Nora Roberts – Skin Deep

The third book in the O'Hurley series, published in 1988.
Genre: contemporary romance/romantic suspense
Cover: bland, but nice colors. I have the original Mira paperback.



The high price of fame meant learning to deal with obsessive fans. But this one was different - scary. He was watching … waiting …, and Chantel O'Hurley was afraid. She needed help, and it came with a $500-a-day price tag--Quinn Doran, a private investigator with the kind of tough, go-to-hell looks that made a woman's pulse race. What Chantel didn't need were his arrogant insinuations that she’d brought this trouble on herself. What she needed was to stay alive.


I was in the mood for a thin book, easy to read, so I chose this out of my ginormous Nora Roberts pile. I have read it once in Dutch, many years ago, and now in English. So, no surprises, just a nice story. I was sorry that I did remember who the stalker is though, it does take away from the suspense.
Chantel O’Hurley is a famous actress. She grew up in a theater family, never new another life but to travel with her parents, two triplet-sisters and older brother from town to town to perform. Her parents never got really famous, but she decided she wanted to be famous one day, and have a house of her own. To indulge herself in luxury if she can afford it. And with a lot of hard work, she got to the top. But now she is being stalked by someone, sending her threatening letters, making disturbing phonecalls and leaving her flowers at the set. She got a new phonenumber, but that only took him a few days to find out. Her agent suggests an old friend of his, Quinn Doran. Former spook, now PI. At first, he thinks Chantel just a spoiled actress, who got everything she wants on a silver spoon. Until he finds out more about Chantel and about her past, and starts to admire her for who she is, and not for her looks.
Chantel doesn’t like his attitude towards her, and towards her friends. Does he really need to investigate all the men she ever comes into contact with, at home and on the set? She doesn’t want to know the dirt he discovers, those people are her friends, and she refuses to believe one of them is her stalker.

When the danger escalates, Chantel and Quinn are thrown together full time, and the mutual attraction between them soon turns into a relationship. The stalker even follows her to New York, to her sister’s wedding. Chantel is furious that Quinn did not tell her he knew that in advance, thanks to the letters he intercepted. But Quinn only wanted to give her a few days of piece.


I enjoyed this story again, I like reading about Chantel and her acting job, it sure is not easy, but lots of hours of hard work to get even one scene just right.
I like Chantel, she is a hard working professional, with a hard past. Still, she is very close to her family, and she has a few good friends. What more does a woman needs? She a great actress, and she falls for Quinn, but is afraid at the same time. She has had only one previous relationship, and that one ended very badly. She needs to tell Quinn, but is frightened about his reaction. Still, Quinn is so totally in love with her, he reassures her quickly.
At first, Quinn is arrogant and dismissive of Chantel, until he gets to know her. He is very alpha male, and gets even jealous of her fellow actors, especially during the love scenes. But he learns to handle it, which is a very good thing.

The suspense is very well done, and I would totally be scared too with a stalker like that.

7 stars

© 2012 Reviews by Aurian