Audiobook Review: The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 2 of 5 stars

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (January 14, 2025)

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Author Information: Website

Two strangers. One flight. A tangled web of lies and deception which begins to unravel when both women, with no prior connections, wind up seated next to each other on a plane departing Madison, Wisconsin for Denver, Colorado. Jasmine, fed up with her dead-end job as a bar waitress and desperate to escape the clutches of her abusive boyfriend Glen, has finally stashed away enough of her tips to afford her ticket to a new life. Leaving no trace of her plans, she sneaks out of Glen’s trailer under the cover of darkness and secretly makes her way to the airport. Meanwhile, in a much different part of the city, Stephanie is a polished executive preparing for an important business trip to the west coast, where a high-profile industry conference with her fellow news directors awaits. Soon after making arrangements with her neighbor to check her mail and feed her cat, Stephanie leaves to catch her plane, excited to leave behind the stress of her newsroom, even if it’s just for a little while.

The day after that fateful flight, Jasmine’s friends and co-workers begin getting angry calls and texts from Glen. Where is Jasmine? No one has a clue. Many, however, believe she may have finally found the courage to leave her possessive boyfriend. This theory seemed to be confirmed when one of Jasmine’s childhood friends receives a text from her, gushing about meeting a really great guy, one who actually makes her feel loved and special. In Stephanie’s case, however, there are a lot more people asking questions. Initially, her absence following her trip raises few alarms, with those closest to Stephanie getting texts from her basically saying the same thing—something urgent had suddenly come up in Atlanta, requiring her immediate attention. To her neighbor, Stephanie divulges even more, claiming she had met someone at the conference and is taking some time off to explore the romance. In reality, unbeknownst to anyone who knows Jasmine and Stephanie, their shared, seemingly routine flight had thrust both women into a chain of events that ultimately led both to vanish into thin air, leaving behind only cryptic clues about a mysterious man—the same man in both their stories. Who is he, and what role does he play in their disappearance?

At first, everything about The Business Trip started off strong. The opening chapters were interesting and attention grabbing. Focusing on Jasmine and Stephanie, this intro section delved into each woman’s circumstances, ranging from personal struggles to professional ambitions, explaining how they each ended up on board the same flight as seatmates. The writing in this part was sharp and engaging, immersing me in the characters’ contrasting lives—Jasmine and her determination to get away from Glen, a real piece of shit who steals her money, smacks her around, and doesn’t even allow her to have her own car; and Stephanie, a recently divorced workaholic who seems to spend more time doting on her cat than talking with her adult son, seemingly in high spirits ahead of attending her industry conference.

The second part shifts the narrative to the next day, focusing on the people left behind, each wondering what happened to Jasmine and Stephanie. Text messages fly back and forth between friends, colleagues, and loved ones, creating intriguing layers of suspense. For a while, things seem normal. It is assumed that Jasmine is laying low, in case Glen tries to track her down. And Stephanie, of course, is at her conference. But beneath the surface, there’s a subtle sense that something is off. In this way, the plot continues to tempt the reader with the illusion that everything is fine when we all know that a bombshell is looming—and when it finally drops, it hits hard. We learn the truth, that neither Jasmine nor Stephanie is okay.

As the mystery unfolds, the frantic search for answers is paired with the introduction of another major character—a key figure central to everything in the story. But here’s where things started to fall apart for me. While the early plot development was on point, it starts faltering once we move into the second half of the novel. In the mystery-suspense genre, suspending disbelief is often a requirement, and I’m no stranger to going with the flow when it comes to a wild premise. In this case, though, the leaps in logic become increasingly implausible and, eventually, just plain dumb.

A lot of things just didn’t make sense. Characters seem to randomly lose their ability to reason or to think. For example, just how does one work in the business of news reporting, especially with a focus on crime, and not think to contact a lawyer when things go sideways? And without spoiling anything, there’s also a character who is suddenly revealed as a mastermind, yet their knowledge and competence seem oddly selective, as they manage to completely fail in other areas of life. And then there’s a character who appears to solely exist for the purpose of swooping in at the most convenient moments to solve problems that would otherwise derail the plot.

The author also seems to take liberties with how police investigations and forensic processes are carried out, choosing to bend or ignore rules when it suits the story’s needs. There is really such a thing as too much creative license. Even then, I can usually forgive a lot. Yet, it was the final twist that completely lost me. It was so clumsily executed and so far-fetched that it dropped my rating by an entire star. Don’t get me wrong, a good twist doesn’t have to be realistic, but it should feel earned, or at least convincing enough within the world of the story. This one didn’t feel that way at all—in fact, it was the kind that made me roll my eyes and say, “Really?”

In sum, The Business Trip started strong and kept me entertained for much of its runtime, but it went downhill in the second half. Despite its flaws, I have to say it was still a fun, fast-paced read, and fans of twisty thrillers might find enough here to enjoy. For me, though, certain inconsistencies and over-the-top plot points really tried my patience, and the final implausible twist was ultimately just too much.