"... And then the murders began."

[Yastreb]

Morning filtered into the sky, lending it the grey tone of the ground below. And then the murders began.
Brian W. Aldiss, But Who Can Replace A Man?

"All torch pilots! Report to the Commodore!" The call echoed through Earth Satellite Station.
And then the murders began.
Robert A. Heinlein, Sky Lift

[thegreyarea]

Depressed and dejected, his unrequited love like a stony weight inside him, Fropome looked longingly at the sky, then shook his head slowly and stared disconsolately down at the meadow in front of him. And then the murders began.

Iain M Banks, Odd Attachment (in The State of The Art collection of short stories)

[midwestmutt]

Marcus Antonius sat atop his horse outside Roma watching the smoke rise into the twilight sky above the forum and the docks along the Tiber. Musket fire echoed throughout the city.--Muses of Roma by Rob Steiner

[Yastreb]

There was once a poor prince; he had a kingdom, but it was a very little one. Still, it was large enough for him to marry on, and married he was determined to be. And then the murders began.
Hans Christian Andersen, The Swineherd

On a certain afternoon, in the late springtime, the bell upon Tunstall Moat House was heard ringing at an unaccustomed hour. Far and near, in the forest and in the fields along the river, people began to desert their labours and hurry towards the sound; and in Tunstall hamlet a group of poor countryfolk stood wondering at the summons. And then the murders began.
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Black Arrow

[Yastreb]

Since lunchtime the great storm had been clambering up the sky, surging and changing course, so that the sun was never quite obscured and the cricket match was not interrupted. And then the murders began.
Ursula Moray Williams, The Moonball

Looking back on this, a night whose repercussions would change Europe's history forever, some claimed to remember nothing more than a distant noise. It had skimmed across the surface of an icy sea, the sound waves amplified by the stillness of the water, their notes hammered taut by the frost of a late winter's night. And then the murders began.
Charles Spencer, The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy, and the Wrecking of Henry I's Dream

[Róisín]

Yastreb, where would I find that book? I know the ballad about the White Ship, of course, but had no idea this book existed! And to quote from the earlier version of that story:

‘He was a prince of lust and pride
Who showed no grace ‘til the hour he died.
Lands are swayed by a king on a throne.
God only knows where his soul did wake
But I saw him die for his sister’s sake.
The sea hath no king but God alone.’

A fitting place for the murders to begin.

[JoB]

where would I find that book?

I forget your exact location, would the half-dozen stores QBD has in SA Adelaide be an option?

If not, there are several online shops willing to ship the book to you, of course.

[Róisín]

Thanks for the info,JoB. I think Yastreb is tracking down another copy, and he will be back here in a month or two. I rarely get down to Adelaide these days, as Star needs a lot of nursing and I can’t leave him for more than about four hours at a time. If we buy books at all these days it is generally online, but I will pass your suggestions on to several other folk who will be interested.

[wavewright62]

I spent much of my childhood listening to the sound of striving. It came in the form of bad music, or at least amateur music, coming up through the floorboards of my bedroom - the plink plink plink of students sitting downstairs at my great-aunt Robbie's piano, slowly and imperfectly learning their scales. And then the murders began.

Becoming - Michelle Obama
Cheated a little and included the first two sentences.

[Yastreb]

For a change of pace, I've chosen one of the worst novels ever written, and the even worse sequel. I make no apologies.

Bill and I had just finished covering the Presidential conventions. And it was with a sigh of relief that we boarded our flight in Chicago bound for the West Coast. And then the murders began.
Salem Kirban, 666

What he saw seemed like a dream. Could it be true? Or would he suddenly wake up into reality? After struggling through seven long years for survival... against what seemed to be incredible odds... victory seemed impossible. And then the murders began.
Salem Kirban, 1000

Spoiler: show

There's no problem with using the first couple of sentences, or even the opening paragraph, if it helps make sense of "And then the murders began".

[Yastreb]

When Richard O'Connor took the field in a year of disastrous defeat, his spectacular victories exhilarated his countrymen and astonished the enemy. And then the murders began.
Correlli Barnett, The Desert Generals

Cardinal Lomelli left his apartment in the Palace of the Holy Office shortly before two in the morning and hurried through the darkened cloisters of the Vatican towards the bedroom of the Pope. And then the murders began.
Robert Harris, Conclave

[Yastreb]

Punctually at six o'clock the sun set with a last yellow flash behind the Blue Mountains, a wave of violet shadows poured down Richmond Road, and the crickets and tree frogs in the fine gardens began to zing and tinkle. And then the murders began.
Ian Fleming, Doctor No

The ninth of May, 1864, was a beautiful warm spring day, but all young Charles Owen of Raisinville, Michigan, wanted to do was give himself a good swift kick, and he would have, too, had he the strength or energy. And then the murders began.
Gregory Urwin, Custer Victorious

[Yastreb]

James Bond, with two double bourbons inside him, sat in the final departures lounge of Miami Airport and thought about life and death. And then the murders began.
Ian Fleming, Goldfinger

Spoiler: show

I actually prefer the Graeme Garden version on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, in which the panelists were asked to finish a first line of a novel; his version was, "James Bond, with two double bourbons inside him, sat in the final departures lounge of Miami Airport and silently let one go". I'm laughing e'en now.

For several days in succession fragments of a defeated army had straggled through the town. And then the murders began.
Guy de Maupassant, Boule De Suif