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The O'Hurleys #3-4
O'Hurley's Return: Skin Deep / Without a Trace
Skin Deep
Regrets. Even movie stars have them. Chantel O’Hurley’s family was far away, her mansion was empty, and when she was threatened, there was no one to turn to. There was certainly no comfort in Quinn Doran. He looked like he’d been carved out of stone and he was just as intractable. But in that hardness was a promise: “I will keep you safe. I will bring you home.” But could she get him to stay?
Without a Trace
Redemption. With everything he’d seen and done, Trace O’Hurley was way past that. And nothing the flame-haired Irish beauty Gillian Fitzpatrick said could change the fact that he was just a disillusioned man with nothing left to lose. But somehow Gillian made him believe that he could do the impossible—rescue her family, take down a terrorist organization. Ask for forgiveness. Be one of the O’Hurleys again. At last.
Regrets. Even movie stars have them. Chantel O’Hurley’s family was far away, her mansion was empty, and when she was threatened, there was no one to turn to. There was certainly no comfort in Quinn Doran. He looked like he’d been carved out of stone and he was just as intractable. But in that hardness was a promise: “I will keep you safe. I will bring you home.” But could she get him to stay?
Without a Trace
Redemption. With everything he’d seen and done, Trace O’Hurley was way past that. And nothing the flame-haired Irish beauty Gillian Fitzpatrick said could change the fact that he was just a disillusioned man with nothing left to lose. But somehow Gillian made him believe that he could do the impossible—rescue her family, take down a terrorist organization. Ask for forgiveness. Be one of the O’Hurleys again. At last.
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First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Nora Roberts
1,213 books59.9k followersNora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
December 1, 2011
For the most part it was pretty good. I enjoyed "Skin Deep" better than "Without a Trace". I will never understand what is supposed to be so exciting about a man handling another woman like she is a piece of meat, just because she frustrates him. I would think that as a woman author that Roberts would be more aware of the abusive tendencies of her male characters. Her heroines are rarely that. They tend to bend to the hero's will every time it suits the situation. Too often women authors fall to the prescribed style of making the woman the victim and only allowing her a moment of bravery when the hero is out of the room. I can only hope that someone finds the courage to create a heroine that all women can be proud of.
March 28, 2019
This was a really good book. It had me turning pages and reading until the wee hours to see what would happen next. (I really need to find another hobby) This has a great variety of characters and is definitely written well. I loved getting to know everyone, following their journeys throughout both stories and the ending was perfect and felt kinda like a full circle thing. There's suspense, some steaminess, action, emotions, great dynamics, spunk, humor, snark, some truly bad guys, and some steady to even it out. Great for anytime reading, preferably when you have a chunk of time or you might lose it. It sucks you in so easily you don't even realize it. Gonna look for the first books in the series now. Enjoy!
June 11, 2023
4 stars for Skin Deep aka The Bodyguard-esque plotline. I am a sucker for anything that involves movies/Hollywood. Chantel O’Hurley LEGEND. Academy Award when ??
2 stars for Without a Trace. I simply did not care.
2 stars for Without a Trace. I simply did not care.
March 11, 2022
A family starts out together but they decide to go their our way.
January 2, 2023
This is two books in one and after book one I was not interested in reading book two. The male character is not appealing and I just couldn’t continue reading this crap.
January 7, 2013
I have read Nora Roberts since I read her first novels with Harlequin Romance. I should say that I read them in middle school, and they belonged to my mother who had received them nearly a decade prior.
I have to say, Chantel's storyline was pretty good - not Roberts' best story, but not her worst. No, that was reserved for the second story contained in the set. I really wasn't impressed by much of it. I don't mind the Mary Sue of it all (in fact, I love it, since most of the time redheads get relegated to, well, nevermind, since most novels don't include redheads) or even the plotline really. What I found ridiculous was the fact that an Arabic based terrorist operation had an English name - Hammer, to be precise (which only led to Dr Horrible quotes running rampant in my head), the main male character was called Il Gatto (really... really?) and the name had to be explained to someone who went to a boarding school in Switzerland (where Italian is not unknown, and sometimes even spoken), and the fact that above all, the romance was so deeply rushed it was, well, kind of just a bad soft core porn. The lines were weird, the sex funky, and I'll be honest, it was really bad. These aren't supposed to win accolades or Nobels or Pulitzers, but I do expect romance novels to not roll around in garbage and then curl up and die there. Unfortunately, this one did.
