Murder on the A34

nickbrookes1991 · Jul 29, 2011

Hi all.
Don't know if this is the right section.
If any of you are British you may have come across this book.
I have recently been shown a book passed down through the family, the book is called 'Murder on the A34' by Harry Hawkes.
It is a rare book to find and was written in the 1960s, don't know if any of you have read it but it is a book about a Murderer from the Midlands located in the United Kingdom.
Just wanted to know what you all thought about it and if there are any copies out there, this book is a difficult book to find, and I have only ever seen one copy which is not in its best state, never seen this book for sale.

alleycat · Jul 29, 2011

I've never heard of it. I checked Amazon and a couple of other sites and it's shown as "not available".

If you're looking for another copy, you might try Alibris or one of the other used book websites. They will keep a record of your request and e-mail you if a copy for sale is ever located.

Mr Flibble · Jul 30, 2011

A34?

Twyford Down etc? No wait..the Cannock Chase murders?

If it's as rare as you say, it's going to be hard to find many people who've read it and have an opinion.

PS: You aren't doing a JR Hartley by any chance?

jaksen · Jul 30, 2011

Hello

There are several libraries which have it.

http://www.worldcat.org/title/murder-on-the-a34/oclc/102614

(The list is several pages long.)

Don't know if any of these are near you, or if they'll let you borrow it by mail.

seun · Jul 30, 2011

IdiotsRUs said:
PS: You aren't doing a JR Hartley by any chance?

*waits for everybody under thirty and British to not get that joke :ROFL:

*

Becca_H · Jul 30, 2011

seun said:
*waits for everybody under thirty and British to not get that joke *

*Is under 30 and British* *Doesn't get joke*

*Waits to be filled in*

mirandashell · Jul 30, 2011

It's from a classic Yellow Pages advert from the early eighties.

BigWords · Jul 30, 2011

For anyone still scratching their heads in puzzlement, this is the advert in question.

mccardey · Jul 30, 2011

BigWords said:
For anyone still scratching their heads in puzzlement, this is the advert in question.

Awwww ... That's me in a few ~~decades~~ ~~years~~ months ...

Thank you for posting it.

Becca_H · Jul 30, 2011

BigWords said:
For anyone still scratching their heads in puzzlement, this is the advert in question.

Lol, very cute. Still, gotta say it's not a patch on James Nesbitt. He's the king of Yellow Pages adverts.

"You sort out this terrible mess for me, and I will pay you double. You're very very nice people."

Theo81 · Jul 30, 2011

HI Nick, are you looking to get a sense of how many copies it sold, that kind of thing?

Terie · Jul 30, 2011

Never heard of the book, but I just got home from a drive that included the A34. Does that count? Oh, and no one tried to murder me.

Mr Flibble · Jul 30, 2011

I can only find 3 sources for it here. ETA: hmm won't let me add the link. Okay, you can use this page to find all different places a book might be. I used teh Metasearch option, which took me to what I've said below

If you click through to the British Catalogue, here, you'll be able to see which libraries hold a copy. Maybe you could contact them?

gothicangel · Jul 30, 2011

seun said:
*waits for everybody under thirty and British to not get that joke *

I'm 29 and got the joke.

That's the story I'm sticking to for the next three months anyway. :tongue

Becky Black · Jul 30, 2011

BigWords said:
For anyone still scratching their heads in puzzlement, this is the advert in question.

Man, it's been so long since I saw that. It's a brilliant piece of work in its own tiny way. A story in miniature, told in 50 seconds. A sympathetic character has a problem, which we see him working hard at trying to solve, not giving up despite constant setbacks. When all seems lost he finally finds what he's looking for and there's even time for a little twist at the end. Perfect!

Oops, sorry, thread derail!

dangerousbill · Jul 30, 2011

BigWords said:
For anyone still scratching their heads in puzzlement, this is the advert in question.

Classic tragedy and comedy.

dangerousbill · Jul 30, 2011

Terie said:
Never heard of the book, but I just got home from a drive that included the A34. Does that count? Oh, and no one tried to murder me.

They missed.

skylark · Jul 31, 2011

(grins)

I live a whole two miles from the A34. Just drove up it, in fact.

Birol · Jul 31, 2011

Were you murdered?

If you're seriously trying to find a hard-to-find book, I recommend Abe Books. It lists the inventory of independent booksellers from different countries.

WriteMinded · Jul 31, 2011

BigWords said:
For anyone still scratching their heads in puzzlement, this is the advert in question.

THANK YOU. I was feeling left out, ignored, like the Ugly (old) American.

Fallen · Aug 1, 2011

skylark said:
(grins)

I live a whole two miles from the A34. Just drove up it, in fact.

Beat ya, It's my neck-of-the-woods (so to speak). And YES I was busy at the time of the murders...

Scary crap at the time though, erm, so I heard...

I think I've heard of the book that covered it. What exactly do you want to know? Just whether it's a collector's?

caspermac · Aug 1, 2011

I'm under 30 & get the J.R.Hartley joke, but only because of those annoying '100 best' programs. You could try a website called booksleuth, it's usually used by people who can't remember the title of the book they're looking for but it might be worth a shot. Just make sure you're on the UK version and not the US version.

Lady Ice · Aug 1, 2011

seun said:
*waits for everybody under thirty and British to not get that joke *

Hasn't everybody in Britain seen that advert by now? It's always on clip shows...

nicolane · Aug 1, 2011

BigWords said:
For anyone still scratching their heads in puzzlement, this is the advert in question.

I'll admit to remembering this advert - Mainly because my Uncle is called Jack Hartley, and he detests fishing!

Murder on the A34

Still around

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Caped Codder

Horror Man

Where am I again?

Geekzilla

Where am I again?

Writer is as Writer does

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Toughen up.

Writing my way off the B Ark

Retired Illuminatus

Retired Illuminatus

Around and About

Derailed

Stood at the coalface

Makes useful distinctions

Adorably Unhinged