I must admit I could not finish this book. I found the language and descriptions bordering on the pornographic. The story did not interest me. I found it hackneyed and better written by others with more literary finesse. I chose the wrong novel .

A HUGE THANK YOU to the Publisher for the great privilege of granting me access to this title, thus allowing me to read this fantastic story.

I am extremely surprised and happily satisfied with this story. To be a debut novel, this surpasses any and all expectations and even more.
Kristin Innes is not a name I had ever heard before. Absolutely not in my radar. So when I saw the opportunity of reviewing this book, I jumped to it since my quest was to find new author to obsess with this year. She did not disappoint.

You can tell right off the bat that Innes has done her research about the sex working industry in Scotland. I believe I read somewhere she was a journalist, I have to add she is most definitely a great one. Nothing you may or may not believe about prostitution is what it seems to be. We find thru the story of Fiona and Rona. Rona disappears and Fiona discovers that in fact, Rona became a prostitute, thus triggering Fiona’s need to understand (more than curiosity or concern) the real life and not so underground world of prostitution in her native Scotland.

It is absolutely fascinating to see thru Fiona’s journey some of the culturally important aspects of this business. As high profitable as many may think, readers will have a better view of how it actually works. Many start reading this (and I include myself, of course) thinking well, all sex workers are victims, have been subjected to abuse or even worse, are slaved into it. Far from the truth.

Much of this story is fast paced, easy to read, very intriguing but mostly, in a sense, highly educational for those people who love to learn about cultural and social reality. I won’t say it’s everybody’s cup of tea and beware, this book contains explicit material that you must have a really, really open mind to process, but it is written but absolute respect and knowledge, leaving readers with the need to follow the story from page one to the last. it will open eyes and will make you change your mind in many, many ways.

This was a different type of book for me. It was very informative. I did have trouble with how the author broke it up but once I figured it out it was fine. You get to get inside the head of those who are escorts and see how they are treated by others. I was wanting more about the runaway sister but the book was from the oldest sister's point of view. Overall the book is well written.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly tried to get into this book but it was not what I was expecting. The writing didn't work for me and I found myself confused about what was happening, who was narrating, and who the characters were. After about 50 or so pages, I decided this read wasn't for me. I may pick it back up at another time but at the moment it is not something I want to continue reading. The premise interested me, but the writing and language used got in the way of my enjoyment.

Fiona's younger sister disappeared 6 years ago. As Fiona has tried to move past it, she finds herself worn down by single motherhood, her parents, a dead-end job, and a driving need to know what happened to her sister. The book jumps around it's timeline from chapter to chapter, as Fiona uncovers the part of her sister's life that she and her parents were completely unaware of: Rona was working as a legal escort.
The twists in the story are slowly revealed due to the constant jumping between present day and past events. At times, Fiona comes across as extremely unlikable and terribly obnoxious. At other times, she comes across as just completely lost in her grief and the expectations of her world.
The ending was not wholly unexpected, and given the set up, it comes across as entirely natural.

The blurb for Fishnet had me expecting a plot-driven, twisty mystery: Woman explores the seedy underbelly of a city in search of her missing sister, a prostitute. Instead it's something more cerebral, more real, and much less salacious. Yes, the narrator is seeking her sister, a prostitute, but rather than entering the cliched world of strung-out streetwalkers she meets up with women who view sex work as a career, an empowering, more lucrative alternative to other jobs open to those with minimal qualifications. The book veers a bit polemic at times, but overall it's a well-drawn, lived-in story of a woman who learns how to take a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to her life, and the depiction of modern-day Scotland seems spot-on. I definitely recommend, so long as you don't expect a flashy commercial treatment.

Thank you, NetGalley and Gallery/Scott Press, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting, complex read. It was hard for me to follow at times. But I did finish it. It was deep and intriguing.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is a difficult novel to read for two reasons: The subject matter and the way the story is told. I’ve read a couple other books about the sex industry over the years, and those were hard to read, too, even if I do wish that, like apparently is the case in Scotland, it was decriminalized in the United States. I’d like it if sex workers could see cops as their allies and not their enemies, but that’s not how we deal with nonviolent criminals in the U.S.

As to my second point, I’m used to reading books that jump around between present and past and different points of view, but this bounces around without giving me clear guidance as to where I am, and thus I found it frustrating and confusing. The author has a clear agenda of making sex work seem more complicated than most of us usually see it. Even those with empathy suppose it’s usually a matter of emerging from a childhood of being sexually abused. Even if it is mostly about money, wouldn’t it be nice if other forms of work paid a livable salary, especially for single moms?

