Quotes from Harlan Coben

Your fellow soldiers had to know that you had their back. That was rule one, lesson one, and above all else. If the enemy goes after you, he goes after me too.

Wilde!" Nicole called out, clearly happy to see him. She brought him a beer. When it came to beer, he was, like the hotel, "unfussy," but he enjoyed whatever local ale was on tap. Today, that was a "blonde lager" from the Asbury Park Brewery. Nicole leaned over the bar to buss his cheek. Tom down at the other end gave him a wave.

Larry ended up being salutatorian of his class at Livingston High.

Most of the blood—nearly all of it, really—belonged to the victim, Rick Collins," Berleand said. His voice was measured now, as if he were trying to wade his way through whatever he was about to tell us. "That's hardly a surprise." We

Whatever else a father is in this life—cop, fireman, Indian chief—he provides for his family. He

We stopped at a door that read GUIDANCE. I always found that term wonderfully vague. The dictionary definition of the word is "advice or information aimed at resolving a problem." In short, an attempt to help. But to us students, the word—this office—is far more frightening. It conjures up our college prospects, growing older, getting a real job—our future. Guidance seemed more like a term for cutting us loose. Spoon

I could meet her. Turn the charm on full blast." "And have her disrobe right in the station?" "You may have a point." Esperanza rolled her eyes without actually rolling her eyes. "I don't think she can help us anyway. The local force has had a lot of turnover since Rhys and Patrick were kidnapped." "I

They say possessions own you. Not so. Loved ones own you. You are forever held hostage once you care so much.

when they told them that they were special and unique.

So why don't you tell me what's up?" "You're going to think I'm crazy." "Nothing new there." Harvey chuckled and then scanned the area to make sure that no one was around. "All right," he said slowly, "here goes. As you know, Bruce and I have been running the clinic for almost three years now, trying our best to keep all results secret and avoiding the press at all costs." "I

We had six healthy months and then six not-so-healthy months. I don't call them 'good' or 'bad' months. They're all good if you're doing the right thing. Do you know what I mean?" "Yeah," Augie says. "I know what you mean." "I made sure Hank was here when Doris died. We were both with her.

Oh, please." Hickory looked skeptical. "Your show is pure sensationalism. Tripe tabloid at its worst—" Wendy interrupted him. "We've met before, Mr. Hickory." That slowed him down. "Have we?" "When I was an assistant producer on A Current Affair. I booked you as an expert on the Robert Blake murder trial." He

I didn't want to prejudge but based on the company he kept, the glistening of his suit, and the poser-like swagger, I somehow suspected that Shiny Suit was what the students today technically refer to as a douchebag.

Ronald Tilfer—at least, she assumed the man in the brown UPS uniform was him—smiled and waved behind him as he exited from the restaurant. He was short with tightly cropped salt 'n' pepper hair and, as you noticed in these uniforms with shorts, nice legs. Wendy pushed herself off her car and cut him off before he reached the vehicle. "Ronald

It was easy to trust your own eyes, wasn't it? We all did. We weren't crazy. The other guy was. That was part of the human condition. We understand our own perspective too well. So

Wilde was not a fan of pundits. They came on television to either confirm your narrative or piss you off, and either way, that wasn't healthy for anyone.

Clip came back into the fold. "We never found out," he chimed in. Clip hesitated a moment—to buy time or gather himself, Myron wasn't sure which. "I didn't mean to lie to you, Myron. I'm sorry. I was just trying to protect Greg.

When the car reached the front of the house, Stan shifted into park and turned off the ignition. The crickets eased up. Myron almost waited for someone to note that it was "Quiet" and for someone else to add, "Yeah, too quiet." Stan

Do you just go back to your regularly scheduled life now?" Broome asked. "Has this been cleansing for you? Did it give you everything you need?

Neither man argued. Greg stared out the window at the house, probably conjuring up unspeakable horrors. Myron's left leg started jackhammering. It often did when he was tense. Stan reached for the door handle. That

Myron considered the possibility. He thought about Jack. He thought about Esme. He thought about Lloyd Rennart. Then he shook his head. "This is getting us nowhere. Sherlock Holmes warned that you should never theorize without all the facts because then you twist facts to suit theories rather than theories to suit facts.

I'm working on dialing back the charm," I said, "at least until I know what's wrong.

Truth is an absolute. Or it used to be. The Maynard tapes should be released because the people should know the truth about Rusty Eggers. Who can argue with that? If the people see the truth—the full truth—and still want to hand the keys to the country to this nihilist, okay, that's one thing.

The doorman took my suitcase and sneaked an admiring glance at Terese before giving me the universal man-to-man smirk that said, Lucky bastard. The