Blade

Walker’s slick and satisfying latest (after American Girl) is set in the ruthless world of competitive figure skating. Despite bad memories, New York defense attorney Ana Robbins returns to Echo, Colo.—home of the Palace, an elite training facility for young skaters—to defend 15-year-old Grace Montgomery against murder charges. Like Ana, Grace trained at the Palace; now she’s accused of murdering Emile Dresiér, the facility’s assistant coach, by striking him in the head with a skate blade. The evidence is damning: Grace was the last person to see Emile alive, her skate was caked with blood after his death, and she was caught on video assaulting another skater shortly before his killing. Still, Ana believes Grace when she says she’s innocent, based in part on her own memories of the toxic atmosphere created by Emile and head coach Dawn Sumner. When Grace tells Ana, “It’s not safe here, and it’s all your fault,” Ana is forced to reexamine her own time at the Palace while searching for clues. Walker nimbly toggles back and forth in time, slowly revealing the depths of Dawn and Emile’s depravity before tying everything together in the shrewd conclusion. The author is at the top of her game. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writers House. (Jan.)