The Fifth Avenue Series Boxed Set (Fifth Avenue - From Manhattan with Revenge)

I enjoyed the complicated plot that continues in each book and can't wait for more of them. I regret the characters that are killed off as I wanted to get to know them better. Maybe room for prequels?

Settling into the 2nd and 3rd of the trilogy was comfortable yet exciting. The characters were familiar yet a wee bit unpredictable ! I do like the way the author can still surprise and shock and yet leaves the strings tied up at the conclusion - not too tightly, they can be opened for the next novel!

I bought this before Thanksgiving to take on our cruise. I read one book and that's all I got. Where is the rest of the set? What I read was awesome and kept me reading. I love James Patterson, Michael Connelly, John Sandford, and, of course, Preston & Child. This is right up there but I feel I got ripped off or my electronic abilities are limited. Probably the second. I love this writer and want more. HELP!

I took a chance on these books because of the reviews and the price, & the reviews were wrong and the price is also. These are better than the reviews by a longshot and the price should be even more than it is.
I won't going into the plots since others have , but the writing is crisp and well done and by page two I was hooked. They are a great way to spend a few nights curled up with.

I bought this before Thanksgiving to take on our cruise. I read one book and that's all I got. Where is the rest of the set? What I read was awesome and kept me reading. I love James Patterson, Michael Connelly, John Sandford, and, of course, Preston & Child. This is right up there but I feel I got ripped off or my electronic abilities are limited. Probably the second. I love this writer and want more. HELP!

I took a chance on these books because of the reviews and the price, & the reviews were wrong and the price is also. These are better than the reviews by a longshot and the price should be even more than it is.
I won't going into the plots since others have , but the writing is crisp and well done and by page two I was hooked. They are a great way to spend a few nights curled up with.

I picked up this series on a whim, and was unable to put it down! The story didn't drag and had me going right to the very end. Even if you read the books out of order it isn't hard to keep up with what is going on. Excited to see what else Christopher Smith comes out with next. My new favorite author!

I hate reading a book with "typos" or words "out of sequence". As a previous proofreader, whenever I read ANYTHING, I always look for errors. Books of this nature should have more qualified proofreaders. It's very annoying. I enjoyed the story very much and would like to see it made into a movie.

Christopher Smith is a genius. His books are page turners. I accidentally found one of his books and from that moment i was hooked. I highly recommend starting with Fifth Avenue, then read the entire series. You will enjoy.

thes are good story to read.very good writing done.very good crime and lots of mystric.same killer in each storys.once start reading hard to put down,until finished book.
the fifth avenue series.

I was very fortunate to get the set for free. What a good read! I enjoyed how the characters were introduced and the backgrounds and relations to each were told. The descriptions of New York, the nightlife, traffic and busy industry life of the people were believable and exciting. (made you feel a part of the city) There were few printing mistakes which makes for much more enjoyable reading.

The writing was good, the plots interesting and the characters well drawn. I suspect the author was poking fun at his uber-rich characters even while he was trying to get the reader interested in them.

The editing and conversion to kindle format was terrible, so many typo's and missing words and flipped phrases that it was quite annoying. Then again this set was a free book so I got what I paid for. I won't be paying for any of the authors other books, but if they show up as freebies I'll probably download them.

I must be reading a different set of novels. I can't stay interested long enough to finish the first one. The writing is choppy, the characters have no depth, rather like caricatures of individuals than real people, and the author's voice is choppy and uninteresting. I am so happy I downloaded these for free!

At times this was an exciting, hard-to-stop reading story. However, it seems to me as if it contained many long and laborious sections. For example, there were many pages wasted on the customs, mores, antics, and quirks of those in the high society community of New York City. That is of zero interest to me!

I would not read this again, nor would I recommend it ... unless the author 're-wrote it with only half as many words.

I ordered this book because of the good reviews, but I find myself wondering if I read the same book?! It was horrible... I found it poorly written and hard to follow... trying to keep the plot straight was an absolute lost cause (everyone was trying to kill everyone else for all kinds of different reasons... who was double crossing who) urgh... I can't believe I finished the first book. Won't be reading the other two even though I alread bought & downloaded it.

It's rare that I don't finish a book, even when I'm not liking it. But, I couldn't even get through the first book. There isn't a single likeable character. I couldn't stand any of them. And if you don't like your charactors...how do you root for them to overcome adversity? Poorly written.

