Detour

Detour, written by Martin M. Goldsmith, is a noir novel that follows Alexander Roth, a jazz fiddle player who loses his job and his girlfriend, Sue, who leaves for Hollywood. In a desperate bid to reunite with her, he sells his possessions and embarks on a journey to California, only to find himself stranded and broke. His luck seems to change when a bookie named Haskell offers him a ride, but this encounter leads Roth into a series of perilous situations. Originally published in 1939, the novel was later adapted into a film noir in 1945 by Goldsmith himself, marking its significance in both literature and cinema.