An intense legal thriller that includes a dark history of an interdimensional Neolithic portal and temple complex on Orkney – The Orcadian File by Mauro Martone has just been published.

Mauro Martone is a Scottish historian and this book is the follow-up to his successful politic noir novel – Kertamen.

Speaking to The Orkney News Mauro Martone said:

“The Orcadian File is the sequel to my first novel Kertamen.

“Kertamen was a dark thriller set around Scotland and involving a conspiracy within the 2014 Indyref, that has been described as akin to Dallas in 1963.

“There was a supernatural spine to Kertamen too, involving portals and time-travel with one chapter set entirely in Jerusalem in 30AD.

“The Orcadian file is a direct continuation in that we delve much deeper into the portal element and in particular, ancient Neolithic Orkney. As historians we are still not sure as to what was really going on at the stones or indeed the newly discovered temple on Orkney, and so yours truly has taken advantage of that.

“The Orcadian File is based around a high court murder trial of one of the undercover cops from Kertamen who had been investigating a child abuse ring among the Edinburgh establishment. The chap is quite innocent and the same angelic entities who have been clashing for millennium, and who also feature prominently in Kertamen, enrol human disciples to prosecute and defend said cop in the judiciary.

“There are chapters set in Republican Rome and other historical locations as the portal connection is explored in more detail.

“There is additionally a traditional mafia twist to the book, which may be appreciated by those who know their Al Nieri’s from their Hymon Roth’s, as the defence team find themselves in need of 24 hour protection due to the fact that they are soon to discover that they are opposed by both a faceless and powerful conspiracy, and an immortal entity hell bent on crushing them.”

Martone revives his haunting Kertamen tale with this vividly compelling and politically astute thriller, which is littered with moral complexity and legal intrigue. Told with ceaseless imagination through a rapid and intense narrative, The Orcadian File effortlessly meanders between ancient and contemporary judicial mischief.

Austin Macauley Publishers

To buy a copy click on this link: The Orcadian File