EXCELLENT READ.....EXCELLENT WRITING.....spellbinding and exciting from befinning to end
what else is there to say?

i recommend it to anyone who oves drama, excitement , enticement and andventure.

For one thing, when the store "Kindles" series of books, the formatting is messed up.

Chapters aren't where they're supposed to be, and all three books are crammed into one file. I wish the store would just send the three files (one per book) instead of one large file with trashed formatting.

This is the best book series I have read in years! I would have given it 10 stars if I could. I can't recommend it enough! It is fabulous and I think they should make a movie out of the series. The story grabs you and doesn't let you go. I plan to re-read all 4 books again. I highly recommend this book because it is going to be talked about as the best series of the year. I am a fan of Christopher Smith and have read his other books and have enjoyed them all.

This is the very first thing I downloaded and read on my tablet! And it is really a GREAT series of books! Loved them all, hope even there would be more! A very good writer, I really enjoyed it, and being the first time I had read anything of his also! GREAT!!! CHECK IT OUT!!!

I discovered The Fifth Avenue Series Boxed Set through a free offering and absolutely loved these books by a fantastic author. I had never read anything by Christopher Smith before, but now - I am hooked. Great books

Ruthless and selfish people who are so narcrsstic that they are blinded to love and truth. Very trilling with plot twists. The 3rd novelette just leaves you hanging with nowhere to go.
The other novels look interesting and I am intrigued enough to ck them out and possibly buy another

Full of fast paced action, the Fifth Ave series was a pretty good ride. While not the best books out there (sometimes the plot(s) seemed way too far fetched, even for a fictional novel) it's a series to keep you entertained.

I loved the first book, Fifth Avenue. Plenty of drama, intrigue and sex and there was explicit violence so if you don't like that, beware. The characters were well developed and made you care about them. The second book, Running with the Bulls was interesting, but violent. The third book, Manhattan, was good, too, and did a good job of continuing the first story. I can't wait for his new book in the series!

This series consists of one violent act after another. Character relationships are not well developed. The strongest emotion, and the basis for each story, and is rabid hatred, followed by furious and detailed revenge. I did not enjoy any of these stories, and will not read this author again.

I have to say - I found the first book exciting, a page turner, and was disapointed when i got to the end, the second book was a little slow to start in that i kept trying to associate it with the first, but the third tied it together beautifully, a great read and only finished it today, cant wait now for the next book,

i purchased the Fifth Avenue series boxed set because it was reasonably priced. I have never read anything by Christopher Smith before and I am now a fan. Very well written and the book kept me engaged the whole time. I also purchased a few more of his books. They are also fantastic. i love his characters even the "bad guys".

I loved all three of these books. Once I started reading Fifth Avenue I couldn't put my kindle down! The story line reached out and grabbed me from the very beginning. The second book, Running of the Bulls was just as good as the first. My only problem with From Manhattan with Love was that it was too short, being that it is a novella. I didn't want the story to end. I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, Park Avenue.

This series starts off with a bang that reverberates until the very last page! Loved it from beginning to end and can only hope there's more! If you like mystery and suspense...you will not be disappointed.

The good price of the set and the good reviews got me to buy these books. I wouldn't go as far as to consider the money wasted, but I sincerely doubt I will ever read these texts again.
Both novels and the novella share common traits in structure and style: The author tries to pack the stories with action and morbid qualities, but he does it to such an extent and in such a way that it soon becomes saturated, unbelievable and -what IMHO is worse- predictable and boring. The plot twists he goes for seem many times desperate attempts to be surprising and original but fail completely as after the first couple you already know what to expect.
The gallery of characters was -MHO again- completely unappealing. I'm not well acquainted with Fifhth Avenue's jet set nor with international hitmen, and maybe Stephen King is right and the author truly is a "cultural genius", but I find it hard to believe that everybody is completely dumb, amoral, boring, spoiled etc... It's really scary to think even the "self-made men" who have supposedly worked their way to being powerful are really all so stupid.
There was not a single character I cared for, not even a little. Whether they came and went in the plot made absolutely no difference to me. I just turned the pages because I feel bad for not finishing a book and because - to be honest- I was curious to see whether I could guess the next "unexpected twist".

Some things really upset me: For one, the author focuses on some characters in ways that, if not sarcastic, are trully sad: One of the main female character complains she has never been given chance to succeed and uses it as an excuse to explain her mistakes. When she is finally given the chance (not even because she deserves it), the author keeps focusing on how she "intends" to show the world she can make it... but actually, if you count at the the end of the story the time she did invest in working for that respect, it turns out she dedicates little time at all. Pathetic, especially because the author seems to feel a special pride in the way she "prospers".
Another main character who should be extremely resourceful -being a pro killer- makes stupid mistakes that she does not even remember about and that lead to the -boring- novella.

