Okay. I Did It Again

I finished another Patricia Cornwell novel featuring the indomitable Kay Scarpetta.
The lives of the central characters have become even more outlandish, the plot all the more predictable, and the writing -- well, must I even comment?

And yet how can I call this writing horrible if I can't put the book down.  Of course a more complex question is -- Why am I so drawn to these characters?
Clearly I'm addicted and my family enables my addiction.  They give me these books as gifts.  Of course, I beg them to do so and yet they cannot seem to recognize my shameful addiction.
The good news is that I can only read as fast as the books are published.  The bad news is that they seem to be published at an alarming rate.  They are the gerbils of books.  They just keep reproducing.  At this point I'm only one book behind having no more to read.  Of course, by the time I read that final book Cornwell will have published a dozen more.  I do have my boundaries, though.  I refuse to watch the television program or the movie based on the character.  Or at least I think I refuse.  On the other hand, perhaps I really do have no shame.
At any rate, if you want to share or just explore my shame, read 'Scarpetta'.  You will probably regret the decision but at least I won't feel alone.