Tyler Hayes’ debut novel The Imaginary Corpse is a rare book which genuinely deserves the label of unique, a wildly imaginative story that’s as much about acceptance, honesty and overcoming trauma as it is about a stuffed-toy dinosaur investigating crimes in a technicolour imaginary world. Detective Tippy (a yellow triceratops) lives in the Stillreal, the place where abandoned Ideas too real to fade away can live and thrive, solving crimes and helping his Friends. When a newly-birthed nightmare – The Man in the Coat – starts murdering other Friends (for real, not just temporarily), Tippy has to work through his own deep-rooted issues and find a way to solve – and survive – the deadliest mystery he’s ever faced.
