Loraine Peck started her career as a portrait painter and magician’s assistant in Sydney. After being sawn-in-half one too many times, she switched to dealing blackjack on the Gold Coast. Bartending and slinging lobsters in the US led to a sales job in the movie industry, before she was propelled into a career in marketing in Australia, the Middle East, Asia and the US. Consumed by a desire to write crime thrillers, she decided to stop everything and do a writing course—to learn how to write the kind of book she loves to read.
The Second Son is her first novel and she is at work on the sequel.
Loraine and her husband spend their time between Sydney and the Gold Coast.
From magician’s assistant to crime novelist, it’s all about mastering the art of subterfuge for Loraine Peck, whose love of crime fiction propelled her to write the kind of book she loves to read.
Loraine survived cancer twice so she could create her dream career as a crime fiction writer and now she gets to decide who is going to die.
The Second Son, Loraine’s debut novel, won the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction from the Australian Crime Writers Association. It was shortlisted for two Davitt Awards by Sisters in Crime and for a Danger Award by BAD Crime Sydney.
The Double Bind, the sequel to The Second Son, will be out in April 2023.