Thank you to NetGalley, Scott Press for providing Fishnet in exchange for my honest review.

From the start it is obvious that Kirstin Innes put a lot of work into researching the book. There were sections that felt more journalistic but as you get deeper into the story that falls away.
Fishnet is about two sisters, Fiona and Rona. Fiona has been looking for her sister, Rona for six years. She discovers that Rona was a sex worker before she disappeared and she dives deeper into that world. I felt like much of the story was spent trying to show us that sex working is a safe vocation and that people do it because they want too. I don’t argue that that is true in some instances but for me it took me out of the story.
The bouncing around of the timeline made it difficult to follow along and frustrating to stay invested. The hook for me what the mystery of Rona and how/why she disappeared. I’m not sure I needed Fiona’s storyline in order to get into Rona’s story. The sisterly part of this was not important, or not as important as I wanted it to be. Fiona could have been a journalist that was looking for a big scoop or an old friend.
In the end I felt like it had the makings of a great plot but the development and details to keep me in it weren’t there. It almost felt more of a documentary than a mystery and although Innes had the details it just didn’t work as a fictional story for me. I would recommend it to anyone who asked, as I know many people disagree with me. This is just my take on it.



The story is great. Innes has put SO much effort into the research in this book and it's evident; the entire storyline was entirely plausible and made me think about the whole topic in such a different way. The writing is also accessible even though a lot of the dialogue is in a Scottish dialect. Lucky for me one of my best friends is from Glasgow where I (think?) this book is set (it's not entirely clear from the story....could be either Glasgow or Edinburgh) so I just imagined him speaking when I read the dialogue haha! In terms of style and literary devices this book really appealed to me. The book alternates between the past and the present. For the most part I didn't find this hard to follow but the closer it got to the end, the closer in time the alternate sections came and this started to get a bit muddled (in my head at least). I do enjoy the flip between time periods as a general rule in novels (provided it's done well) so this endeared me to this book even more. We also get to read blog posts from some of the sec workers and emails between Fiona and some characters. I enjoyed this as well. It wasn't over done and both mediums brought something to the novel. You were able to get a sense of the feelings and thought processes of other characters in the book and not just Fiona which I thought was a refreshing pause in the narrative.

I also enjoyed the characterisation in this book. Fiona was extremely well developed; we can see how her thought process and, to an extent, get to know her and know what she would and wouldn't do. There were things I liked and things I didn't like about Fiona's character. First of all I thought she was more compassionate and thoughtful about both the sex industry itself and those who work in the industry. She also loves her daughter Beth so much, and would do anything for her; although we see through the novel that she does make many mistakes as a parent but you know where her heart is. On the other hand she was sometimes stupid....going back to hotel room on her own with two men she's only just met? At 29? Surely she sees the dangers here.....by all means do what you will with your life but for Christ's sake be safe!


"...a truth universally acknowledged: that every act of heterosexual sex (a thing, let's not forget, that happens to a woman, upon her) fundamentally damages the female partner in some way."
I think that while this was a sarcastic comment in the novel, does in fact describe very well the general opinion on the sex industry, even in today's society. I must admit that I have also been guilty of this assumption, that any girl in the industry has only gotten into this line of work due to difficulties that she has encountered in her life or has been trafficked into it by some seedy men. Although this is true in some cases, it doesn't apply to the masses. Some women choose to go into this industry for a myriad of reasons: she wants more money, likes sex, needs a job to provide her family. Who knows? Even better, who are we to judge? I work in finance, an industry where the majority assumes that the people in that industry are morally lacking....but you wouldn't stop your child going into that industry would you? Basically, if you stay safe both physically and medically; like your job and aren't being forced into it, go right ahead, do what makes you happy.

In terms of things I didn't enjoy about the book, I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of insights we get into Rona's life post disappearance or even the lead up to her disappearance.....what made her do it? Why go into the industry? What were her thought processes? As much as I enjoyed the social commentary and watching Fiona change her thoughts towards the industry, I would have appreciated it if Innes had went a bit further and got into the head of someone actually in the industry.

This is a thriller about sex workers. If you are put off by that topic, if you fear that it is exploitative, voyeuristic, or propagandistic, let me say that this picky reader recommends it highly.

