cover image The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellin Cartel

The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellin Cartel

Roberto Escobar, with David Fisher, read by Ruben Diaz. . Hachette, $34.98 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-60024-475-9

Roberto Escobar provides an intimate portrait of his brother, Pablo Escobar, the infamous leader of the Medellin drug cartel. He makes a strenuous—if not entirely persuasive—effort to reveal his brother's more sensitive side and to argue that the Colombian and U.S. governments exaggerated the degree of Pablo's involvement in the cartel. The book's organization is spotty and the familial bias often frustrates—listeners will likely crave a more unvarnished biography—but Ruben Diaz provides an unimpeachable performance. With an authentic, never grating accent, he narrates so sincerely that the audience might believe they are listening to Roberto himself. A Grand Central hardcover. (Feb.)