Betrayal of Thomas True

300 pages

English language

Published 2025 by Orenda Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-916788-59-6

(2 reviews)

It is the year 1710, and Thomas True has arrived on old London Bridge with a dangerous secret. One night, lost amongst the squalor of London's hidden back streets, he finds himself drawn into the outrageous underworld of the molly houses.

Meanwhile, carpenter Gabriel Griffin struggles to hide his double life as Lotty, the molly's silent guard. When the queen of all 'he-harlots', Mother Clap, confides in him about a deadly threat, he realises his friends are facing imminent execution.

To the horror of all mollies, there is a rat amongst them, betraying their secrets to a pair of murderous Justices, hell-bent on punishing sinners with the noose.

Can Gabriel unmask the traitor before it's too late? Can he save hapless Thomas from peril, and their own impossible love?

Set amidst the hidden world of Georgian London’s gay scene, The Betrayal of Thomas True is a brutal and devastating thriller, …

It is the year 1710, and Thomas True has arrived on old London Bridge with a dangerous secret. One night, lost amongst the squalor of London's hidden back streets, he finds himself drawn into the outrageous underworld of the molly houses.

Meanwhile, carpenter Gabriel Griffin struggles to hide his double life as Lotty, the molly's silent guard. When the queen of all 'he-harlots', Mother Clap, confides in him about a deadly threat, he realises his friends are facing imminent execution.

To the horror of all mollies, there is a rat amongst them, betraying their secrets to a pair of murderous Justices, hell-bent on punishing sinners with the noose.

Can Gabriel unmask the traitor before it's too late? Can he save hapless Thomas from peril, and their own impossible love?

Set amidst the hidden world of Georgian London’s gay scene, The Betrayal of Thomas True is a brutal and devastating thriller, where love must overcome evil, and the only true sin is betrayal…

3 editions

Jaelyn reviewed Betrayal of Thomas True by A. J. West

"It's innocence what kills you when yer different, not guilt"

4 stars

A sort of whodunit set in Georgian London’s gay scene where Gabriel, the guard at Mother Clap's, must track down the rat who is feeding names to the Society for the Reformation of Manners and getting fellow Mollies murdered.

It's a fun thriller with a cute romance and some very hard to digest moments as we explore the underground Molly culture and 18th century London delving as far as a dash of folklore incarnate. It has its moments of queer solidarity, yet also our infighting and betrayal as suspects do what they can to avoid the noose.

Dav reviewed The Betrayal of Thomas True by A. J. West

None

4 stars

This was unexpectedly beautiful. The lives of the mollies of London in this is tangible, the crimes against them visceral. A great whodunit but a much greater love letter to molly culture. “Always together” is a battle cry for our age.