How Many People Did You Kill Today?

My first three novels were thrillers. One dealt with a murder and a shaman who stalked the protagonist across the outback. The second featured a Hindu-American FBI agent who had to access the powers of the dark goddess Kali to bring a serial killer to justice. The third (as yet unpublished) follows a Native American Lakota man who must stop the leader of a cult before he enacts the largest mass murder on American soil.
So, now I'm writing about an infectious disease specialist who discovers that mass outbreaks of violence worldwide are caused by a prion disease...a prion that has manifested due to all the religious hatred in the world. The novel deals with the intersection of quantum physics and shamanic wisdom.
Of necessity, a lot of people die. My life partner, who has kindly given up my presence in our home so that I could spend six weeks at the Rensing Center writing this novel, calls regularly to fill me in on all the messy house upgrades he decided to do while I am gone. To kick off one conversation, he asked, "How many people did you kill today?"
Many. And the death toll is rising.
That's the life of a writer for you!