The novel by Grigory Bashkirov, a former police officer, is written in the much-loved but now rare genre of the classic detective story. Moreover, in the best traditions of the classic “Soviet” detective. Here is what his colleague in the “homicide department”, creator of “Streets of Broken Lanterns”, Andrey Kivinov, writes about the author and his novel: “I met Grigory Vladimirovich Bashkirov in 1988, during that wonderful a time when the police were still Soviet, food was sold using coupons, and the homicide department was the only one in the whole city. And each murder, unlike today, was perceived as resonant. But the main thing is that the words “honor of the uniform” for the most part were not something fabulous. Gregory, who worked in the mentioned 2nd homicide department, belonged to this majority. I'm not a fan of writing characteristics, this is some kind of formal approach. Therefore, I will simply say - Grigory is a real, decent cop who came to the authorities with one goal - to catch all sorts of freaks and help people. I am sure of this because I saw the childish joy in his eyes when another murderer went to jail. He is one of those romantics who did not leave work for days, who ruined his health in smoky offices and combat missions. But I never regretted coming to this service. And I’m sure that he is still proud of his past.”