Bloody Orkney

Cover of Bloody Orkney

It’s November 1942. Bob Sutherland, Monique Dubois and the Military Intelligence 11 team fly in to review security in Orkney, home to one of the most important and most heavily defended naval anchorages in the world.

But an unidentified body has been found. It becomes clear that powerful men have things they’d rather keep hidden and MI11’s arrival threatens the status quo. Then Bob stumbles over a ghost from his past and things get far too personal.

He and Monique are called away to resolve a crisis at a secret experimental base at Gruinard Bay in Wester Ross. When they return to Orkney, they find that the rules have been rewritten and they are in very real danger.

'Bloody Orkney' by Ken Lussey was published on 29 June 2021. You can find out more about the book, read background information, reviews and excerpts from it and see photographs of the locations used on Ken Lussey's own website.

Reviews

Fuller extracts and links are below headlines
  • "A thrilling read - gripped from the first page."
  • "Bloody good! A really enjoyable thriller..."
  • "This is an awesome piece of historical fiction and if you love military stories then this will blow you away!"
  • "Wow what a read!"
  • "...another rip-roaring page-turner that is exhilarating and memorable."
  • "Fast paced, well researched and full of intrigue."
  • "...an author like perhaps Fleming, not afraid to put his hero in jeopardy."
  • "This reader for one cannot wait for more from Bob Sutherland via the pen of Ken Lussey."
  • "The plot had me hooked in no time and I found this novel surprisingly difficult to put down."
  • "I felt the tension rising towards the end and felt satisfied I’d had a good read when I finished."
  • "I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves crime, mystery, historical fiction and a bit of thriller."
  • "...the perfect thriller for me."
  • "If your preferred genres are historical novels, thrillers or espionage then this book is definitely for you."
  • "A fast-paced, thrilling and complex historical thriller..."
  • "...a masterclass in how to invigorate the stale, trope-ridden setting of the Second World War."
  • "Can’t wait for the next one!"
  • "...if you enjoy a historically set crime thriller then this is for you."
  • "The plot keeps you hooked and the pages keep turning in the quest to find out what happens next."

Rachel Hanretty, 31 July 2023: "A thrilling read - gripped from the first page. Really enjoyed this book by Ken Lussey. Have enjoyed the Bob and Monique series so far, and, seeing the Who Do You Think You Are with Ralph Little also really added to my enjoyment of this story. Keen to visit Orkney soon and scope out some of the settings as a result!"

Windy Tree, 30 July 2023: "Bloody good! A really enjoyable thriller.... the story is entertaining, and made more so for being set in WW2 Scottish locations. I like the engagement/interaction between the characters, and whilst it is billed as 'Bob Sutherland & Monique Dubois' it is this time definitely being stolen by Monique... Enjoy!"

DDS Book Reviews, 26 October 2021: "Meticulous historical detail and fabulous main characters - what’s not to love? Fast paced, well researched and full of intrigue. Recommended."

Twilight_Reader, 25 October 2021: "I loved the relationship between the two main characters... I loved the setting of this read being set in Scotland all the best books I’ve read lately are set in Scotland. I loved the whole mystery to the crime that’s discovered and the build up. This made it the perfect thriller for me."

Biblioberg, 22 October 2021: "I really love all stories set in Scotland󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and also World War Two so I knew this book would be right up my alley. My British grandfather was a RAF squadron leader pilot so the setting was so fun to read about! The crime, fast-paced mystery solving and the murder, intrigue and coverups within the military was simply incredible. So many details throughout so I know the author really knows his stuff."

Books by Bindu, 22 October 2021: "...a fast paced, fascinating piece of historical fiction that had me fixated from the get-go! ...packed with historical realism and elicits a vivid picture of the past. ...an atmosphere that would be hard to top! I loved getting to know some of the history from this period... Plus, the mystery definitely kept you on the edge of your seat! By the end, I was racing through the book as events became so fast-paced that I just needed to know what happened! This is an awesome piece of historical fiction and if you love military stories than this will blow you away! Let me know if you read it!"

John's Bookshelf, 21 October 2021: "I was looking forward to reading this thriller from Ken Lussey, and it did not disappoint. The main characters Bob and Monique are both strong individuals, and helped carry the story along at a great pace. I felt the tension rising towards the end and felt satisfied I’d had a good read when I finished."

Nicole Merchant, 21 October 2021: "...the story was easy to follow. It was a complex crime story that isn't obvious or easy to work out and I really liked that. I enjoyed reading this, knowing where each place in Scotland is and having been to most of the places mentioned I was able to picture scenes easily. Unfortunately I’ve not been to Orkney yet! I appreciated that this novel includes information at the back about which parts are real and which are works of fiction or have been adapted to be fiction."

