“Maynard and McNally have crafted a book full of suspense and drama, with a classic closed-room mystery of who locked Jim in and how he will escape. Each chapter, while some may be brief, offers a glimpse into the characters’ stories, is action-packed, and poses intriguing questions that drive the reader’s curiosity.
High Risk is an easy and captivating read that I would highly recommend to anyone seeking an engaging and entertaining story. This is a quick and smooth mystery thriller that will have you guessing until the very end.” —Literary Titan (5-star review)
The Story Behind the Story
Why did we write it?
We wrote this story early in our career when we were writing screenplays. I was in LA and Bill was in Michigan for a consulting job. We were both working late one night, and we emailed and wondered what would happen if we were locked in our offices after hours. It was mostly a commiseration session, and we were griping about working late, but the idea expanded from there.
It was the fastest we’d written anything. In fact, the core of this story was completed within a few days and then we polished it from there. One interesting tidbit is the ending was originally very different and much darker. It was very cool, but it neither of us liked it as audience members. We were happy when we came up with the existing ending a few months later.
Who was the inspiration for Jim Sloane?
He was an amalgamation of people we worked with or saw from afar. We saw one executive from afar at a company where we interned and this individual was very high-strung. He had an A-type personality, but he didn’t seem happy. Jim is similar in that he’s achieved success by many measures, except the one that matters most.
What was our biggest takeaway after writing this story?
When serendipity strikes, run with it. This probably is still the best writing experience because of how fast and easy the first draft came out. That said, we had to remain open to changes and were pleased to find a better ending than the original. We also adapted this from a screenplay into a book, so that was an interesting process. It was the second time we’d done that.
Who do we think will enjoy High Risk?
Anyone who loves thrillers where you’re trying to figure out “who did it”. We like that readers will get to learn about Jim and how he became who he is while trying to figure out who locked him in the office (and why). One of the most consistent comments we’ve received is that High Risk is a fast read, and we think it’s because people have this dual interest in figuring out the mystery of who locked Jim in while wondering if he’ll escape.