"... And then the murders began."

[Yastreb]

The missile salvo came screaming in from astern. And then the murders began.
David Weber, The Shadow of Saganami

Shambling along in the first sharp sunshine of a June morning, we had just cleared the minefield west of Bar Harmat. And then the murders began.
Desmond Young, Rommel

[thegreyarea]

When Zarathustra was thirty years old, he left his home and the lake of his home, and went into the mountains. And then the murders began.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None

(I read this one a long long time ago, so I don't recall much. However from what I recall adding a bunch of murders might make it much more interesting. And then maybe I was just to young to understand it... Ok, I just reread the two initial pages and definitively think the murders are a good idea!   )

[Yastreb]

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree
And then the murders began
Samuel Coleridge, Kubla Khan

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
And then the murders began.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade

[Jitter]

In this book, I have summed up how to put your space in order in a way that will change your life forever. And then the murders begin.

Marie Kondo: The life-changing magic of tidying up

I wonder if she means that emptying your house will create lots of room to hide the bodies, or simply just that the constant tidying will drive anyone to a murderous rage.

Many of these are hilarious!

[thegreyarea]

I remembered Arkangel as well. That was about where it all started to go wrong. And then the murders began.

Alastair Reynolds, Beyond the Aquila Rift.

(this one is sooo gooood!)
---

Even before the boat came through the reef, Mirissa could tell that Brant was angry. And then the murders began.

Arthur C. Clarke, The Songs of Distant Earth

(This one is sooo gooood!)
(what? I'm repeating myself? Let's try something different)
---

Prosperity is about things going well for us: in accordance with our hopes and expectations. ‘How’s life?’ we ask each other. ‘How are things?’ Everyday exchanges convey more than casual greeting. They reveal a mutual fascination for each other’s well-being. Wanting things to go well is a common human concern. And then the murders begin.

Tim Jackson, Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet

(this one is... I don't know. It's been sitting on my hard drive for some time, waiting for the right mood. I'll tell you one of these days)

[Yastreb]

The great bell at Beaulieu was ringing. And then the murders began.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The White Company

Bill and I had just finished covering the Presidential conventions. And then the murders began.
Salem Kirban, 666

[LooNEY_DAC]

I started for Capri and I landed in Weesit. And then the murders began.
Phoebe Atwood Taylor, The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern (An Asey Mayo Mystery)

(Though I must admit that I prefer her Leonidas Witherall mysteries.)

[Yastreb]

He had gone to sleep exhausted by the heat; his bones hurt. And then the murders began
Arthur Miller, Focus

The errand was out of his way and he was afraid he was running terribly late, but he had the airport taxi take him to Asprey's to be able to bring along a small surprise for Bitsy. And then the murders began.
Richard Condon, Arigato

[midwestmutt]

When the girl came rushing up the steps, I decided she was wearing far too many clothes...and then the murders began. The Silver Pigs: A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery by Lindsey Davis

[thegreyarea]

"Hi there... I'm John Arbuckle. I'm a cartoonist, and this is my cat, Garfield". And then the murders began.

Jim Davis, Garfield (first comic strip, on June 19, 1978)

(The repeated murder of lasagna, of course   )

https://garfield.fandom.com/wiki/Garfield,_June_1978_comic_strips

[thegreyarea]

"So long, Pop! I'm off to check my tiger trap!" And then the murders began.

Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes (first comic strip, on November 18, 1985)

(the repeated "murder" of many hours of my time, of course   )

https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/a4dxly/very_first_calvin_and_hobbes_comic_strip/

[Yastreb]

Bronwyn, the old charioteer, smiled to himself as he listened to Alvan, son of Segvan the chieftain, shaking and kicking the door like an unbroken colt. And then the murders began.
J. E. Hood, Guardians of the Forest

The military attache's voice, harsh and unfriendly, cut across the great thatched and timbered hall. "By Jupiter and his seven-headed dog, but I can show you a sort of magic to beat that!" And then the murders began.
Henry Treece, The Dark Island

[JoB]

... why only books, though?

After a fight in the enclosure, cow elephant Maejaruad had to be put to sleep due to her severe injuries. And then the murders began.
(Local newspaper. The fight was with an older, "very calm" bull, Bindu ... who did kill a 22yo waiter in 1984 in Port Lympne, though ...)

[LooNEY_DAC]

Two thousand million or so years ago two galaxies were colliding; or, rather, were passing through each other. A couple of hundreds of millions of years either way do not matter, since at least that much time was required for the inter-passage. At about that same time--within the same plus-or-minus ten percent margin of error, it is believed--practically all of the suns of both those galaxies became possessed of planets. And then the murders began.
Edward E. "Doc" Smith, Ph.D., Triplanetary

[Yastreb]

It was November, cold and wet in west Arkansas, a miserable dawn following on a miserable night. And then the murders began.
Stephen Hunter, Point of Impact

Eckstern produced the package with an exaggerated flourish and lifted the lid of the box to pluck out shredded packing with as much care as if he was about to display the crown jewels of some long-forgotten kingdom. And then the murders began.
Andre Norton, Quag Keep