Perhaps today the epic novel “The Gloomy River” reads like a bright, super-dynamic detective story on the theme of our past. And anyone who thinks that if a book is dedicated to bygone times is mistaken, then it is uninteresting. It contains greedy, merciless love, murder based on passion, and the most colorful characters of the heroes... This is Russia at the crossroads of times. The author, Vyacheslav Shishkov, wrote: ““Gloomy River” is the thing for which I was born.” Such recognition is expensive.