Quotes from Harlan Coben

When Myron got back to the office, Esperanza was at the reception desk. "Where's Big Cyndi?" Myron asked. "Having lunch." The image of Fred Flintstone's car tipping over from the weight of his Bronto-ribs flashed in front of Myron's eyes.

It was easy to be anonymous in emails—the best refuge of the technocoward.

How are you feeling?" he asked. "Like I kissed a bus." He

You're aware," Myron said, "that kidnap victims often identify with their abductors." "I know all that. The Stockholm syndrome and all its bizarre offshoots. But it just didn't seem that way. Katie didn't look particularly exhausted. The body language was right. There wasn't panic in her eyes or any kind of cult-like zealousness. Her eyes were clear, in fact. I didn't see signs of drugs there, though granted I only got a brief look.

Would it be too hackneyed to wonder where it all went so wrong? Kitty's

Sports were supposed to be a reflection of life, a life lesson, a test of endurance and strength, a great preparation for the real world.

Parenting. It ain't for sissies.

Myron and Win met up three blocks away near an elementary school. A parked car here would be less conspicuous. Win was dressed in black, including a black skull cap that hid his blond locks.

Amazing what humans, even ones as wanton as Frank Ache, crave when left alone—other humans.

Defending her scandalized ex-husband had cost Jenna Wheeler's family greatly in the suburban standings—but the murder of Haley McWaid must have made life here fairly untenable. Parents

We move to the dance floor. We face each other. She puts one hand on my shoulder and the other hand in mine. We start to dance. At some point Ema moves closer. She rests her head on my shoulder. I barely move. I barely breath. I just want this moment to last.

He stood on the stoop and watched them walk down the path. Corinne hit the minivan's remote, and the back yawned open like a giant mouth. Thomas tossed his bag into the back and took the front passenger seat. The mouth closed, swallowing the equipment whole. Corinne gave him a wave. He waved back. He

A few more seconds passed before someone in the group began to stir. A man. He got to his feet slowly, moment by moment, a huge man, rising off the floor like Godzilla wading out of the water, his entire being expanding and filling the room. When he stood all the way up, the top of his head nearly scraped the ceiling. The big man shuffled toward them like a planet with two feet.

The secret to fulfillment is not about exciting adventures or living out loud—no one can maintain that kind of pace—but in welcoming and even relishing the quiet and familiar.

bent down closer to

Matt understood human nature. Check that. He understood subhuman nature. He had seen the Fates curse him and his family enough to come up with an explanation or, if you will, an anti-explanation for all that goes wrong: In sum, there is no explanation. The

Win stared at me as if I were defecating on the court.

You smile, but it never really reaches the eyes.

So add up all the new clues and… Broome didn't have a clue. And

Whores hung out the windows like shreds of leftover Christmas decorations.

The world is neither cruel nor joyous. It is simply random, full of particles hurtling, chemicals mixing and reacting. There is no real order. There is no preordained cursing of the evil and protecting of the righteous. Chaos, baby. It's all about chaos. And

Whatever fortune Franch Ache had amassed, the man never dis spend it on clothes. He favored chintzy velour sweatsuits, like something the guys on Lost in Space might consider casual wear.

They stood there, the two of them—the mother of a dead boy holding firm to the boy who had killed him.

asked Squares to