Ray Burston

Ray Burston was born and lives in the English Midlands and has so far published fourteen novels.

In ‘ANGELS UNAWARES’, a well-meaning recluse wins a huge lottery prize and, through misplaced altruism, ends up becoming roped into a violent terrorist plot.

‘OPERATION SPREAD EAGLE’ follows the eventful story of a humanitarian aid convoy put together by British volunteers and is based on his own experiences on a similar mission of mercy.

Shadowing his own experiences as a politician, ‘THE MAKING OF THE MEMBER’ follows the turbulent careers of two ambitious parliamentary candidates during the 1980s. ‘THE MAKING OF THE MINISTER’ follows them into Parliament and takes the story up to 2010. The final book in the trilogy takes their remarkable story up to 2024 – and which, for one of them at least, will prove to be THE MAKING OF THE PRIME MINISTER.

‘ACT OF ATONEMENT’ is an intimate study of friendship, love and betrayal set against the backdrop of the bitter war that France fought in Algeria between 1954 and 1962.

‘THE SOUGHING OF THE WIND’ chronicles the final fateful voyage of Admiral Graf von Spee’s German cruiser squadron at the outset of the First World War (and has been knitted together from true accounts of this incredible story).

In ‘TO REACH FOR THE STARS’, a young woman discovers adventure and romance as a member of Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (and is based around the story of Ray’s own late mother’s wartime service with RAF Bomber Command).

Confronting every woman’s worst nightmare, ‘THE BLACK COUNTRY GIGOLO’ is a gripping psychological thriller in which a secretive young man confronts three very different women with a truly shocking event from their pasts.

Set on the Isle of Wight during Britain’s most memorable long, hot summer, ‘THE SUMMER OF ‘76’ is a tale of two young people uncovering dark secrets about their families’ pasts.

In ‘THE SNAKEMAN OF SNEYD END’, an eccentric local campaigner unearths the truth about the mysterious disappearance of young people in his town, and which takes place against the backdrop of the controversial closure of its railway.

In ‘MR SMITH & MISS PATEL’, an ambitious and successful divorcee winds up a castaway on a remote, uninhabited island, his perilous exile given an unexpected twist when he discovers he’s sharing it with a most unusual companion.

In ‘THE STRAIN’, the tangled lives, loves and resentments of a university professor, his family and his students pave the way for the release of a deadly virus that threatens to unleash a worldwide pandemic.

Finally, set in 1970s Britain, Ray’s latest novels – GLAM and its sequel PUNK – chart the story of one teenager breaking free from family and religion to pursue his ambition to be the greatest rock guitarist of all time; and of another battling similar personal demons to become one of its greatest drummers.

Ray’s reasons for writing are many; but one is that he has always been fascinated by history – and in particular by how ordinary people can find themselves caught up in the sweep of its happenstance. The story of mankind has often hinged on the deeds of such people – “whose names are found inscribed on war memorials, but not in history books” (as the French novelist Jean Lartéguy once observed). Most of Ray’s novels echo this theme of ordinary people shaping larger events.

YOU CAN FOLLOW RAY ON FACEBOOK BY SEARCHING FOR ‘RAY BURSTON – AUTHOR’.