I broke one of my cardinal rules when I bought this at a used-bookstore. because it said "Never Before Published" on the cover, I assumed it was a new story and I didn't check the publication date. I've read many Coulter books over the years and liked them quite a bit. However, when I began this story, I thought it wasn't up to par and finally checked that all-important copyright...2006! This is a remarkably well-preserved 12-year-old book! At any rate, the writing here isn't Coulter's best. I believe the thing that bothered me most was her habit of giving readers a mini-cliffhanger at the end of a chapter and then not resolving it. The romance didn't really ring true for me, and the two plots in two different cities was a little distracting and confusing. Still, there were moments when Coulter's talent shown through and there were certainly some colorful peripheral characters, including those in the story within the story, a soap opera. But a more mature Coulter is a better Coulter, so I won't forget to check the publication date again.

You can tell this is an older one...still a good, fun read.

I had to downgrade this book from three stars to two; the ending was weak. There was a lose end that really bothered me and would have been interesting had it been explored. There was a conflict between Mary Lisa, the main female character and her mother. The reason was finally alluded to near the end as well as some kind of resolution, but there was never any final scene with her mother that would have added nicely to the story. The romance came on rather awkwardly and too quick, making it a little unbelievable.

The good things about this book were Mary Lisa and the interaction between the three girls. Mary Lisa is a lovable character and more time could have been spent on her and her friends relationship. Perhaps I am asking too much, as this was obviously meant to be a light, amusing book as described on the back cover, but it certainly doesn't live up to what I expect from Catherine Coulter, who is one of my favorite authors.

I absolutely love Catherine Coulter...but I was somewhat disappointed with Born to be Wild. The story starts with an attempted murder, or so it seems. Because there was one credible witness and the target was a famous soap opera star, it becomes a high priority case. The thing is, there isn't much of a stalker story to it. Other than the attempted hit and run, there is a threatening phone call and nothing else from the 'stalker' until the end when the 'stalker' is revealed.
There is a lot of talk about being stressed because of the stalker and people are surprised how well Mary Lisa is holding up...but the concern seems disproportionate to the actual threat.
Then there are several things going on at once. We jump from Mary Lisa at work on the soap, at her Malibu home, at her Oregon home...etc...There are several subplots going on and none of them really pull you in. They all seem to be rather glossed over but not fully explored. Just when something starts getting interesting, it jumps to another part of the story and you never pick back up where you left off.
Then there are the parts that are mentioned that are never brought back up or explained. What is LouLou's real name? What did Mary Lisa's mom have to say when she called at the end?
The family of Mary Lisa would fit nicely into her soap opera story. Hard to believe that a family would really be that way for such small matters. And finally, the reason behind the stalker is weak.
I enjoyed the book 'well enough', but it isn't one I'll re-read. Would I recommend it? Possibly, but only if someone is looking for a light, fluff type book for by the pool...
If you haven't read Catherine Coulter before, don't let thing review stop you from reading her other work. I absolutely love her other books!

pretty good mystery. enjoyed all the soap opera history.

It was not entertaining and I wished it would be over.

This was my first Catherine Coulter book and will probably be my last. Two stories were happening throughout the book. One was about the actress Mary who had a stalker. The other was what was happening within the tv soap opera with Mary's character. I skipped over most of the soap opera parts due to disinterest. While reading the rest, I was wishing it would be over. I was angry at the author for leaving certain unanswered questions within the story, described below.

CAUTION SPOILERS: Mary goes to visit Jack. They plan to go to bed, but her father shows up for a visit and we never know if the father leaves or if Mary and Jack go to bed (296). Another example is Kelly makes a rude comment about Mary in front of Jack. After Jack left the room, Mary says "What are you up to?" We never hear the answer (309). Another example is throughout the story Mary's mother treats her terribly and hates her. The mother's only friend commits suicide and in the suicide note asks the mother to forgive Mary Later in the story Mary gets a phone call. Jack asks who it was. Mary had some strange expressions and after a moment said "that was my mother." We never learn what was said (342). A couple of the characters were interesting but not enough to make it worth reading. I was disappointed with this author.

Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: two. Setting: current day Los Angeles, Calif and Goddard Bay, Oregon. Copyright: 2006. Genre: romantic suspense.

When I picked up this book, I was looking for something akin to a beach read, and this filled the bill in spades. I've been reading a lot of intense books lately about death, metaphysics, and deep spirituality. I needed a change. Something light, quick-paced and not stressful. (COVID gives me enough of that already.)

I learned a lot about soap opera history while reading this book. It contains little tidbits in the story and historic quips at the beginning of some paragraphs. Sort of interesting that the shows were called soap operas because originally most of the sponsors were companies who made soap products.

The book was full of good-looking people, except the bad guys, of course. But there was the qualifying condition that it was set in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry. . . although the cops were cute too, so that sort of blows that theory. But I wanted something fun and this was definitely that.

The violence that drove the story was pretty much off screen which was fine with me. Actually, not a lot of the story was realistic. Instead, it was more of a soap opera, but that fit. Mary Lisa, the main character's pathetic relationship with her own family was almost as dysfunctional as her on screen persona's, the semi-wicked, love-to-hate, star of a soap opera, Sunday Cavendish.

I like a book that can laugh at itself. The romantic lead was Jack Wolf, chief of police in a small city. In the story, characters who worked in the daily soap opera industry teased him about his name, asking if he had made it up to sound like a cop.

If you want a romp that not too deep, this book is for you. I might check out more of Catherine Coulter when I need a light read again.

2.5 STARS

"Get yourself ready for Mary Lisa Beverly - a soap-opera phenom who's just won her third Daytime Emmy for her role as Sunday Cavendish on Born to Be Wild. She's fun and lovable and has lots of crazy friends, most of whom hang out at her house in the Colony, the famous gated community in Malibu. Unfortunately, there is one bad thing to poleax her champagne life - someone is trying to kill her.

You'll meet Mary Lisa's family in Goddard Bay, Oregon. She's blessed with her father, cursed with her mother, and betwixt and between with her two nutzoid sisters.

And how about guys? There aren't any hotties in L.A. of interest to Mary Lisa, but in Goddard Bay - there are District Attorney John Goddard and Chief of Police Jack Wolf. And guess what? Even in the boondocks, bad stuff can happen.

Mary Lisa's best friends, Lou Lou Bollinger and Elizabeth Fargas, become embroiled in the baffling attempts on Mary Lisa's life in L.A., with unexpected results." (From Amazon)

After reading the summary I was expecting a fluffy romance mystery - like a made for tv movie - but it was just flat and unrealistic.

This is NOT an FBI series book and I was skeptical - BUT I LOVED IT!! Characters were well-developed and plot was interesting enough to keep turning the pages. I liked the main character and learned some facts about soap operas!! I'm not a fan - in my younger years I think I watched some episodes of All My Family - who doesn't love Susan Lucci????

I enjoyed reading. Interesting characters. Entertaining plot.

A fun read, suspense, romance and family drama.
Mary Lisa, fresh off her third consecutive Daytime Emmy, is purposely hit by a hit-and-run-driver. She goes home to relax and recover, meets two possible romantic interests (a cop who has issues with her and her sister's ex), a murder and her personal family drama.
She returns home/work and has someone try to kill her again.
Now the police, her neighbors and her friends are all involved in keeping her safe and alive, but, who wants her dead and why? And then there is the romance, murder and family drama to resolve as well.

There's a lot going on in this book - three separate (well, semi-separate) story lines. First of all, in Malibu, California, someone is trying to kill Mary Lisa Beverly. Secondly, in her home town (Goodard, Oregon), her mother's best friends son-in-law has been murdered and police chief Jack Wolf is investigating. (Jack is her old nemesis.) And lastly, Mary Lisa is an actress and the soap opera she stars in plays an important role with the whole stalker thing. Her two best friends, makeup artist, Lou Lou and TV newscaster, Elizabeth also have ongoing romantic interests.

This is chick lit, romantic suspense, a legal thriller, a murder mystery and a family drama. What more could you ask for?