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The One Thing More
A royalist out to save Louis XVI from the guillotine is murdered in this mystery set in revolutionary France by a New York Times–bestselling master. Célie Laurent stands in the convention hall of the French Republic, watching the deputies vote one by one. Most of them have just one word to “Death.” As the night wears on, the outcome of the vote moves beyond doubt, and Louis XVI is condemned to the guillotine. Célie will have just four days to save the king’s life. As the Revolution reaches a fever pitch, Célie falls in with a group of royalists who are willing to do whatever it takes to keep France from killing its king. Their plan is daring, but just might work—until the group’s leader is murdered in cold blood. Somewhere among the royalists lies a traitor, and Célie and her friends must find him soon, lest they lose their heads before Louis loses his. From the New York Times–bestselling author of the William Monk and Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, acclaimed for her atmospheric historical settings, The One Thing More is a fascinating tale of suspense.
420 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2000
339 people are currently reading
510 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
363 books3,383 followersAnne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in England, lived in Scotland most of her life after serving five years in prison for murder (in New Zealand). A beloved mystery authoress, she is best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series.
Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".
Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.
Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories
Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".
Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.
Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
December 31, 2022
I have no idea how many times I've read this book - several, anyway. Set during the French Revolution, a setting I can never resist, it combines a murder mystery with a plot to rescue Louis XVI en route to his execution. An engaging read as always, and it had been long enough since I last read it that I had forgotten enough of the plot for some of the twists to surprise me anew.
March 31, 2013
The French Revolution
The French Revolution. Robespierre, Lafayette, Marat, and Louis Capet i.e. Louis XVII. And then there are the people we’ve never heard of. They are the ones this story is about. Anti-royal sentiment is rampant at this time. It’s dangerous to espouse any other viewpoint yet there are some who worry that without a strong king the surrounding monarchies will attack and eventually swallow up France and her people. Their long desired independence will be short lived. This is the back drop of this story but at heart it’s a murder mystery…and a bit of a love story.
Bernave is an industrialist with an extended family relying on him. He’s decided to act, though necessarily in secret, rather than watch the country go to war once the king is executed. He runs a secret network of agents none of who know who the others are. He has a substitute who’s willing to die impersonating the king. Then tragedy strikes and the co-conspirators are left to flounder. Perry has almost too many storylines going on at once in “The One Thing More” which makes the book confusing at times. It was interesting to see her grapple with 18th century French politics but I hope she doesn’t abandon her Pitt or her Monk series. The best part of this book was the history that was included. For me there often (but not always) seems to be a wall between me and Perry’s characters. I feel at a distance from them. This makes it difficult to fully engage in their plight.
This review is based on an e-galley supplied by the publisher.
The French Revolution. Robespierre, Lafayette, Marat, and Louis Capet i.e. Louis XVII. And then there are the people we’ve never heard of. They are the ones this story is about. Anti-royal sentiment is rampant at this time. It’s dangerous to espouse any other viewpoint yet there are some who worry that without a strong king the surrounding monarchies will attack and eventually swallow up France and her people. Their long desired independence will be short lived. This is the back drop of this story but at heart it’s a murder mystery…and a bit of a love story.
Bernave is an industrialist with an extended family relying on him. He’s decided to act, though necessarily in secret, rather than watch the country go to war once the king is executed. He runs a secret network of agents none of who know who the others are. He has a substitute who’s willing to die impersonating the king. Then tragedy strikes and the co-conspirators are left to flounder. Perry has almost too many storylines going on at once in “The One Thing More” which makes the book confusing at times. It was interesting to see her grapple with 18th century French politics but I hope she doesn’t abandon her Pitt or her Monk series. The best part of this book was the history that was included. For me there often (but not always) seems to be a wall between me and Perry’s characters. I feel at a distance from them. This makes it difficult to fully engage in their plight.
This review is based on an e-galley supplied by the publisher.
September 19, 2019
Not a typical Anne Perry mystery, this takes place during the French Revolution just before the execution of Louis XVI. Over the span of only a few days a few men and one woman fear that the execution and ensuing chaos will prompt foreign governments to invade France. Perry creates a dramatic story using well-known figures of the time (Marat, Robespierre, Danton) along with fictional characters. This is a well-crafted story with vivid characters and a spellbinding story.
October 30, 2020
ahh my first anne perry that i wasn’t incredibly in love with..... it was bound to happen but why did it have to be a book about the french revolution???? 😭 my two loves rolled into one and i didnt love it like i was hoping to.