I have to say, Chantel's storyline was pretty good - not Roberts' best story, but not her worst. No, that was reserved for the second story contained in the set. I really wasn't impressed by much of it. I don't mind the Mary Sue of it all (in fact, I love it, since most of the time redheads get relegated to, well, nevermind, since most novels don't include redheads) or even the plotline really. What I found ridiculous was the fact that an Arabic based terrorist operation had an English name - Hammer, to be precise (which only led to Dr Horrible quotes running rampant in my head), the main male character was called Il Gatto (really... really?) and the name had to be explained to someone who went to a boarding school in Switzerland (where Italian is not unknown, and sometimes even spoken), and the fact that above all, the romance was so deeply rushed it was, well, kind of just a bad soft core porn. The lines were weird, the sex funky, and I'll be honest, it was really bad. These aren't supposed to win accolades or Nobels or Pulitzers, but I do expect romance novels to not roll around in garbage and then curl up and die there. Unfortunately, this one did.
July 6, 2013
I was always a huge fan of Nora Roberts growing up, all through junior high and high school I devoured anything she wrote but as I get older I have been disappointed with her writing and have been second guessing my love for her other books. They all seem to involve a stubborn girl who meets a sexist jerk and they randomly fall in love. With a lot of scenes that are supposed to be romantic but really just work out to be sexual assault in the long run.
In O'Hurley's Return the male leads are sexist and rude and overbearing. In the first book Quinn only seems to like Chantel when she is submitting to him in some way and he never takes no for an answer when he is touching her. He does not care about her feelings in any of the situations they are in and it is very hard to find a situation romantic or believable when the female lead is constantly being put down or insulted by the male lead. The plot was fairly interesting but I really need to like the characters to read a book and this one was not doing it for me.
Overall I think that Nora Roberts tends to lean towards strong women that make themselves small to make their overbearing men happy. She does not write romances, she writes domestic abuse in the making.
In O'Hurley's Return the male leads are sexist and rude and overbearing. In the first book Quinn only seems to like Chantel when she is submitting to him in some way and he never takes no for an answer when he is touching her. He does not care about her feelings in any of the situations they are in and it is very hard to find a situation romantic or believable when the female lead is constantly being put down or insulted by the male lead. The plot was fairly interesting but I really need to like the characters to read a book and this one was not doing it for me.
Overall I think that Nora Roberts tends to lean towards strong women that make themselves small to make their overbearing men happy. She does not write romances, she writes domestic abuse in the making.
June 1, 2022
It took me a couple chapters to get into this book and it portrays an actress with what later on is a dark past with a previous flame. The ending of Skin Deep left me hanging like wow. When I got to Without A Trace, I just could not get into it, I tried but after reading 2 chapters, my interest was gone. This is why I gave it 3 stars. I wish they would have elaborate further on the ending of Skin Deep vs going into Without A Trace. This was my first Nora Roberts book.
February 19, 2022
This book included 2 stories of the O'Hurley family - Skin Deep and Without a Trace. Maybe it's the fact that these books were written in the 80s but the weak female characters and the machismo, chauvinistic male characters really killed parts of the stories for me. I was getting mad on behalf of the women for being so weak. I usually enjoy Nora Roberts books but these were only ok for me.
October 27, 2016
I've not yet decided if I care for this series because it is so very predictable. And the POV was changed several times in in one chapter, sometimes even in the next paragraph. I did enjoy the premise of the book.
December 28, 2021
Honestly this book was boring, Nora Roberts usually has better book and stories to tell, more interesting and less cliche and boring.
It took me so long to bother finishing it and is not a book that I would read again.
