Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26548430-20150713202605/@comment-26007602-20150714051250

You see, there needs to be build up to these events. If you were reading Romeo and Juliet and some serial killer burst through the room when Romeo and Juliet were banging, you wouldn't say, "Oh, what a surprise that is." You'd say, "where the hell did this come from?" The same concept applies here: we know nothing about Kennedy's family, so when it's revealed that his sons are as messed up as they are, it just seems so out of nowhere because the reader has no way to guess what's going to happen next. We like hints and clues so we can try and figure out what'll happen next, so when the twist comes and we're caught off guard, it's that much better.

As for Marvin being a victim, I feel there wasn't any reasoning behind that. How was I supposed to guess he kidnapped and fed to a beast? The fact that there were no gay men in James' area didn't strike me as peculiar (I live in a more conservative area, so maybe that's why, but I don't think it's that strange or unusual anyways), and there was certainly no indication that'd they'd been killed off.

Hope this helps!