[In the following excerpt, Kaufman praises Perry's The Silent Cry, stating that "[t]he denouement is shocking, and the characters are so richly drawn that you'll miss them when they're gone."]

… Anne Perry's new Victorian thriller, The Silent Cry, featuring surly amnesiac investigator William Monk and feisty nurse Hester Latterly, is the author's best effort in a couple of years.

Leighton Duff, a respected solicitor, is found beaten to death in St. Giles, a festering slum "only a stone's throw from Regent Street in the heart of London." Lying beside him, barely alive, is his brutally beaten son, Rhys. The pair are discovered by John Evan, Monk's only friend on the police force. Were they attacked by local ruffians while out for an evening's whoring? Is the widow involved? While Evan struggles to come up with a motive, he arranges for Hester to care for the wounded Rhys.

Coincidentally, Monk is engaged by Vida Hopgood, the wife of an East End sweatshop owner, to investigate the brutal rapes and beatings of local prostitutes. It's no surprise that Monk discovers a connection between the crimes, but longtime followers will be pleased that he also gains insight into his feud with his former supervisor Runcorn. The action careers between the low-and high-born in Victorian society. The denouement is shocking, and the characters are so richly drawn that you'll miss them when they're gone….