An ice auger; cigarette smoke; mayonnaise; a broken toaster; a charmingly decorated gift; some sharp knives: these are just a few of Peter Hamilton's favorite things. They will become yours also. Each story in "The Devil Hates a Coward" contains a thing; a figurative object, its actual representation not at its entire connotation; the obvious, perhaps not so? Peter Hamilton writes Interrogative Fiction. Resolving not, "who done it?"; but asking "why they didn't?" In this collection of stories, the reader will laugh, shed a tear, have an "ah, ha " moment, and yearn for what the character have. Or, what they don't. There are no cowards in this book, and you shouldn't be one either.