Fern Michaels is a prolific author with numerous books to her credit, making it challenging to pinpoint a genre that she has not contributed to her list of accomplishments. I've read many of her books, loved some, others not so much. THE WILD SIDE is not what most readers would expect from Fern Michaels, including me. The plot line features a retired OSI agent now working as a student councilor who is tasked with an undercover assignment. To me, Melanie Drake's character didn't fit the "ultra sophisticated" description necessary for the undercover task. A few other story threads also didn't match the plotline. I'll continue to read Fern Michaels in the future, but this one is not the winner I usually find with her name on the cover.

Travel through the life of Melanie Drake from her earliest years, college then through her career in the Office of Special Investigatioins. Her years of training included world knowledge, politics, foreign affairs, and cyber activity. Retiring after fifteen years of a successful career, she pursued a career as a guidance counselor hoping to make a difference in the lives of children. Believing that she was out of the “spy” business, she is surprised when her former supervisor contacts her requesting her for several national security assignments, ones that will include her going undercover. Her back up is OSI Officer Gregory Gilmour who she had worked with for years. OSI believes that certain dignitaries are involved in illegal activities and due to their diplomatic immunity are safe from arrest. Her assignments will include finding stolen diamonds, documents and preventing a kidnapping. Follow Marlow as she uses her skills and ingenuity to foil the various schemes. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

Fabulous story. I couldn't put down my Kindle!

Melanie Drake was always a "by the rules" kid. After being in a car accident when she was just 8 years old, her life changed forever. From that point on, she stuck to rules. While she was laid up with a broken arm and a broken leg, along with a permanent scar on the side of her face; she turned to books to speed up her long summer of healing. Ever since then, Melanie flew through school with straight A's and a ton of knowledge.

After college, she gets a job with the government and impresses them when she accurately helps out the cyber crime division. She advances as an agent with the OSI and the sky's the limit for Mel. She becomes a master profiler for the agency, helping them solve the worst cases. After she successfully arrests a serial murderer, she once knew, she retires after 15 years of service. She decides to become a guidance counselor in an elementary school, buying a home, and getting a dog.

But when her old Boss comes to her because he needs her skills to go undercover to.take down billionaires with diplomatic immunity, she's all in.

A wonderful story!

*Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Melanie Drake has many different sides to her life. Here we see her as an investigator, an OSI agent, and a school guidance counselor. What a whirlwind of a life! I found her life story very interesting, and it almost read like 3 separate books.

For Melanie Drake, school guidance counselor in a small Virginia town, is worlds away from her former life in the Office of Special Investigations.

Since leaving, Melanie has cherished her peaceful, calm existence. Then a call comes from her former supervisor, Rich Patterson, who needs her for a highly specialized assignment. An international group of billionaires is known to meet regularly for decadent dinners, and they always hire high-class escorts for the occasion.

Melanie’s willing to go undercover to find out information. . But these men aren’t just powerful, they’re also exceptionally ruthless. This is a cute little book by Fern Michaels.

The Wild Side, by Fern Michaels, centers on Melanie Drake, a former agent with the Office of Special Investigations (OSI), who has traded high-stakes espionage for a quiet life as a school guidance counselor in a small Virginia town. Her days are now filled with resolving playground disputes and guiding students, starkly contrasting her adrenaline-fueled past. Melanie cherishes this peaceful existence, which she shares with her two beloved retired service dogs. However, her tranquility is disrupted when her former supervisor, Rich Patterson, recruits her for a covert mission.

The task: infiltrate an elite circle of billionaires who hire high-class escorts for lavish dinners, posing as one to uncover a dangerous network threatening national security. As Melanie navigates this glittering yet perilous underworld, she must reconcile her past as a skilled operative with the new identity she’s built, all while facing high stakes and personal risks. The story blends espionage, luxury, and a fish-out-of-water scenario that pits a small-town counselor against powerful, ruthless men.

