From April 6, 1994, when Rwanda's president Juvenal Habyarimana was assassinated to the end of the month, it was estimated more than 250,000 tutsis were murdered after the Hutu-led government urged on thousands of ordinary Hutus to participate in mass slaughter.
Written by a BBC Newsnight producer who was one of the first journalists into Rwanda after news of the genocide came out in 1994, it depicts the horrors he and his team saw.
It is no wonder he produced and co-wrote the film Shooting Dogs on the genocide and this book. He has obviously had to grapple with what he saw and the reasons behind the traumatic events.
This story follows the work of missionary priest Vjeko Curic, who having committed to stay in the country despite the chaos and savagery, saved thousands of lives, and that of Jean-Pierre Sagahutu and his family as they seek to stay alive.
From Jean-Pierre spending months in a 4.5m unused cess pit hiding from certain death to the descriptions of mass slaughter as people sought refuge in churches and schools, the picture is graphic and holds nothing back.
The fear of three people hidden under the bottom of a jeep as Curic goes through roadblock after roadblock to get them across the border and out of the country is palpable.
The personal stories are put in perspective by coverage of the political and military machinations of a country in a bloody nightmare.
Belton goes back to Rwanda 20 years on to retrace his steps and that of Curic and Sagahutu to investigate how the country was putting itself back together and living with its tragic past.
Not recommended bedtime reading but compelling and moving.
- Rebecca Fox is an ODT Dunedin reporter.
