User reviews

When a social worker connected to a high-profile case is found drowned by being held under water, Vera and Joe (Brenda Blethyn and Joe (David Leon) embark on an investigation, in "Silent Voices." Social worker Jenny Lister was part of the Mattie Jones case two years earlier. Mattie had drowned her son Elias while she was the client of Connie Masters, whom Jenny supervised. Jenny was found innocent of any wrongdoing, but Connie Masters, overloaded with cases, was blamed. Masters now lives quietly under another name.

Jenny, on the other hand, was well regarded and adored by her daughter Hannah (Hannah Britland). She is devastated over her mother's death and leans heavily on a neighbor, Simon (James Rastall), whose mother Veronica (Penny Downe) disapproves of the relationship.

It's learned that Jenny was writing a book of case studies -- could that be the reason she was murdered? She had reported her bag stolen, and in it was her laptop. Could Mattie's old boyfriend, the strange and manipulative Michael Morgan (Daniel Lapaine) be responsible because she would have negative things to say about him? Vera and Joe have their hands full with this one. It's a depressing, dark story with the backdrop of loss -- Vera reminiscing about the loss of her own mother, Hannah facing the death of hers, and Veronica reliving the death of her other son as a child. It's also the anniversary of Elias' death.

By the time Vera has this one figured out, it's nearly too late.

Excellent mystery with wonderful performances by Blethyn, Britland, and everyone involved, as well as a story with a nail-biter of an ending.

Silent Voices is a terrific episode, it's a fantastic mystery, it really is Vera at its best.

The story is very dark, with some harrowing elements, but it's cohesive, interesting, intriguing and surprising. The opening is terrific, the visuals are incredible, talk about a sublime landscape. The ending is excellent, hard to find any real fault with this episode.

Just when you think her and Joe have reached an understanding and a closeness, she flies off the handle with him. She's given a new DC whom she actually treats rather well,

Kenny is more involved than in previous episodes, that's great, he's a great character.

Excellent. 9/10

While I have issues with both the post-production darkening of the skies to give the series its dreary, depressed look and with Blethyn's irritating whine, this is a fine episode that stands out primarily due to actor Kaye Wragg. In one remarkable scene where she recounts a story to Vera, Wragg takes her character from defiantly uncooperative to soft and empathetic. Not many actors can pull off such a smooth transition but Wragg changes the entire complexion of the episode and gives it much-needed heart in the middle of all the mean-spiritedness and ugliness that defines much of this show.