< p > Peru, 1950. A young aviator is found brutally murdered near a military base in the northern desert. Captain Silva and Officer Lituma start an investigation, riding trucks with chickens and persuading a taxi driver to take them to the crime scene. With no support from their superiors and the base commander standing in their way, the case will not be easy. But they are determined to uncover the truth. Who Killed Palomino Molero? is an entertaining and skillfully crafted detective novel. It touches on one of Mario Vargas Llosa's characteristic themes - how difficult it is to be honest in a corrupt society.