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Shadow Trades
In 1939 Newark, a teenage boy's act of vengeance launches him on an odyssey of survival that will span continents and forever change his destiny.
After witnessing the brutal murder of his Jewish gang mentors, 15-year-old Bernie Rosenbaum exacts bloody revenge and flees to Canada, assuming a new identity to join the fight against Nazi Germany. Through six years of war, he transforms from a street-wise kid into a hardened soldier, earning battlefield glory even as he loses everyone close to him. But when peace comes, Barry Rosen, as he's now known, finds he can't outrun his past—or his conflicted conscience. Can a man change his nature—or is violence the only prayer some souls know how to make?
Stationed in occupied Germany, Barry builds a lucrative black market empire while wrestling with his Jewish identity and growing feelings for Rivka, a Holocaust survivor working in his camp. When Rivka's determination to reunite with her brother leads them into dangerous territory, Barry must choose between his growing faith, his chance at love, and the brutal skills that have kept him alive. From the gritty streets of pre-war Newark to the ruins of post-war Europe, this sweeping narrative explores the price of survival and whether a killer's soul can find redemption.
For readers who loved the moral complexity of Dennis Lehane's crime epics and the historical depth of Alan Furst's war novels comes a razor-edged tale of identity, faith, and redemption set against the backdrop of humanity's darkest hour.
After witnessing the brutal murder of his Jewish gang mentors, 15-year-old Bernie Rosenbaum exacts bloody revenge and flees to Canada, assuming a new identity to join the fight against Nazi Germany. Through six years of war, he transforms from a street-wise kid into a hardened soldier, earning battlefield glory even as he loses everyone close to him. But when peace comes, Barry Rosen, as he's now known, finds he can't outrun his past—or his conflicted conscience. Can a man change his nature—or is violence the only prayer some souls know how to make?
Stationed in occupied Germany, Barry builds a lucrative black market empire while wrestling with his Jewish identity and growing feelings for Rivka, a Holocaust survivor working in his camp. When Rivka's determination to reunite with her brother leads them into dangerous territory, Barry must choose between his growing faith, his chance at love, and the brutal skills that have kept him alive. From the gritty streets of pre-war Newark to the ruins of post-war Europe, this sweeping narrative explores the price of survival and whether a killer's soul can find redemption.
For readers who loved the moral complexity of Dennis Lehane's crime epics and the historical depth of Alan Furst's war novels comes a razor-edged tale of identity, faith, and redemption set against the backdrop of humanity's darkest hour.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 15, 2025
24 people are currently reading
1249 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 27, 2025
I received a copy for review purposes. All opinions are honest and mine alone.
Barry Rosen is loyal; to his original mentor, his crew, himself and he’s investigating how God fits into the picture. This penchant for loyalty is a driving force behind his actions, good or bad.
Author, Mitch Stern, introduces Barry as a 15 year old runner in the gang of real life Newark, N. J. mobster, Meyer-Meyer’s gang. After a night of tragic mishap that Barry tries to assuage, he flees to Canada fearing for his life. Once there, identity changed, he joins the Canadian army and has a storied career in the European theatre of WW2.
Most of the story takes place post war as Barry lands at a Displaced Persons camp in Germany as the only military representative on site. Meant to maintain order, Barry takes over and massively expands the black market business into a lucrative empire giving readers an unique inside look at postwar, small town politics.
Stern punctuates Barry’s story with a few other side stories: A young girl and her mother living in a farmer’s underground storage shed, a repentant SS soldier. These are the most prominent. Altho’ they are well written, these storylines pop up intermittently and don’t really intersect with the primary story. Stern doesn’t mark chapters in any way so it takes readers a few paragraphs to figure out where they are from chapter to chapter. I found it annoying and deducted a star for that reason.
Character development is very good as are the descriptions of time and place. I was especially impressed with Stern’s restraint regarding over explaining violent or sexual scenes. There are a fair amount of expletives but they’re used appropriately for the characters as drawn, not gratuitously.
It’s hard to classify this book. It’s historical fiction, for sure, but there’s also some light thriller elements. The Jewish inspiration theme is very strong as is seeking God. All in all, it makes for a thinker of a read.
SHADOW TRADES is set to be book one in a series. It is a complete story with no cliff hanger altho’ I’m interested enough to want to know what Barry and his friends do when they get where they’re going in book two📚
Read and Reviewed from a GoodReads Giveaway with thanks
Barry Rosen is loyal; to his original mentor, his crew, himself and he’s investigating how God fits into the picture. This penchant for loyalty is a driving force behind his actions, good or bad.
Author, Mitch Stern, introduces Barry as a 15 year old runner in the gang of real life Newark, N. J. mobster, Meyer-Meyer’s gang. After a night of tragic mishap that Barry tries to assuage, he flees to Canada fearing for his life. Once there, identity changed, he joins the Canadian army and has a storied career in the European theatre of WW2.
Most of the story takes place post war as Barry lands at a Displaced Persons camp in Germany as the only military representative on site. Meant to maintain order, Barry takes over and massively expands the black market business into a lucrative empire giving readers an unique inside look at postwar, small town politics.
Stern punctuates Barry’s story with a few other side stories: A young girl and her mother living in a farmer’s underground storage shed, a repentant SS soldier. These are the most prominent. Altho’ they are well written, these storylines pop up intermittently and don’t really intersect with the primary story. Stern doesn’t mark chapters in any way so it takes readers a few paragraphs to figure out where they are from chapter to chapter. I found it annoying and deducted a star for that reason.
Character development is very good as are the descriptions of time and place. I was especially impressed with Stern’s restraint regarding over explaining violent or sexual scenes. There are a fair amount of expletives but they’re used appropriately for the characters as drawn, not gratuitously.
