FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Los Angeles, California — For US vaccinated citizens who miss traveling to Europe and are ready to embark on their next adventure, Iceland is one of the few available destinations. Author and world-traveler Sara Winokur depicts Iceland vividly in her award-winning mystery thriller, DOUBLE BLIND: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders. The book, praised by Kirkus Review as “a riveting mystery tale with a compelling lead character”, dives deep into the culture, history, food, genetics, Viking settlements, and gorgeous landscapes of the Land of Fire and Ice.

As the world opens for travel again, and people wait to embark on their next vacation, a book like Double Blind is the escapism needed. Winokur is a geneticist and has researched diseases like Huntington’s disease and muscular dystrophy. Her unique blend of expertise means she is able to weave all these insights into her writing to captivate readers and adventure-seekers.

“I’ve been to Iceland many times and enjoyed each and every adventure there. Now that we can travel again, I hope my novel will inspire readers to travel and discover with their own eyes the rich culture and surreal landscape of this land,” says Sara Winokur, who was once given a pair of mittens by the first lady of Iceland.

DOUBLE BLIND: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders is an intense, bone-chilling crime thriller that will keep readers at the edge of their seats from page one. A young boy disappears in the chill of North Iceland. Twenty years later, a mysterious poem lands on the desk of his twin sister Brynja, a forensic geneticist who uses Iceland’s DNA database to solve crimes, rekindling hope her brother might be alive. As Brynja unravels clues, more poems arrive, each bearing dire consequences for those who receive them, from the local pastor, the prime minister’s secretary, to the guard of the medieval manuscript of Icelandic sagas may hold the answer. 

DOUBLE BLIND: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders is available in paperback and digital format on Amazon and other major retailers.

ISBN: 978-1733452809

Price: $12.99

About the Author:

Sara Winokur is an author, geneticist, and researcher and author. She has a master’s degree in cytogenetics and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics. Her research helped identify mutations underlying muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, dwarfism, and a rare craniofacial syndrome. She continues to work as a consultant on potential therapies for genetic disease.

Sara is also a world-traveler and has visited all seven continents. Iceland is one of her favorite destinations. An ovarian cancer “thriver,” she resides in Southern California. She can be found at www.sarawinokur.com, and on the social media platforms Instagram sara_winokur and Facebook Sara Winokur, Author.

The post Travel Again: Iceland Is Open and Author of an Award-Winning Icelandic Thriller Is Your Guide appeared first on Sara Winokur.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Los Angeles, California: After a long and rewarding career as a scientist, Sara Winokur reinvents herself as an author with her debut mystery novel, Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders. Dubbed “a riveting mystery tale with a compelling lead character” by Kirkus Reviews, the book immerses the reader in the surreal landscapes and rich culture of Iceland.

“Because I’m so passionate about travel, culture, and landscapes, it can’t help but be a big part of my writing. When I wrote Double Blind, I tried to integrate the science of genetics and Icelandic culture with the story,” explains Sara Winokur.

Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders is a wild ride from rural farmsteads to icy fjords to the high-tech world of DNA forensics lead by a strong female character. 

Twenty years after a young boy disappears in the chill of North Iceland, a mysterious poem lands on the desk of his twin sister Brynja, a forensic geneticist, and rekindles her hopes that her brother might be alive. As Brynja unravels the clues, more poems arrive, each bearing dire consequences for those who receive them: the guard of the medieval manuscript of Icelandic sagas that possibly has the answer to her burning question, the prime minister’s secretary, the local pastor. Fighting the visual auras that have plagued her since childhood and now threaten everything she holds dear, Brynja must summon the strength to navigate the twisted labyrinth of the poet’s mind and confront the dark secret buried in her family’s past.

According to BlueInk’s Notable Book review, “It’s enticing to compare this fine, galloping murder mystery to the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, but that would be a disservice to Winokur’s compelling debut.”

Winokur says, “Reinventing myself from being a scientist to a novelist has been a huge challenge, but I’m so proud of the result. Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders is exactly the book I wanted to write.” 

Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders is available on pre-order in digital version on Amazon and will be officially released on March 31, 2020.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7334528-0-9

Pages: 271

E-book Price: $2.99

About The Author

Sara Winokur is a Ph.D. molecular geneticist and the author of the Icelandic mystery, Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders. She has worked on DNA analysis of human genetic diseases and was part of the team that discovered the genes associated with Muscular Dystrophy, Huntington’s Disease, and Dwarfism.

Dozens of her articles have been published in scientific journals. Her research has appeared in Human Molecular Genetics, Nature Genetics, and Cell Stem Cell. Sara remains a well-respected figure in the scientific community. You can learn more about her and her books on her website www.sarawinokur.com.

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Geneticist Brynja Pálsdóttir mines the country’s controversial DNA database to crack the country’s toughest cases, none so puzzling as the disappearance of her young brother two decades earlier. Still wracked with guilt for losing sight of him that day, Brynja is stunned when a poem arrives with riddles as to his whereabouts. Along with her fiancé Ari Ketilsson, the prime minister, and her quirky childhood friend Stína, she deciphers the clues while trying in vain to suppress the visual auras that threaten her career as a forensic scientist. Not to mention her relationship with Ari.  

Soon, her search is thwarted by a series of threats—warnings drawn from a medieval manuscript of Icelandic sagas—delivered to those in her inner circle. One by one, the recipients fall ill and die: the manuscript guard, the prime minister’s secretary, the local pastor. Each warning is a poem. And the last is meant for her. She alone must summon the strength to navigate the twisted labyrinth of the poet’s mind and confront the dark secret buried in her family’s past.

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