Same Girl by Kelly, R. and Usher

Same Girl is a detective novel in the vein of The Hardy Boys, which throws R. Kelly and Usher headfirst into a confounding mystery after they suspect that they have been dating the same girl.

The story begins with R. Kelly calling Usher to casually tell him about this girl that he’s been seeing, including her exact height, the make and model of the car she drives along with its license plate number, the location of her tattoo, her home address and her nickname. Usher notices a lot of similarities between his girlfriend and the girl that R. Kelly is describing. He asks several follow up questions, like if she has a kid, her preference for eating at Waffle House, if she has a beauty mark, what college she went to, and where she works. R. Kelly confirms that Usher’s information is accurate.

At this point R. Kelly becomes suspicious that something is amiss. Usher informs him that he suspects that they have both been dating the same woman. R. Kelly becomes distraught because this girl was his potential wife. They decide to team up and investigate further.They meet up in person and go over the specific details of the case.

They both met the woman under similar conditions. R. Kelly met her at a party in Atlanta, while Usher met her at a party in Chicago. However, the conversations they had with her are very similar, down to exact lines. They next compared pictures of the girl on their phones, to indeed confirm that she is the same woman.

Finally, they discover that the woman has been lying to them about having two phones. R Kelly is especially hurt when he finds out that the woman has Usher on the ringtone for her other phone. This is the last straw, and the guys decide to expose her lie.

They concoct a plan for one of them to call her and set up a date, and they will both show up and force her to explain herself. However, when they get there, they stumble on the M. Night Shyamalan-y twist that they have actually been seeing identical twins, not the same girl.

By some outrageous coincidence, the twins must share the black Durango, both have a kid, have the same nickname, have the same tattoo, have gone to the same college, and have the same job.

This is a plausible enough scenario for the detectives, but the women are unhappy that they were tricked by their men. They tell them that their behavior was jealous and immature, and they no longer wish to see them anymore.

R. Kelly takes the news very hard, spiraling into a depression and locking himself in his closet for several weeks.

Works Cited:
Kelly, R., and Usher. Same Girl: Jive, 2007.