[b:Fishnet|43822609|Fishnet|Kirstin Innes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565526331l/43822609._SY75_.jpg|42955079]
Dark and Gritty
I was given an arc of this book on NetGalley a while back and I am not sure what happen and I never got around to downloading it. So when it came out on my Goodreads I figured it was a sign that maybe I had to read it. I am so glad I did this was such an interesting yet dark read. I don’t know what I expected but this was really good. It’s been six years since Fiona Leonard’s younger sister Rona arrived at her flat with her new baby daughter and then left leaving her child behind. No-one has seen or heard from her since and Fiona has been left bringing up her niece on her own as if she is her own child.

When the company she works for is involved in the demolition of an area of Edinburgh where prostitutes work from, they start to kick up a fuss and protest outside her work. Having just discovered that her sister was working as a prostitute before she went missing, Fiona sets out on a course to befriend the girls and hopefully locate her sister.
Fishnet is an eye-opening book set in the world of prostitution surrounded by a story of love and devotion of one woman’s determination to find her little sister. The book is split into six sections as well as the opening and ending chapters labelled ‘Past’ and ‘Future’. The main section is called ‘Present’.

What I found intriguing was that the first chapter is written in second person which is something that is very unique. I enjoyed the structure of each section. Whether it be City or Village or Back and Forth. I loved how it made you pay attention and gave light to a subject that is not often written about or at least written about well. Between the regular sections and chapters, you also get blog posts and more of an insight into the life of a working girl and their clients. I know that this is not an easy subject for some and that some of the scenes in this book is graphic but I enjoyed the way it was written and it not feeling like the topic was just brushed over. Fiona is a broken girl. She is playing mommy to a little girl and not getting any help from her parents who don’t want to talk about there daughter. This was a much easier read then I expected and the research that is done shows because it was beautifully written.

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This book, like its subject matter, wasn’t shy about describing its characters or sexual acts. Fiona was a fully fleshed out character, as well as supporting ones like her family and the escorts. We not only understand her history between her and Rona, but we feel her desperation and hope in the search for Rona. There is a bit of time jumping between chapters that did get confusing, and some actual Scottish dialogue that I did have to take the time to sound out to understand. I felt that the author did a good job in trying to eliminate the stereotype that all sex workers are drug users or have had traumatic childhoods. ( )

Initially I felt irritation and anger toward the narrator's weak character and moralizing ignorance toward sex workers. By the conclusion of this book, however, I realized that the author made a deliberate choice to portray her this way, so that her eventual transformation, both in attitude and behavior, feels more dramatic, plausible, and ultimately satisfying. Recommended for all readers--especially those whose views on sex work are similar to how the narrator felt at the outset.

Favorite lines:
"A man who has sex and is paid for it is a lucky bastard. A woman is a victim."

"A job that many people presume you have to be damaged to do; a job that the very doing of means people make serious, deep assumptions about you in ways they certainly don't do with dentists."

"Who touches the ugly people, the shy people? Who touches the ill people, the disabled, the ones who don't win?" ( )

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 novelreminded 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. Fishnet is an outstanding Scottish noir and I'm glad to have discovered this author. ( )

Fiona's sister goes missing and she finds out she has become involved in the world of prostitution. The book is about her engagement with this hidden world and its strange allure, as she tries to track down her sister.
This book gives an insight into this world, the various reasons why people enter it, that the women are not victims, that attempts to rescue them may be misguided.
The content seems psychologically convincing and the story is gripping. ( )