The story also explores Melanie’s backstory, from a childhood marked by a car accident that sparked her love for learning to her rise through the ranks of the OSI. However, the execution of this promising concept bored me until Melanie is forced into one final mission where she finds her sister-in-law in harm's way and is forced to show what she learned over the previous 15 years. Melanie Drake is portrayed as intelligent, resourceful, and resilient, traits that make her a potentially captivating heroine.

Still, the overall story lacks any sort of excitement, minus two encounters with a serial killer/rapist, and a likely romantic entanglement that isn't drawn upon until the final chapter. The novel spends too much time on Melanie’s childhood and early career, which many readers found overly detailed and slow. The transitions between Melanie’s past and present and her various roles (child, spy, counselor, escort) are not always seamless, leading to a fragmented narrative.

I didn't realize this book had been published previously and I had already read it. Therefore I am republishing my review.

First of all, I owe Fern Michaels an apology. I don't think I've ever read any of the many books she's written. Mostly because I mistakenly believed she was a writer of romance novels, and I avoid those most of the time. I finally decided to try one of her books and was pleased to find out that Fern Michaels writes thriller/mystery type books. I also learned that Fern Michaels is a pseudonym for Mary Ruth Kuczkir. I enjoyed The Wild Side, my first Fern Michaels book.

Description:
For Melanie Drake, school guidance counselor in a small Virginia town, the day’s challenges typically involve a playground scuffle or a student skipping school. It’s worlds away from her previous career as a vital part of the Office of Special Investigations. There, she devoted herself heart and soul to covert operations, the riskier the better.

Since leaving, Melanie has cherished her peaceful, calm existence, with her two beloved retired service dogs for company. Then a call comes from her former supervisor, Rich Patterson. He needs her back for a highly specialized assignment. An international group of billionaires is known to meet regularly for decadent dinners, and they always hire high-class escorts for the occasion. Only the most elegant, well-educated, and sophisticated women will do. Infiltrating those meetings could yield information vital to national security.

Melanie’s loyalty is indisputable. She’s willing to pose as an escort and glean every scrap of intel that she can. But these men aren’t just wealthy and powerful, they’re also exceptionally ruthless. One slip, and they won’t hesitate to eliminate Melanie, by any means necessary. . .

My Thoughts:
Melanie was a strong female lead. She showed courage in taking on the impersonations she had to manage in order to assist in the investigation. The investigation itself was daring and risky. Melanie's life was in danger and the cost of not succeeding was great. I'm not sure how Melanie left her fast-paced, dangerous life to become a school guidance counselor. That had to be a difficult transition for her. I have to admit I liked and admired the character. I also liked the wonderful dogs in the story.

Overall I enjoyed the story and it was a fun investigation and an enjoyable read. It did feel somewhat rushed and things seemed to come too easily for Melanie. This is probably not Fern Michaels best book, but I won't be hesitant to try another.

Thanks to Zebra Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for the chance to read an ARC of The wild side by Fern Michaels. Usually I enjoy every book from the author, but The wild side was a let down. I was expecting a action packed thriller with a side of romance, and unfortunately it was a slow paced boring story with maybe 20 % action. I do recommend this author, just not this book.

Fern Michaels is one of my favorite authors, so I was excited to read her newest book.
Sadly the beginning of this book was so slow and unexpected that I was beginning to think the synopsis I read to request this book was not the book I was reading as it was so different. However once Melanie graduates and goes off to work at OSI, it does become better. Strangely once we get to her adult years the book flies by rather then going as in depth as we had to read about her childhood at the beginning of the book. Once she changes careers to a school counselor and then starts moonlighting for OSI again, the book moved really quickly and didn't delve into what was going on outside the jobs in her life which was disappointing. There really wasn't anything too wild. While I did like the very ending, I felt it abruptly ended. Hopefully this isn't the 1st book in a series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I requested his ARC thinking it was a continuation or new case for the character. I didn't realize it was a new cover of the book I previously read and reviewed in September 2024. I am copying that review here.

