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Rafael Amadeus Hines comes from a diverse family background with Panamanian, Jamaican, and Irish roots, and is a native New Yorker, born and raised on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Dipping into his early Alphabet City memories, he loosely based many of the characters in the Bishop series on the people he grew up with, and adapted many of his own experiences into the book as well.
A former Jazz club owner and restaurateur, Rafael has worked in the financial and energy markets for over 20 years. On 9/11 he watched his office along with all the others in The Twin Towers come crashing down and, like many New Yorkers on that day, he anticipated follow up attacks to take place throughout the city. Years later he envisioned a lone citizen soldier preventing these attacks and the hero Sgt. John Bishop appeared on paper.
A voracious reader of suspense thrillers, his writing career was inspired by legendary artist-authors Elmore Leonard, John Sandford, Vince Flynn, Walter Mosley, James Lee Burke, and Tom Clancy. He is currently working on the third novel in the Bishop series.
Rafael has received over fifteen literary awards for his international bestseller and debut novel, Bishop's War, and he was recently added to the list of the World’s Top 200 Most Influential Authors (https://richtopia.com/inspirational-people/top-200-authors)
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
Bishop's War is the first book in the Bishop Series by Rafael Amadeus Hines, a great offering for fans of terrorist thriller and military novels. Special Forces Sergeant John Bishop is a decorated war hero who, on his return home from Afghanistan, doesn’t even get the opportunity to start his long-awaited retirement. A chance encounter engulfs him in a series of situations that destroy every hope of peace. He is pitted against terrorist operatives in New York, a billionaire with shady dealings and strong ties to the White House, and a powerful Afghan warlord who wants a piece of him. The conflict escalates at multiple levels, getting John’s uncle, Gonzalo Valdez, a crime boss, involved in the mayhem and he has his own motives. John has faced vicious enemies before, but nothing like what is tightening around his neck. Can he pull it off this time and come out as the hero he once was?
Rafael Amadeus Hines’ novel is action-packed and it features a multilayered plot. The characters are sophisticated and rock-solid and I enjoyed the entire mix. The characters' motivations are skillfully written and even the good guys always seem to have something tucked up their sleeves. The prose in Bishop's War is excellent and I was surprised that this novel is the author’s debut. It is so cunningly plotted and deftly written that I immediately became a fan. The author explores different plot lines and fills the writing with compelling characters. It takes skill and intelligence to handle so much in a novel but this author pulls it off easily. It is a delightful read for readers who are looking for that extraordinary adrenaline rush.
