Quotes from Harlan Coben

But grief likes to hide behind bushes. It enjoys leaping out of nowhere, startling you, mocking you, stripping away your pretense of normalcy. Grief lulls you to sleep, thus making that blindside hit all the more jarring.

You won't believe it. I don't believe it either. And yet I know what I know. I don't believe in magic or superstition. But I believe that there are some things we cannot yet comprehend—that there are things beyond our capabilities to understand. Sometimes, explaining how the universe works is like teaching a lion to read. Reading is real. The lion is real. But he's never going to read." I

Introductions were made. Hands were shaken. Rear ends were seated. As was his custom in such situations, Win remained silent. His eyes slid from one side of the room to the other, taking in everything. He liked to study people for a while before speaking to them, especially in their home environment.

This is how detecting works. You keep going even if what you're doing seems like a momentous waste of time and energy.

I kept glancing at her animated face, scrunched up as though imitating an adult. I got hit with that overwhelming feeling. It sneaked up on me. Parents get it from time to time. You are looking at your child and it is an ordinary moment, not like they are onstage or hitting a winning shop, just sitting there, and you look at them and you know that they are your whole life and that moves you and scares you and makes you want to stop time.

As a soldier, you don't stand at attention because it looks nice. You stand at attention because, on some level, it either gives you strength or, just as important, makes you appear stronger to both your comrades and enemies.

We get mad at someone for cutting us off in traffic or for taking too long to order at Starbucks or for not responding exactly as we see fit, and we have no idea that behind their facade, they may be dealing with some industrial-strength shit. Their lives may be in pieces. They may be in the midst of incalculable tragedy and turmoil, and they may be hanging on to their sanity by

Death is so close, always, a breath away, so perhaps it was wise to introduce children to that concept at an early age. Maya

You could trust nature but not man.

but when in doubt, you might as well keep an open mind.

Being this handsome. It is not easy, you realize.' 'And yet you suffer without complaint.

Those who claim they can spot a lie are usually just fooled with greater conviction.

racial profiling. We all do it. If you cross the street to avoid a gang of black teens, you're racial profiling; if you don't cross because you're afraid you'll look like a racist, you're racial profiling; if you see the gang and think nothing whatsoever, you're from some planet I've never visited.

It's important to like what you're doing. Choosing a profession is the most important decision you'll ever make—more important even than choosing a spouse.

The gray has no chance against that smile. It vanishes in a wonderful haze of bright color.

I'm not sure we should get camera phones, that's all. She hit the remote and the car doors unlocked. She reached for the door handle. Matt hesitated. Olivia looked at him. What? he asked. If we both get camera phones, Olivia said, I could send you nuddies when you're at work. Matt opened the door. Verizon on Sprint? from The Innocent

You want people lined up, Will. You want the good guys on one side, the bad on the other. It doesn't work that way, does it? It is never that simple. Love, for example, leads to hate. I think that was what started it all. Primitive love.

But see, feminism isn't about helping a fellow sister. It's about an equal playing field. It's about giving women choices, not guarantees." Tia

When a father gives to his son, they both laugh. When a son gives to his father, they both cry.                                       ââ'¬â€Yiddish proverb

A sign read: YOUR STAY HERE IS TOUCH AND GO—TOUCH AND YOU GO.

Thomas had gotten his learner's permit a week ago—the parental equivalent of a stress test without using an actual EKG machine.

Obsession does not seek out problems and correct them; it manufactures them out of nothing, feeds them, makes them stronger.

God, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, The COURAGE to change the things I can, The WISDOM to know the difference.

Purging was part of his grieving process—