Celia was all set to get married, but in a strange turn of events, Celia found out her boyfriend Steven was a con artist. Steven had been stealing money from Celia and all of her friends, and now he is under arrest just when Celia is on a cruise to give a speech on fine gems.

Lady Em is also on the cruise; she has a beautiful necklace that her late husband gave her. The necklace once belonged to Cleopatra and has a curse on it although Lady Em never believed in the curse. Lady Em is traveling with her assistant Brenda and her financial adviser Roger and his wife.

Also on this cruise is Ted, he is a lawyer and wants nothing more than to speak with Lady Em about the necklace. He wants to return it to the rightful owner, Egypt. All these along with much more will be interacting on this cruise.

Alvitah and Willy are also on the cruise. This couple won the lottery several years ago, and this is how they decided to spend their 45th anniversary. Alvitah is also an amateur detective. Several days into the cruise, several things start to happen. Lady Em is murdered. Was the murderer after the necklace? But Lady Em doesn't have it; she had given it to Celia for safe keeping. After her murder, Brenda is also attacked. Roger is thrown overboard by his wife; Yvonne is tired of him and wants the insurance money.

I love Mary Higgins Clark's books. ALL BY MYSELF, ALONE is fantastic. There are so many different story lines, but it is not confusing at all. Several times I thought I had it figured out, but then Mary throws in a twist. I also enjoyed the way she described the ship. If you have a ton of money, this would be the kind of cruise you would want to go on.

I have never been on a cruise, but if I could, this would be the one I would go on. The way Ms. Clark has, but all of these characters together are great. While several of them felt they were ALL BY MYSELF, ALONE in the end never of them were.

I read ALL BY MYSELF, ALONE in one day, it is one of those books that you just can't put down.