The Stolen Voice

The baffling return of David Drummond, who vanished as a child three decades earlier, is but one of several intriguing puzzles Gil Cunningham investigates in McIntosh's excellent sixth mystery to feature the 15th-century Scottish constable (after 2008's The Rough Collier ). David was about 11 when he disappeared without a trace from Glen Buckie, but somehow he's aged only five or six years in the meantime. Cunningham must also ascertain the fates of four men, all choir members, who have recently gone missing. Some locals believe only the supernatural can explain these inexplicable events—one is sure the devil himself is behind them. Cunningham, who seeks a more mundane agency, doggedly interviews those who might be responsible for the abductions, including David's older brother, Andrew, whose singing voice has been damaged and who may resent those with uninjured voices. McIntosh does a solid job of blending plot and period detail. (July)