Instead, she talked to the Rwandans, professionals and peasants, Hutu and Tutsis alike, about the country's future.

[5] Murphy's usual publisher Jock Murray refused the book – "We didn't want another genocidal war" – so it was instead issued by The Lilliput Press who had earlier published a pamphlet of Murphy's on Northern Ireland.

[6][5] In his review for The Spectator, William Spindler criticised Murphy's examination of Rwanda's history, noting that "[h]er compassion for the victims of the genocide leads her to side with those who claim to govern on their behalf, accepting uncritically some of their most questionable assertions.

"[7] In a review for Third World Quarterly, Elaine Windrich found Murphy to be "particularly astute on the role of the churches in the genocide", which she attributed to the author's Irish roots.

[8] In a review for African Business, Steven Williams found that Murphy "pulls no punches" in the book, including making a controversial argument in favour of the death penalty as a means for restoring order in Rwanda.