It’s hard to classify this book. It’s historical fiction, for sure, but there’s also some light thriller elements. The Jewish inspiration theme is very strong as is seeking God. All in all, it makes for a thinker of a read.
SHADOW TRADES is set to be book one in a series. It is a complete story with no cliff hanger altho’ I’m interested enough to want to know what Barry and his friends do when they get where they’re going in book two📚
Read and Reviewed from a GoodReads Giveaway with thanks
May 5, 2025
Shadow Trades is an antidote to the chaotic times we're living in-- an action-adventure novel that reminds us of another time when economies were troubled and hostility was high. It takes place after WWII when soldiers and displaced citizens are finding their own identities again. The main character, Barry Rosen, is the kind of guy you want to hang around with, if not in real life then at least in a book. He understands people. He has a strong moral core. And time and again he dispenses justice, sometimes gently and sometimes not, but it always feels exactly right in this completely satisfying book. If you liked Louis L'Amour's "The Walking Drum, " you will love "Shadow Trades."
March 18, 2025
Excellent introduction to the Barry Rosen series.
Shadow Trades is one of those rare books that has left stuck in my mind for at least a week after reading the story. Sure, I’ve read numerous books/stories that stuck with me long after I finished. But rarely do they stick with me due to the subject matter of the story. In this case the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust are presented in a not only respectful way, but in a story that makes the events very believable.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened the book in my kindle. I hadn’t read the description, so the gang story made me believe it would be the story of Barry and Little Myer’s gang. I would have been satisfied with an entire book of gang stories from the forties. But when the story took it’s shift into WWII Europe I kept on for the ride.
I found the characters to be well developed, to the point of being easy create visual images of each as I was reading. The descriptions of the locations and associated action evoked detailed visual images as I read though the various scenes.
So why has this story stuck for over a week? The descriptions of the aftermath of the Holocaust and the lives of the Displaced Persons and their common experiences of losing most if not all their families to the Concentration/Death camps.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and will be looking forward to Barry Rosen book two when it comes out. I received an Advance Reader Copy of Shadow Tramps from the publisher and chose to provide my review.
Shadow Trades is one of those rare books that has left stuck in my mind for at least a week after reading the story. Sure, I’ve read numerous books/stories that stuck with me long after I finished. But rarely do they stick with me due to the subject matter of the story. In this case the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust are presented in a not only respectful way, but in a story that makes the events very believable.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened the book in my kindle. I hadn’t read the description, so the gang story made me believe it would be the story of Barry and Little Myer’s gang. I would have been satisfied with an entire book of gang stories from the forties. But when the story took it’s shift into WWII Europe I kept on for the ride.
I found the characters to be well developed, to the point of being easy create visual images of each as I was reading. The descriptions of the locations and associated action evoked detailed visual images as I read though the various scenes.
So why has this story stuck for over a week? The descriptions of the aftermath of the Holocaust and the lives of the Displaced Persons and their common experiences of losing most if not all their families to the Concentration/Death camps.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and will be looking forward to Barry Rosen book two when it comes out. I received an Advance Reader Copy of Shadow Tramps from the publisher and chose to provide my review.
April 14, 2025
This is the first book that I've read by this author and I really, really enjoyed it. I've read quite a few books about WWI and WWII, but Shadow Trades is the first one that deals with the aftermath of the war and more especifically from a Jewish point of view. Their resilience, their faith, and the need to perpetuate their values and beliefs drives them forward and brings the community together. The main character, Barry Rosen, had a difficult and poor upbringing in New Jersey and had little opportunity to learn much about Jewish culture before he was thrown out of his home by an alcoholic father and lost his support as his "mentors" were killed. From there he flees to Canada, joins the Army and ends up in Germany to administrate a camp of refugees. He'll then start to get reacquainted with Jewish culture, religion and ways, and although forced sometimes to bring "his" justice upon others he'll never stop questioning himself. This is a work of fiction, full of action and strong characters that are so powerfully described that it's easy to form their pictures in your mind. Great entertainment and food for thought. Highly recommended!
April 14, 2025
This is an interesting mixture of historical fiction, self discovery and exploring faith, with the addition of a bit of action and thriller elements. Barry Rosen flees his home in New Jersey after seeking revenge for the deaths of his mentors and joins the fight against Nazi Germany. When the war is over, he runs a lucrative black market business from a camp for displaced Jewish people. There he meets the camp rabbi and begins to reconnect with his lapsed faith. This is very much a character driven story that gives a bit of insight to the Jewish faith, struggles endured after the war is over and one man’s exploration of faith while running a criminal enterprise and dealing out his own brand of ‘justice’. There are chapters dedicated to other characters that only peripherally connect with the main storyline. These chapters, while interesting, add little to the overall story and are somewhat distracting. It will be interesting to see how the author carries this series forward.
February 23, 2025
This book was hard to rate. The gritty story of an energetic Jewish boys growth mentally and spiritually. From a criminal apprentice to a small war time criminal to a man with a higher calling. He learns unlearns and relearns life’s higher order lessons. All while dealing with a group of well developed characters. The rating problem is if you are aware of Jewish culture this is by far a 5 star read. If not, the author explains enough to warrant your reading a good 4 star story
May 4, 2025
This book is a fantastic escape. It opens with street level gangster justice which sets the stage for a thrill ride that climaxes with satisfying righteous justice on behalf of the displaced of WWII.
March 12, 2025
From the first page this book took me on a thrill ride. Really enjoyable!
April 16, 2025
What an amazing story of one teenage boy’s survival in 1939 Newark. Being part of a gang is the way he thought he should go until he finds out different. After fleeing to Canada, he changes his life. Full of intrigue and danger. Well written to keep you reading and wanting more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews