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1ed187f
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The world doesn't give even the slightest damn about us or our petty problems. We never quite get that, do we? Our lives have been shattered--shouldn't the rest of us take notice? But no.
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Harlan Coben |
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da29516
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Man plans and God laughs,
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Harlan Coben |
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f785532
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A sign read: YOUR STAY HERE IS TOUCH AND GO--TOUCH AND YOU GO.
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Harlan Coben |
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b8d11f9
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Manhattan scene--you are surrounded and yet you find solace; you find isolation in the tornado of people.
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Harlan Coben |
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b3ee504
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Death sucks. Death sucks, mostly because it forces those who stay behind to survive. Death isn't merciful enough to take you too. Instead, death constantly jams down your throat the awful lesson that life does indeed go on, no matter what.
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Harlan Coben |
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01b4e79
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Myron, Win, and Esperanza lay sprawled on separate couches like Dali clocks.
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Harlan Coben |
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690dfac
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Bir kadin bir cift pahali ayakkabi satin aldiginda bu parayla acliktan nefesi kokan birine yardim etmeyi dusunmez bile. ... Rahat bir hayat surecegiz diye hepimiz oldururuz.
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Harlan Coben |
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b0f325d
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Well, if you did, you'd be wrong. It is much, much smaller. Try this: Imagine you're still holding that tiny grain of sand. Now not just the beach you are on, but all the beaches all over the planet, all of them, all down the coast of California and the East Coast from Maine down to Florida and on the Indian Ocean and off the coasts of Africa. Imagine all that sand, all those beaches everywhere in the world and now look at that grain of san..
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Harlan Coben |
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de42d1e
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The rule of thumb in student files seemed to be, "If you have nothing negative to say, don't say anything at all."
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Harlan Coben |
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5d14bfc
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Sitting for an hour without reading material meant he had to think.
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Harlan Coben |
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16b7dbf
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A trial is two narratives competing for your attention.
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trial
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Harlan Coben |
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bc6f988
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When you're young, you think you have all the answers. You're right wing or you're left wing and the other side is a bunch of idiots. You know. When you get a little older, though, you start to more and more see the grays. Now I understand that true idiots are the ones who are certain they have the answers. It is never that simple. Do you know what I mean?
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Harlan Coben |
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2f576ab
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The humpback never sees the hump on his own back.
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Harlan Coben |
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4eb80b5
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The gray has no chance against that smile. It vanishes in a wonderful haze of bright color.
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Harlan Coben |
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815ea01
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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."
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Harlan Coben |
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63f0106
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Mrs. Friedman lived in a happy snow globe of AP History.
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humor
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Harlan Coben |
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8f2a1d6
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Maybe the answer isn't in another job," Wendy said. "Maybe the answer is in finding new ways to define manhood."
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Harlan Coben |
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2e47be6
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Some men carry torches for old loves, and then some guys--not many, but some--get completely consumed by the torch's flames. It makes them nothing but long-term trouble for the follow-ups.
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Harlan Coben |
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6aa8228
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The Newark train station is about as romantic as a pile of hippo dung with head lice.
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Harlan Coben |
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e63b6e1
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We all want to convince ourselves that it is about hard work and education and perseverance, but the truth is, life is much more about the fickle and the random. We don't want to admit it, but we are controlled by luck, by timing, by fate.
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Harlan Coben |
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6506c32
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So I did some research," she went on. "The good thing about being a famous model is that you can call anyone and they'll talk to you. So I called this illusionist I'd seen on Broadway a couple of years ago. He heard the story and then he laughed. I said what's so funny. He asked me a question: Did this guru do this after dinner? I was surprised. What the hell could that have to do with it? But I said yes, how did you know? He asked if we ha..
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Harlan Coben |
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e3d665d
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Survival is the thing. The mind will twist to survive. Anything can become normal.
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Harlan Coben |
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8cd3a4f
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The hunchback sees the hump of others--never his own.
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Harlan Coben |
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6e192ed
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Daisy wore a clingy black dress with a neckline so deep it could tutor philosophy.
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Harlan Coben |
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47148b0
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They're politicians,' Win said. 'They'd lie and evade if you asked them what they had for breakfast.
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Harlan Coben |
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ffac3d4
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They say you never know how someone will react when the grenade is thrown.
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Harlan Coben |
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4439b89
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Win's phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Articulate. Okay, put it through." Two seconds later he handed the phone to Myron. "For me?" Myron asked. Win gave him flat eyes. "No," he said. "I'm handing you the phone because it's too heavy for me." Everyone's a wiseass."
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Harlan Coben |
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5e7302b
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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.
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Harlan Coben |
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045ffc0
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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.
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Harlan Coben |
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62f2d60
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Jared was her son and the "co-general manager" of the Yankees--co meaning shares the title with someone who knows what he's doing because he got the job through nepotism."
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Harlan Coben |
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2abec57
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You could trust nature but not man.
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Harlan Coben |
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60fff01
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but when in doubt, you might as well keep an open mind.
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Harlan Coben |
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84731c5
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We don't pray in foxholes because we are ready to meet our Maker. We pray because we don't want to.
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Harlan Coben |
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64a11a3
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Children view their parents as both intrepid and omnipotent.
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Harlan Coben |
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d9edd7f
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But if Frank had wanted Pavel dead, he would have had Aaron do it. Pavel had been murdered between midnight and one. Aaron was dead by midnight. Myron mulled this over a bit and decided that Aaron's being dead made it extremely unlikely he was the killer.
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Harlan Coben |
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caa549b
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Feeding teenage boys was like filling a bathtub with a grapefruit spoon.
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Harlan Coben |
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095b236
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Don't show me paradise and then burn it down
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Harlan Coben |
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5fb712a
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There are various theories about why the years seem to pass faster as you get older. The most popular is also the most obvious. As you get older, each year is a smaller percentage of your life. If you are ten years old, a year is ten percent. If you are fifty years old, a year is two percent. But she read a theory that spurned that explanation. The theory states that time passes faster when we are in a set routine, when we aren't learning a..
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time
aging
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Harlan Coben |
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ed9632d
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and then every once in a while, you remember to pull up and look at your partner, your life partner, really look at the one who travels down the lonely road right by your side, and you realize how much you are in this together.
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Harlan Coben |
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7c4771d
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I wasn't sure what to do. I knew that the main house was about a quarter mile up the drive. I could leave my car here and walk it. See what's what. But what would be the point? I hadn't been up here in six years. The retreat probably sold the land, and the new owner probably craved privacy. That might explain all this. Still it didn't feel right. What would be the harm, I thought, in going up and knocking on the door of the main house? Then..
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Harlan Coben |
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43169a5
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The house had the stale smell of a grandparent. When you're a kid, the smell gives you the creeps; when you're an adult, you want to bottle it and let it out with a cup of cocoa on a bad day.
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Harlan Coben |
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9891448
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Most religious people don't believe the dogma, Ash. We take from it what we want, we discard what we don't. We form whatever narrative we like--kind God, vengeful God, active God, laid-back God, whatever. We just make sure we get something out of it. Maybe we get life everlasting while people we resent burn for eternity. Maybe we get something more concrete--money, a job, friends. You just change the narrative.
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Harlan Coben |
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e14c06a
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Do you believe in love at first sight? Neither do I. I do, however, believe in major, more-than-just-physical attraction at first sight. I believe that every once in a while--once, maybe twice in a lifetime--you are drawn to someone so deeply, so primordially, so immediately--a stronger-than-magnetic pull. That was how it was with Natalie. Sometimes that is all there is. Sometimes it grows and gathers heat and turns into a glorious inferno ..
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Harlan Coben |
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5a922c0
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He changed and worked out with weights. Throughout his adult life, Adam had cycled through a potpourri of workout programs--yoga (not flexible), Pilates (confused), boot camp (why not just join the military?), Zumba (don't ask), aquatics (near drown), spin (sore butt)--but in the end, he always returned to simple weights. Some days he loved the strain on his muscles and couldn't imagine not doing it. Other days he dreaded every moment, and ..
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Harlan Coben |