The King's Fixer

Thomas Crookes, a depraved 15th century priest driven by an insatiable pursuit of power, resorts to murder and blackmail to rise within the medieval Church, itself rife with corruption maintaining its hold over the people by expounding the threat of hell-fire whilst tolerating iniquity and immorality in its own ranks.

Thomas, full of ambition, ingratiates himself with King Edward IV becoming his close confidant and fixer, thus thrusting him into machination and intrigue at the very heart of the kingdom.

This is medieval society in the raw with its bawdiness, brutality and violence brought to life in colourful detail. The bloody battles of Towton and Tewkesbury, the hunting, feasting, whore-houses, public executions, superstition and bustling markets all combine to make a gritty gripping story in an extremely evocative 15th century setting.

As a boy Howard was a chorister at Exeter Cathedral. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, then trained in surgery becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He spent a year working in Boston, Massachusetts, and later was appointed consultant surgeon to the Edinburgh hospitals and honorary senior lecturer in the university department of clinical surgery. Later in life, he worked as a lay clerk and chapter clerk at Ripon Cathedral.

Howard is now retired and lives with his wife Susan in Ripon, North Yorkshire.