I got about two-thirds of the way through Sheepdogs when I felt like it was taking more effort than I wanted to invest to finish it. The characters were interesting and well-developed, but I never really got involved in the story, so I decided to move on.

Thank you to Net Galley and Alfred A. Knopf Publishing for an early copy of Sheepdogs by Elliot Ackerman

This novel by Elliot Ackerman is a study in contradictions: tragic alongside humor, wit alongside cynicism and gentleness and caring alongside cruelty (animals come to mind including the death of a dog and an inhumane trap set for a grizzly bear). All of this leads up to figuring out what the author is attempting in Sheepdogs and what a reader should come away with.

The action revolves around military men both former and active and a chance to make some serious money stealing (repossessing?) an airplane. Main characters Cheese and Skwerl will have their hands full as plans go awry and they find themselves caught up in an even more sinister plot. Their bargaining chip: dishes from the table of Marie Antoinette. When the airplane suffers from a vomiting passenger and destruction by a grizzly bear, Cheese and Skwerl will need to come up with a plan to make things right including rescuing Cheese's wife held for ransom.

Through it all, someone named Sheepdog seems to be behind all that is happening. No one knows who this person is and how Sheepdog is controlling the mission. One thing for sure is that Sheepdog plans to stay in command.

I requested Sheepdogs because the premise seemed like a lot of fun. Thriller and comedy. There was really good character development. But unfortunately, I don't think this was for me. I don't know that it lived up to the synopsis. I had a hard time finding the comedy. The thriller elements were definitely there. I had a really hard time staying engaged.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Although I don't choose intel thrillers as a rule, I always learn something from Elliot Ackerman and so decided on reading this. Glad I did. Yes, it's a romp, how can it not be with main characters like Skwerl and Cheese not to mention Uncle Tony. And the opaque Sheepdog him- (or her-) self. Not to mention one of the most hilarious McGuffin's of all time. Ackerman who has quite a colorful history imbues his thrillers with insider knowledge, current event references that are up to the minute, and lots of black humor. Most of his novels have been standalone, but this one leaves room for continuation. Let's hope.

When trying to sum up my feelings about this book, the first word that comes to mind is “Awesome.” It is an entertaining romp full of misfits, good guys who are also bad, bad guys who are also good, women who are smarter than their men but love them anyway, and a pretty clever idea for the MacGuffin. It’s got mercenaries, shadow-government-sanctioned killers, indigs who have been hard-done-by when no longer deemed essential to the war effort, lapsed Amish, physically and emotionally damaged ex-warriors who have taken it off the grid…. In short, everything you need for a good time.
It is clear that Elliot Ackerman knows what he’s talking about. There is a lot of inside baseball and authentic lingo. I sure hope to read more stories about Sheepdogs in the future. I would call this a 4 1/2 star read, and I’m going to round it up to five to show how much I enjoyed it. Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Fair warning there is violence against a dog in this book and the dog does die. It's not on page and it isn't an animal your attached to during the narrative, but still.

I hesitate to call this book fun because it does cover some very serious topics. But it is definitely interesting and educational. Though the main storyline is Skwerl and Cheese repossessing a plane and the fallout from that, there is a lot of background work that focuses on paramilitary groups, veterans, and war. This made the book a little dry for me. At times the book meandered, especially when Uncle Tony was talking to Congress or his boss. These meanders were a little too technical for me and often didn't really add to the story, it just felt like padding. I could have done with more character building and dialogue. I wish more time would have been dedicated to character background instead of what felt like a crash course in politics.

This is a multi-pov novel and I enjoyed the mix of civilians and military or military adjacent characters. I especially enjoyed watching Skwerl's partner (whose name I can't remember for the life of me) use her skills as a dominatrix to assist Skwerl in his endeavors. I would have liked it more if the two female characters had more agency and presence beyond their partners, but that's not really the point of this book. The main issue of a stolen plane in a job gone wrong is fun. Especially when a grizzly breaks into the plane while it's being stored at a remote hanger. There were some fun parts, but this was still a little dry for me.

I will also say this book is out of my comfort zone, but even as someone who enjoys sci-fi/fantasy more than a political thriller, I did still find this fun. I think it would be a great gift for my dad or any of my aunts (they all love a thriller).

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was entertaining. It was very quirky, which I liked. Lots of talk about wars, which I don’t like and am not interested in. Some interesting characters but none that made me feel emotionally invested or really care what happens to them.

Spy stories, modern or historical, are one of my top book picks so that is why I requested an ARC from Net Galley. While the characters were all likeable in their own way, the storyline unique and clever, the book just fell short. The first half of the book was slow to me. The second half's pace picked up. I do feel the author left the ending open to follow-on books with these characters.

2.75 stars...could have been a 4 with more action.

The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking, this would make a really good old school Quentin Tarantino movie. It's really hard not to try and picture certain actors in the roles of the main characters and it speaks to the author's ability to write them in such a way that they bloom so dramatically in your mind. I don't think I've ever had more fully realized and visually focused characters in my head while I've read a book before and it really added to my overall enjoyment and immersion into the story.

As to that, it's hard to say what I thought, except it's really morally ambiguous and there's not a whole lot to like as far as anyone's actions are concerned. But in some strange twisted way, you get caught up in the action and that pretty much ceases to matter. No one has purely innocent motives and no one is one hundred percent likeable, and yet I kind of liked everyone in the book. I'm still trying to figure that out. There is humor in the book, but more of the cosmic screw-up type than any slapstick or laugh out loud comedy.

I enjoyed the ride on this one and if asked, would I want to go on another adventure with this crew? Heck yeah!

Sheepdogs
by Elliot Ackerman
Fiction Military
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: Aug 5, 2025
Knopf/Pantheon/Vintage/Anchor
Ages: 18+

Ex-military, Skwerl and Cheese are financially struggling. Cheese, a pilot who can fly anything, is working at a gas station, but Skwerl, having said too much after a military raid gone wrong, is having his wages garnished by the military.

But when Skwerl is contacted by 'sheepdog' with a job offer involving repossession of a private jet, he knows Cheese is the best guy to partner with. But as they complete their mission, their contact acts a little shady.

Things begin to turn against them when their contact disappears, as does their payout, plus it seems as if there are others playing a different game. Taking the jet, they have to figure out who gave them the job, who is working against them, and why the jet is so important.


According to the blurb (the GR blurb is even dressier than NG), this book was supposed to be funny and a thriller. Nope! It wasn't. Sure, there were some funnies; the bear, the Amish guy, and Skwerl's 'wife's' job, the best, but most of it was blah. I was also expecting action, somewhere along the lines of MI and Bourne, but nope. Not even close. But there was enough violence and adult themes to make this unsuitable for readers under eighteen.

It wasn't bad, there was a twist to the mystery and ...spoiler.... which while 'lame', was still interesting, I was still disappointed because I could almost consider this a 'cozy' military.

More action and suspense could have made this story better, thus earning it another star.

2 Stars

This is the funniest thrill-ride of the year. Ackerman uses his military experience to craft memorable, three dimensional heroes and villains. This is 24 meets Douglas Addams for the 2020s. This will make a thrilling tv adaptation and hopefully sequels are in the works so that readers can return to Ackerman’s world again and again. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

My kind of spy game - quirky, sometimes funny and sometimes not, action packed and so many layers that the only one who knows what is really going on is the one no one knows! Kind of like Confidence meets Get Smart (you may not get that reference). Off the wall and twisty as a game of Twister, this book is just darned fun! Hope to see more of Moose and Squirrel, oops, Sqwerl and Cheese! (You may not get that reference either, if so, you have indeed missed out)

“Sheepdogs” is a high-stakes, sometimes funny, sometimes absurd tale of action and adventure about an ace Afghani pilot and an American “special operator,” both “underemployed” and financially strapped, who agree to go to Uganda to “repossess” a private jet for a 6-figure commission. Upon arrival, they find nothing’s as advertised by their “employers”—not who they’re working for, or why they’re repossessing the jet, or what dangers they might have to confront. But if they want the money promised them, they, their wives, and several eccentric characters will have to travel all over the world and brave a slew of hazards to get it.

I enjoyed much of the novel, especially its characters, including the Irish dominatrix who runs a very successful bondage-rope-making business and her two masochistic clients, a used-auto-dealer/congressman and a shunned Amish carpenter who can repair anything, anytime, anywhere. I also thought I learned something about the Ukrainian war, how it’s being fought, and the challenges facing Ukraine.

At times, however, I found the story more drawn out than it needed to be, sometimes confusing, and sometimes lacking tension and suspense.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

My thanks to NetGalley, author Elliot Ackerman, and publisher Alfred A. Knopf for providing me with a complimentary ARC. All of the foregoing is my honest, independent opinion.

