Despite being a huge crime/mystery reader, I've never been a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories. After recently reading A Study in Scarlet and now The Sign of Four, I realize that it's not me to blame. It's Holmes. He's just too much of an obnoxious show-off for me to like. Add in some Victorian-era English arrogance, and I feel like flipping off any Holmes novel I see on the shelf when browsing a mystery section in a bookstore. 
 Holmes and his full-time professional kiss-ass Watson get hired by a young lady who has been receiving expensive pearls anonymously and now has a mysterious request to meet someone regarding the jewels. Accompanying the woman, Holmes and Watson soon get wrapped up in murder involving a wooden legged man, a savage cannibal and a hidden treasure. Oh, and Watson stops heaping compliments on Holmes long enough to fall head over heels for the girl. 
 I don't need a likeable main character to enjoy a story. In fact, someone who is brilliant but arrogant and abrasive can be a very interesting if done right. (See Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for a recent example.) I'm a little surprised at how much I found myself disliking Holmes. It's not like I didn't know he was an aloof logic junkie. 
 But what bugs me about him is the whole attitude he has about claiming that his methods are 'simplicity itself' while still doing everything he can to milk every moment and make everyone marvel at his amazing talents. He can't let Watson go to the post office without turning it into a showcase for his deductive reasoning, but once Holmes has the doctor gushing about his brilliance, he just coldly dismisses it as simple logic. Asshole. 
 I did enjoy the fact that this is the one that established the idea that Holmes would inject a liquid form of cocaine into his veins when he got bored and reaches for the syringe the second the case is over. It made him a little more human and relatable. And Watson shows his cutting edge medical skills by cautioning Holmes that the coke might be unhealthy. Maybe even habit forming. That Watson is a helluva doctor.