Ghahwagi, Karim - Civilian

Three children are kidnapped. All trauma victims of shocking violence. Their kidnapper? The children’s counselor, now comatose following a failed suicide.
Speculative yarn plays out as a cross between thriller and horror, with a dose of SciFi babble. One could imagine Hollywood sniffing at this. Or this being pitched to a studio.
A degree of soft core torture porn for gorehounds, a race against time for thrill seekers, and dialogues about pervasive surveillance for the intelligentsia.
Main protagonist Jennifer Marshall deep dives into psyches for answers. Observant government handlers study her methods, learn the ropes, to better serve society later.
Her character, background, and concerns are well drawn, a highlight of the novel.
Helen Murbler, the comatose adversary, is less delineated, which is a shortcoming.
The book could have benefited from an English proofreader. Common mistakes such as loose for lose would have corrected. I might have punctuated a few sentences differently myself, though that is no complaint.
Overall, a strong, thought-provoking novel.