Two strangers meet on a plane. Both leaving Wisconsin, each for a significantly different reason. Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. Stephanie is attending a work conference. Within hours of meeting, friends and colleagues of both women start to notice something isn’t quite right. Things escalate after a couple of days, and no one’s life will ever be the same.

Writing a review of The Business Trip without giving anything away is somewhat challenging. But I’ll try to share what I liked and what didn’t quite work for me.

As a Wisconsinite, the partially local setting crafted by a local and familiar author–TV broadcaster Jessie Garcia–was a strong selling point. The plot is intriguing and unfolds from multiple characters’ viewpoints. The author crafted a compelling foundation and ramped up the tension for the first three-quarters of the book.

And then we get to Part Four.

At first, I was engrossed in all of the pieces of the plot twist reveal. But as the novel raced to the conclusion and all the pieces slipped into place, my belief also slipped. The actions of the narrating character began to feel unrealistic and incongruous with who they were presented to be leading up to this point. And the epilogue, well…it could have safely been omitted altogether.

Overall, The Business Trip is a creepy, clever, and captivating crime story. I enjoyed it (for the most part), and I thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.