Title: Blade
Author: Wendy Walker
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Release Date: February 1, 2026
From USA Today bestselling author—and former competitive skater—Wendy Walker comes a chilling psychological thriller set in the cutthroat world of elite figure skating.
Ana Robbins was an Olympic star in the making—until tragedy forced her to leave that world behind. At the age of sixteen, she gave up her dream and never looked back. Fourteen years later, she’s a successful defense attorney, revered for her work with minors. But when her former coach turns up dead, Ana lands right back where it all began, and abruptly The Palace, a world-renowned skating facility nestled high in the mountains of Colorado.
Ana returns to The Palace to defend the young skater accused of the brutal crime—Grace Montgomery. Despite her claims of innocence, all evidence points squarely at Grace’s guilt, and she’s days away from facing charges of first-degree murder.
But Ana’s investigation dredges up childhood memories of her own, triggering the fear that permeates this place where she once lived and trained far from home as an “Orphan.” With a blizzard raging outside, and time running out for Grace, Ana is determined to uncover the truth—even if it means exposing her own secrets that she buried here long ago.
Ana Robins is a successful defense attorney who specializes in defending minors. She is driven to help children who have endured terrible trauma because she knows it all too well from her own experience. When she was just thirteen, her parents sent her to “The Palace,” a world-renowned skating facility in Colorado, to train under Coach Dawn Sumner. There, she met three other girls: Kayla, Indy, and Jolene. Since none of their parents were present, the four of them were called “the Orphans.” All four suffered at the hands of the coaches, the psychiatrist, and the mothers of the other skaters who lived nearby.
Over a decade later, Ana is called back to The Palace when Jolene’s daughter, Grace Montgomery, is suspected of killing the assistant coach, Emile. Returning to that place causes all of Ana’s buried memories to resurface. So many secrets are about to come out—including the ones only Ana knows.
The novel uses a Now and Then timeline, although it felt like most of the book took place in the “Then” timeline, which made parts of it feel somewhat immature. Furthermore, the denouement felt unsatisfactory to this reader. I don’t know… it wasn’t my favorite by this author. So many bad people were able to get away with terrible things for far too long, with very few consequences.
Cliffhanger: No
3.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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