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Old Bones
Frank had one rule for the end of the stay fed, stay moving, and stay out of other people’s business.
At sixty-five, with failing knees and a lifetime of regrets, he’s long given up on heroics. But when he stumbles across fifteen-year-old Maisie and her asthmatic little sister, Zoe—two kids trying to outrun a world where a single cough can wake the dead—Frank breaks his own rule.
He doesn’t want to lead. They don’t want to trust him. But danger forces them together, and the road ahead doesn’t care about age, fear, or good intentions.
Now Frank is guiding the girls toward a distant aunt and whispered rumors of a safe zone—on a trek that will test his body, challenge his beliefs, and demand a kind of courage he thought he’d buried long ago.
At sixty-five, with failing knees and a lifetime of regrets, he’s long given up on heroics. But when he stumbles across fifteen-year-old Maisie and her asthmatic little sister, Zoe—two kids trying to outrun a world where a single cough can wake the dead—Frank breaks his own rule.
He doesn’t want to lead. They don’t want to trust him. But danger forces them together, and the road ahead doesn’t care about age, fear, or good intentions.
Now Frank is guiding the girls toward a distant aunt and whispered rumors of a safe zone—on a trek that will test his body, challenge his beliefs, and demand a kind of courage he thought he’d buried long ago.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 4, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 22, 2026
not perfect but darn good
It’s nice to read an apocalyptic novel with an older main character and filled with real stakes and real human values. There’s a fair amount of repetitive phrasing such as “sat with companionable silence,” or “breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding” and the like. It could have used a good line editor but the warmth of the story and characters overcame the minor defects. It’s well worth reading.
It’s nice to read an apocalyptic novel with an older main character and filled with real stakes and real human values. There’s a fair amount of repetitive phrasing such as “sat with companionable silence,” or “breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding” and the like. It could have used a good line editor but the warmth of the story and characters overcame the minor defects. It’s well worth reading.
May 4, 2026
🇩🇳🇫'🇩 in April 2026
I tried to read this zombie book bc it's lighter and more positive than most in the genre, with a heartwarming story. It’s about a grandfatherly man who teams up with a fifteen-year-old girl and her eight-year-old sister, five years after the zombie apocalypse. Together, they travel to Colorado to find a safe zone. Along the way, they face the usual dangers—zombies and hostile humans. They also struggle to survive by dealing with the weather, finding shelter, and searching for food. The youngest sister has asthma, so they also need to find inhalers, but luckily that’s not too hard.
The story started well, but steadily went downhill.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 proved to be my biggest issue. It doesn’t flow well, and there’s too much repetition, which I’m especially sensitive to. 😬 (I’ve been noticing more repetition in newer books, which makes me wonder if AI is behind it.) Those able to overlook it, may enjoy the story.
🇧🇴🇴🇰 📖 🇪🇽🇨🇪🇷🇵🇹🇸:
(repetition examples)
🔸Frank moved with the practiced caution of a man who had survived this long by never rushing,
🔸swinging the tire iron in a practiced arc.
🔸Zoe took the medication with practiced ease
🔸She took it with practiced movements,
🔸With practiced efficiency, Frank drove his knife into the base of the zombie’s skull,
🔸Zoe laced up her worn sneakers ...with practiced movements.
🔸They skirted the main building, moving with practiced caution.
🔸Frank navigated around these obstacles with practiced ease,
🔸Frank assessed the F-250 with a practiced eye.
🔸Rosemary approached with practiced caution,
🔸Frank... drove his hunting knife into the base of its skull with practiced precision.
🔸watching as she wrapped the wound with practiced efficiency.
🔸With practiced movements, she worked the lock
🔸Rosemary popped the hood, her movements precise and practiced.
🔸her voice taking on a rhythmic, practiced quality.
🔸the older girl folding a shirt with practiced efficiency
🔸They moved through the school hallways in practiced formation
🔸Frank watched as Rosemary worked under the hood with practiced movements.
🔸But Maisie handled it with practiced ease.
🔸Rosemary moved with practiced caution,
🔸crushing skulls with practiced swings.
🔸her smile easy and practiced.
