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The last part of “Missoula” is devoted to Mr. Johnson’s trial, with extensive you-are-there courtroom time. It says a lot about the rest of the book — which is as crowded and painful as it is eye-opening, though it would have benefited from more of Mr. Krakauer’s thoughts and presence — that the trial is its most gripping section. For that, the author can thank Kirsten Pabst, who first appears as a Missoula County prosecutor whom the author portrays as blatantly sympathetic to the hunks accused of rape and showing no interest in their accusers. Partway through the book, she quits that job, goes into private practice and becomes one of Mr. Johnson’s defense lawyers.
Ms. Pabst was impressive. She asked suggestive questions and ascribed jilted heartbreak to Ms. Washburn like a seasoned romance writer. Mr. Johnson was found not guilty. Last year, Ms. Pabst was elected Missoula County attorney by a wide margin, while the Montana Regent who used the word “thuggery” to describe some of the Grizzlies’ other extracurricular behavior (like beatings and robberies) was widely assailed by football fans. The troubles of the “troubled college town” Mr. Krakauer described are far from over.
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