Amanda Cross examines relationships and human nature in The Players Come Again, a thought-provoking novel about literature, feminism and ageing.

The 80s are coming to a close and Kate Fansler is using this time to tie up loose ends. Having completed a work of literary criticism - and vowing it will be her last - Kate enjoys lunch with editor Simon Pearlstine, indulging in her usual vodka martini.

There is no rest for the wicked as he commissions her to write a biography of reclusive Gabrielle Foxx, the quiet wife of a famous modernist author. Kate discovers there is more to Gabrielle than meets the eye, and in order to trace the Foxx family's complicated history she must track down three important women from Gabrielle's past: Anne, Dorinda and Nellie.

But the further Kate probes into Gabrielle's history the darker the secrets she uncovers . . .

'I salute this latest work as being among the best she has written, if not the best' - Antonia Fraser