You can't have an up without a down, a right without a left, a back without a front - or a happy without a sad. -Harlan Coben Sad
'Caught' is a novel of forgiveness, and the past and the present - who should be and who shouldn't be forgiven. None of my books are ever just about thrills, or it won't work. -Harlan Coben Forgiveness
The state of New Jersey is really two places - terrible cities and wonderful suburbs. I live in the suburbs, the final battleground of the American dream, where people get married and have kids and try to scratch out a happy life for themselves. It's very romantic in that way, but a bit naive. I like to play with that in my work. -Harlan Coben Romantic
What I want to do is tell stories about normal people in the American suburbs. I don't write the book where it's a conspiracy reaching the prime minister; I don't write the book with the big serial killer who lops off heads. My setting is a very placid pool of suburbia, family life. And within that I can make pretty big splashes. -Harlan Coben Family
I don't necessarily love the sports per se, I love the stories behind them. Also in a kind of perverse way I like to study what it does to us, why we care so much. It's caring about something that's utterly meaningless. -Harlan Coben Sports
In the end, we know what makes us happy. We also know what makes us unhappy. That's the irony. We know and yet we still mess it up. That's part of the human condition, no, and why we need to work on it. -Harlan Coben Work
I always say three things make a writer: inspiration, obviously; perspiration, doing the work. But the third is desperation. I'm not really fit for anything else, or to have a real job. That fear drives me. The pressure has always been self inflicted. -Harlan Coben Fear
This is the price you pay for having a great father. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments - and you get the tears at the end, too. -Harlan Coben Fathersday
Tragedy is a hell of a teacher. It's much too strict, but it's a hell of a teacher. -Harlan Coben Teacher
