謀殺與創造之時 原文"time to murder and create"
這句話來自於一首詩 The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
作者T. S. Eliot
而T.S. Eliot該段應該是引用聖經典故
聖經傳道書 Ecclesiastes 3:3,
殺戮有時、 醫治有時． 拆毀有時、 建造有時
A time to put to death and a time to make well;
a time for pulling down and a time for building up.
我對詩沒有什麼研究
對該句的解讀跟你差不多：推理／查案的過程有時需要get creative
至於引用的真正寓意...
可以考慮今年一月 卜老來台座談會直接問他 XD
卜老史卡德系列的書名引經據典的不只這一部
像是魔鬼知道你死前 原文"The Devils Knows You're Dead"
來自於愛爾蘭俗諺
"May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows you're dead."
(願你死後在被魔鬼找上前先升到天堂)
而酒店關門之後 原文"When the sacred ginmill closes"
則是來自於Dave Van Ronk 1973年的歌曲Last Call其中一段歌詞
And so we’ve had another night
of poetry and poses,
and each man knows he’ll be alone
when the sacred ginmill closes.
傳說中2011史卡德系列的新作"A Drop of the Hard Stuff"
也是來自於愛爾蘭團體The Dubliners 1967年暢銷的專輯名稱
hard stuff指的應該是高濃度的酒精
仔細找的話可能還不只這幾個本
期待板友們提供其他書名引用的例子...
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock詩文內容很長
全文見此 http://goo.gl/V572C
摘錄該段前後句給你參考一下
And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.