Between the Sheets (Penguin Ireland) Paperback – 2 Feb 2012

This book is not an exposé of the escort/sex industry in Ireland. The writer only worked as an escort for a year, and never even met another escort or anyone linked to the sex industry in that time. It's basically a biography of an unusual year in her sex life - and a very graphic one at that.

At times it reads like erotica, with detailed sex scenes running for pages - something I found off putting. If I want porn, I'd buy porn. If you're considering buying the book because you want a first hand account of escorting in Ireland, you'll be disappointed. If you want to read detailed accounts of a 40 year old, middle class Irish woman's sexcapades, then you might enjoy it.

I found her attitudes to be very Celtic Tiger middle class (which we now know translates as more money than sense). There was one scene that struck me where she identified a client as her type of man based on the Marks and Spencer food in his fridge. I don't know - it just struck me that she hadn't learned anything of substance about herself (outside the bedroom) despite all the financial hardships that lead to her year of vice.

There's also a huge inconsistency in her behaviour. She appeared to be rightly careful about contracting an STD, to the point where she wouldn't shave her legs in the day before meeting a client as there was a possibility of infection through shaving cuts, then she goes on to complain about men who had the audacity to come see her with a five o'clock shadow, completely failing to connect the two. Her sexual health was important, but her client's was not?

Overall, I was disappointed. I'd like to read a good, detailed examination of the escort business in Ireland from someone who lived and worked it for a number of years, but this book is not it. 3 out of 5, but only because it's the only Irish book that covers this subject at all.

I bought this boook because I thought it would tell tales of borderline men and other intrigues. Sadly, no. This is a tale of a middle-class woman sexing her way through middle-class men, whom seem barren of personality or excitement. The worst thing that happened to this woman was that she had to have sex with a guy who wouldn't make eye contact with her. Another thing about the book is that I didn't really like Scarlett O'Kelly. I don't think she would be a person with a lot of female friends. She distinguishes herself from other escorts by being "high class"...she is different, special, even though she is average looking. It's all a bit annoying. She got into debt because she bought a big poseur house. She quite fancies herself as an 80s-style professional with one billion degrees. However what it really boils down to is that she felt that she was too good to work a job flipping burgers or being an office admin to make ends meet. Or she could have let her poseur house go back to the bank, and then started again in a rental. Nope. She wanted her poseur house so she slept with more comfortable-off men to keep it. She talks to the average reader like they don't know anything about sex, like anal beads are a wild revelation. She underestimates her audience completely. But also, she fails to learn any great lesson from her experince. I was expecting her to say, "I now realise that my marriage didn't work because I wasn't soft and kind to my husband, I ignored his needs, and put my career first." But no, it was all his fault, even though she makes it clear that he shared custody and she could completely rely on him to take the kids much more often that the set custody arrangement. This is what happened in the boom...people went crazy with status combat and this is the consequences.Read more ›