I think this is a case where the summary builds up a higher expectation than the story delivers. Fern Michaels creates a wonderful character in Melanie Drake. For the first half of the book it follows her through impactful moments of her childhood and follows her into her career as part of the Office of Special Investigations. She is a profiler who can put information or abnormalities together and is good at her job. The next 25 percent of the story has her changing gears and becoming an elementary school counselor and we get one very good example of her doing that. Finally her work recruits her back for some evening part time work mentioned in the blurb. Yay, there is finally a bit of action and she gets a smidgeon of personal life.

If this is setting up the character to take on future cases then I’m invested and would love to read about Melanie again. If this is the end of her story then yes the bad guys are caught but I don’t know why I slogged through so much set up of the character. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

A rare pass from me. This is remarkably implausible. I liked Melanie and her back story but the idea that the USG would set her up in this fashion makes it a no. And it was confusing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

A good time was had! Solid novel by Ms. Michaels. I enjoyed getting to know our characters and topping it off with some missions that reminded me of Charlie’s Angels.

Melanie Drake has started a new career after years in the OSI. She is now a guidance counselor in a elementary school. She is super smart and burnt out from her previous job. He old boss calls her to run a few local operations with her old partner.
She is just now buying a home and thinking of getting a home. As she works at school she is now moonlighting as decoy at rich men's parties.
I just loved the twist and turns of who is dirty and who is just being used. Fern Michaels books always hold my attention and leave me wanting the next book.

The Wild Side by Fern Michaels
Starts with Melanie and as she grows up shre realizes that you have to study and learn things. One summer she had an injury and read tons of books and continued with that. After high school she wants to work in cyber security. She's got credentials from college also, knows how to ask for what she wants but know nothing of men....
She does a lot of things and as time goes on she is brought onto a team that go after others that they know are in the wrong, mostly anti Americans...
Love hearing of the high paced high society the places she is asked to go and she finds what they are really looking for...
action, adventure, travel, down to earth living, fills this read for anybody with every passion possible.
Received this review copy from Kensington Publishing a via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

this was a good addition to Ferns body of work. whenever her books come up at my library i put a hold on them so i was so glad to get the chance to read this new one.
its a good thriller with a great heroin at its centre. shes brave and fearless and gets the job done.
i think we could definitely see more from this lady. id love to see her crossover or work with others like many of Ferns other books have featured. her kick ass teams and romance duos have been great to read in the past. either way this was a good read and im just glad i get to read more by this author.

I did not realize at first this was a rerelease.
While a completely enjoyable story, and definitely worth reading, it was not one of my favorite Fern Michaels books.
The main character is a brilliant girl/woman on a mission to make sure the world is following the rules. The book takes you through her life, and the events that led her to working for the government. I did enjoy the story, I felt the first half of her life was told in too much detail, and drawn out, where the double life and action part was very quick, and not elaborated on enough. Left me wanting more.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

The story follows Melanie starting from grade school and her process becoming a government then retiring to become a school counselor. It took a long time to get to the action in this book and I did find myself skipping over some of it. There was suspense towards the end but it took a long time to get there. On the whole it was worth my time reading. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zebra Books for my copy of The Wild Side by Fern Michaels
Melanie Drake has left her old life behind and is now a school guidance counselor in a small Virginia town, until her old boss gets in touch.
An entertaining fun book, easy to read and intriguing enough to keep your attention.

Fern Michaels does a strong concept and had that element that I was looking for in this type of book. I was engaged with what was happening and it was a suspenseful atmosphere that I was looking for. It was everything that was promised and was glad I got to read this.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Once again, Fern Michaels has delivered a first rate fun ride of an unputdownable book.

I LOVED the protagonist - the Melanie Drake character (particularly her pre- guidance counselor existence) definitely a strong enough character to support a series.

If you have not read Fern Michaels and you enjoy mysteries, this book is an excellent choice, this author has an amazing imagination, and I am happy to go along for the inevitably enjoyable ride.

What really impressed me was that after penning so many books, she managed to continue to create well rounded interesting characters that are enjoyable and timely.

5 stars from this pleased reader / reviewer.