AN AUTHOR from Musselburgh is celebrating the publication of the second book in his political thriller trilogy.
Mauro Martone, 47, wrote The Orcadian File as a sequel to his first novel Kertamen, which is a political noir with a supernatural twist set in the build-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
Kertamen tells the story of a frontline game of cat and mouse between police as tough and cunning as the conspirators – a murderous Satanic cabal intent on influencing the 2014 referendum.
A fast-paced thriller, it involves recurrent darkness, some moral dilemma and portal-stepping into Jerusalem in 30AD, seen primarily through the eyes of Detective Inspector Chuck Kean of the drug squad.
His team soon experiences various unanticipated twists, including the discovery that the background of the faction is an intricate one with links to Rosslyn Chapel and a migrant Templar, Adam de Gordon.
The clandestine investigation quickly becomes entangled within the roots of a much bigger political conspiracy encased within the referendum.
Mr Martone said: “The Orcadian File follows directly on from Kertamen and straight into a high court murder trial in Edinburgh, wherein one of the undercover cops from Kertamen finds himself unjustly accused of murder by the faceless conspirators.
“It is a novel driven by one main character, Monty, and is not quite an action novel.
“There is the occasional rammy, true, but mostly we follow his stressful predicament in representing and defending an innocent man on trial for his life.
“Threatened throughout by unseen enemies, including within the judiciary itself, and under intense pressure to produce something akin to a fish and loaves trick for his client, Monty is forced to seek out protection from an organised crime syndicate.
“In keeping with the previous novel, which had a chapter set in Jerusalem in 30AD, there is plenty for the history buffs too, with detailed accounts of the judicial trials of both Sextus Roscius in republican Rome, and also Justin Martyr in the imperial era, for those who like a wee bit of historical portal travel with their legalities.
“Then there is a continuation of the ongoing political mischief running in the background for those who enjoy a political power struggle.
“The narration additionally drifts from time to time into yet another genre, for there is a good old-fashioned mafia underbelly here too, the portrayal of which is primarily seen through the contemporary sensibilities of one Calògiru Profaci, who delivers timeless lessons on power, advancement and jealousy within Edinburgh’s Italian underworld.
“I think it may be one of very few Scottish mafia tales.”
Mr Martone gained MA (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh, where he read ancient history and classical archaeology.
He also studied Christianity and social Christianity as his outside subjects – and worked as a nightshift taxi driver in Muirhouse, Pilton and Granton.
He recalled being an avid reader of books at boarding school in Fife and Perthshire.
His early fictional influences were Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind In The Willows and Robert Roosevelt’s Br’er Rabbit stories.
Mr Martone began writing fiction at age eight, when he produced a three-and-a-half-page prolongation of Grahame’s riverside world.
When not writing, he lectures mature students in history and politics as part of an access to university course.
He also keeps rescue dogs.
His new book is available online at Waterstones, WHSmith and Amazon
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