March 26, 2016
Anne Perry has been in my TBR pile for some time, particularly The Carter Street Hangman series which I have heard many good things about. The One Thing More was the first of her novels I have actually read, and it did not live up to the expectations set from the feedback of her other, better known novels.
The story is set during a time of French civil unrest, with an uprising against the King. While that sounds right up my alley, the story unfortunately fell flat, and was tediously boring. My main issue is that I never grew to care about any of the characters. I did not love anyone, cheer for anyone, hate or even dislike anyone. It makes for a long story when you have no emotional attachment of any kind to any character.
The very beginning of the book is confusing for a few chapters as you have to sort out how the characters are connected to one another and what is the root cause of the civil unrest. A prologue would have gone a long way towards letting the reader become comfortable earlier on in the story.
Perry uses phonetic dialogue to display how the commoners speak differently from the French upper class during a riot - I found this jarring as of course you are reading English phonetic dialogues, but you know the characters should have been speaking French. This was the only time I was pulled out of the story to think about languages - it was a distraction, yet added nothing to the story.
The very last chapter was wonderful and had an unforseen twist. If only the rest of the chapters could have had an ounce of similarity I would have enjoyed this one more. As written, I rate it 2 stars ("It was ok" - Goodreads guidelines).
Favorite quote: " 'If this is all there is, we'd better hang on to it as long as it's bearable. Few of us can cope with the thought of extinction.' He shrugged. 'Funny that: no matter how little a man thinks of himself, he cannot imagine the world functioning just as well when he is no longer part of it.' "
**This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review by Open Road Integrated Media.
The story is set during a time of French civil unrest, with an uprising against the King. While that sounds right up my alley, the story unfortunately fell flat, and was tediously boring. My main issue is that I never grew to care about any of the characters. I did not love anyone, cheer for anyone, hate or even dislike anyone. It makes for a long story when you have no emotional attachment of any kind to any character.
The very beginning of the book is confusing for a few chapters as you have to sort out how the characters are connected to one another and what is the root cause of the civil unrest. A prologue would have gone a long way towards letting the reader become comfortable earlier on in the story.
Perry uses phonetic dialogue to display how the commoners speak differently from the French upper class during a riot - I found this jarring as of course you are reading English phonetic dialogues, but you know the characters should have been speaking French. This was the only time I was pulled out of the story to think about languages - it was a distraction, yet added nothing to the story.
The very last chapter was wonderful and had an unforseen twist. If only the rest of the chapters could have had an ounce of similarity I would have enjoyed this one more. As written, I rate it 2 stars ("It was ok" - Goodreads guidelines).
Favorite quote: " 'If this is all there is, we'd better hang on to it as long as it's bearable. Few of us can cope with the thought of extinction.' He shrugged. 'Funny that: no matter how little a man thinks of himself, he cannot imagine the world functioning just as well when he is no longer part of it.' "
**This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review by Open Road Integrated Media.
July 22, 2020
Anne Perry writes some really good books.
Sadly, this isn't one of them.
An over long, turgid, inevitably consequenced book set in the days of the French Revolution, this takes a long, long time to take off, with characters seemingly going back and forward furtively across Paris to no real purpose. The common thread running through the book was that most of the characters imagined at some point what it must be like to be a victim of the guillotine. Most people imagined it much the same.
We didn't really get much insight into the causes of the revolution, and though some of the main protagonists were mentioned, we didn't get much of an insight into them either. The murder mystery was flabby, and barely relevant, and the sub plot to save the king was poorly explained and generally got lost in the morass of words that simply stifled any sort of decent narrative that may have been hiding in there somewhere.
Not a great read, sadly.
Sadly, this isn't one of them.
An over long, turgid, inevitably consequenced book set in the days of the French Revolution, this takes a long, long time to take off, with characters seemingly going back and forward furtively across Paris to no real purpose. The common thread running through the book was that most of the characters imagined at some point what it must be like to be a victim of the guillotine. Most people imagined it much the same.
We didn't really get much insight into the causes of the revolution, and though some of the main protagonists were mentioned, we didn't get much of an insight into them either. The murder mystery was flabby, and barely relevant, and the sub plot to save the king was poorly explained and generally got lost in the morass of words that simply stifled any sort of decent narrative that may have been hiding in there somewhere.
Not a great read, sadly.
June 12, 2017
This novel proposes an interesting idea: what if the Royalists in France had been able to save the French king from execution at the time of the French Revolution? I have read and enjoyed other books by Anne Perry, but the plot development in this book just didn't seem to move very quickly. Then I felt that the ending was hurried and forced. I will, however, read other books by this author.
May 4, 2018
Slow and at times boring.
The subject matter sounded interesting. A review said I would be unable to put the book down. Unfortunately the former was never realised and while I read the book to the end it was hard, unrewarding work. A slow plodding tale with just a little insight into very few of the cast.
The subject matter sounded interesting. A review said I would be unable to put the book down. Unfortunately the former was never realised and while I read the book to the end it was hard, unrewarding work. A slow plodding tale with just a little insight into very few of the cast.
June 15, 2025
I loved her Pitt and Monk series, but it has been quite a while since I read one. This was on offer for a good price in the Kindle store, so that's why I read it...but I was very disappointed. My thought throughout was that it must be a sequel; there were so many references to prior experiences, particularly of the main character, Celie. I don't remember details of the French Revolution, but that was not the problem. The barest details of her life before indicate a lost husband and child...how? How did she come to be a laundress? What is the background of Coligny? It does end well and the murder is solved, but very unsatisfying.
November 29, 2019
For someone that has never read anything about the French Revolution this might be interesting as to the fears, the hunger, safety in such revolutionary times, this might be interesting as most of the major players are mentioned, but I wasn't too crazy about the story even though I like for the most part, Anne Perry's writings. I have read many books on the French Revolution and I would have only given it one or two stars, but since I feel that all should understand revolutions I gave it ***
November 24, 2024
The One Thing More
I relearned something reading this book, that I forgotten since I was in elementary school. We were taught from our history book.
France took God away from the people then, when did they allow the people of France have God back in their lives, I’m glad they did because without God in our lives and souls we would surely die.
I loved this book, everyone who loves Historical book would love it also.
I relearned something reading this book, that I forgotten since I was in elementary school. We were taught from our history book.
France took God away from the people then, when did they allow the people of France have God back in their lives, I’m glad they did because without God in our lives and souls we would surely die.
I loved this book, everyone who loves Historical book would love it also.
May 19, 2020
French Revolution
This is a story of the time of the French Revolution and a groups plan to replace the King with another man who looks like him on the way to the executioner. An interesting an enthralling read. I learned much more about the French Revolution. Highly recommend this book.
This is a story of the time of the French Revolution and a groups plan to replace the King with another man who looks like him on the way to the executioner. An interesting an enthralling read. I learned much more about the French Revolution. Highly recommend this book.
June 12, 2017
Too vague
This was a very interesting and well written story, but it presumed that I, as the reader, knew much more about the details of the French Revolution than I did. I enjoyed the characters but the nuances of the plot were unknown to me.
This was a very interesting and well written story, but it presumed that I, as the reader, knew much more about the details of the French Revolution than I did. I enjoyed the characters but the nuances of the plot were unknown to me.
July 19, 2017
I have enjoyed all of Anne Perry's books I have read, except for this one. The characters were not believable and I thought the political issues were presented in a very simplistic way. The resolution seemed to be out of nowhere and was unsatisfactory.
March 20, 2019
Appropriate title
Only at the end did the title make sense to me. The story was full of intrigue and the cast was varied and believable. I got lost in the historical facts, but it was well worth the effort.
Only at the end did the title make sense to me. The story was full of intrigue and the cast was varied and believable. I got lost in the historical facts, but it was well worth the effort.
March 31, 2019
One Thing More by Anne Perry
This is not the usual Anne Perry mystery. The flow of the story was a little disjointed in spaces but posed some interesting what if’s... ending with a note of forgiveness and caring which makes all the difference.
This is not the usual Anne Perry mystery. The flow of the story was a little disjointed in spaces but posed some interesting what if’s... ending with a note of forgiveness and caring which makes all the difference.
July 6, 2023
Das Buch ist mir beim Reisen in die Hände gefallen und hat mich positiv überrascht. Ein Mordfall wurde gut mit der Haupthandlung verknüpft. Der Hintergrund (Französische Revolution) gibt auch einiges her und man lernt die Charaktere immer besser kennen, sowie ihre Hintergründe.
April 15, 2024
I've loved Anne Perry's Victorian London series. This was an unexpected find and I looked forward to her voice in a new time and place.
I was supremely disappointed. The characters did not interest me and the plot plodded along. I'll go back to Monk & Pitt, but not Paris.
