Ace in the Hole

Black Badge #3

by Rhett C. Bruno, Jaime Castle

On the run and out of time...Everything changed back in Crescent City when Crowley made his choice to stand up to his angelic handler Shargrafein. It was either her or Rosa, and the choice was clear. Now, there's no going back.

Something about Rosa has everyone scrambling—a hidden power. It's up to Crowley to bring her back to land of the living, and discover exactly what she is. Only then might they have a chance against the forces of Heaven and Hell, both of whom want her for their own devices.

So what if that makes him a traitor to the White Throne? They kept the truth about her from him. Made him a pawn in their endless war.

But those above and below aren't the only ones after Crowley and Rosa. An old rival has resurfaced and he's out for vengence, no matter what takes.

If they hope to evade capture, Crowley will need to trust old friends and allies. And trust doesn't come easy to a man shot to death by his own boss.

Bestselling authors Bruno and Castle conclude the Black Badge series with this culmination of supernatural powers and old foes in an epic finale stretching from the wild west to the nation's capital!

Genres: Fantasy, Westerns, Horror, Paranormal, Audiobook, Weird West, Supernatural

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2024

About the author

Rhett is happy to hear from his fans and can be reached at rcbruno44@outlook.com. Please subscribe to his newsletter for exclusive access to updates about his work and the opportunity to receive limited content and ARCs.
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Rhett Bruno grew up in Hauppauge, New York, and studied at the Syracuse University School of Architecture where he graduated cum laude.

He has been writing since he can remember, scribbling down what he thought were epic short stories when he was young to show to his parents. When he reached high school he decided to take that a step further and write the “Isinda Trilogy”. After the encouragement of his favorite English teacher he decided to self-publish the “Isinda Trilogy” so that the people closest to him could enjoy his early work.

While studying architecture Rhett continued to write as much as he could, but finding the time during the brutal curriculum proved difficult. It wasn’t until he was a senior that he decided to finally pursue his passion for Science Fiction. After rededicating himself to reading works of the Science Fiction author’s he always loved, (Frank Herbert, Timothy Zahn, Heinlein, etc.) he began writing “The Circuit: Executor Rising”, The first part of what he hopes will be a successful Adult Science Fiction Series.

Since then Rhett has been hired by an Architecture firm in Mount Kisco, NY. But that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to work on “The Circuit” and all of the other stories bouncing around in his head. He is also currently studying at the New School to earn a Certificate in Screenwriting in the hopes of one day writing for TV or Video Games.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ace in the Hole
By Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle
I really loved the first two books in the series, so I was very excited to get book three. It didn't let me down. It has the mythical gods, werewolves, and other supernatural aspects and actions that I loved from the other two books. Love this series.

[J. Griff · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an ending! I can only hope we haven’t seen the last of James Crowley & Rosa Massey. I still believe that the Weird West genre as a whole is an underused one. Both Bruno & Castle did a superb job bringing out plot points I wouldn’t have seen coming. Plus Roger Clark’s narration is the cherry on top.

[Paul Sating · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks, Crowley and Rosa! A fun weird western fantasy all the way through! Never let me down. only complaint is that there aren't more books!

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This last book in the series was a tiny bit of a disappointment. It was not at all as exciting as the previous two books and novella. I actually became bored at times and had to push myself not to set it aside. The ending was anticlimactic and not at all what I anticipated. The story for this one was a bit farfetched for me, and not plausible at all. It was overall a good series, the ending was just a flop for me.

[Worm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 3 raises the stakes steadily throughout and delivers fully. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[John Sherman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall a bit boring with not much happening to move the overall story arch along until the end. I can be fine with this as long as what happens before is interesting. In this case it was mediocre. Very disappointing as Book 2 was so great.

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

From dust we are born, and to dust we shall return.

Well, I finally dug @rcbrunoauthor' and @authorjaimecastle's "Ace In The Hole (Black Badge 3)" out of the depths of my Kindle and finished out the series, even if I downloaded it way back when it was first released. I don't have any good excuse for letting it sit unread for so long other than I find the "weird western" genre to be kind of a comfort read go-to for me and I guess I haven't needed that in a while. But even if the delay is totally on me, I can at least say it was worth the wait!