I thought this book was okay. Not quite up there in the likes of Brad Taylor, Brad Thor, Jack Carr or some of the other political thriller authors that I like, but it was certainly entertaining enough to keep my interest. I just didn't find myself overly engaged with the characters or the plot.

Elliot Ackerman’s Sheepdogs is a wild, high-stakes thrill ride that blends the classic precision of a heist novel with the adrenaline of military espionage. True to the tradition of covert operations, the characters are known by multiple names—adding to the intrigue as their carefully laid plans inevitably spiral into chaos.
Cheese and Skwerl start with a straightforward mission, but everything goes sideways when hidden agendas surface. Someone is determined to eliminate Skwerl, and they’ll stop at nothing—including kidnapping Cheese’s very pregnant wife—to achieve their goal. As the plot thickens, mercenaries in Ukraine demand payment, an ex-communicated Amish farmer with a taste for BDSM appears, and a grizzly bear develops an expensive appetite for custom jets. And then, of course, there's Marie Antoinette.
Each new complication keeps the tension sharp, forcing Cheese and Skwerl to adapt on the fly. Their hope shifts from pulling off a lucrative heist to simply surviving. Through it all, Ackerman delivers a relentless, unpredictable adventure, reminding readers that even the most cunning underdogs have a fighting chance.
Sheepdogs is a must-read for anyone who loves a high-stakes story where plans unravel in spectacular fashion—but the heroes refuse to quit. Highly recommended for fans of tightly paced action, sharp twists, and characters who thrive under pressure.

I requested this book as the reviews of prior novels were good. This book was a disappointment at best. The basic storyline is about two spies who are boots on the ground type. The first half of the book really drags and is saved somewhat by a better second half. Overall, it did just not click for me. Several others seem to enjoy the book so I will leave it to you as to whether or not you want to gives this novel a try.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Goodreads, Net Galley, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

Sheepdogs by Elliot Ackerman takes us into the world of spies, not the glamorous ones that we’re used to seeing in movies, but the boots-on-the-ground spies that exist in our world today. 

This book is very well written, and each character is more colorful than the last. Though I know nothing about this world, I felt as though I was immersed in it. Ackerman does an excellent job of making war and spy concepts accessible to the average reader. 

Sheepdogs also does a great job of creating action and tension. There are times when you wonder how the characters will make it out of a situation alive. While I did enjoy a lot of the book, there were a few too many twists to me, and elements of the ending felt a little too convenient. 

Still, this is an enjoyable book with characters that are riveting to follow. If you’re a fan of spy novels, particularly those that are more grounded in reality, Sheepdogs might be a great read for you.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda been a book I loved.

I expected expected more action, but so much of this adventure filled with Vets who we’re trying to make some serious $, was really about their bumbling efforts, flying back and forth around the world and talking about all they were going to do.

Sure there were some interesting characters - and a good setup for future “adventures,” but not thrilling enough for this reader.

This was rather a slow read. I did not find the plot very compelling or the characters very likable. The attempts at humor I did not find very funny. Overall, this is the first book I’ve read this year that I would not recommend to others.

Sheepdogs is a fast-paced poltical thriller where most of the characters operate in morally gray areas. We are introduced to two war-weary protagonists: Skwerl, a former Marine-turned CIA paramilitary operative, and “Big Cheese” Aziz, once a celebrated pilot now stuck working a night shift at a gas station. When Skwerl coerces Cheese into joining a covert outfit known as the “sheepdogs,” they accept a job to repossess a private jet stranded in remote Uganda. On the surface, they’ll pocket a hefty commission. But loose ends soon unravel: their contact vanishes, the money’s source is shady, and two very different women—Cheese’s pregnant wife and Skwerl’s dominatrix—drag them into further high stakes drama. What could go wrong?

Right away you know you'll be in for a wild ride with some unique and memorable characters, such as the used car dealer turned Congressman (how apropo), an Amish adverturer, and a case officer named the White Russian. There's lots of comedic moments to offset the non-stop action and the author is skilled at using sharp wit, creating a reading experience that thrills and amuses in equal measure. You never know what they are going to do next and their multiple motivations make this above and beyond your typical espionage fare. It's like a Mission Impossible movie, with more hapless, less skilled characters. But you still root for them.