John Thomas Howard Reid was born in the Sydney suburb of Burwood in 1937, and was educated at St Patrick's College and the University of Sydney. While studying evenings, he worked by day as an examiner and investigator with the Taxation Office. On graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he was drafted into the army. Seconded to the military police, he investigated several major cases of arson and sabotage. After discharge, he set up his own business as a book wholesaler and publisher, eventually purchasing two retail bookshops in Sydney. In 1990 Reid and his wife Mandi moved from Sydney to the Central Coast. After retiring, Reid was elected Honorary Secretary of Wyong RSL in 1999 and has served as a Trustee and editor of the sub-branch Newsletter.

Reid started writing a series of mystery thrillers under the pseudonym 'Tom Howard' in 1968, but his first books were not published until 1985. Under both his own name and the Tom Howard (and other) pseudonyms, Reid has written numerous books of fiction, but also of film history and criticism, including Suspense in the Cinema (1993) and Brisbane at the Cinema (1998). He has also judged the annual Tom Howard Short Story and Poetry Competitions and has edited five anthologies of entries. He has won several awards in contests himself, including First Prize for Prose in the 2002 Southern Cross Literary Competition and Third Prize for Poetry in the 2003 Sun City Contest.