Bookish Engineer, 20 October 2021: "This tale keeps you guessing... fast paced... Would recommend to all thriller and historical lovers!"

Stephanie’s Reads and Reviews, 20 October 2021: "I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves crime, mystery, historical fiction and a bit of thriller."

Daisy Hollands, 18 October 2021: "Wow what a read! Set during the Second World War, this is a really fast moving thriller. The plot is really tense and gripping with strong characters. The story is very evocative and you do get a real sense of what life would have been like in that period of time. I was really kept guessing, which is just what you want in a thriller. I’m a fast reader anyway but I raced through the pages because I didn’t want to wait! If your preferred genres are historical novels, thrillers or espionage then this book is definitely for you. Highly recommended."

NextToTheAisle, 6 October 2021: "...another rip-roaring page-turner that is exhilarating and memorable - an author like perhaps Fleming, not afraid to put his hero in jeopardy and make the reader wonder if it may happen. The climatic shootout amidst a church layout is brilliantly handled and he gives scope for more action to come from the intrepid duo with three years left of the war, this course is most certainly not run yet. This reader for one cannot wait for more from Bob Sutherland via the pen of Ken Lussey."

Scottish Field, 24 September 2021: "This is one of three fast-paced thrillers written by Ken Lussey and set in Scotland during wartime. Located in Orkney in 1942, it’s a story of war and deception, and centres around group captain Bob Sutherland and his MI11 team. Flown in to inspect the naval base in Orkney, they find that things are far from secure. I am not usually a big fan of wartime thrillers, but this presents a new perspective on the war set against an Orcadian backdrop. The plot had me hooked in no time and I found this novel surprisingly difficult to put down."

The Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviewer, 9 August 2021: "A fast-paced, thrilling and complex historical thriller, Bloody Orkney has completely revived my interest in the historical fiction genre, with author Ken Lussey delivering a masterclass in how to invigorate the stale, trope-ridden setting of the Second World War by setting the narrative in a distant, unfamiliar location he imbues with a chilling and unsettling atmosphere and filling it with multi-faceted, memorable characters who stay with you long after the novel has come to an end."

Nigel Fitzsimmons, 24 July 2021: "Ken Lussey never disappoints. Another one you have to keep reading until it’s finished. From the Orkney isles to Moray to Easter Ross, the familiar locations (to me) enhance the enjoyment. Can’t wait for the next one!"

The Orkney News, 16 July 2021: "Let me begin with a summary – this is a good read, enjoyable, hardly Kafka but if you enjoy a historically set crime thriller then this is for you. Put it this way, I do enjoy that and I enjoyed this book particularly... Ken Lussey writes well, the story skips along logically and engagingly and is a genuine page turner, I got through it in seven readings and some quite late nights because it was pretty gripping... A really good diversion that took me to Orkney in the Second World War. I’m off to see what else Ken Lussey has written, which is really all that needs to be said from my perspective and possibly yours."

K&K Henderson, 13 July 2021: "The third in the series featuring Bob & Monique does not disappoint. A great story... Monique is given a bigger and better role in Bloody Orkney... The plot keeps you hooked and the pages keep turning in the quest to find out what happens next."

Cover of Bloody Orkney


The Stockholm Run

Cover of Bloody Orkney

We published 'The Stockholm Run' by Ken Lussey on 26 May 2022. This fast-paced thriller is set largely in Edinburgh and Stockholm during World War Two.

It’s March 1943. The death of an intruder reveals a hidden military bunker at Dundas Castle near Edinburgh, a living relic of an anti-invasion scheme from earlier in the war. Bob Sutherland and the Military Intelligence 11 team follow a trail that leads to a much larger secret, buried beneath Edinburgh Castle.

As the mystery in Edinburgh unravels, Bob Sutherland and Monique Dubois are sent to Stockholm, a city supposedly at peace in a world at war. There they are to take delivery of a message of critical national importance.

Or is it all a carefully crafted trap? Both encounter ghosts from the past in Sweden. Can their relationship survive what they uncover? Will they live long enough for that to matter?


Ken's First Two WW2 Thrillers

Cover of Eyes Turned Skywards Cover of The Danger of Life

We also sell - again signed and dedicated at no extra cost by Ken Lussey if you wish - paperback editions of his two previous thrillers set in Scotland during World War Two, 'Eyes Turned Skywards' and 'The Danger of Life'. These were published by Fledgling Press in 2018 and 2019 respectively.


Scottish Field, September 2021:

Scottish Field Review