I was supremely disappointed. The characters did not interest me and the plot plodded along. I'll go back to Monk & Pitt, but not Paris.
July 22, 2017
I really enjoyed this book, history, love story & murder mystery!
August 25, 2017
Very good
Very informative story about France. I enjoyed the story and the surprise ending was masterfully done. Well worth the read
Very informative story about France. I enjoyed the story and the surprise ending was masterfully done. Well worth the read
September 6, 2019
War leider nicht ganz so mein Ding. Etwas zu verwirred and konnte mich mit den Charakteren auch nicht anfreunden. Nicht zu Ende gelesen
July 11, 2024
Anne Perry writes another winner
Different time, circumstances and characters but the same quality. Anne Perry does not disappoint in this story of the French Terror.
Different time, circumstances and characters but the same quality. Anne Perry does not disappoint in this story of the French Terror.
May 14, 2025
Not the usual Anne Perry story. Didn't hold my interest and I found myself wanting the story to end.
Read
September 29, 2025Did not finish. Very boring.
August 1, 2017
Interesting concept but painfully slow reading. I had to force myself to finish. She has written better books But I did research the French Revolution and learned more than I knew before.
March 27, 2013
Truly excellent murder mystery, which is set during the French Revolution. The murder actually takes a secondary role in this tale with the main focus being on the political machinery of that era.
The reader gets a close look at the implications of the revolution and the various groups pulling the strings. The oppressed masses are happy to be released from the tyranny of both church and royalty only to find the subsequent tyranny of the Citizens just as oppressive. It gives a bleak picture of treachery, mistrust, hunger and desperation instead of the joyous freedom the people were seeking.
In the midst of all this a man who is trying to save the king of France is murdered. The question is was he murdered for being a traitor or for his apparently nefarious past.
Perry is an exquisite writer who always manages to capture to tone and scene of the moment with her creative skills. Readers are so used to her writing Victorian crime that they might overlook this great read.
The only thing I found less than stellar was an element that I thought might have been a continuity error. St Felix is described as a young man around the same age as Georges, Celie and Amandine. In the last chapter he is described as someone either the same age as Madame LaCoste or older. That made the solution at the end slightly confusing if not impossible.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley.
The reader gets a close look at the implications of the revolution and the various groups pulling the strings. The oppressed masses are happy to be released from the tyranny of both church and royalty only to find the subsequent tyranny of the Citizens just as oppressive. It gives a bleak picture of treachery, mistrust, hunger and desperation instead of the joyous freedom the people were seeking.
In the midst of all this a man who is trying to save the king of France is murdered. The question is was he murdered for being a traitor or for his apparently nefarious past.
Perry is an exquisite writer who always manages to capture to tone and scene of the moment with her creative skills. Readers are so used to her writing Victorian crime that they might overlook this great read.
The only thing I found less than stellar was an element that I thought might have been a continuity error. St Felix is described as a young man around the same age as Georges, Celie and Amandine. In the last chapter he is described as someone either the same age as Madame LaCoste or older. That made the solution at the end slightly confusing if not impossible.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley.
October 11, 2023
Slow to get going, but once it took off, it didn't let up. As an avid reader about the French Revolution, I really enjoyed the look into the life of the average citizens.
September 14, 2018
I gave this 80 pages and didn't think it was worth continuing, although I really liked Perry's The Sheen on the Silk and enjoy her Victorian mysteries (although they seem to run together after a while). This novel, set during the French Revolution, just wasn't engaging--it took 50 pages for something to happen (after a long set-up so the reader might care what happened to the characters), and then we went back to wandering through revolutionary Paris to the point where I lost interest. "Breath-taking suspense" didn't come about. I did see some elements of A Tale of Two Cities and The Scarlet Pimpernel coming up, but those books caught my interest and are well worth reading and rereading. This one, not so much.
September 2018--tried again, and read further, and still the same result.
September 2018--tried again, and read further, and still the same result.
January 8, 2015
I enjoyed picking up Anne Perry again after a multi-year break, and this was a quick read, well-researched and engaging. The French Revolution is both heart-breaking and fascinating to study, and Anne Perry captured these ____ adequately. Her stories continue to be captivating and well-woven together. At the same time, it reminded me why I wearied of reading her ... for me personally, she is too repetitive, especially on the emotional state or particular thinking of her characters within each story. I feel she belabors certain character descriptions, and it makes her stories too heavy for me to read on a regular basis.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews