Pros and Cons is not a novel, and Colleen Dawn makes it clear early on that what she has produced is more like an instruction manual, and that in fact it began as a pile of notes on information she felt that new workers should have.

A woman who has run an escort agency for over 18 years at the time of publication, as well as doing the occasional booking, she comes across as a realistic and upfront person. Peppered with anecdotes about clients she's seen, girls she's known, and incidents involved in the running of the business which are funny, interesting and enjoyable.

Dawn doesn't hold back, she discusses her encounters with the police while prostitution was illegal in her home state of Victoria, Australia, and the ways in which she avoided being arrested. There is a very amusing story about when they tried to entrap her, and failed miserably, resulting in a young officer receiving oral sex instead of eliciting a verbal admission of paid sexual services.

There are stories about both her own personal experiences as a sex worker, and her encounters with clients, both good and bad. There are also stories about the girls who worked for her, the competition between the escort agencies and her experiences from the management side as well.

Dawn discusses in detail the different types of sex worker. The ones who work with a goal, get in and get out. The ones who are empowered by sex work to take control of their lives after achieving financial independence. The ones who become addicted to a party lifestyle. She talks openly about women who work because their partner wants them to, and all the reasons why that ends in disaster. She talks about the women who work to support a drug habit, and she talks about the women who work to support their children. These women are not dealt with as victims or as corruptors, but as people she's known over the years.

Dawn does not advocate sex work for everyone, and describes how difficult it can be to not only work successfully, but to live comfortably with yourself while doing it. But neither does she demonstrate only the downsides. As with any industry and any job, there are all kinds of people and all kinds of experiences, and her contact with workers and clients over those eighteen years has informed her perspective.

In some ways the book is somewhat dated, there is a great deal of information about sexual health and sexually transmitted infections, some of which is no longer accurate due to more recent research. However, much of it is still applicable, and more importantly, it ably demonstrates the seriousness with which this issue is dealt with in the Australian sex industry. Again, there is an example, her story about the client with crabs, who infected her staff over and over, is a situation drawn with both sensitivity and abundant humour.

Dawn seems to firmly believe that regulation is the key to improving conditions in the sex industry for workers, which unfortunately has not proven to be true in the time since publication.

The state where she worked is now operating under severe regulation which has only resulted in a two-tier system, not equality or justice. While some comply with regulations, others are too afraid of the results of registration and lack of privacy necessary for compliance and are thus still criminalised. This results in huge numbers of workers no longer having access to health and support resources, putting them at risk in a number of ways and leaving the most vulnerable groups still unprotected or supported by the legislation.

That said, her opinions are based on years of working in an illegal system and dealing with the many downsides, and she probably didn't foresee the rather draconian implementation of legalisation that actually occurred.

A very interesting book by someone from within the sex industry, worth it for anyone considering sex work or who has always wanted to know more about the real situation, especially for those with a good sense of humour.