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The Secrets of our DNA

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the award-winning scientist who identified the bones of Richard III in a Leicester carpark and genetically analysed Hitler, discover the myth-busting book that provides a window into the world of modern genetics and reveals the extraordinary true stories and mysteries solved using the power of DNA.


Professor Turi King, takes us on a journey to understand the real science behind some of the world’s most famous crimes, from dead kings to modern murders, showing how DNA can both convict and exonerate. And moving from mistaken dinosaur DNA to Angelina Jolie’s BRCA1 gene, from eugenics to epigenetics, and the study of Hitler’s DNA, she explains how genetics informs every aspect of our lives, why it affects us all, and what it can – and can’t tell you about who you are.

Fascinating, compassionate and entirely captivating, The Secrets of Our DNA shows us how we are all interconnected. It also reminds us that while our DNA can yield information about our predisposition to disease and other conditions, it need not be our destiny. We should all be a part of the discussion as to how incredible new genetic discoveries are utilized for the benefit of all life on earth.

'Turi King combines fascinating history and science with brilliant storytelling' - Professor Alice Roberts

'A glimpse into the fascinating world of DNA under the guidance of a true expert. Always accessible, enjoyable and thought provoking. Who could ask for more?' - Professor Sue Black

© Turi King 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Critics Review

King comes across on paper much as she does on screen: loquacious, likeable and unequivocally expert.
Sunday Times

A glimpse into the fascinating world of DNA under the guidance of a true expert.
Always accessible, enjoyable and thought provoking. Who could ask for more?

Professor Lady Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome, author of All That Remains
Turi King combines fascinating history and science with brilliant storytelling, taking us from homicides to wildlife crime, DNA tests to eugenics.
Professor Alice Roberts
Turi King is a brilliant scientist and an enticing storyteller which makes this book both thrilling and highly informative. I think Columbo would have loved it.
Robin Ince, comedian and author of The Importance of Being Interested
The forensic use of DNA is as close to magic as anything in science today: that a tiny fragment of material can identify a dead king, convict a killer or exonerate the innocent. Turi King's eye-witness account of how this magic was invented is a fascinating read.
Matt Ridley, author of Genome.
Learn about genetics and why it is so useful.
Sir Paul Nurse OM CH FRS,Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2001
This enthralling book explains how modern genetics, underpinned by fast-moving DNA technology, has come to inform myriad areas of 21st-century life.
The Bookseller
From the scientist who identified the remains of Richard III, this lively, myth-busting tour of moderngenetics unpacks how DNA solves crimes, rewrites history and shapes our lives. It brims with timely questions about what our genes can (and can't) reveal.
i-paper
You may not know the name Turi King, but you will almost certainly have heard of her work: identifying the bones of Richard III in a car park in the UK city of Leicester and leading the project to sequence Adolf Hitler’s genome. So, we can definitely expect amazing stories in her new book, The Secrets of Our DNA: How genetics has changed the world. But underpinning those stories (think everything from O.J. Simpson to mistaken dinosaur DNA to Angelina Jolie’s BRCA1 gene) will be a deep account of how genetics has ended up entangled in the lives of us all. King “shows how we are all interconnected and why we must all benefit from this exciting and rapidly evolving science” and reminds us that DNA need not be destiny – nor is it the silver bullet some imagine.
New Scientist
King comes across on paper much as she does on screen: loquacious, likeable and unequivocally expert.
Sunday Times
Author Professor Turi King
Narrator Turi King
Duration 14 hours and 51 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781529939835
Format Audiobook
Publisher Transworld
Genre Anthropology, Forensic science, Genetics (non-medical), Popular science
Availability AU, GB, IE

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