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Missing Mare of Easttown? 13 Shows, Movies, and Books to Fill the Void

By Ashly Moore Sheldon • June 25, 2021

If you're one of the many who just finished watching Mare of Easttown, you may be desperately seeking for some powerful, female-led suspense to take its place. Whether you'd prefer gritty, atmospheric series, more brilliant Kate Winslet performances, or propulsive moody thrillers in book form, we have suggestions for you.

Need More Thriller Series to Binge?

These twisty crime series all feature tough female leads dealing with their own hefty share of emotional baggage.

  • Broadchurch: Starring Olivia Colman and David Tennant as investigators uncovering dark secrets in a small British town.
  • Sharp Objects: Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, this Southern gothic thriller stars Patricia Clarkson and Amy Adams in a seriously dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship.
  • The Fall: A cat-and-mouse game between Gillian Anderson's shrewd, yet vulnerable, detective and Jamie Dornan's sinister serial killer.
  • The Sinner: In this underappreciated series, a detective (Bill Pullman) tries to fathom why an unassuming woman (Jessica Biel) stabbed a man to death on a crowded beach.

Can't Get Enough of Kate?

Known for playing headstrong, complicated women, the award-winning actress is regarded as one of the preeminent actresses of her generation. To see more of her acclaimed performances, try any of these terrific films.

  • Titanic: Winslet landed an Oscar nomination for her role in James Cameron's epic romance (with Leonardo DiCaprio) aboard the most famous of sinking ships.
  • Revolutionary Road: Reuniting with DiCaprio, Winslet is luminous as a wife and mother who is suffocating emotionally in mid-1950s suburbia.
  • Ammonite: It's 1800s England. Winslet plays a fiercely independent woman who, after falling on hard times, takes a job tending a wealthy visitor's wife.
  • Contagion: For some reason, Steven Soderbergh's pandemic thriller has gained traction during the last year or so. Winslet shines as a public health official fighting to stop the spread.

Want it in Writing?

Because sometimes books are just, you know, better!

  • Long Bright River by Liz Moore: In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two sisters find themselves on opposite sides of a chasm. One an addict; the other a cop.
  • Broken Places by Tracy Clark: Hours after Father Ray Heaton asks P.I. Cass Raines to look into recent vandalism at his church, she discovers his body in the church confessional.
  • When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain: After retreating to her childhood home to recover from tragedy, detective Anna Hart finds herself drawn into the case of a missing teenage girl.
  • The Cipher by Isabella Maldonado: She escaped a serial killer at sixteen. Years later, when a video of FBI Agent Nina Guerrera getting jumped and fighting back goes viral, her former abductor is watching.
  • The Missing American by Kwei Quartey: Newly minted private investigator Emma Djan's first case will lead her to a world of email scams, fetish priests, and those willing to kill to protect their secrets.

Mare of Easttown may be over for now (there's talk of a second season!), but you can keep the momentum going with one of these edge-of-your-seat series, captivating Kate Winslet performances, or breathless page-turners. Let us know if you have any to add to the list.

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