Flesh and Blood (Benny Imura 3) by Jonathan Maberry

I am going to give you fair warning here: I have a lot of feels about this series and there will be some spoilers for previous books so be warned if you have not read the first two books.  Although, I have to wonder WHY NOT if you haven't!  Here's the creepy cover and Goodreads blurb:

Reeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any of them can imagine. They are hunted by fierce animals escaped from zoos and circuses. They must raid zombie-infested towns for food and medical supplies. They discover the very real truth in the old saying: In the Rot & Ruin…everything wants to kill you.

And what is happening to the zombies? Swarms of them are coming from the east, devouring everything in their paths. These zoms are different. Faster, smarter, infinitely more dangerous. Has the zombie plague mutated, or is there something far more sinister behind this new invasion of the living dead?

In Flesh & Bone, Benny Imura, Nix Riley, Lou Chong and Lilah the Lost Girl are pitted against dangers greater than anything they've ever faced. To survive, each of them must rise to become the warriors Tom trained them to be.

I met Jonathan Maberry at a signing at BEA 2012.  I told him how much the ending of Dust and Decay killed me because I just loved Tom Imura.  His response?  He smiled, thanked me and let me know that Flesh and Bone might actually be worse.  OUCH!  I loved meeting him though, what a great guy!!  This book was just insane from start to finish.  Benny and his friends find out that the world was not like they thought it was.  They also find out that there are worse things out in the Rot & Ruin than zombies and the men who had run Gameland.  As readers, we experience each epiphany with them.  While they are running from scary killers and zombies, they each go through their own inner dialogue as they each come to terms with losing Tom and try to figure out who they are.  It is hard enough to be a teenager but a teenager in the Rot & Ruin is something else entirely.  This book will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way through.

You can find out more about Jonathan Maberry on his website, on his Facebook page and you can find him on Twitter.  Jonathan Maberry has written books other than the Benny Imura series and you can find them on Goodreads.  I give 4 Fairies to Flesh and Bone and I can't wait to see what Benny, Lilah, Chong and Nix do next.