"One day, not long ago, I was kidnapped by a bitter but fun-loving South Korean art collector named Mr. Jackie Lin who had been burned one too many times by art forgers and wanted a bit of revenge."

So begins The Abduction of Seven Forgers, a brilliant and immensely entertaining novel with a colourful and unforgettable cast of characters. A group of artists are brought together under mysterious circumstances to a leafy London suburb. Once there, they are taken hostage by Mr. Lin, an angry art collector who demands that they create original works that will replace the forgeries he has obtained from each of them in the past.

Over the following days, the hostages discover that a twelve-year-old boy is hiding in crawl spaces behind the walls, and they agree to continue to keep him hidden from Mr. Lin. But things become immensely more complicated once Mr. Lin's daughter appears, purportedly to learn from the forgers -- there may be more to Mr. Lin's artistic plan than first meets the eye.

With dazzling inventiveness, Sean Dixon explores the power of art, both in its creation and its acquisition, and creates a vivid world where artworks can -- and do -- come to life. The Abduction of Seven Forgers brings together the artistic obsession of The Goldfinch, the stakes of Bel Canto, and the intelligent imagination demonstrated by Yann Martel and David Mitchell, with a flair that is all Sean Dixon's own.

Sean Dixon is a novelist and playwright, co-founder of the seminal 90s Winnipeg physical Theatre Company PRIMUS. His novels include The Girls Who Saw Everything (published in the UK as The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal) and The Many Revenges of Kip Flynn. His recent plays include Theatrefront's The Orange Dot, (which Toronto Star's Karen Fricker called a "finely nuanced observation of male-female interaction ... that is part triumph, part tragedy of wronged, vengeful women"), Blyth Festival's The Wilberforce Hotel (published by Scirocco, about a short-lived African American settlement in 1830's Ontario) and Tarragon Theatre's 'A God in Need of Help' , based on the true story of four strong men who were forced to carry a painting over the Alps in the early 17th Century (GG nominated for best new play). Upcoming is a play for the Tarragon (Orphan Song) about two different species of early humans involved in the elemental experience of adoption, and a children's picture book about a kid making a family tree.

Sean Dixon's profile page

• Short-listed, Alberta Trade Fiction Book of the Year

"Dixon is a master storyteller. Block out some time because once you start, you're not going to be able to put it down..."

Andrew Kaufman

"Like a season of Big Brother co-directed by Wes Anderson and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Sean Dixon's highly enjoyable novel of art-world fakery teems with a menagerie of larger-than-life characters, elaborate schemes and absurdist hijinks. A joyous and flatulent celebration, indeed."

Pasha Malla