I was growing tired of thrillers until I watched this gripping Amazon Prime drama

I love a fast-paced, twisty thriller, but in a TV landscape saturated with airport novel adaptations, Amazon Prime’s new mystery thriller, Vanished, is an unexpected breakout.

You don’t have to scroll far to stumble upon the hundreds upon hundreds of rinse-and-repeat, action-packed dramas populating every single streamer.

I mean, there’s no denying it’s one of the most popular genres on TV, with people from every generation hooked and reeled in when there’s a good mystery to sink your teeth into.

Inevitably, this means that among the handful of stellar shows, there’s plenty of rubbish to sift through, and there’s nothing more disappointing than committing yourself to eight-episodes of high-octane thrills, only to be met with stale acting, baffling storylines and an unfulfilling climax.

All this to say, I entered Kaley Cuoco and Sam Claflin’s new four-part Amazon MGM Plus series with a sceptical mindset, worried that – like many thrillers that have come before it – it wouldn’t live up to expectations.

The onscreen duo very quickly proved me wrong. 

Vanished follows an archaeologist called Alice Monroe who is holidaying in France with her boyfriend of four years, Tom Parker, who is a humanitarian aid worker deployed to countries in the Middle East.

When Alice and Tom board a train to their next hotel, the latter takes a phone call mid-journey and never returns.

Lost, afraid and torn-apart by her boyfriend’s impossible disappearance on a moving train, Alice launches her own investigation to track Tom down and finds herself caught in a dark web, entering a shady underbelly that reveals shocking truths far bigger than her relationship.

Several aspects of the show reeled me in from the very start. Firstly, Sam and Kaley’s chemistry is palpable onscreen (not something that can be said for all fictional couples), and I quickly found myself rooting for them to succeed. 

When Sam vanishes from the train, I genuinely found myself just as confused as Alice as she frantically makes her way up and down the carriages and started wondering what on earth I would do in a situation like that. 

What was particularly refreshing was the way Alice’s character was written. Although she’s a headstrong woman who is determined to uncover the truth, she doesn’t suddenly switch into James Bond mode. 

Vanished certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome, and with only four action-packed episodes, there’s no time to get bored or distracted. Especially because there are several worthy twists and turns that took me by surprise (not all, but many).

Her actions, decisions and reactions to her increasingly crazy circumstances feel genuine and as though she’s a fallible human way out of her depth.

Although I thought the conclusion was satisfying, I think the final few twists are perhaps where the cracks appear.

When the deeper, underlying conspiracy is unveiled, I felt that enough agency wasn’t given to these characters, nor time to explore its full sinister depths, which didn’t quite sit right with me.

However, to do the wider threads of the plot justice, it would have had to be longer, and spend time away from Alice, which wouldn’t have worked since the show is told from her out-of-the-loop perspective – so I can just about forgive the oversight.

Meanwhile, the final twist was perhaps a tad too predictable by that point to end the show on a bang, even if Sam and Kaley do try to pull it off with plenty of charm.

Still, in its simple way, the finale managed to wrap the plot up in a neat-enough bow, and by the end, I was bowled over to find that I had stayed ensnared from start to finish.

So, if you’re looking for your next thriller but don’t want to hit another dud, then why not try Vanished? This bite-sized mystery adventure might be just what you’re looking for.

Vanished is streaming on Amazon Prime Video now.

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