The books also display other upsetting traits, not because the author puts certain attitudes in the book, but because they appear so often and in all circles that is seems they are his own ideas and not those of specific characters. To name one, all references to non-USA natives are deprecating and the books reek of chauvinism and condescension.
He also pays little attention to verisimilitude, and in some cases these "mistakes" deter from focusing in the action and makes the characters appear even more stupid than what they already did: For instance a secondary character is called "Lady Ionesco of Spain" and people "suspect she has bought the title". If the author had taken the time to research, he might have discovered that
a) The Spanish equivalent of "Lady" belongs to the female "Grandes de España" and must go with either "Excelentísimo" or "Ilustrísimo" before it (that is leaving aside the fact that most Grandes of Spain already posses other more important nobiliary titles).
b) Ionesco is not even a Spanish name, and since the "lord/lady" Spanish equivalents usually go attached to the land you were ruling over, it is hard to understand why someone ready to buy a fake title would go for a Spanish title with a Romanian name instead of a made-up Spanish name. I guess it could happen, but given the lack of credibility of other areas in the books, these kind of things only make the whole look even less coherent.
The amount of typos and the repetitive use of words and phrases becomes monotonous. Everyone, regardless of their role or origin seems not only to move for the same superficial reasons, but to even use the same forms of speech and even inhabit the same sort of buildings. Poor.

All in all, I can't understand the high praise these books got. They may be not terrible, and can well fill a couple of hours if you are not too demanding in consistency and if you don't expect to be too caught up with the plot or characters (that's the only reason I gave it a generous 2 stars); everything rains on you but slips off without penetrating.
There seems to be a fourth book coming soon -or already out-. I won't be going for it, and after swallowing three epsiodes of the saga I find it rather sad that I'm not even curious for the fate of any of the characters involved.

The life of a spoiled, rich girl with a drug problem. Hmm, I bet there is controversy. Now, throw in a successful sibling and we have a new twist! That alone would've made a good story but why stop there? Now we must add a mafia head, several hitmen, an jilted competitor, and revenge on every side. It was a little too much.

The problem is not with the story, it's with the believably. It's got great pacing, it's well written (with the exception of a couple typos that I noticed in the Kindle edition and the fact that he grossly overuses the phrase "hit a string of green lights and sailed" when describing traffic in New York). It's just that the series of events and the way it plays out aren't really all that believable. That, and the sex scene in Fifth Avenue was awkward to read. It didn't seem real to me. The sex scenes in general seem forced and overly explicit in ways that make me wonder if the author is compensating for his own lack of... well, you get the idea. The way the scenes are depicted shows me that the author has had less experience in the bedroom and more experience with pornographic dialogue. It's just not how the real world is.

Fifth avenue has some confusing moments, but they are forgivable. Running with the Bulls has a point of climax and reveal that didn't really flow smoothly to me. I kept turning the pages, but my mind didn't process what I had just read very well. The way he tries to explain the twists in the story ended up more confusing my understanding of the character roles than being a real shock or stunning revelation. A lot of the action was gratuitous and realistically implausible.

Fifth Avenue suffers most from it's lack of characters we as readers really care about. None of the characters that remain at the end leave us with a feeling of much of anything. They are rather static characters who don't grip us from start to finish. Any characters that we did come to love or were built in such a way to appeal to the reader are removed from the story three quarters of the way through. The characters who survive are villains who have a pivotal role in the story but are never really fully fleshed out so we care who they are. They simply exist and we are supposed to be satisfied with that.

Running with the Bulls did a good job rectifying this problem. The main character Marty is likable and I found myself actually caring what happened to him. Unlike in Fifth Avenue, at the end of the story I wanted to know more about Marty and his life and read another adventure featuring him. Though those same villains from the first book are predominant in this story, again the author fails to really give me a reason to care. They are completely static characters that we as the reader have no reason to care about.

The Novella included at the end is very short and focuses on one of the villains I previously didn't care about. Three books in, we finally get an idea of why we should care. Too little too late, in my opinion. The actions taken by the characters in the Novella are also somewhat irrational and unlikely.

But, through all my complaints, the series was entertaining.

If you need something to read whilst traveling to work on the train, this worked just fine. I just didn't continue reading after I get home.

Christopher Smith has to be one of the best new authors around. This series is faced paced, the characters are extremely intriguing, and will have you hooked from the first paragraph!!!!! A must read if you enjoy detailed, action packed reads!!

I picked this free collection as a newbie on Kindle. It was hard going to the dark side from paper books to electronic. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this collection. Well developed characters that streamed through the collection. Suspense,power, intrigue, all the good stuff. You won't be disappointed. I'll look for more of this author.

What a great new author! I really enjoyed the books in this boxed set. I was a bit surprised that the third book was only 79 pages in length. I suppose it was to get you ready for the next book in the series. Quick and interesting read(s). Some descriptions were very realistic and enhanced the book(s).

I couldn't even bring myself to finish the first book. The writing wasn't bad but I just couldn't stomach the rich people behaving badly. I'm not rich nor do I know anyone who is rich but I like to think that even the rich have morals and behave well most of the time. I just don't want to read about people whose money allows them the luxury to commit a lot of crimes and engage in a lot of disgusting behavior without paying society's price. Call me naive...I just didn't think this book/series was worth using my time to read it.

Smith is this generation's Master storyteller. If you're a fan of suspense thrillers and unbelievable twists and turns, you will quickly become a fan of Christopher Smith! He entices you to fall in love with his characters only to be caught totally off guard when their fate goes in a direction you never saw coming. He takes the styles of James Patterson and Steven King to a totally kicking level. I can honestly say that I spent way too many late night hours reading chapters because I could not put it down and couldn't wait to see what he would do next. Starting with Fifth Avenue, he builds such entertaining and deep characters that you know this cannot be the end but just the start to future stories interweaving these strong individuals. With Running of the Bulls, you're so caught in the action - that you're honestly rooting for the characters that would historically be the bad guys in other tales. Based on these first 3, Christopher seems to set the bar higher and higher for himself, and I can't wait for his upcoming releases in 2012. A definite must read for mystery, suspense, and thriller lovers!

Not familiar with this author but my daughter told me about the series. The first book was real good, second not at all and the third seemed to tie it all together although it was very short. I thought all three would be novel lengths but they were not. I suggested these books to several people before I read them and upon completion, all had the same thoughts and were disappointed after reading the first one.

Smith is this generation's Master storyteller. If you're a fan of suspense thrillers and unbelievable twists and turns, you will quickly become a fan of Christopher Smith! He entices you to fall in love with his characters only to be caught totally off guard when their fate goes in a direction you never saw coming. He takes the styles of James Patterson and Steven King to a totally kicking level. I can honestly say that I spent way too many late night hours reading chapters because I could not put it down and couldn't wait to see what he would do next. Starting with Fifth Avenue, he builds such entertaining and deep characters that you know this cannot be the end but just the start to future stories interweaving these strong individuals. With Running of the Bulls, you're so caught in the action - that you're honestly rooting for the characters that would historically be the bad guys in other tales. Based on these first 3, Christopher seems to set the bar higher and higher for himself, and I can't wait for his upcoming releases in 2012. A definite must read for mystery, suspense, and thriller lovers!

Not familiar with this author but my daughter told me about the series. The first book was real good, second not at all and the third seemed to tie it all together although it was very short. I thought all three would be novel lengths but they were not. I suggested these books to several people before I read them and upon completion, all had the same thoughts and were disappointed after reading the first one.

This box set is the run up to Chris's next book Park Avenue.
All of these books kept me reading until the wee hours of the night and had some good twists and turns. Mr. Smith has risen in my ranks of Thriller Authors and I am anxiously awaiting more.
What I like most about Smith's books are his character development. He give you the ins and outs and continues this throughout the series.
The series starts with Fifth Avenue and rolls into Running of the Bulls where you uncover more of the "plot". From Manhattan with Love is the bridge to his next book and gives you a hint of what this author in store for Park Avenue.
If these books are any indication of what he is capable of, we need to keep an eye on him and his future works!

Fancy names for the title, but the author fails to convince me with his plot and story writing skills. Sorry - I will stay with the earlier generation thriller authors for now! I was not looking for the quality of an Alistair McLean, or the well researched details as in a Robin Cook novel, but could not even place this fifth avenue series at 10% worthiness compared to those.

All books are a must read for anyone who is a mystery, suspense, and thriller fan

Fifth Avenue, from the very beginning to the very end you have a story line that will reach out and grab you. This is a real must read.

Running of the Bulls was as good as First Avenue, and will have you on the edge of your seat.

From Manhattan with Love, you wil really feel a part of the story-line, with ups and downs of each character!

Park Avenue, is the next one due to be released.. I hope its as good as the last three.

The first and second book were very captivating. The 3rd book was missing. After a chapter or 2 of the 3rd book, the text just stops. Had I not already paid for 3rd book, I would have downloaded this next book in the series. However, I don't pay for things twice and do not know how to get this corrected. Any information about what to do in this situation will be appreciated.

A big disappointment. The stories were graphic, gruesome and disgusting. I doubt if there was much proof-reading done because so many words in a sentence were omitted and misspelled. I would hope never to read another book from this author.

When I read this first, I actually enjoyed it. Now, several years later, my reading tastes and requirements for good editing and professionally turned out books have become much more refined. When books have no endings, such as the ones in this boxed set, I really hate them. As I read a book that has blood, gore, violence and explicit sex thrown in with no real justification, such is found here, it is more than enough to discourage me totally from reading this author again. I definitely won't be coming back for more of thiss author's mediocrity. If I were Steven King, I would be embarrassed to have given this author cudos. King should have given him Cudjo, instead! All of the poor sentence structure, typos talat are overly abundant and just plain mediocre writing in ganeral are all found in these books. Shame on this author for deluding us readers. And more shame on you, King, for helping him. Friendship is fine, but please don't use it so unprofessionally on us, your readers who value your words so much, to delude us like this again!

I have read all three books in this series and I must say that the plot is what keeps me coming back for more. You have assassins, pawns for the rich. You have the rich, who never forget a grudge. There exist all the ingredients for a great recipe. Betrayal and adultery. Children become involved in this betrayal. Action and adventure. Love and impassioned hate. All exponentially greater when dealing with characters with an enormous amount of wealth at their fingertips.
With this series, Smith has created a universe where as crazy as individual events may be, everything makes sense. These three books also have set the stage for the fourth book, which I believe will be his greatest work (next to his Bullied series. You should read that as well), Park Avenue.
My reasoning for giving the series 4 stars is that I find some of the characters in Running of the Bulls and From Manhattan with Love to be less endearing then those in Fifth Avenue. A more in depth explanation can be found in my reviews of those books as well. Yet as a whole, I still find the series to be very good.

I decided to use my monthly free rental from the store on this boxed set, and it was a waste, because try as I might, I couldn't make it through the first book?! The writing seemed aimless and meandering, and after slogging my way through half of the book, I realized I didn't care AT ALL about any of the characters. So, I chalked it up to "lesson learned" and returned the set.

I say, don't waste your time!

A real pleasure to read, impossible to put down! Coming back from New York two weeks ago, it's a pleasure to be plunged again in this amazing city with this exciting thriller. I cannot wait to read the sequel.... A really good book that you should read if you like NY and its eccentricities, business plots, murders and beautiful people... Thank you Mr Smith!

I admit, I got this series on Kindle because it was free and I am a mystery lover. From the very first minute I started reading, I was hooked. I was up until the wee hours reading, I did not want to go to sleep, I wanted to see what was going to happen. I cannot wait until the next book in the series,I am keeping my eyes open, waiting impatiently and will gladly pay this time. A must read for mystery/thriller lovers

This is a great series all the way around, but my favorite would have to be Running of the Bulls. Read the quick action employed in the first chapter and you'll understand. The author takes you to a place few others do, and he stands out as one of the best in the genre today. If you like to be thrilled, don't pass this set up.

I admit, I got this series on Kindle because it was free and I am a mystery lover. From the very first minute I started reading, I was hooked. I was up until the wee hours reading, I did not want to go to sleep, I wanted to see what was going to happen. I cannot wait until the next book in the series,I am keeping my eyes open, waiting impatiently and will gladly pay this time. A must read for mystery/thriller lovers

This is a great series all the way around, but my favorite would have to be Running of the Bulls. Read the quick action employed in the first chapter and you'll understand. The author takes you to a place few others do, and he stands out as one of the best in the genre today. If you like to be thrilled, don't pass this set up.

It is hard to find an author who makes you excited to read, Christopher Smith is that Author!!!!
The Fifth Avenue series keeps you wanting more, from word 1. I am anxiously awaiting Park Avenue the 4th in this series. From Manhattan with Love is a teaser that stands alone. I highly recommend this series to anyone wanting to get excited about reading again