The story centers on idealistic public defender Kendall Deaton, who discovers a dark secret in the forest near her small South Carolina town. It leads her to turn state's witness against her white supremacist ex-husband and father-in-law as she struggles to discover whom she can trust.

Brown, who has written 56 New York Times best-sellers and has 70 million copies of her books in print, has turned down several offers to adapt her books over the years.

"Some excellent books have been made into excellent movies, but just as often the film renditions were bad," she said. "For decades I've been developing a 'voice' my readers recognize and expect." She said that TwinStar executive vice president Lane Shefter Bishop, who will serve as one of the producers of the film, "approached me with a full understanding and appreciation of that voice."

The film will be one of the first features from TwinStar, which owns a library of original stories and options on film and literary properties aimed at a wide audience.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter