Ominous Austria

"This novella is a prequel to the Alex Kovacs thriller series. Set in Vienna in the 1930s, it paints a picture of a city and a country on the edge of crisis — of a parliament that has ceased to function, of political factions on the left and right that have assembled private armies to push their agendas. And when it all explodes in a short, violent civil war, Alex Kovacs finds himself forced to confront the reality of his crumbling homeland. The rest of the series takes us from Anschluss to World War II and beyond — but this is the opening act, the first test for Alex, the first time this everyman will have to decide exactly how involved in the conflict he wants to become, and what might be possible for a solitary man to accomplish while in the middle of a battle between Nazis and Socialists on the streets of Vienna."