JoAnn’s third novel, YOU CAN DO BETTER, is currently on submission through Stephanie Cabot at Susanna Lea Associates.

Synopsis of YOU CAN DO BETTER:

A man is found murdered in his own home, left with an ominous message crammed into his mouth: You can do better. At first, Denver Police assume the words are for the victim’s estranged wife—until the killer announces her intentions online: it’s reparation time for all the women who’ve suffered at the hands of men, and she’s there to orchestrate the payback.

As the victims of the self-proclaimed Queen Bee pile up and the women of Denver follow the killer’s violent example, the men of the Mile High City find themselves in an unusual predicament: they’re scared to walk the streets alone at night; they only go out in groups; they don’t feel safe in their own homes.

Men are learning how it has always been for women.

Detective Raylene Malinconico has been tasked with putting a stop to the Queen Bee’s reign of terror but finds herself sympathizing with the killer’s actions. Natty French is the Denver Post reporter who first broke the story and needs to keep the interest and online clicks up to keep herself out of the unemployment line. As these two women recount their stories of the Queen Bee’s influence and eventual capture, one thing becomes clear: the Queen Bee could be anyone. It could be your neighbor, or your boss, of that woman walking her dog down the street.

It could even be you.

YOU CAN DO BETTER is the tale of what happens when women start refusing to be any man’s peace and change the rules of the game.