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I'll admit that I had expected more of a mystery or crime-thriller, based upon the title and blurb of Countdown To A Killing. It could perhaps be better described as literary / contemporary fiction, a building crescendo to a future crime that doesn't actually feature in the plot, beyond a brief explanatory epilogue. That said, Tom Vaughan MacAulay has produced an engrossing and amusing character-based tragi-comedy in 21st century epistolary novel format.

Experienced scrivener notary* Lomax Clipper (33) has recently been joined at the London legal firm of Curtain & Curtain by junior associate Wen Li (29). They're united in their loathing of their supervising partner, Julian Pickering (mysteriously named as Ponsonby in the blurb), an apparently humourless and nit-picking individual.
*[For the benefit of those who don't move in legal circles, a scrivener notary is type of paralegal professional, fluent in multiple languages, who authenticates and drafts legal documents for use in international contexts.]

Both Lomax and Wen are at a stage in their personal and professional lives where their situtions might be considered enviable - they have good jobs with a reputable employer, rent decent homes in the competitive London real estate market and are at present free from responsibilities such as marriage, children and mortgages. Yet, all that glitters is not gold...

Lomax is preoccupied with Aurora, a beautiful but emotionally volatile young communist with whom he enjoyed a brief relationship whilst on leave in Sicily, Italy. It's clear he'd like to keep the passion alive, but Aurora's responses to his heartfelt entreaties oscillate between encouraging emojis, dropped hints about her relationships with other men and threats to report him for harassment. Lomax has started writing a novel, which he's sure will prove the means for him to rise above his humdrum London existence and cement a future as a celebrated author living in Italy. He seeks regular feedback on his progress from retired University of Huddersfield lecturer, Professor Melanie Nithercott. He's also in regular correspondence with old friend Katie Wetherden, who works demanding hours as a high-flying lawyer at a top London firm (her frenetic existence echoes that of the titular character of MacAulay's previous novel, Being Simon Haines). Lomax's relationships with both Melanie and Katie are fairly tumultuous, as he clearly finds it difficult to accept criticism, particularly regarding the quality of his writing or his on-again, off-again relationship with Aurora.

Meanwhile, Wen is trying to settle into her new job whilst also acting the part of the attentive only daughter to her aging Chinese-English parents, who run a struggling grocery business in Brighton. Added to this, Wen is undergoing treatment for crippling OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), which in her case manifests as intrusive and repetitive thoughts that she may impulsively commit acts of violence on others (she has never in fact done so!). Heartbreakingly, every time that Wen feels that she's reached a level of interpersonal understanding with someone that she shares the details of her condition, the recipient becomes scared for their personal safety when in her immediate vicinity.

The relationship between Lomax and Wen develops from that of work colleagues to become (mostly) supportive confidantes, with perhaps the potential for something romantic to develop. But what will happen when Lomax takes a sabbatical to spend several months in Palermo, finishing his novel and exploring the future (if any) of his relationship with Aurora?

We discover a side to the character of Lomax and Wen's despised boss, Julian (a.k.a. the "rat-witch"), through his email and WhatsApp correspondence with his partner, Toby, and his father. Julian's struggling with Toby's repeated regressions into alcoholism and vindictiveness, all whilst living on Julian's dime. A dutiful son, Julian feels rejected by his family's refusal to acknowledge, let alone accept, his homosexuality. He's also under greater pressure at Curtain & Curtain than Lomax and Wen realise, and faces a potentially bleak professional future...

We encounter the fourth of our epistolary characters following Lomax's return to Sicily. Fifi de Angelis suffers from achondroplasia - that is, he's a little person or person of diminished stature - at 130cm tall, he's suffered lifelong ridicule and discrimination on the basis of his genetic condition. Fifi is estranged from his family in Agrigento - with the exception of his grandmother, Nonna Liboria - following an incident in which Fifi repeatedly bit another man after a heated altercation in a bar. Desperate for personal connection and understanding, Fifi (figuratively) latches onto Lomax in Palermo and a somewhat one-sided friendship ensues.

All four of our protagonists ultimately converge on the Via Lungarini in Palermo on the night of 1-2 September. We know that someone will die and someone will kill, and that one, but not necessarily both, roles will be filled by the central characters. Who and why remains a mystery. The narrative turns up fraught relationships and potential motives aplenty, but ultimately the much-anticipated final denouement comes as a rather jarring, though not unsatisfying, close.

Tom Vaughan MacAulay successfully renders the well-established epistolary format for a 21st century audience - traditional letters are replaced with emails and WhatsApp messages, with the inevitable mishaps such as mistakengly copying in, tagging or forwarding to the wrong recipient. As we only see one side of each series of correspondence, it's left mostly to the reader to interpolate the content of the other side of the exchange. This enables MacAulay to skilfully convey the protagonists' biases, insecurities and flaws without having to lay them out in black and white. We can draw parallels with our own work and social lives, family and romantic relationships, internal dialogues, and with those who we encounter along the way. It's an immersive and engrossing reading experience. The epistolatory narrative is punctuated from time to time with "editorial interventions", foreshadowing that events will culminate in a death in Palermo on 2 September 2017, whilst also providing further explanatory detail about lapses in the communication between certain characters and the like.

I found Countdown To A Killing a rewarding and stimulating read, with fascinating, albeit not always particularly likeable, characters, an evocative setting and a cleverly-structured plot. I also enjoyed the sample of author Tom Vaughan MacAulay's previous novel, Being Simon Haines, that was included at the conclusion of my Kindle ARC.

My thanks to the author, Tom Vaughan MacAulay, publisher RedDoor Press, and NetGalley (UK) for the opportunity to read and review this title.