Where to Start Reading David Willis McCullough
For readers new to David Willis McCullough, the best starting point is his primary fiction work, the Ziza Todd mystery series. Because this cozy-yet-scholarly mystery series consists of only two novels, it is easy to read in its entirety. You should read them in order of publication to follow the personal development of the main character, a young Presbyterian minister navigating small-town secrets.
If you prefer narrative history and cultural exploration over mystery fiction, start with The Unending Mystery, which explores the long history of labyrinths, or Wars of the Irish Kings, a lively compilation of historic Irish struggles.
The Ziza Todd Mysteries
McCullough's fiction centers on Reverend Ziza Todd, a young Presbyterian minister who returns to her family's historic roots in the Hudson River Valley (the fictional town of Nansemond). These books blend church politics, local history, and family secrets into engaging cozy mysteries.
- Think on Death (1991) – Ziza Todd arrives at a historic utopian community in the Hudson Valley to catalog a library, only to discover a decades-old murder and family secrets.
- Point No-Point (1992) – Ziza returns in a second mystery involving a suspicious death, a historic local academy, and long-standing regional rivalries.
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Works
Beyond his mystery novels, McCullough wrote and compiled several non-fiction books focusing on local history, oral histories, and ancient cultural phenomena. They can be read in any order depending on your historical interests:
- People, Books, and Book People (1981) – A collection of ninety literary interviews conducted by McCullough during his time with the Book-of-the-Month Club.
- Brooklyn... and How It Got That Way (1983) – An informal social history of Brooklyn, featuring photography by Jim Kalett.
- Three Score and Ten: A History of Christ School, Arden, North Carolina, 1900–1970 (1996) – A detailed institutional history covering the first seventy years of Christ School.
- Wars of the Irish Kings: A Thousand Years of Struggle, from the Age of Settlement to the Reign of De Valera (2000) – A curated collection of primary accounts and narratives detailing a millennium of conflict in Ireland.
- The Unending Mystery: A Journey Through Labyrinths and Mazes (2004) – An exploration of the history, myth, and archeological significance of mazes and labyrinths across civilizations.
Anthologies and Collections Edited by McCullough
As a veteran editor for the Book-of-the-Month Club, McCullough edited several anthologies highlighting classic detective fiction, historical accounts, and memoirs:
- Great Detectives: A Century of the Best Mysteries from England and America (1984) – An anthology featuring classic sleuths and iconic mystery writing.
- American Childhoods: An Anthology (1987) – A collection of personal essays and memoirs depicting childhood throughout American history.
- City Sleuths and Tough Guys: Crime Stories from Poe to the Present (1989) – A collection focusing on urban crime and hard-boiled detective fiction.
- Chronicles of the Barbarians: Firsthand Accounts of Pillage and Conquest from the Ancient World to the Fall of Constantinople (1998) – An anthology of historical sources documenting invasions and conquests.
What to Know Before You Start
First-time readers should note that David Willis McCullough (1937–) is not the same person as the famous, late American historian David McCullough (1933–2022), who wrote John Adams and 1776. David Willis McCullough is best known for his editorial tenure at the Book-of-the-Month Club from 1964 to 1995, and his writing style reflects his deep appreciation for literature, local history, and conversational scholarship.
His Ziza Todd novels are excellent choices for fans of theological mysteries or Hudson Valley history. Meanwhile, his historical compilations like Wars of the Irish Kings are accessible to general history enthusiasts because he utilizes firsthand accounts to bring distant history to life.