He worked variously as a taxi driver, musician, and teacher prior to publishing his first novel, Get Rich Quick, in 1996, which won Australia's prestigious Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel in 1997.

A fourth title, The Big Whatever (2015), follows the exploits of anti-hero Billy Glasheen into the 1970s and, like its predecessors, presents an alternative history of the overlaps between the entertainment business and crime.

[8] Further research into 1920s-era mug shots held at the Justice and Police Museum led to Doyle's book Crooks Like Us (2009) which would inform production and styling for the British television series, Peaky Blinders,[9] as well as Bad Boys, a line of clothing by fashion designer Ralph Lauren (2011).

[10] In 2013-14 Doyle curated the exhibition Suburban Noir at the Museum of Sydney, combining forensic photographs of the 1950s and 60s with original works by a range of local and overseas artists.

[12] Peter Doyle is a noted slide and steel guitarist in the Sydney blues, rockabilly, country and pub rock scenes; his interest in music is also a strong influence in his fiction writing.