To hold such power with no control is to invite chaos.

Having been along for this ride since the absolutely riveting first book, "Dead Acre" (called now Black Badge 0.5), it has been a wild series of happenings saddling up with gun-slinging anti-hero James Crowley, our undead servant of Heaven (+/-) that's main job is acting as "a demon-slaying Hand of God." In other words, it was his duty was to hunt monsters of all kinds as they rampaged their way through the Old West. After all, "the untouched country is where the greatest horrors lurk" … noting that this is obviously well before Las Vegas was founded! But, especially in the first 3 instalments, I've both enjoyed James' adventures while he has struggled with his own past and what could be vaguely considered a conscience of sorts ("How far will a man go to deny his own damnation?"). This as well as the sheer thrills of meeting scores of creatures - both human or otherwise mind you - that did their best to make the land even more inhospitable to survive for both the Natives and interlopers alike.

Hands of God hunted demons and monsters… We didn’t rescue souls.

And that's noting that a lot of this book is actually about Rosa's adventures. We all remember Rosa as being the young girl James saved from his former gang boss, Ace Ryker, who was going to do horrible things to her. Well, in this story, she's not only got a lot more going on but has attracted the forces of heaven and hell, all of whom see her as the ultimate weapon in their own forays into the human kingdom. And speaking of Ace, well, he's somehow still got his own Black Badge - noting this means his boss is officially an angel ("Now, he’s back. And by Heaven’s hand? How could angels bring a monster like him back?") - that makes him at least as resilient to all of the dangers that a normal man might have to deal with. Needless to say, if you try to draw up the battle lines in this tale, well, don't be surprised when you look down and there's a frozen pentagram on the floor!

I’d already killed him once, and now he couldn’t die.

In terms of some of the bits about the actual writing, weirdly enough "Ace in the Hole" was missing a lot of those elements that kept me coming back so anxiously for more previously. Now don't misunderstand: there's still gun-play, demonic invasions, and weirdness galore. But this time there was an appreciably less of the kind of "Louis L'Amour" writing that I love so much, particularly the visualization of just what it was like following the Civil War as settlers pushed and shoved their way towards the Pacific Ocean. To whit, the fact that we do an about face and head instead into Washington D.C. was not only somewhat disorienting but less than welcome. Even if the battle scene on the train was pretty crazy. Sure it worked in stories like Ben Galley's "Scarlet Star" Trilogy, but in this case, especially with the near destruction of Golden River in route, it felt both forced and too rushed in many ways.

… wherever a man goes, Death is his companion.

Finally, the sudden appearance of "surprising guest stars" towards the end, both from American as well as literary history as well as far too much Judeo-Christian silliness felt to me like the train - meaning the proverbial one this time - was seriously in danger of coming completely derailed. Whereas I don't want to spoil either of the first two examples (haha, vampire dentures!), I will say that the choice in terms of defining Rosa's true identity was less than thrilling for me (ah, nothing says "Garden of Eden" like a threesome!). I guess in many ways I should have expected it, particularly as we spend the entire series discussing the ultimate battles that occur when Heaven and/or Hell get their brand specific panties in a bunch. And don't get me started on the bloody Snallygaster - yeah, it's a real myth! - that caused me to nearly shake my head off my frame.

All the sins in your life have finally caught up to you.

But again, if we're going to hypothesize which characters are attached to which bits of the Bible that managed to survive umpteen revisions over the past several hundred years - remembering for example that here "Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ… is now one of the good guys, and apparently father to all vampires" - why not then go back to the bits that were "borrowed extensively" to write the damn book in the first place? Yeah, yeah, there I go again, asking for pagan credit where it's due… P.S. Happy Samhain to you all! There is however a LOT of the back and forth about the eternal warring going on, noting that "the scrutiny of Heaven was nearly boundless. And the gaze of Hell touched everywhere else." OK, I'll just have to take your word on that and keep my Norse mythology icons hidden in the closet.

Heaven, Hell, it’s all the same. Two sides of the same coin.

