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.
