I do enjoy reading Holmes. But you are never meant to be anything other than a spectator. You aren't Sherlock Holmes, you are not meant to solve this mystery. And often the answer, quite frankly Doyle pulls out of his ass. Relevant information is withheld from you. Hound of the Baskervilles is a favorite novel of mine but I think it perfectly shows this asspullery. You are Dr. Watson. You are provided clues and red herrings with which you will draw your conclusions. But ultimately, the most important pieces of information are kept away from you. And only when Holmes comes back do these vital clues get presented. So you can marvel at how amazing he is. You never question him. You will always accept the truth as he says it.

I have a soft spot for Poirot. Because his detective work is more criminal profiling. Which I personally find fascinating. He isn't dusting for prints inasmuch looks at the behavior and deduces the background of the perpetrator. It is lies upon lies with the truth hiding in plain sight. And in the end, you may still be left wondering, did Poirot really catch the bad guy?