The Second Son

Duty always has a price.

When Ivan Novak is shot dead putting out his garbage bins in Sydney’s west, his family wants revenge, especially his father Milan, a notorious crime boss. It’s a job for the second son, Ivan’s younger brother Johnny.

But Johnny loves his wife Amy and their son Sasha. And she’s about to deliver her ultimatum: either the three of them escape this wave of killing or she’ll leave, taking Sasha.

Torn between loyalty to his family and love for his wife, Johnny plans the heist of a lifetime and takes a huge risk. Is he prepared to pay the price? And what choice will Amy make?

The Second Son is a brilliant action-packed crime debut that creates a world where honour is everything, violence is its own language, and love means breaking all the rules.

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.

She was the only author named in The Australian’s Hottest 21 Creative Artists of 2021.

Her first novel, The Second Son won the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction from the Australian Crime Writers Association. She is currently hard at work on the sequel. Loraine and her husband spend their time between Sydney and the Gold Coast.

‘Tight and tense, The Second Son is a wonderfully sharp-toothed crime thriller.’ Christian White

‘At first glance, The Second Son is a modern-day Godfather that paints a brutal, bullet-ridden picture of gang warfare in Sydney’s western suburbs. Look again, and it’s a compelling exploration of inherited trauma and the endless cycle of violence. Get right up close and it’s a tender story of fear, love and—ultimately—hope. A sharp and striking debut.’ Anna Downes

'Outstanding…a gripping whodunnit. Original and straight from the heart.’ Kate London, author of Gallowstree Lane