I had to go back quite a few time to verify what was happening in the book.

Overall, a quick and easy listen.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy of this audiobook.

Finished up @jessiegarcia_author ‘s debut thriller THE BUSINESS TRIP and absolutely LOVED it. This is one you’ll definitely want to check out early next year! Pub date set for 01.14.25 be sure to add to your tbr asap!

A solid 5⭐️ read with such a cool plot. Two women with totally different backgrounds are boarding the same flight. One is escaping an abusive relationship and the other is just headed to a business trip. But then each appear to go missing after the flight and their friends are desperately searching for them.

There are a lot of characters introduced but it’s so easy to follow along with! Sometimes an abundance of characters makes it difficult to keep up with but it was written so well that it’s not a problem🤍

There is a whole cast narrating the many characters and all did incredible.

thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for my ALC!

#MacAudio2024

🎧 Book Review 🎧 I have a confession to make, sometimes it takes me awhile to get into an audiobook. It has nothing to do with the actual book, it’s just that I am more of a visual person. But I love audiobooks and I always get into my groove. I pressed play on The Business Trip and I was immediately hooked; there was no easing into this one, Jessie Garcia worked some sort of magic and I was captivated from the first sentence. This one is really hard to talk about without too many spoilers but I can easily share that Garcia delivers an absolutely unputdownable, captivating, not to miss read! There is not a second of lull as this thriller envelops the reader in a full cast narration that is flawless.

The Business Trip is a debut novel from Jessie Garcia. This audiobook gripped me from the beginning and wondered how the story would end. Throughout, there were unexpected twists and turns that keep me engaged and guessing right up to the end. I will definitely watch for Jessie Garcia's forthcoming books.

The audiobook has a huge cast of narrators that added depth and clarity to the various characters in the story.

Thank you Net Galley. Jessie Garcia and Mac Millian Audio for the opportunity to preview this text. The opinions shared are my own.
The Business Trip is expected to be released on Jan. 14, 2025.

3/5

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

This book was soooo wild from start to finish. I can tell you one thing — I never knew what to expect or where we were going next. Listening to this on audio definitely enhanced the experience — with different narrators for each of the (many) characters, you got an added touch of dimension in the story. I don’t think the writing of this one was exceptional but I was definitely intrigued and entertained the entire time! The beginning was fairly chaotic and hard to follow, but but towards the middle things significantly picked up. If you’re looking for a quick thriller with tons of characters and even more twists, this one is for you!

First I would like to thank Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and advanced audiobook of this novel.

I went back and forth between the audiobook and the kindle addition and I enjoyed them both.

First I really loved how the beginning of this book was laid out. We met the two main characters and then switched point of views to all the different friends and other connections to these main characters. I loved how we got little pieces of the story and each persons view of how everything was going down.

I was hooked from the beginning. The narrators were great and I think having different people narrate each character helped me keep all the characters straight in my head.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first twist that happened just over half way through the novel. I felt that one was a little predictable but the final twist I didn’t see coming and I loved that one.

If you are a fan of fast-paced thrillers that are fast-moving and keep you guessing I highly recommend this book.

3.75/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.

Juicy, juicy, JUICCCAYYYY!

Jessie Garcia's debut popcorn thriller, THE BUSINESS TRIP, is a total blast from start to finish. The story is focused on two women, Stephanie and Jasmine. Stephanie and Jasmine couldn’t be more different, yet somehow, they’re the same. They’ve never met, but they end up on the same plane—Stephanie heading out for work, Jasmine escaping an abusive relationship. Days later, they’re texting their friends about the same man, Trent McCarthy, and the messages just keep getting weirder. Then they vanish. The texts stop, alarm bells start ringing, and the hunt for answers begins. Who is Trent, and what’s really going on here?

This book is the ultimate binge read. If you look up popcorn thriller in the dictionary, you'll see this book! I listened to the audiobook and the voice actors portraying the multiple POVs was chef's kiss. Was this book predictable? Yes. Do I care? NO. This book was so much fun and I couldn't get enough. I can't believe this is a debut thriller because Jessie Garcia has written a thriller like one of the greats. I cannot wait to read more from her. Prioritize this one for January 2025, you'll be sorry if you don't.

