Miniseries keeps viewers intrigued

It is easy to understand why mystery fans are attracted to John Cardinal, the taciturn Canadian detective featured in the series of books by Giles Blunt.

The richly flawed character has his inner-demons.

Billy Campbell plays the title role in “Cardinal,” a six-part Canadian miniseries available for streaming beginning Friday on Hulu.

As with any competently adapted mystery, the series centers on far more than the crime solving.

Viewers get hints of a backstory as Cardinal, a rogue member of the police force in Algonquin Bay, Canada, is called back to action after the body of a missing child is found encased in ice.

His boss, Noelle Dyson (Kristen Thomson), has reservations about putting him on the case — which initially seems to be why she has paired him with Detective Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse), whose background is in financial investigations.

Soon, another body is found, convincing Cardinal that a serial killer is at work — two killers, actually.

This revelation, shared relatively early with viewers, doesn’t alter the effectiveness of “Cardinal."

One reason: The killers have captured a new victim (Robert Naylor) but are only torturing him so far.

Can Cardinal and Delorme get to him in time to save his life?

We care, of course, but the story is as much about the characters as it is about the mystery.

We want to know what Delorme’s real purpose is in moving to the homicide division. We want to know what Cardinal is up to when he has clandestine meetings with a local no-account. And we want to know where Cardinal’s wife (Deborah Hay) is and why.

The performances are quite good, although Campbell speaks his lines in something of a loud whisper. The tactic feels at times like an affectation; otherwise, though, it makes the character compelling.