Mare of Easttown is a recognized story of a traumatized police detective trying to solve the murder of a young woman, but its location and personality give you more, writes Jen Chaney for Vulture.com.

The HBO seven-episode series with Kate Winslet in the principal role, places its first images in a small Pennsylvania town, based on screenwriter Brad Ingelsby’s experience as an Archibishop Carroll graduate growing up in the region. 

Locations in Aston and Drexel Hill both appear in the series.

Against the melancholy backdrop of a close-knit working class hamlet in winter are some strong characters.

They help take Mare of Easttown, debuting April 18, beyond a crime drama.

The working class is often portrayed by Hollywood elite in one-dimensional ways.

But Mare of Easttown gives it working-class characters humanity and complexity, helped along by the fact that Ingelsby is from the area the series, though fictional, reports on in great detail.

The series moves from crime drama to character study to an exploration of grief.

It leaves you with a strong feeling that everyone you meet in Mare of Easttown is fighting a battle and that Mare isn’t the only one struggling.

Read more of this review at vulture.com.