[2][5] The book opens with the 2007 assassination of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who worked to raise awareness about the genocide as well as contemporary discrimination against Armenians in Turkey.

[7] Yaşar Tolga Cora states that the book succeeds in its aim at being accessible to a broad audience, but does not investigate the ordinary Turks, such as those who marched at Dink's funeral.

[8] Sossie Kasbarian and Kerem Öktem call the book "a highly readable and engaging work combining historical and political analysis with investigative journalism" that is "accessible to a wide, non-specialist audience".

[2] In Foreign Affairs, political scientist Robert Legvold states that the "book offers one of the most complete tellings" of the Armenian genocide and its legacy today.

[11] Seyhan Bayraktar states that "Open Wounds is a highly informative and comprehensive book for readers who want to learn about key aspects of the legacy of the Armenian Genocide and its denial."