Patricia Cornwell has signed a deal with Lifetime to adapt two of her crime novels into movies, a first for the best-selling author.

Cornwell has worked in television before -- she was writer/executive producer
on ABC's short-lived 1999 series "ATF," which was not based on one of her
novels. But the Lifetime movies, "At Risk" and the upcoming sequel, "The
Front," will mark the first time any of her books will be adapted for the big
or small screen.

"At Risk" originally appeared as a 15-week serialization in the New York Times Sunday Magazine in January 2006 before being released by G.P. Putnam's Sons in book form four months later. It revolves around Massachusetts state investigator Win Garano, a shrewd man with a chip on his shoulder; D.A. Monique Lamont, a hard-charging woman with powerful ambitions; and Garano's grandmother, who has certain unpredictable talents. "The Front" is set to be released by Putnam on May 20. Lifetime has seen success with book adaptations. It most recently inked a deal to adapt four more Nora Roberts novels following the success of last year's quartet. Others include Joyce Carol Oates' "We Were the Mulvaneys"; Sue Monk Kidd's "The Mermaid Chair"; Kim Edwards' "The Memory Keeper's Daughter," which debuted Saturday; and Jodi Picoult's "The Tenth Circle," premiering June 28. Cornwell is best known for her string of Kay Scarpetta novels, starting with her first crime book, 1990's "Postmortem." She also has written three novels featuring Andy Brazil; two cookbooks; a children's book; the nonfiction book "Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper -- Case Closed"; and the biography "Ruth, a Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham."