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ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
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 [b:The Cutting Room|46025|The Cutting Room|Louise Welsh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388947595l/46025._SY75_.jpg|1246358] by Louise Welsh and [b:Garnethill|94177|Garnethill (Garnethill #1)|Denise Mina|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1314622660l/94177._SY75_.jpg|2275377] 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.
This novel reminded me of both [b:The Cutting Room|46025|The Cutting Room|Louise Welsh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388947595l/46025._SY75_.jpg|1246358] by Louise Welsh and [b:Garnethill|94177|Garnethill (Garnethill #1)|Denise Mina|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1314622660l/94177._SY75_.jpg|2275377] 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.
peneloperea's review against another edition
3.0
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.
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.
adenise47's review against another edition
4.0
I struggled to get through this book. I was not impressed and it was hard to follow. I don’t think I would recommend this book!
kristen_eden's review
3.0
It was not as good a book as it could have been. But... still thoughtful. Still well written. A 3.5.
kirstenellang's review against another edition
5.0
Kirstin Innes says sex workers are workers - give them rights and so do I !
Words do not do this book justice - Kirstin writes about Scotlands sex workers with such power and love and honesty and any person I have ever disagreed with about sex worker rights needs to read this book !
Words do not do this book justice - Kirstin writes about Scotlands sex workers with such power and love and honesty and any person I have ever disagreed with about sex worker rights needs to read this book !
learaloveslit's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 rounded up. This book has so much to say about the sex work industry and I found myself tabbing and making notes all over the place! This is a sleeper of a novel (it was on my shelf for over two years) and I’m so glad I finally read it! W
espeonesque's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Apparently I'm really into Scottish literature right now.
If you're looking for a mystery novel where a sister unravels the twisty turny story of how their sister disappeared, you'll be sorely disappointed, but if you're looking for an at times challenging exploration of the sex industry and the variety of experiences of sex workers, you might enjoy this.
I very much like Kirsten Innes' characters so I enjoyed this.
If you're looking for a mystery novel where a sister unravels the twisty turny story of how their sister disappeared, you'll be sorely disappointed, but if you're looking for an at times challenging exploration of the sex industry and the variety of experiences of sex workers, you might enjoy this.
I very much like Kirsten Innes' characters so I enjoyed this.
crazytourists_books's review
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you want to read a mystery, then this books isn't for you. If you want to read a contemporary view on sex work, honest and shameless with the added bonus of an interesting narration, then grab it wherever you find it, run home, sit comfortably and start reading.
I really enjoyed it, despite everything, I couldn't put it down and I am definitely going to read more of Kristin Innes' work.
I really enjoyed it, despite everything, I couldn't put it down and I am definitely going to read more of Kristin Innes' work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Sexual content