What I will say at the end here is that this is one of the first series I've read in a while where we end the final scene and I agreed fully that it was time to move on. James may have sweet-talked his way out of REALLY BAD HELL and only wound up in PRETTY BAD HELL by the end, but it was a good stopping point for everyone involved, even if some bits still sat unresolved (what happened to the shapeshifting doggies they cried?). I'm sure the following graphic novels will cover his ultimate destiny as well as the interesting developments in terms of Rosa's … reincarnation? in their own way. Which isn't really all that far-fetched knowing from years of collecting Marvel titles left and right, I know full well that in comicdom, no one ever dies forever ("Coming back from the dead ain’t easy. I should know."). Not even the various incarnations of Robin over at DC and that's saying something! Anyway… Happy Trails, ya'll.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

For untold years, the thought-dead gunslinger James Crowley has roamed the wild west doing the bidding of the White Throne – hunting wretched nephilim that prey on humans and subvert creation, like vampires. This was his reward for dying in virtue despite a life mired in vice. Love of a woman and his own conscience, though, have made him an apparent enemy of the Throne: he rescued someone that the forces of evil and “good” both desired to make a weapon for their respective forces. Doing what was right in their own hearts didn’t work for the Hebrews, and it’s made Crowley a target for other Black Badges like himself. A vampiric talisman is keeping him concealed for the moment, but given the amount of supernatural interest in Rosa, the imperiled couple will be found, and by all the hounds of hell and horsemen of the apocalypse. So begins the unpredictable but grimly satisfying end to the Black Badge series.

Vein Pursuits truly stood the Black Badge series on its head, as it took us not only out of the west, but into ‘civilization’ – New Orleans, where depravity and demonic energy reign. Crowley’s stubbornness has often put him at odds with the messenger of the White Throne who was his handler – Shar – but in Vein Pursuits his contempt for the cruelty that Shar often ignored saw him fall from what passed for grace in his life. As if to confirm that Shar – and possibly the White Throne – were not truly righteous, they have resurrected the murdering rapist who killed Crowley and made of him a Black Badge. How could “good” use such a vile creature as Ace, who makes use of necromancy and enlists werewolves as allies? Ace in the Hole is the drama of Crowley, Rosa, and his aging horse Timp attempting to evade or destroy the legions sent after him and the monster driving them. But now they’ll go worse than the Big Easy: they’re going to the Federal City itself, the beast on the Potomac.

Ace in the Hole takes into some strange, fantastic, and arcane territory. What is Rosa that angels, demons, and vampires are all fixated on her? As Crowley and Rosa flee, the severity of their dilemma grows more obvious, and there are some fantastic “horror” elements, including monsters that seem plucked straight from Lovecraft. Although working for the White Throne, Ace is consorting with arcane powers of darkness, doing things like possessing a trainload of passengers to attack Crowley as they search for answers and sanctuary: what’s more, Ace’s diabolical powers allow him to overwhelm those who have energies of their own, like a servant of the Traitor, Father of Vampires. This means that not only is Crowley habitually robbed of allies, but deceit and treachery sit as thick in the plot as a London fog. He’s left with questions and desperation, and so is the reader: what does God need with a mere woman?

This book is all kinds of interesting from theological, mythological, and even historical points of view. The action culminates within – or rather, below – the Washington monument, in which we learn that many of the Traitor’s scions were involved in the founding of America, and their vision brings to mind the Freemasons – especially for historically literate readers who know which founders were Masons. I thought this was fascinating, especially given that the Catholic Church views Freemasonry with condemnation, regarding it almost as anathema. That element is never directly addressed, but readers who are cued in will find much of interest.

Ace in the Hole is an ending to the trilogy, though offers a graphic novel series for those who can’t get enough. I might count myself in this category: Bruno and Castle’s world-building captured me from the word go, with its interesting blind of Christian and southwestern native cosmotology. Of course, being a fan of RDR2 I am an utter sucker for the outlaw with a heart of gold, even when he ain’t voiced by Oirthur Morgan hisself. Overall, I definitely enjoyed the book, but it’s definitely not a read-along: a reader has to be invested in both Crowley and the Crowley-Rosa relationship that’s been building for years, to get the most out of it. I’m sad that this is the end of the line — it’s a new world, and they don’t want folk like us no more — but it was a great series while it lasted, with a fun mix of western action and fantasy that ranged from light to epic.

[Wolfmantula · Rating 4 out of 5]

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MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.25/5
FORMAT: Kindle Whispersync

Bruno & Castle did a good job wrapping up this series with an action-packed showdown of epic supernatural proportions in Ace in the Hole. The setting changes once again with Crowley heading to the nation’s capital which added some new twists along the way, as well as the expected historical tie-ins that the pair of authors have been working in since the beginning of this trilogy. I’ve been comparing this series to RIPD 2, Jonah Hex and Dresden Files since the beginning, book 2 had a Dracula and Interview with the Vampire vibe and this finale had a slight Witcher feel to it.

The world building and character development got better, but the strongest part of this series and what carries the most weight is the narration by Roger Clark, aka Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2. This is a repeat of my previous reviews because I have nothing new to add… Clark makes the setting feel even more realistic than just the story itself. His deep voice can surprisingly even make female characters not sound masculine.

“This was the West, wild and free. You expect a damsel, you get a cutthroat. Brick walls couldn’t stop that woman when she had a mind to walk somewhere.”

The story itself was interesting with Crowley and Rosa now on the run from the White Throne, a new black badge in Ace Riker and the loup-garous, introducing skinwalkers and much more along the way. The biggest part of this was finally learning why Rosa was so important and how she changes the game completely. The action in the first three-quarters of the story was more exciting than the actual ending itself. I was slightly underwhelmed with how Crowley and Ace’s head to head ended up as well as Crowley’s confrontation with the White Throne.

A point of contention I had with the previous novels was the lack of development in the other characters not named James Crowley, and that did slightly change in this final addition to the Black Badge trilogy, with Rosa. She got some much needed development to her character that really helped seal the story. I do wish this happened a little earlier for such a strong character that was a big part of the plot, but better late than never. It still lacked some overall depth with the story and characters as a whole which is keeping it from being rated higher, but it was still a fun time in this weird western world that ends in a way that leaves the door cracked if they choose to add more one day.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

One: I didn't know that this was the last book of the series. I thought they were going to do another book, and that would be it. But to be the last book and for it to end the way it did? Perfect. I loved every bit of it.

Two: I'm going to miss Crowley and Rosa SO, SO MUCH. These two were so much fun to read about, seeing them go around the West, trying to stop Ace, Heaven and Hell, and also trying to figure out what Rosa is and find someone who can train her with her ever-growing powers. I also liked how she kept trying to stop Crowley from doing the wrong things and wants him to do things her way, even though sometimes it doesn't work at all, which cracks me up sometimes because he gets frustrated and wants to do things his way instead of hers.

Three: The interesting characters that came up here-we got Ace, Chekoketh, Judas Iscariot, and also George Washington, but as a vampire. Dracula does show up at the end, but the one thing I'm stuck on is GEORGE WASHINGTON AS A VAMPIRE. WHO NEEDS VAMPIRIC DENTURES. I honestly crackled the moment I read that, picturing him as a vampire who needs vampiric dentures just so he can drink blood. And he lives in his tower-perfect. Now I can't stop thinking about it each time I look at a picture of the Washington Tower. I think.

But to me, this felt like if Geralt and Yennefer were dropped in the West to find out what Yen is, while also fighting monsters, and this was very fun to read. I didn't care about Ace one bit, even though he got on my nerves. I just enjoyed one last right with Crowley, and the ENDING shocked me. The ENDING. But I did enjoy it nonetheless and I'm sad it's over :(

[Martin Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read this series from book 1 I thought; why is it only a trilogy? How, and why does it end?

Here we are.

Following the events of book 2 things have taken a turn. Not in a bad way, or even a good way. They simply have. As always this book is fun as all get out, and things move at a fast pace. Bruno, and Castle know what they are doing.

Admittedly this book is short on world building, as we already know all of that. It focuses tightly on what is going on with Rosa, and how Crowley can help figure out the answers.

By books end we know what is special about Rosa, the who, what and why as well as what happens afterwards. The ending is a little bittersweet, but as with The Buried Goddess saga by the same authors; I applaud their bravery, and conviction in not giving us a 100% nice, happy ending.

This series is great, and I would strongly recommend the audiobooks simply for the narration by Roger Clark.

[Yevgeniy Brikman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I found the final book in this series to be a little disappointing. It falls into the classic trap of fantasy stories where, in each book, the stakes get higher and higher, until finally, things are just too big & broad to make any sense. So whereas the first book focused on the characters, action, and world building—things that feel personal and meaningful—this third book focuses a bit too much on "saving the world," which just feels too big and nebulous. The characters are still great, but the action isn't as fun, there is little new world building, and the ending was a bit meh.

[Jeremy Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 was pretty good and pulled me into the genre. Book 2 was really really good. Enjoyed it a lot!!! Book 3, while still keeping me hooked and enjoyable, had me wondering when the finale would begin. I was itching, like a Nephilim was nearby.

It wasn’t until the very end that everything climaxed all at once, and not in the spectacular fashion I had imagined.

I’m not saying I needed a joyful ending, but damn! I was expecting a battle against Shar, not a conversation with Ace with his handler listening in. It really threw me off.

Still chewing on this one…. I’ll leave with this. I did enjoy the entire series, and Jaime Castle is a cool guy. Gotta give mad props.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve really liked this series up until this book, which I think fell flat as a pancake. The plot didn’t really have much going for it, and one of the twists at the end was borderline laugh out loud ridiculous. The only thing saving it from a lower rating was the characters that carried over. If I read this as a standalone book, it’d probably be a 2 star book for me…..

Very generous 3/5 stars

[Drizzt · Rating 3 out of 5]

not terrible, but an ending that left me unfulfilled. yes Crowley probably did deserve the punishment and he gets to laugh about denying both sides. but I don't get the bit about Rosa giving up all the power and then trading it for becoming a vampire. also vampire George Washington? Got a bit silly here.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an ending!

That was slam bang ending. The entire book was action, then action then a little more for good measure. Crowley is a great character, you can't help but root for him. To bad this is the end to his story, I would enjoy more.
One can wish ...

[AlexandraJLasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exciting addition to the Black Badge series I especially love geometry dash lite with its fun gameplay and supernatural elements, you won't want to miss "Ace in the Hole"!

[Aaron Kapner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional series. I hope for more!

Absolutely loved reading this. Western action, supernatural horrors, historical fiction, all wrapped together in a wonderful prose. Bring on more Black Badge!

[Ty · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book felt rushed and underdeveloped. There was a lot of potential, but the main plot never fully took shape. The side characters and subplots carried more weight than the core story, which landed flat. Things just needed more time to develop to really deliver.

[Jack Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointed. I preferred the less serious one off nature of the first two books. This tries to be a bit too epic in trying to craft a finale. Feel like it should have continued with a few more books. And maybe it will, but doesn't change how thrown together this felt for a finale.

[William Spano · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start of Ace perfectly set the tone immediately off the bat in this one after the end of book 2. Just as fun, just as interesting with a solid set of characters but the ending fell very flat for me. Curious if there will be a sequel or a spinoff series.

[Harold Reavley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable end.

Interesting take on vampires, cool new demons. Fitting end to the series. Minor spoiler maybe, don't know I'd call it a happy ending, but a series based on doomed sinners, what do you expect.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was a really fun trilogy. Paranormal westerns are such a niche vibe, but if you’re ever in the mood for vampires, grit, and a little yeehaw energy, I’d definitely recommend it… assuming that extremely specific moment ever comes up 😬

[Bellaluvbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! 5 stars!

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Harry Dresden in the Wild West. Awesome!

[Chris Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent addition to the Black Badge series. Quick read, filled with action and surprisingly complex backstories, I continue to enjoy immersing myself in this setting.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. I need book 4 now!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's the end?! Aw man.

[Logan Sebring · Rating 3 out of 5]

wasn't the biggest fan of the direction the ending took personally

[Lizzy B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad this story is over. James and Rosa were endgame for me and I’m devastated that it ended with James being sent back to hell and Rosa having to live without james for eternity. I love that Rosa was brought back as a vampire, but it feels like a loose end. I don’t know there will be more books in the series, but I hope so. James and Rosa deserve their happy ending. 💔😭