A review by minimicropup
The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Started off strong—fast-paced, intriguing, and gripping until Parts 3 and 4. Overall a great concept for a twisty, hard-to-predict plot, but the execution fell short for me. 
 
Energy: Aggrieved. Unsuspecting. Impromptu. 
 
🐺 Growls
Part 3 was tedious and disrupted the fast pace. We’re in the mind of a terrible person, but the way his thoughts were written felt corny and too upfront. It came off as a cartoonish parody of an insufferable character's inner monologue. Part 4 had too much spoon-feeding of the twists.  
 
🐕 Howls
Writing was too simplistic and often juvenile, and it started to grate on me as the story progressed. Character dialogue felt overly formal, yet cheesy. Everyone seemed to have the same inner voice style. The character thoughts, dialogue, and reactions felt stiff and unnatural.
 
🐩 Tail Wags
The quick perspective shifts. Part 1 set up the story well. Part 2 was intriguing as we saw characters reacting to the mystery. The overall plot. Most of the over-the-top moments. 
 
Scene: 🇺🇸 Set near Madison, Wisconsin and Atlanta, Georgia
Perspectives (10): A bartender in an abusive relationship. The bartender’s co-worker. The bartender’s abusive partner. A news director sent to the conference. The news director’s neighbour/cat-sitter. The assistant news director. The general manager of the news station. The digital manager of the news station. The news director at another news station. The general manager of another news station. 
Timeline: Current (2020s).
🔥 Fuel: Twists and turns. Fake-outs. Tangled web of mystery. 
📖 Cred: Over-the-top with a touch of thriller-style camp
 
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Airports. News station. Patchouli perfume. Ambien. Texts. Meetings. Work conference. Networking. 
  • Uncharacteristic texts, missing person mysteries
  • Rapid multi-POV switching to progress the plot
  • Short chapters
  • Fast-paced clues and reveals
  • Sleuthing and investigating alongside the characters
  • Secret pasts, not all is as it seems
  • Mix of caricature-style characters
  • Sprinkling of shocking true crime energy snowballing into roller coaster of surprises 
  • Getting all the thoughts and all the tea from the characters, knowing more than the characters
  • Simplistic writing + twisty plot-driven stories
 
Content Heads-Up: Abusive relationship. Rape (forced, rough sex within relationship). Abortion (brief recall). Parental rejection, emotional abuse. Covid (brief mention). Missing persons. Misogynist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, racist character. Masturbation (on page). Murder. Jealousy. Theft. 
 
Rep: American. Cis. Gay. Hetero. Ambiguous skin tones.
 
📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
 
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