Fishnet is also about the life-long connections and competitions among siblings and between parents and their children. It's well-written, enlightening, and sympathetic.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

Didn’t care for the writing style. It is told from different perspectives and time periods and I found it difficult to follow. This can be a very effective method in storytelling, but this author’s approach just left it all jumbled. Sounded like an interesting premise. . .delving into the lives of women who make a living through prostitution, which is apparently legal in Scotland, and the search for a missing sister. Unfortunately, I gave up about a third of the way through as it didn't hold my interest enough to struggle with the storyline.

Very engrossing story. I was quickly pulled into the story and getting to know the characters. The subject matter was not my usual type of story, but I found myself really drawn to the book.

Fishnet is a difficult book to read because the story of sex workers is a powerful one. Decriminalized in multiple countries, sex workers are still treated as second class citizens.

Fishnet is also the story of sisters. The powerful relationship between sisters is rare and this is the story of what one will do for the other.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I like noir, the grittier the better and with this book I got that in spades. Fiona's sister Rona disappeared from her life, devastating her family who did all they could to find her. Six years after her disappearance, Fiona ends up in the Scottish town she disappeared from and this time, without her parents, she gets more information from her sister's old flatmate, who tells her that she kicked Rona out for working as a prostitute and bringing clients back to the flat. This information sends Fiona into turmoil, she was already not that much fun to be around, but now she alienates her last friends. She is also given a new avenue to search for her sister, a search which consumes her.

This novel reminded me of both The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh and Garnethill by Denise Mina. There's a depth to the characters that isn't always present in noir, where the story often takes precedence over character development. Fiona is both off-putting and wholly sympathetic, as she works through her complicated emotions for her sister. The novel also follows Rona to a lesser degree, and while this novel has an agenda (as made clear in the author's afterword), it doesn't overwhelm the story. Innes isn't preaching, just writing about an issue she cares about and which I knew very little about. This is an outstanding Scottish noir and I'm glad to have discovered this author.

I'm going to start this review off by giving you the blurb from Goodreads...

"Twenty year old Rona Leonard walks out of her sister Fiona’s flat and disappears.

Six years on, worn down by a tedious job, child care and the aching absence in her life, Fiona’s mundane existence is blown apart by the revelation that, before she disappeared, Rona had been working as a prostitute. Driven to discover the truth, Fiona embarks on an obsessive quest to investigate the sex industry. As she is drawn into a complex world, Fiona makes shocking discoveries that challenge everything she believed, and will ultimately change her life forever.

Bittersweet, sensual and rich, Fishnet takes a clear-eyed, meticulously researched, controversial look at the sex industry and the lives of sex workers, questioning our perception of contemporary femininity."

There, now you know what this book is about.  A lot of reviews will talk about how it was hard to read because of the subject matter...maybe it's living in a state where prostitution is legal in all but 2 counties, but I did not find the subject matter to be that crazy.  The book is based around women that have sex for money...ok.  This book takes place in Scotland where people want to criminalize it.  Honestly, this book does not dive deep in to this world...personally, The Kiss Quotient was a hell of a lot more to handle and take in than this book.

Here's where the book lost me.  This book flip flops around from present to past and a few different points of view...there is never a clear cut understanding of who is talking or at what point in time something is taking place.  I honestly could NOT follow this book.  

I really wanted to DNF this book.  It became SO frustrating that I just sped read through it because well...I wanted to know what happened to Rona.  Knowing what I know now, I could have DNF'ed this book and been fine...ugh.

I don't do this often...in fact, this is the first time on my blog I'm doing this...2 stars!  Yes, two stars.  It bounces around aimlessly making it very difficult to follow and then the end...that's it.  Honestly, this book wasted my time.  I really wanted to love it because I thought the subject matter was interesting, but it was just done so at the surface of the sex industry, it was very disappointing.

Definitely a different kind of book. What I thought would be a mystery/thriller turned out to be more than that. The author, Kirstin Innes, put considerable work and research into her subject matter. The story takes on new meaning when the main characters are part of a culture that most of us know nothing about. Good or bad? You'll have to read and decide for yourself.
The story itself is familiar. A family member disappears. But when it is discovered that she has been a sex worker, her sister's quest to find her becomes much more difficult. Fishnet is definitely not for every reader, but then most books aren't. A different kind of story about how choices made affect the rest of our life.

The synopsis of this novel intrigued me. I love that it focused on the empowerment of women and how sex workers are in control of their own lives. However, this book fell really flat for me. The style it’s written was super hard to follow along and it didn’t feel like a story. I felt like I was only grasping little snippets here and there.