It took me so long to bother finishing it and is not a book that I would read again.
February 9, 2022
This book has to books in it but they are connected with the family I liked the frist one skin deep but I truly didn't care for the 2 one without a trace. I had to force myself to keep reading it just to see how the end way because it was part of the frist book.
February 20, 2021
I stopped reading, not my type. To other readers may be great!!!
January 27, 2015
Loved it love all her books
November 19, 2025
Dude, this is one of my favorites by far.
Skin Deep : I would give 4 stars. I was a bit annoyed by the repetitive description of Quinns infatuation with Chantel. Other than that, the way the author detailed her hollywood life really set the scene for me. When the ending came, I was totally thrown because I, of course had my own idea of who this stalker may be but I was totally wrong. Also, any book that can move me to tears, is definitely a winner 🏆
Without a Trace: EXCELLENT. ill probably read it again. I wish they would have made it into a movie! I am obsessed with Trace and Gillians relationship. Their banter had me laughing, and the author really put alot of detail into each character to allow me to really perceive each as their own. Gillian annoyed the hell out of me. She asked so many damn questions but seeing she is a scientist, it made sense. A few times I said to myself "girl, let the man do his damn job". and the descriptions of Trace really put a vivid idea of what type of man he was. aggressive, smart, hard headed, dirty, smoothe, but deep down he was a softy looking for steady love.
I love how the author connected the stories of the O'huerlys. and the ending with Trace meeting Quinn really had me floored! I loved every bit of this book! .
I want to read more of the O' Hurleys, so if this author wrote more, please direct me to those books!
***update*** nevermind, I found the O' hurleys collections!
Skin Deep : I would give 4 stars. I was a bit annoyed by the repetitive description of Quinns infatuation with Chantel. Other than that, the way the author detailed her hollywood life really set the scene for me. When the ending came, I was totally thrown because I, of course had my own idea of who this stalker may be but I was totally wrong. Also, any book that can move me to tears, is definitely a winner 🏆
Without a Trace: EXCELLENT. ill probably read it again. I wish they would have made it into a movie! I am obsessed with Trace and Gillians relationship. Their banter had me laughing, and the author really put alot of detail into each character to allow me to really perceive each as their own. Gillian annoyed the hell out of me. She asked so many damn questions but seeing she is a scientist, it made sense. A few times I said to myself "girl, let the man do his damn job". and the descriptions of Trace really put a vivid idea of what type of man he was. aggressive, smart, hard headed, dirty, smoothe, but deep down he was a softy looking for steady love.
I love how the author connected the stories of the O'huerlys. and the ending with Trace meeting Quinn really had me floored! I loved every bit of this book! .
I want to read more of the O' Hurleys, so if this author wrote more, please direct me to those books!
***update*** nevermind, I found the O' hurleys collections!
March 20, 2019
A really great double feature that finishes up the O'Hurley series. In Skin Deep Chantel O'Hurley is trying to complete her next movie but phone calls and flowers from a stalker are sending her off the rails. Security specialist Quinn is called in to access the situation and hopefully bring a quick resolution to her troubles. An almost instant dislike between bring sparks that can distract them from their end goal, finding Chantel's stalker. Will a happy ending for Chantel equal safety from her stalker plus a future with Quinn? In Without a Trace you finally meet the last O'Hurley sibling, Trace. He has always been supportive of his sisters but after a fight with their father struck out on his own, ending up working for a covert intelligence group. When a chance to redeem the loss of his mentor puts him in the path of physicist Gillian, Trace decides that one more mission before retirement is all he can do. He may be used to working alone but sparks with Gillian make his reconsider. A great conclusion to the series, the flavor of the story is a little different from the earlier in the series but I loved seeing the whole family get their happy ending. Fun reads!
April 30, 2018
This is volume 3 and 4 of the O'Hurley family. Skin Deep is about Chantel O'Hurley the third triplet who has chosen to work as an actress. She is stalked and threatened by someone. She hires someone to protect her Quinn Doran. They develop more than a professional relationship.
