Washington (ANI): Actress Angelina Jolie has signed on to play the lead in the big screen adaptation of author Patricia Cornwell"s mystery book series. Jolie will portray the role of medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, reports Variety.

There are 16 Scarpetta novels, however, the new film won't be made on a specific Cornwell mystery novel. The opera-loving coroner Scarpetta will be the lead in a suspense thriller in the vein of The Silence of the Lambs and Seven.

Cornwell also made a deal last year with Lifetime Television to adapt two non-Scarpetta novels, At Risk and The Front.