You often see books labeled "unputdownable." Well, "Fishnet" is not among those select few; it is very "putdownable." Once you do that a few times, it becomes "unpickupable," to coin a phrase. Now, I am not saying that Innes is a lousy writer; she isn't. She is quite skilled. Unfortunately, her choice of subject matter, the sex trade in Scotland, and the first pages of "Fishnet" are just dull and repulsive. I couldn't finish reading it. The fact that she is writing for a British audience may be to blame for my decided lack of interest. And what will American Feminists think of "hen parties" I wonder?

I cannot recommend this novel, and that is a fact.

With apologies to the author, Kirsten Innes, publisher Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for my lack of refinement, I ask your pardon.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Sorry for the delay in my review, life has gotten in the way.

So let me start by saying the topic of sex work / sex workers intrigues me. So Fishnet seemed like it would be right up my alley.

unfortunately, it was juyst okay.. it didn't hit every notch on my belt that i like. don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad book.. just wasn't my favorite either.

Fishnet is a novel that delves into the realm of sex workers focusing on meticulous research. I really wanted to like this book but found it hard to understand. When I initially read the blurb, I was intrigued. Although it felt researched it didn't believe the flow of the story worked in the author's favor.

The story follows a woman named Fiona who is looking for her missing sister. She has been looking for six years and still doesn't know the truth about what happened. On her journey to find her sister, she discovers her sister's chosen occupation, prostitution.

I appreciated Kirstin Innes writing a character that wasn't automatically repulsed by the situation. Instead, Fiona was determined to find the truth and actually take a look into the world of sex workers and why they do what they do.

Overall, I thought Kirstin Innes had the makings of a great plot but was underdeveloped. Going back and forth in the chapters makes it tough as a reader to stay attentive to the serious situations.

Fishnet's subject matter is very reality based in terms of how and why women get involved with prostitution and struggle to disengage. I found it difficult to follow the story at times due to changes in point of view but did not find it likely that Fiona would "follow in her sister's footsteps" by getting involved in prostitution as well. She is caring for her sister's daughter after she (Rona) abandoned her and I can't picture someone willingly doing so when she's already been so traumatically impacted by having to become a single mother and grieving her sister's death. Curiosity in terms of "what was Rona struggling with internally" makes sense, even finding out more about "the industry".....but not so much engaging.

There are heaps of brilliance to this book. Fishnet tells the story of Fiona tracking down her long-missing younger sister. Once Fiona learns that her sister had been a sex worker, she becomes obsessed. What is she obsessed with, though? The sister or the profession?

You can tell the author invested a lot of time researching this topic. The thorough treatment of the narrative is only outweighed by the poetic writing style she employs to tell this story.

The author uses alternating tense headings I haven't seen before. Instead of just past/present, she uses public/ private, off/on, mind/body. I really enjoyed entering Fiona's world through these introductions.

Overall, I interpreted this story to be more about Fiona searching for herself than her little sister. And I loved every page of it.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC edition in exchange for an honest review

I was expecting a fast-paced with twist and turns and a surprise endings. It was not what I expected, but in a good way. The writing was more literary and I kept on turning because of the character development rather than plot. The subject-matter prostitution has always fascinated me and it's obvious that the author has done her research into this world. What she found was surprising and she managed to put this in a book with a compelling story.

I really enjoyed the book and the ending was surprising, but not in the traditional way, so I would recommend this book to anyone interested in family drama and human relations in general

When I mentioned this book on a previous blog post, I wrote, "I have a niggling feeling that this review will be difficult to write."

Sure enough, I was right. I wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, I really didn't. 

I do agree with part of her message. Sex workers should be treated with respect.  Of course, all people should. Yes, some people freely choose this profession. I understand that. 

But there were multiple things that didn't add up in this book. (Spoiler alert.) For example, by the end,  Fiona seems to believe that she's making her choice of sex work freely. She cannot get any other decent-paying job and still be a good single mom. Sex work pays for her schooling and housing and is flexible enough to give her time with her daughter. Makes sense. 

Yet why is she a single mom? Because her sister abandoned her infant to Fiona's care--without asking Fiona if she was willing to do this. Why is Fiona dealing with a deadbeat job, lack of social life, dismal future? Rona's decision. Not Fiona's. 

So how much of Fiona's future sex work is actually a totally free, individual decision? How much is determined by outside factors? It's not as straight-forward as Fiona seems to believe.  

The writing in Fishnet is good, but the storytelling method is confusing. The book opens with a second person point of view and later shifts to a different point of view. 

The story moves back and forth in time. I'm usually okay with this; it's a fairly popular story device. Yet it was difficult to follow the timeline. We'd skip from the middle of one scene to a different time, place, and event; then pause in the middle of that scene to return to the previous scene. It's not always clear what order things happen in. 

Various sections flip between chapters titled things like "Body" and "Mind," "Private" and "Public," or "You" and "Me" (without defining who you or me are).  

It doesn't help that I'm reading it on the Kindle app on my phone, so flipping back and forth is not easy. This is especially true when the e-formatted table of contents gives the section numbers, but not the titles of the chapters/divisions within those sections. Maybe this is less of an issue with a physical book, but it's a huge headache on a phone.

I've had this issue with other novels, too, but this one was especially aggravating. Why? Because it meant that I did not engaged with the story or the characters on either a mental or emotional level.

That's frustrating. I can forgive any number of story telling oddities and quirks if I'm emotionally engaged with the characters. 

I hate to be such a downer about this book. From the Goodreads' reviews, a sizable percentage of people enjoyed the book. There was a lot of interesting information presented.

Yet a sizable percentage had the same complaints I did. Whether you will enjoy the book isn't something I can predict. I'd say that if the blurb interests you, give it a try. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery, Pocket books for a copy of Fishnet in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be posted on my blog on October 14, 2019.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Fishnet by Kristin Innes from NetGalley. The novel follows Fiona, a clerical worker at a construction company who's sister Rona disappeared almost seven years before the start of the book, leaving Bethan, Rona's daughter in her care. Fiona's obsessive and compulsive search for her sister spirals down into the grey area surrounding the sex industry.

After learning what her sister had been doing to support her life, Fiona follows in her footsteps, in hopes to find her or clues leading to what actually happened. Each encounter, with workers themselves or people who knew them, draws Fiona a little deeper until the end of the novel is upon us and we can't believe what's transpired in her world.

Fishnet is a gritty, unapologetic look at the real world surrounding the sex industry, what it means to be involved in that line of work. The novel is impressively researched, leading not only to believability, but the opening of our eyes as readers to places and people that are often portrayed in unrealistic ways. Kristin Inne's keeps the novel moving with a relentless place that rarely lets up, leaving the reader turning page after page. The story was captivating and well-told, however there were a few bits, told from off-hand perspectives that jarred the narrative slightly. While it might work for some readers, from my own subjective view, it was a little distracting.

Overall, Fishnet is a great read. A breath of fresh air in the saturated thriller market. Highly recommended.

Rona walks out of her sister's flat and never returns. Six years later Fiona wants some answers as to why and what happened and in the process she finds out that Rona was working as a sex worker. This spurs Fiona to work to find out the truth of what really happened and in doing so she immerses herself into the world of sex workers. This changes her life and her perception of many things. The story is well told and I can tell quite a lot of research went into it.

This was a hard story to read for me, and made me feel a bit uncomfortable in parts, mainly due the subject matter. I did however find it to be thought provoking and entertaining. The story is about a sister trying to sort through her missing sister's past as a prostitute. I would read another one of Innes' novels. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Pocket Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I don't know exactly what I was expecting with "Fishnet." I briefly read a description about a missing prostitute sister and the sister that was left behind trying to move on with her life. I think I expected more of a mystery, maybe even more of a thriller. This was definitely not a thriller, and not a "solve the mystery" type of book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book as something that was completely different than what I thought it would be. It was very interesting and more political than I expected it to be. Parts of the book have 'blog posts' written about the sex industry and go into some of the reasons why women would choose to become prostitutes. I felt that these breaks for posts were one of the more interesting aspects of the book- it really made me think about prostitution in the States (the book is set in Scotland, but I live in the US and the material is relevant anywhere). I can tell that Innes has researched the topic and I appreciate the insights that she made. I also enjoyed her afterward, which includes a bit of information about one of the prostitutes that she based a character on.
A few issues I had with the book: The beginning had a bit of a slow start, and I felt that the way the chapters skip between different timelines was disorienting (which didn't help with the beginning pacing of the story). As an American reader, there were a few parts I had to skip almost entirely because I couldn't understand the written accent of the character. I could have slowed down and made more of an effort to understand it, so that is partially my own fault. Finally, although the ending was interesting, I didn't think it was a satisfying conclusion. 

Ending aside, I liked "Fishnet" very much and felt that I learned quite a bit from it. I recommend it to anyone who would like an dramatic fiction tale with elements of non-fiction.
Thank you Netgalley and Scout Press for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.