TKO ROUND 2 has been released! Check your local bookstore!

"For “On the Ropes”

Kirkus

Duffy Dombrowski; heart of a social worker, schnoz of a shamus. Duffy is a caseworker at Jewish unified Services in Crawford NY, a small city 50 miles north of the big apple. But it won’t take long to realize Duffy doesn’t run to type. Consider his approach to moonlighting, for instance—Duffy boxes. He’s what’s known in the fight game as a “professional opponent”, which means promoters rely on him to lose respectfully to their up-and-comers. During the day, Duffy exhibits negligible tolerance for the minutiae of his job (paperwork) bringing him to constant contact with his detail-loving boss, Claudia Michelin. The cold war between them boils over when client Walanda Frazier dies violently in prison. Before her passing, Walanda, a crackhead with a “dash of schizophrenia” was the sort Claudia regarded as the epitome of inconvenience. Duffy, on the other hand, believes the beset and bedeviled Walanda embodied their reason for being. He also believes she was murdered, and that it’s incumbent on him to do something about that. “Dombrowski for Hire,” cop friend Mike Kelly says in a discouraging tone. But, of course, Duffy who clearly has sleuthing in his DNA, doesn’t discourage easily. And then there’s the core truth he admits reluctantly: “I like helping people no one else wants to help.” Occasionally over the top, but warmhearted, tough, funny Duffy makes a promising debut.


From Crimespree Magazine- Jon Jordan

Jon Jordan Review

Duffy Dombrowski is not your typical protagonist. He’s a social worker who also
moonlights as a semi pro boxer. In his debut appearance in ON THE ROPES he proves to be a unique and wonderful addition to the population of crime fiction
heroes.

Duffy loves part of his job, the part that actually lets him help people, it seems
that the paperwork and politics are his hang up. He tends to go further than his boss would like him to and that is what gets him involved in the search for
a missing girl. A schizophrenic addict who is part of his caseload gets arrested.

To calm her down Duffy promises to look after her dog and look for her daughter. It turns into much more than a missing persons case and Duffy cold be in
real trouble. Lucky for him his favorite watering hole is also the hangout for a few
people who may be able to help him
out. While there is plenty of humor in this book, it’s not the first thing that jumps
out, what really is Schrecks’s strong suit is his characters. The folks who populate this book are people you probably know. The crowd ha spends time with
while drinking Schlitz and unwinding are people I swear I’ve met. And I’ve had
bosses like his. The layers of the story propel it forward to a wonderful climax. Between his boxing and social work Duffy has a full plate, and with the search
for the missing girl it makes for some very fun sub plots through the story. A great
teller of tales I think Schreck will be a name people will know for quite some time to come.

In the boxing match of life I want Duffy Dombrowski as my ring man. This is one hell of a debut novel and Shreck can
count me as a fan from this point forward. ON THE ROPES is easily one of the best
five books I’ve read this year.


Reviewing the Evidence

What makes ON THE ROPES such fun to read is Duffy’s take on life. He’s not a fool – he knows people are bad, and that people do bad things. He just keeps trying to do what’s right, even when the system doesn’t cooperate. While the subject matter of ON THE ROPES is certainly not light reading, and I put the book down frequently because I didn’t really want to read what I knew was coming, Duffy’s resilience and twisted sense of humor kept me coming back. His sense of irony is one of his better qualities

Ken Bruen, Edgar nominated author of Priest

It's laugh out loud funny, not since Carl Hiassen's "Tourist Season" debut has there been a novel with such superb comic timing and laugh out loud lines I have never before wished to be a factional character but I wish to god, I was Duffy. It's that amazing. The writing is seamless, true artistry and a joy to read > Forget Prozac, or even that double of Bourbon, this is what feeling good is all about.


JA Konrath, author of Fuzzy Navel and The Jack Daniels series

Schreck is a major new talent, and Duffy has my vote for the best new
character in mystery fiction. Laugh out-loud without sacrificing thrills,
loaded with suspense, charm, and heart, ON THE ROPES is one of the best
debuts of this, or any, year. The ending had me standing up and cheering.
No BS. You will love this book."


Marcus Sakey Author of THE BLADE ITSELF, A New York Times Editor's Pick

"An Everyman with a big heart and a wicked jab, Duffy Dombrowski may well be the new Spenser. I can't wait for Round Two."-



Teddy Atlas, ESPN Boxing Analyst

If you like underdogs, colorful characters, a fighter who never quits and a canine with more bite and heart than Jake LaMotta—then you’ll find On the Ropes a unanimous winner.



For TKO

Publisher’s Weekly
TKO: A Duffy Dombrowski Mystery
Tom Schreck. Midnight Ink (www.midnightinkbooks.com), $14.95 paper (312p) ISBN 978-0-7387-1121-8

Fresh, intense and funny, Schreck's second mystery to feature unrepentant Elvis fan and dog lover Duffy Dombrowski (after 2007's On the Ropes) packs a knockout punch. When a serial killer starts taking out students at McDonough High in Crawford, a small town that appears to be in New York State, the police suspect Howard Reinhart (aka Hackin' Howard), recently released after serving 12 years of a 30-year prison sentence for doing in two cheerleaders, a quarterback and a class president after they repeatedly abused him as a geeky teen. Duffy, an Irish-Polish heavyweight boxer who also works as a counselor at the local Jewish Unified Services, where Howard is one of his clients, isn't so sure. After Howard disappears and begins phoning Duffy, pleading his innocence, Duffy turns amateur sleuth. The affable Duffy makes an admirable hero in his compassion for at-risk teens and in his belief that even criminals deserve second chances. (June)


From Mystery Reader
TKO
Boxing social worker Duffy Dombroski is always living one outburst away from being fired, one Schlitz away from being too drunk and one phone call away from his next bout. One of his current assignments is Howard Rinehart who has just been released from prison. Howard was sentenced to thirty years for the gruesome murders of two cheerleaders, the football captain and class president.

Howard had been the class geek for much of his life and snapped shortly before graduation. He had no problems while in prison, did his time quietly and now wants nothing more than to blend back in quietly to society. When cheerleaders and other BMOC’s begin dying again, the police look for Howard, certain he his crimes were not a one time spree. Duffy knows in his gut that Howard is not responsible, but cannot prove it until he finds Howard.



A chance to fight in Madison Square Garden and a surprise win take Duffy’s attention away from Howard for a moment, but an outburst at work puts Duffy on leave allowing him to refocus his efforts. He begins quietly poking around, aided by bloodhound Al and finds a disturbing new synthetic drug and a more disturbing ritualistic killing that is rapidly shrinking the graduating class.

In spite of its dark theme, there are many laugh-aloud moments in TKO, usually when Duffy’s drinking buddies get into arguments that range from Canadian football to how often guys think about sex. Keeping Duffy real is a young high school student, Billy, a geek to parallel Howard, who is channeling his energies into karate with little success. Duffy reluctantly agrees to be Billy’s sensei and Billy shows up each morning, forcing Duffy to stay focused, ultimately saving his life as Duffy selflessly sets things in motion that will improve Billy’s quality of life and give him a fighting chance, the way Duffy’s boxing coach Smitty quietly does for Duffy.

The murders are very dark, the impact on the community is not explored, but their impact on Duffy, his client Howard, and the police force is enough to continue to move the investigation and plot forward and keep interest up.

Not for the feint of heart, TKO starts with a one-two punch and doesn’t let up until everyone is down for the count. No holds barred, insightful characterization makes this series a stand-out.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry

Book Bitch

TKO by Tom Schreck: No sophomore slump here. In fact, I liked this one so much better than Schreck’s first outing (On The Ropes) last year that I am now really excited about the planned continuation of this series. Duffy Dumbrowski is a Schlitz-drinking, Elvis-loving social worker and amateur boxer. He could easily become a cliché except for Schreck’s writing skills. Consider this opening line from Duffy, “Just because a guy slits the throats of two high school cheerleaders, axes the back of the quarterback’s head and runs down the class president in his mom’s LTD doesn’t make him a bad guy.” After an uncertain time in prison, Howard "Hacker" Reinhart is released and his case is assigned to Dombrowski. Soon, local high school VIPs start showing up dead. Coincidence or ?? Duffy is going to ask Howard about it, as soon as he can find him. Oh, wait there is also a huge upcoming boxing match, a new hormonal girlfriend, and the ongoing misadventures of Allah-King, his Muslim basset hound. Hand me another Schlitz, would you. 08/08 Jack Quick


Sean Chercover, author of Trigger City

TKO is fast-paced, authentic, and funny as hell. Tom Schreck
delivers the grit and spit, blood and bruises of the fight game with
rollicking good humor and real compassion for the underdogs among
us. Social worker and journeyman boxer Duffy Dombrowski is a
workingman’s hero, and I want him in my corner!


William Kent Krueger Author of Thunder Bay


There’s nothing technical about the terrific knock out that Tom Schreck delivers
to readers in his latest novel, TKO. It’ll put you down for the count with
laughter. Whether he’s discoursing on his disastrous love life, his nightmare of
a job, his escapades in the ring, or the mystery that comes knocking at his door,
Duffy Dombrowski will have you in stitches. Tom Schreck is a contender for
funniest author working in the crime genre today."

-Reviews and Blurbs

""...It's laugh out loud funny, not since Carl Hiassen's 'Tourist Season' debut has there been a novel with such superb comic timing and laugh out loud lines... The writing is seamless, true artistry ad a joy to read..Forget Prozac, or even that double of Bourbon, this is what feeling good is all about.""

-Ken Bruen, Shamus Award Winning Author of The Guards

"Schreck is a seriously funny guy."

-JA Konrath, author of Rusty Nail

An Interview with the Author

Who is Tom Schreck? -- Photograph by Anne Dunn

Meet Tom

Your character Duffy Dombrowski is far from the clichéd crime solver—how did he come about?
Well, I grew up reading John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series and Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. As I got older I fell in love with the writing of Carl Hiassen, Janet Evanovich and Michael Connelly.
Like everyone, I always pictured myself in the hero role. Then I started to think what if my main character was more flawed than the average hero, you know he wasn’t a strikingly handsome super bachelor, or a gourmet cook or the toughest guy around.

Duffy is a social worker and a professional boxer—isn’t that a little far fetched?

No not at all. I work in pro boxing and except for the very best fighters most guys have day jobs. Duffy isn’t technically a social worker, he’s just a low level counselor. He’s also just an okay fighter, not a contender.
Duffy loses as much as he wins. He rarely gets the girl, he’s always about to be fired and he lives in a trailer. I think we can all identify more with that kind of character than the super hero type.

A guy who’s kind of a loser?
No, no, no—not even close. The unmistakable thing about Duffy is his determination and his sense of right and wrong. And it’s that sense that actually puts him in “losing” situations. He refuses to be a slave to paperwork and that almost gets him fired, he’s intensely loyal to his friends even when they don’t deserve it -- but most of all he stands up for the vulnerable people who need it the most.

To me that’s a real hero.

Yet, his dog walks all over him…
Al is a basset hound and I live with three hounds. Almost everything that Al does in the book has happened to me. To me dogs represent what’s right. They’re loyal, they don’t give a shit about material things—and when they ruin your furniture—they force you to do the same. They have instincts about what the right thing to do is.
We would have fewer problems in the world if more people acted like dogs.

Why is Al, actually Allah-King, a Black Muslim basset hound?

He belonged to one of Duffy’s clients who was crack addicted. The only time in her life that she got cleaned up was when she was in the Nation of Islam—what people know as the Black Muslims.
Al was being trained as a search and rescue dog with the Nation before he flunked out.

Boxing, social work, dogs, Schlitz—I get the sense you’re writing about what you know.
Well, yeah to some extent anyway. I’m a pro boxing judge and last year I did the world heavyweight title twice. I’ve worked in human services for over 20 years and I’ve got 3 dogs.

And the Schlitz?
…and I occasionally enjoy and adult beverage in moderation.

Which brings me to the Fearsome Foursome—the drunks Duffy hangs with. What’s their story?
First of all I don’t know if they’re drunks. They drink a lot but I’m not sure if that makes them drunks. I think there’s a difference.
I think men go through their lives with very few friends. These same four guys go to the same bar every night, sit in the same seats and argue about the same things. It’s what men do. If you asked them anything emotional about each other they’d look at you like you were crazy, but they’re as close as most men get.
I don’t think men get too intimate with each other. Bars are perfect because you sit shoulder to shoulder and you get your own space so you never really have to look anyone in the eye. These guys have a rhythm with each other and they offer each other company. That’s about all a man gets sometimes.
That, and they’re nuts like guys I know.

Are they based on real people?
When you’re in town, let me know...I’ll introduce you.

Get Duffy Swag soon!

Duffy tees, mugs, and Schlitz cozies are on the way!

Stay tuned to this spot!