The London Art Murders (Vance and Shepherd Mysteries Book 10)

A Fabergé Egg, a Murdered Dealer, and a Global Trail of Deceit

When a forgotten Fabergé egg resurfaces in a London market, Deputy Headteacher Matt Yates unwittingly steps into the crosshairs of organized crime, global espionage, and an international art trafficking syndicate. What begins as an innocent purchase quickly escalates into a deadly chase stretching from the back alleys of London to the glittering galleries of Monaco and the underworld of the Sicilian mafia.

DCI Jacob Vance and DCI Brittany Shepherd return in The London Art Murders, the gripping tenth installment in John Broughton's acclaimed Vance and Shepherd Mysteries series. As the true value of the egg comes to light, so does a web of smuggling, murder, and betrayal, with global players and intelligence agencies clouding the pursuit of justice.

With precision and pace, Broughton delivers a high-stakes detective thriller that probes the dark side of the art world—where loyalty is rare, and everyone has something to hide.

Start reading The London Art Murders today and follow Vance and Shepherd as they untangle a case where beauty, history, and danger collide.

Excerpt from the book

London 8-10 October 2023

With hindsight, Matt Yates blessed his lucky stars that Sunday 8th October 2023 had been a dull day. Had the sun been shining, no doubt its rays would have picked out the jewels on the egg and his chances of buying it would have evaporated like the evening damp on the canopies of the Truman Markets in Shoreditch.

If pressed, Matt would describe himself as Joe Average because he had achieved nothing of note, except for over thirty years of teaching Humanities in the same school in Stamford, Lincolnshire, where he was Deputy Headteacher and well-liked by his colleagues and, more importantly to him, his pupils. He was, however, not average in terms of culture. He was a great reader and possessed a remarkable general knowledge, which made him the star of his local pub quiz team.

Potentially, he was a multi-millionaire, which certainly meant he would rise out of mediocrity, but only potentially, because he was intelligent enough to recognise the risks associated with possession of a missing Fabergé Egg. He had bought a book about them, which he had read in two days. He discovered that most were in the Hermitage Museum of St Petersburg, others in various museums, some in the hands of private collectors in different countries, but eight were unaccounted for, including his. Two things the eggs had in common were their exquisite craftsmanship and that each was worth several million pounds.

His tale was astonishing by any standards; he ran back over the events of a year before for the hundredth time.

As a recently divorced man, Matt was free to do what he wished and go where he wanted. His two grown-up children had long left the nest and Julia had found a lover after twenty-four years of marriage. Their relationship had lost its spark, the magic that had brought them together. As his sixtieth birthday approached, he had no regrets. He would treat himself to a week’s holiday in London to celebrate. How could he imagine that it would be a life-changing vacation?

It was an October Sunday morning when he strolled into Brick Lane Market. It was filled with dull, grey hues of concrete and brick, with a lack of vibrant colours or eye-catching displays. The stall stood out with its eclectic mix of items, including the elderly woman in her oversized duffel coat. The Fabergé egg itself was small and unassuming, covered in a layer of ancient newspaper that obscured its true beauty.

That morning, the market was quiet, with only a few people milling around, and the grey sky seemed to dampen the already dreary atmosphere, broken only by sounds of haggling and bargaining, mingled with the chatter of customers and stall owners. The occasional clink of coins reached Matt’s ears. The elderly woman’s stall was haphazardly arranged, with various trinkets and knick-knacks scattered about.

The grey sky cast a sombre light over the vendors and shoppers, creating a lacklustre backdrop for the goods on display. Among the various knick-knacks and second-hand items, Matt spotted the dull, dusty Fabergé egg, emerging from a crumpled, yellowed newspaper, which stood out like a diamond in the rough. He had to thank the overcast day, for in full sunlight, somebody else would surely have been attracted to the glittering magnificence of the jewel. It had gone unspotted by everyone, but not by the eagle-eyed Yates.