The premise of the novel is good: Fiona’s sister Rona has been gone for six years, and when Fiona learns that her sister made her living in sex work, she renews her pursuit to discover what happened to her sister by reading blogs of sex workers and befriending a few of them in real life.

I didn’t find the ending entirely satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

Thanks to Net Galley for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fiona is 29 is stuck in a blah life -living at home with mum and dad and and taking care her small child. She works at a dull entry level office job, where she is degraded by her coworkers regularly. Her sister Rona has been missing for 7 years. She makes a renewed effort to find her and uncovers that her sister was and possibly still is a prostitute. She becomes fascinated and ends up helping an organization that is trying to keep it legal.

While premise is interesting- I found Fiona to be completely unlikeable -She treats everyone like crap, ruins her best friend’s bachelorette party ( aka a Hen Party in the UK) and finds everyone lacking- Calling them pathetic, bland, boring etc. No one lives up to her expectations, not even herself. The missing sister, Rona is an even bigger jerk and never treated anyone well. Not clear why Fiona even wants to find her, other than closure.
The book did change my perspective- women in sex work are not always victims, and sometimes it is a better alternative than slaving at a job for minimum wage, never making enough to support yourself. They can provide a valuable service to men who otherwise would be alone- aka the widowers, the disabled etc

The story is based on research that the author conducted and some sex workers that she met- I think this book would have been better as non fiction, than with the unlikable characters in this story.

Set in Scotland, the novel Fishnet tells the story of twenty-something Fiona and her 7 year search for her missing sister, Rona. I usually like stories that concern themselves with the emotional aftermath wrought when a loved one goes missing, but unfortunately this novel read more like a nonfiction piece. I had the strong feeling that the author felt it was her purpose in life to teach the reader how mistaken we are in having negative feelings about 'sex workers'. Even the euphemism, sex worker, was meant to persuade. Reading was a choppy experience. We skipped back and forth within time lines and events. The reader never really gets a clear picture of Rona and why she did what she did. Message sent (the sex worker field is a valid career choice!), the story fades away with no clear resolution.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book for a review.

Investigating the sex industry that claimed her sister, Fiona finds that it is a seductive industry that gives women power. There are choices to be made

There were a lot of strengths to this book. I liked that it was an objective and unflinching look into the lives of sex workers. At times though, the book felt a little clinical, like the objective was to educate people (particularly through Sonja/Anja's blog posts).

In some respects this "teaching" drowned out the narrative and led to the story feeling a little preachy at times--like it was a work of journalism being uncomfortably crammed into the form of a story.

I did think the story was compelling and following Fiona's character did force the reader to challenge their own assumptions about the validity of sex work as a career and why anyone would want to do it. I learned a lot (mainly about the network of people who support sex workers and how crucial that is for their safety) but again, felt as if I had watched a documentary on sex workers rather than reading a story.

I think ultimately this is an important book and I'm glad I read it, just didn't connect with me emotionally as much as I would have liked it to. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is both interesting and well written, giving a provocative look at a profession hidden from most of us— the daily lives of prostitutes. Where the book lost me—and I know others will not feel the same—was the way it shows the constant and casual use of drugs. I can believe this is part of these women’s I lives, but it is impossible for me to finish the book because this topic is so upsetting. I lost a daughter to an accidental drug overdose. I wish the description of the book had made mention of this.. I would never have requested it.

My normal reading genre is mysteries and thrillers, this was neither. It is fiction but written in such a way that the reader is always wondering. It is the story of a young woman who is working at a mundane job and caring for her daughter. She’s also looking into the background of her sister who disappeared seven years earlier right after bringing her the infant and then leaving. It is the story of sex workers in Scotland and, in particular, the stories of Fiona and Romy. It is also worth reading. Thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC for an honest review.

A bleak, complex examination of the choices that lead women to engage in prostitution, told through the voice of a sister seeking to make sense of her younger sibling's disappearance. The points of view are sometimes confusing, but the frank examination of women in the sex trade makes for an intriguing fiction debut.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. It was dark and raw. I was expecting it to be and I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoy a good “awful dark” book every now and then and this fit the bill. Highly recommend!

Thank you for an early copy! I love the story and character development. I look forward to reading more from this author!