WOW! Loved this! The characters were so well developed. There were several people but it was easy to keep track since they each had their own specific traits. The narrators did an amazing job too! I have some strong feelings about the men specifically. Glen and Trent were so easy to dislike. Jasmine, girl. I can’t say much about her without spoilers but she has some unexpected reveals. And Stephanie has some secrets of her own. So many unexpected twists! I binged the audiobook in one sitting. Yes, I spent over 9 hours listening to this! I just couldn’t stop. Needless to say, I highly recommend! I am shocked that this is the authors debut novel. I’m anxiously awaiting what’s next!

Thank you to NetGalley & MacMillan Audio for this ALC.

I listened to about 10% and couldn't do any more. I felt like this was VERY poorly written, very basic. It was painful to listen to and I had no desire to continue.

Thank you @netgalley for another great, thrilling read! I always judge a book by its cover…whoops! I can’t help it! Cmon most of you do too! 😉
Literally page 1 and I was invested and this is a DEBUT! I cannot wait to see what’s next for this author!
Jasmine had me rooting for her so hard….almost the entire time! Wow!

I don’t usually gravitate towards thrillers for my own reading, but I often pick them up for the book discussions I run, as they’re always a hit with patrons. That’s what led me to “The Business Trip” by Jessie Garcia. While it didn’t fully work for me, I can see why others might enjoy it.

The plot started off strong—I loved how the first part focused solely on Jasmine and Steph, which pulled me into the story. Then, the shift to outsider perspectives in the later chapters was an interesting and unexpected narrative choice. I’ve never read a book with so many narrators before, and while that was new for me, I thought the audiobook narrators did a terrific job bringing the characters to life.

That said, the conclusion felt a bit too outlandish, even for a thriller. It stretched believability in a way that took me out of the story. Still, I’ve never read anything quite like this, and I think its uniqueness will appeal to readers who enjoy fast-paced, unconventional thrillers. I’ll be recommending it to my patrons!

Thank you to Jessie Garcia, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for sending me the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I read the book first and then listened to the audio version. For me in the audiobook the narrations were just ok and sometimes grating on my nerves. But as for the story I did really enjoy it for the most part

Other than having way too many POV's I liked the book. I think we end up with 8 different POVs and at MAX we needed 5 of them.

I got an audio ARC from NetGalley and listened to it all in one day. The narrators did a great job. Each character had a different narrator which made it really easy to follow despite the extra POVs. This was especially helpful as someone who listens at 2x speed.

A lot happens in this book that couldn't exactly happen in real life but if you don't think about it too hard it's a fun read. I won't spoil anything by pointing out examples.

If you want a quick snack of a thriller this is a good one.

I received an early edition of this audio book in exchange for my review. This author was new to me, but I was drawn to the cover art as well as the story description. This book had me hooked from the start. Some of the POV changes were a little quick which did leave me slightly confused in certain sections. With that being said, it was easy to pick up any loose threads of the plot to continue to follow along. My one con would be that I think the ending could have been more thoroughly laid out. To me the final chapters felt rushed right into a speedy epilogue.

An interesting thriller with lots of twists and turns that all begin on a business trip. At first, the multiple POVs threw me for a loop and I felt some where a bit unnecessary, BUT they did somewhat come together later on in the book and I was able to make more sense of it. Also… my god the men in this book were horrific people. But that seems to be the point and it just goes to show you never know how manipulative and awful people can be.

An issue I also had in this book was the disbelief of how things happen, and how realistic this could actually be. I like when thrillers/mysteries are more on the realistic side and are something I think can actually happen. Especially one that is so modern and includes references to StitchFix and TikTok. Overall I liked this read enough and did finish it quickly.

I really enjoyed this book!

I often have a pretty good idea where I think a book is going to go, but this book definitely set me in a different direction. And it had me questioning who I really wanted to succeed and who I wanted to fail in this book. Sometimes you don't know who the real villain is at the end of the day, and I think this book did a great job of making me think about things in a little bit of a different way.

I also really lobed the narration throughout this book. And that for me is definite added bonus. It makes the book that much more interesting and dynamic. So I want to recommend this book for all those who enjoy a great story with a good mystery and interesting plot development.