Without a Trace is about Trace O'Hurley the only male of the offspring. Trace left home at 18 to find his way. He worked at various organizations trailing criminals. He helped a scientist, Gillian, track down her brother and niece who were kidnapped. Their relationship changed over the course of the novel.
Without a Trace is about Trace O'Hurley the only male of the offspring. Trace left home at 18 to find his way. He worked at various organizations trailing criminals. He helped a scientist, Gillian, track down her brother and niece who were kidnapped. Their relationship changed over the course of the novel.
July 20, 2019
I loved loved loved both of theses books. They're romantic and exciting. There is mystery and nail biting drama and when I realized what was actually happening, I was astonished.
I happen to like reading most of Nora Roberts books and these were no exception.
If you're looking for love, anger, and a scary bit or two with hea endings - these books are for you.
FYI - these can be read a single books but the 2 together make it so much better.
I happen to like reading most of Nora Roberts books and these were no exception.
If you're looking for love, anger, and a scary bit or two with hea endings - these books are for you.
FYI - these can be read a single books but the 2 together make it so much better.
November 1, 2020
2.5 for Skin Deep
2.5 for Without A Trace
Skin Deep was nice as I said before I wasn’t sure about it in the beginning but I liked it by the end.
As for Without A Trace, I liked it. It was alright. I like the characters. I liked the beginning and all the fun spy stuff but the end felt a bit rushed and mangled together. The reunion of the family was great I really enjoyed that. I think the family needed to be reunited again after all those years.
2.5 for Without A Trace
Skin Deep was nice as I said before I wasn’t sure about it in the beginning but I liked it by the end.
As for Without A Trace, I liked it. It was alright. I like the characters. I liked the beginning and all the fun spy stuff but the end felt a bit rushed and mangled together. The reunion of the family was great I really enjoyed that. I think the family needed to be reunited again after all those years.
December 10, 2025
I admit Ms Roberts is one of my most enjoyable writers, nevertheless I have seldom been hit so stunningly by her writing - and certainly not after only 50 pages! This book is stunningly gripping while mildly provocative, so I HAD to stop momentarily to write this review. Though I am 68, I have always been strongly independent with a not so subtle romantic depth, and this book excites and challenges perfectly! Now I MUST return to reading the remaining 400 pages. Bye for now.
February 1, 2024
Nora never fails, and this throwback is no different. I’ve definitely read these before but it felt different somehow this time and I was moved to tears at the end scene where Trace and his dad make up after a years long silence eternally the two. I love spending time with the fictional families Nora has written.
January 18, 2025
I am going to divide the two books. So here it goes.
Skin Deep:
Nora's romances are always a pallet cleanser for me after reading so much fantasy. And this book was not any different. However, I found the ending a bit rushed.
Without a Trace:
After reading the first book, I was expecting much and this book delivered. The ending was also just right.
Skin Deep:
Nora's romances are always a pallet cleanser for me after reading so much fantasy. And this book was not any different. However, I found the ending a bit rushed.
Without a Trace:
After reading the first book, I was expecting much and this book delivered. The ending was also just right.
January 27, 2018
The writing wasn't bad and the mystery was alright, but the romance was terrible. Quinn and Chantel have an abusive relationship that is glorified throughout the book. This is not love or romance. I realize that many people like this type of romance, but I find it sad. It's just not for me.
May 8, 2019
This was 2 books in one. I enjoyed Skin Deep more than Without a trace. The romance in Skin deep was predictable. I love Nora Roberts, but this was probably my least favorite that I have read of hers.
July 25, 2017
This mindless romance was fun to zip through!
September 27, 2018
I liked these two books better than the first two, but what is with all of the angry men who don’t respect women? Like, heaven forbid women shut a door on them...
February 19, 2019
Interesting stories of a show business family and how they survive. The Nora Roberts "love" touch is a bonus.
May 18, 2019
This was a reread for me. Enjoyed the story of the family and how 2 of the 4 children became the adults they were.
July 11, 2019
Love the mystery, adventure and romance. Great read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews