One False Move Quotes

“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.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Obsession does not seek out problems and correct them; it manufactures them out of nothing, feeds them, makes them stronger.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Those who claim they can spot a lie are usually just fooled with greater conviction.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Mental illnesses are so strange. A physical problem we can understand. But when the mind works irrationally, well, by its very definition, the rational mind cannot truly relate.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“They’re politicians,’ Win said. ‘They’d lie and evade if you asked them what they had for breakfast.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Being this handsome. It is not easy, you realize.’ ‘And yet you suffer without complaint.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“There is a very fine line between relentless and stupid,” Win said. “Try to stay on the right side of it.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Politics and the press; two cherished institutions that spoke with tongues so forked they could double for fine dinnerware.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Some secret. Myron was still hoping to bump into someone above the equator who didn't know about it.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“His black-to-gray beard was unruly enough to nest beetle larvae, his hair curled like something out of a bad production of Godspell.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“His smile did more than lack warmth. It was the most purely physical smile Myron had ever seen, a byproduct strictly of the brain giving specific orders to certain muscles. It touched no part of him but his lips. Myron”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Or maybe it’s a ploy to get more sex.” She gave him a look that curled his chopsticks. “Maybe it’s working,” she said. “Maybe I’ll slip into something more comfortable,” he said. “Not that Batman mask again.” “Aw, c’mon, you can wear the utility belt.” She thought about it. “Okay, but no stopping in the middle and shouting, ‘Same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.’ ”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“After three rings the machine picked up. Win’s annoyingly superior accent said, “Hang up without leaving a message and die.” Beep. Myron shook his head, smiled, and, as always, left a message. He”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“From the right, Ted—it simply had to be a guy named Ted—finally made his entrance. He wore only Zoom shorts, and his abdomen was rippled like a relief map in marble. He was probably in his early twenties, model handsome, and he squinted like a prison guard. As he sashayed toward the shoot, Ted kept running both hands through his Superman blue-black hair, the movement expanding his chest and shrinking his waist and demonstrating shaved underarms. Brenda muttered, “Strutting peacock.” “That’s totally unfair,” Myron said. “Maybe he’s a Fulbright scholar.” “I’ve worked with him before. If God gave him a second brain, it would die of loneliness.” Her eyes veered toward Myron. “I don’t get something.” “What?” “Why you? You’re a sports agent. Why would Norm ask you to be my bodyguard?” “I used to work”—he stopped, waved a vague hand—“for the government.” “I never heard about that.” “It’s another secret. Shh.” “Secrets don’t stay secret much around you, Myron.” “You can trust me.” She”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“There is a fine line between a coffee break and a crack house.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“But the irony would not hold. Schoolyards were not about innocence. There were bullies down there too and sociopaths-in-waiting and burgeoning psychoses and young minds filled prenatally with undiluted hate. Okay”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“I remember everything about her. The way she looked. The way she smelled. The way she’d come home from her job so tired she could barely put her feet up. I don’t think I’ve talked about her five times in the past twenty years. But I think about her every day. I think about why she gave me up. And I think about why I still miss her.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Myron sipped his coffee. Gourmet coffee. A year ago he never drank coffee. Then he started stopping into one of the new coffee bars that kept cropping up like bad movies on cable.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“He looked maybe half an egg sandwich away from a coronary.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“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.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“may”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“He studied his hair in the visor mirror. “Being this handsome. It is not easy, you realize.” “And yet you suffer without complaint.” “That is my way.” Win took one last look before snapping the visor back in place.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Bradford’s handlers blended into the crowd and passed out big signs and buttons and even those goofy Styrofoam hats, all with the same hip “BRADFORD FOR GOVERNOR” lettering. Every once in a while the interspersed handlers would break into applause, and the rest of the crowd would lazily follow suit. There was also a sprinkling of media and cable stations, local political correspondents who looked visibly pained by what they were doing, wondering what was worse: covering yet another canned political speech or losing a limb in a machinery mishap. Their expressions indicated a toss-up.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“True enough,” Esperanza agreed. She slapped her knees and stood. “Guess I’m wrong. Can I go now?” “So why do you still hold a grudge?” “I like grudges,” Esperanza said. “They’re easier than forgiveness.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Politics and the press: two cherished institutions that spoke with tongues so forked they could double for fine dinnerware.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Mrs. Kay taught him how to use the microfilm machine and the computer indexing service. It looked pretty standard. When she left him alone, Myron first typed in the name Anita Slaughter. No hits. Not a surprise, but hey, you never know. Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you plug in the name, and an article comes up and says, “I ran away to Florence, Italy. You can find me at the Plaza Lucchesi hotel on the Arno River, room 218.” Well, not often. But sometimes.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Old gangsters had indeed moved into more legitimate enterprises—why limit yourself to prostitution and drugs and loan sharking when there were so many other ways to turn a buck?—but even with the best of intentions, it never worked out. Guys like the Aches couldn’t help themselves really. They’d start out legit, but once things got the slightest bit tough, once they lost out on a contract or a sale or something, they reverted back to their old ways. Couldn’t help it. Corruption too was a terrible addiction, but where were the support groups?”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Things were indeed going so well—Jessica had come back, she had asked him to move in—that he kept waiting for something to go wrong. He had to stop obsessing. Obsession does not seek out problems and correct them; it manufactures them out of nothing, feeds them, makes them stronger.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“Mental illnesses are so strange. A physical problem we can understand. But when the mind works irrationally, well, by its very definition, the rational mind cannot truly relate. We can pity. But we cannot fully grasp.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move

“But the truth is, we all take facts and compute them through our own experiences.”
― Harlan Coben, One False Move