When Joe Talbot loses his father's ring, it's the beginning of the strangest Christmas holiday ever. Not only are people in Oakdale behaving oddly, but David Barnes is suddenly missing. Illustrations.
Joe and his friends are on holiday getting ready for Christmas. They have a school assignment to read this book. The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens. The book is a mystery itself because Dickens died before he finished it because back then they published like they do tv shows now in weekly or monthly magazine or book editions.
There are a few other mysteries as well like where did Joe lose his dad's high school ring? Where did Wishbones' bone go? What happened to the message that David left for Joe why he wasn't going to be at the book discussion meeting? Where is David too?
Some of the mysteries are solved like the where is David? He was trapped in a room that got shut by the wind while looking for Joe's ring. Joe's ring was found by Wishbone at the warehouse where David was locked in. Wishbone had been one to find David as well. The answering machine message was deleted by Wishbone. However, Wishbone can't find his bone that he took that was for Xmas. So that mystery is like the book they have read for school.
I liked the Christmas lighting and besides the Elvis part it was good. Should just left him out.
I wish this book had more of a holiday/Christmas setting. Unfortunately the story is outdated at this point due to the age of having cell phones, but at least it was fun (even if I did get tired of hearing about Joe's obsession with that Charles Dickens book).