Thank you NetGalley and Anchor House Publishing for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! Not only did I learn a bit about Icelandic culture, language and history but a bit about herbalism, too. The history of Iceland was the motive for the crimes and the use of herbs were the deadly weapons.

When Brynja was 7 her twin, Lukas, went missing. She has never stopped looking for him or let go of the guilt she has felt for him going missing.

Twenty years later Brynja is the director of Legacy, a national DNA registry that works closely with the police, and is engaged to the Prime Minister of Iceland. She receives a mysterious poem that brings the memory of her missing brother rushing back. The poem is the first of other poems (taken from traditional Icelandic Sagas) that accompany the murders.

The author does a good job of building suspense and leaving clues (some of them misleading). I wasn't sure "who dunnit" until the last few pages.

I've been reading Scandinavian books since 1993 with Høeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow and I highly recommend Sara Winokur's, who's a Molecular Geneticist from the U.S.A., because her book DOUBLE BLIND: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders by Sara Winokur which will be published 31 March 2020, is really, really interesting. Even with the English words put together like German words, I loved this story. It's a about Brynja and Lúkas, who are twins, separated at about 7 years of age. After about 23 years Brynja still was looking her brother. So we see her as a geneticist, she got involved in the Saga's which were sent to her from an unknown sender giving her clues to find Lúkas and also warning her, she might be killed. The warnings were found to be really true in that 3 people were killed or were they warnings. She also had Ari, who was the Prime Minister of Iceland, and her fiance, giving her the right to look at the Saga's with gloves. She also had her lifelong friend, Stína, helping her meet with men who were interested in the Saga's. At work she had Elly as an intern working through the summer, she was from Denmark. All these people were involved with Brynja in finding out who was the killer. Brynja was the first person to come under the radar of genetic's, why? I've purposely left out the many stories that make this book so interesting. Sara uses genetic's to give the story some body and the Saga's to wrap it up. I won't say a word but DOUBLE BLIND: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders.

This murder mystery is a convoluted mess that asks readers not just to suspend their sense of disbelief but to believe in entirely nonsensical things altogether. It could have been a good, straightforward crime novel involving a DNA lab, an ancient manuscript, and politics, but instead the author also included kidnapped siblings, false histories, romantic angst (by the protagonist), breaches of professional ethics (also by the protagonist), science that is treated like magic and misrepresented so badly it would win an award to misrepresentation, old friends with fun sex lives (upon whom the protagonist frowns), utterly implausible procedures in terms of everyday politics and work, horses, farms, and much much, alas, more. I wish this had gone through a heavy development edit; it might have yielded something good.

Brynja, a lead forensic geneticist who works closely with the Police department in ongoing investigations, is plagued by her past. While visiting a village fair in her youth she loses sight of her twin brother Lukas who vanishes without a trace, never to be seen again.

Fast forward 20 years later Brynja holds a coveted job (that she earned) only to be scorned by her male inferiors who do not like answering to a woman. She keeps it together with the support of her fiancé Ari (also the Prime Minister of Iceland!) her best friend Stina and her “you only live once attitude”, and her eager assistant Elly.
When she receives a mysterious poem eluding to the fact that her little brother is alive and well she can’t help but believe it. As she dives deeper into the mystery her Alice in Wonderland syndrome auras start up and she begins to unravel. When The poems keep coming, bringing with them murders and other threats, fingers begin pointing Brynjas way. Someone is setting her up and using her brothers disappearance as a lure, but who? When Brynja is asked to step down from her post and Ari puts their relationship on hold she knows she has to solve this mystery before everything she has worked for disappears.

Every character is a suspect and while the read feels a bit slow, there is a lot going on. Rich with Icelandic history from Vikings to Denmark’s rule over Iceland and the remaining bitterness between the two countries, there are a lot of interesting events going on and a lot to learn. My only criticism would be that the emotional pull was lost in translation. It reads more like an action novel, rather than pulling heartstrings - which it should be able to pull off easily given the content.

A geneticist finds disturbing evidence connecting to crimes. Her twin was lost nearly 20 years ago and her father is falling into dementia.

I was super intrigued by the premise. Unfortunately the writing style and overall plot were quite disappointing. I felt like I was reading one of my textbooks instead of a beautifully crafted story. The info dump is heavy albeit simple to understand, but it's just too much too often. So many times, the writing portrays the MC as a know-it-all and often condescending. Like we get it! You are a geneticist, but you don't have to explain everything you do aaaaall the time. There were mistakes here and there, and sometimes, we even got the same sentences multiple times!!! It was a very boring read, and all the characters were poorly developed and really annoying to me. I'm not sure if the MC is supposed to be unlikeable but she was. She made unethical choices for petty reasons. Also, for one case she was solving, she was unsure what to do and all of the sudden, she got an eureka moment and realized that RNA could be useful....... as the head of forensic genetics, I'd expect that she would think of it immediately AND that it would be part of the procedure in the first place when suspicion of foul play. The dialogues between the MC and her assistant felt like they were going on and on and on. The plot is a bit too ridiculous to be believable in my opinion, and I guessed it early on, so much for a mystery.

I really thought I'd like this book. Unfortunately I found it quite slow and difficult. I persevered as i did want to find out what happened to lucas, who disappeared at a carnival with his twin sister. I'm glad I finished it. It was a good story. Just wasn't the right book for me.. Brinja works is forensics, Iceland have a DNA database. She still hopes to find her missing twin brother. She receives a cryptic clue, some people around her are poisoned. Quite a few shocks in store for her as she uncovers the truth about who she really is and what happened all those tears ago at the carnival where her twin disappeared. Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

BOOK REVIEW
Double Blind - Sarah Winokur
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This was a really complex and involved story and not for the faint of heart. There was so much going on all the time that created a really fast paced and exciting atmosphere and I didn’t want to put it down! If you love ‘Scandi Noir’ genre then you’re bound to love Double Blind.

DOUBLE BLIND is a winning blend of mystery, genetic puzzles, science, forensics, megalomania, Icelandic and Danish culture and history, with wonderfully realized characters and an exceptionally twisty plot.

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC. Interesting DNA based mystery using the idea of the Icelandic genetics data base.I liked the idea, the story line was a little convoluted. Hope there will be more. .

I was thoroughly impressed with how the author described Iceland's breathtaking landscapes, amazing cuisines, culture, and history. It was refreshing to have a murder mystery set in a place with ice capped mountains and geysers, and where the sun does not set. The amount of details that went into explaining genetic research and toxicology of plants were impressive, but were at times, dreary. I enjoyed most of the novel, but found myself skipping a lot of the scientific details to get to the big reveal. Maybe this novel will be more interesting for those who are into genetic research and Icelandic poems.