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Something in the Water

Phyllis R. Dixon

$36.99

Paperback

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English
Kensington Publishing
02 September 2025
Buried secrets, environmental disaster, and a legacy of corruption hit too close to home when a California native and her family make a fresh start in small-town Texas-and find trouble just beneath the promising surface in this powerful novel for readers of Terry McMillan, Tracy Brown, ReShonda Tate, and Elsie Bryant.

Buried secrets, environmental disaster, and a legacy of corruption hit too close to home when a California native and her family make a fresh start in small-town Texas-and find trouble just beneath the promising surface in this powerful novel for readers of Terry McMillan, Tracy Brown, ReShonda Tate, and Elsie Bryant.

As director of an award-winning investigative news radio show, Billie Jordan is used to helping others fight trouble. But she faces her own when the radio station is sold and she's unable to find another job. Their savings dwindle as she and her husband struggle to help their son overcome an opioid addiction. When her husband gets a professorship at an HBCU in his hometown, they relocate to get a fresh start. Billie slowly adjusts to a cubicle workspace, sweltering heat, and accepting ""y'all"" as a word. All is well until severe storms cause massive destruction and contaminate the town's water supply-making it unsafe to drink.

Billie learns water woes and boil water notices have existed for years. In her new job at a local bank, she finds connections between money, power, and family, are as dirty as the water. Warned to mind her own business, she remains persistent and discovers a shocking cover-up. Even more shocking is who is involved-and the extent to which they'll go to protect their interests.

Billie has always advocated for the people over the powerful. But when her son gets in trouble, her silence can make it go away. With her son's freedom at stake and mounting tensions threatening her marriage, she'll need all her resources and skills to save her family and expose the corruption . . . if a conspiracy doesn't drown her first.
By:  
Imprint:   Kensington Publishing
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 209mm,  Width: 139mm, 
Weight:   369g
ISBN:   9781496754196
ISBN 10:   1496754190
Pages:   304
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Phyllis R. Dixon is the acclaimed author of Intermission, Forty Acres, and Down Home Blues, which was shortlisted for the Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List by the Texas Library Association. She also is a contributor to the New Tri-State Defender book review column and to Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she is a former independent bookstore owner, previously worked for the U.S. Treasury Department, and currently serves on several nonprofit boards. She currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee, and can be found online at PhyllisRDixon.com.

Reviews for Something in the Water

Praise for Something in the Water “A powerful and timely novel—one that beautifully weaves storytelling with truth-telling about the urgent environmental justice issues facing our communities.” —Representative Justin J. Pearson, Tennessee State Representative “Phyllis R. Dixon writes with clarity and compassion, illuminating the quiet devastation of addiction and the unbreakable strength of a mother’s love. Set against the richly textured backdrop of small-town Texas, this story is both timely and timeless—a powerful reminder that healing often begins where the secrets are buried deepest. There is something in that water: the truth.” —Sanderia Smith, SMU Professor, author and winner of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and the Philosophical Society of Texas Award of Merit


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