🔸unloading essential supplies and weapons with practiced efficiency.
🔸examining the lock with practiced eyes.
🔸Adela folded the map with practiced efficiency.
🔸With practiced precision, she tossed it toward the open area
🔸With practiced efficiency, she pocketed all but one,
🔸Her weathered hands moved with practiced precision,
▪️In answer to Maisie's question of why he wants to join up with them, Franks says: “Company. And maybe a purpose beyond just surviving another day.”
▪️Frank felt a surge of something he hadn’t experienced in a long time—hope, maybe. Or purpose.
▪️Frank acknowledged the truth he’d been avoiding. For the first time in years, he had something beyond survival to think about. A purpose, however temporary.
▪️Frank felt something he hadn’t experienced in years: purpose.
▪️Before meeting the girls, he’d been drifting aimlessly, surviving without purpose.
▪️Frank watched the two sleeping forms on the mattress, these girls who’d somehow become his responsibility, his purpose.
▪️“The girls are good for you,” she observed, “Give you purpose.”
▪️But they were committed now, bound together by shared purpose
🔹...Zoe asked suddenly, breaking the companionable silence that had fallen over them.
🔹They sat on the break room floor, enjoying their unexpected treats in companionable silence.
🔹They ate in companionable silence,
🔹For a while, they simply ate in companionable silence.
🔹They sat in companionable silence for a while,
🔹They ate in companionable silence,
🔹They stood in companionable silence for a moment,
I tried to read this zombie book bc it's lighter and more positive than most in the genre, with a heartwarming story. It’s about a grandfatherly man who teams up with a fifteen-year-old girl and her eight-year-old sister, five years after the zombie apocalypse. Together, they travel to Colorado to find a safe zone. Along the way, they face the usual dangers—zombies and hostile humans. They also struggle to survive by dealing with the weather, finding shelter, and searching for food. The youngest sister has asthma, so they also need to find inhalers, but luckily that’s not too hard.
The story started well, but steadily went downhill.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 proved to be my biggest issue. It doesn’t flow well, and there’s too much repetition, which I’m especially sensitive to. 😬 (I’ve been noticing more repetition in newer books, which makes me wonder if AI is behind it.) Those able to overlook it, may enjoy the story.
🇧🇴🇴🇰 📖 🇪🇽🇨🇪🇷🇵🇹🇸:
(repetition examples)
🔸Frank moved with the practiced caution of a man who had survived this long by never rushing,
🔸swinging the tire iron in a practiced arc.
🔸Zoe took the medication with practiced ease
🔸She took it with practiced movements,
🔸With practiced efficiency, Frank drove his knife into the base of the zombie’s skull,
🔸Zoe laced up her worn sneakers ...with practiced movements.
🔸They skirted the main building, moving with practiced caution.
🔸Frank navigated around these obstacles with practiced ease,
🔸Frank assessed the F-250 with a practiced eye.
🔸Rosemary approached with practiced caution,
🔸Frank... drove his hunting knife into the base of its skull with practiced precision.
🔸watching as she wrapped the wound with practiced efficiency.
🔸With practiced movements, she worked the lock
🔸Rosemary popped the hood, her movements precise and practiced.
🔸her voice taking on a rhythmic, practiced quality.
🔸the older girl folding a shirt with practiced efficiency
🔸They moved through the school hallways in practiced formation
🔸Frank watched as Rosemary worked under the hood with practiced movements.
🔸But Maisie handled it with practiced ease.
🔸Rosemary moved with practiced caution,
🔸crushing skulls with practiced swings.
🔸her smile easy and practiced.
🔸unloading essential supplies and weapons with practiced efficiency.
🔸examining the lock with practiced eyes.
🔸Adela folded the map with practiced efficiency.
🔸With practiced precision, she tossed it toward the open area
🔸With practiced efficiency, she pocketed all but one,
🔸Her weathered hands moved with practiced precision,
▪️In answer to Maisie's question of why he wants to join up with them, Franks says: “Company. And maybe a purpose beyond just surviving another day.”
▪️Frank felt a surge of something he hadn’t experienced in a long time—hope, maybe. Or purpose.
▪️Frank acknowledged the truth he’d been avoiding. For the first time in years, he had something beyond survival to think about. A purpose, however temporary.
▪️Frank felt something he hadn’t experienced in years: purpose.
▪️Before meeting the girls, he’d been drifting aimlessly, surviving without purpose.
▪️Frank watched the two sleeping forms on the mattress, these girls who’d somehow become his responsibility, his purpose.
▪️“The girls are good for you,” she observed, “Give you purpose.”
▪️But they were committed now, bound together by shared purpose
🔹...Zoe asked suddenly, breaking the companionable silence that had fallen over them.
🔹They sat on the break room floor, enjoying their unexpected treats in companionable silence.
🔹They ate in companionable silence,
🔹For a while, they simply ate in companionable silence.
🔹They sat in companionable silence for a while,
🔹They ate in companionable silence,
🔹They stood in companionable silence for a moment,
March 28, 2026
The book is a fast read and to the point. There's not a lot of mindless tangents which I find distracting.
This was a nice change of pace from the shoot 'em up wholesale destruction books I'm more familiar with. Don't get me wrong there is some violence, but it serves to highlight the dangers these survivors face. The story's focus is on the man Frank Halloway who seemingly is nearing the end during the zompocalpyes. Then two children and a teddy bear enter his life. You feel the heartstrings being pulled. Frank finds a new reason for living in wanting to protect these two. His common sense approach and skills as a construction worker prove exceedingly useful in a new dangerous world. I finished all three installments in a week.
This was a nice change of pace from the shoot 'em up wholesale destruction books I'm more familiar with. Don't get me wrong there is some violence, but it serves to highlight the dangers these survivors face. The story's focus is on the man Frank Halloway who seemingly is nearing the end during the zompocalpyes. Then two children and a teddy bear enter his life. You feel the heartstrings being pulled. Frank finds a new reason for living in wanting to protect these two. His common sense approach and skills as a construction worker prove exceedingly useful in a new dangerous world. I finished all three installments in a week.
April 14, 2026
It was ok
It would have been better if the author was more consistent, there were contradictory statements, the time line doesn't make sense, and them pushing to get to a place that was making the kid sick was bonkers to me, I don't know why this book would need a sequel, it wasn't interesting enough, in my opinion to want to read more.
It would have been better if the author was more consistent, there were contradictory statements, the time line doesn't make sense, and them pushing to get to a place that was making the kid sick was bonkers to me, I don't know why this book would need a sequel, it wasn't interesting enough, in my opinion to want to read more.
April 18, 2026
Ok, first off: For a zombie book there were precious few zombies.
Story overall ok. A bit simplistic but enjoyable enough. Probably won’t specifically look for book #2, but if it’s available through the library I’ll read it.
Story overall ok. A bit simplistic but enjoyable enough. Probably won’t specifically look for book #2, but if it’s available through the library I’ll read it.
April 24, 2026
I really enjoyed this story. This takes place about five years after the zombie apocolypse and is about found family trying to make it to a rumored safe haven. Great main characters. Loved it, highly recommend it.
May 18, 2026
Excellent!!!
This is a refreshing zombie story. You don't expect the emotional situations that 2 young girls can get into. Also the fierce protection that surprises this older gentleman. And a female mechanic. The surprises just keep coming. Excellent story line.
This is a refreshing zombie story. You don't expect the emotional situations that 2 young girls can get into. Also the fierce protection that surprises this older gentleman. And a female mechanic. The surprises just keep coming. Excellent story line.
February 1, 2026
I enjoyed this so much I read all night and finished the book. I like how the author kept the story moving but didn’t reveal everything all at once
February 23, 2026
Can’t wait to read the next book
First time reading Brad Knight. The story keeps you going. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
First time reading Brad Knight. The story keeps you going. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
April 18, 2026
Healing after disaster
This is the first post apocalyptic story I have rad that shows society actually reorganizing and trying to heal. I like that.
This is the first post apocalyptic story I have rad that shows society actually reorganizing and trying to heal. I like that.
April 20, 2026
Inconsistencies in the time line. The inhaler count was different every time it was mentioned. Good dialogue with characters, I liked it generally. Could use an editor.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews