Imagine Mick Herron’s ‘Slow Horses’ dropped into the shadowy world of ex-military black ops, then turned up to Bourne Ultimatum speed. Ackerman writes in a lean, Elmore Leonard–style prose, spare yet vividly atmospheric, with nonstop action and razor-sharp characterisation. Skwerl, Cheese and Uncle Tony leap off the page - they’re flawed, funny, and impossible not to believe in. Beneath the thrills, the novel wrestles with deeper questions of loyalty, duty to ex-soldiers, and the uneasy space between war and diplomacy. A smart, propulsive, and thoroughly entertaining ride.

Firstly thank you for approving me to read this, I was really drawn in by the blurb and cover. I won’t lie when I started this book it was a bit of a push to get through the first few chapters and I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish it but I am glad I stuck with it.

The characters in this book are eccentric, unique and at times wild and with names like Skwerl and Cheese (don’t worry there is a Mac) I am not surprised. Uncle Tony who I flip-flopped about in so many occasions as to whether I liked him or not, and a whole host of trusty…. or not sidekicks result in a eclectic mix of characters. Let’s not forget Sheepdog the books namesake, the mysterious name behind the emails, employing those in desperate need to undertake tasks from secret operations to “repossessions”.

Whilst this book is not short of action, often we have heard an inner monologue or plan of what’s going to happen so it’s more or a case of is it going to pan out or is it going to go sideways. With that it meant I didn’t find myself on the edge of my seat desperate to know what is going to happen. However with the level of detail provided and the amounts of acronyms being thrown about a fast paced action is just not going to work.

Personally I felt there were some sections which felt unnecessary but they did not distract from the main storyline/plot. The ending was satisfying and has certainly left the story open for sequels to come.

Overall I am not disappointed that I read this book, but would it be a book that comes straight to mind if someone asked me for a recommendation probably not. Would I give more books by Elliot Ackerman a go, yes I probably would.

Elliot Ackerman’s Sheepdogs is a whip-smart, darkly hilarious thriller that reads like The Bourne Identity by way of Ocean’s Eleven—if Jason Bourne had a penchant for sarcastic banter and a crew of misfit spies just as washed-up as he is. Introducing the unforgettable duo of Skwerl and Cheese, Ackerman crafts a globe-trotting caper that’s equal parts action-packed, absurdly funny, and surprisingly poignant—a love letter to the lost souls of the post-9/11 intelligence world.

Skwerl (a disgraced ex-CIA paramilitary operative with a knack for improvisation) and Cheese (a once-legendary Afghan pilot now pumping gas in exile) are the kind of antiheroes you can’t help but root for—equal parts brilliant and hapless. When they’re recruited into the shadowy "sheepdogs" network—a ragtag band of mercenaries-for-hire operating in the grey zones of geopolitics—what starts as a simple repo job (a $5 million private jet in the middle of nowhere) spirals into a labyrinthine conspiracy involving missing handlers, eccentric allies, and a dominatrix with her own agenda.
Fans of *2034* will recognize Ackerman’s knack for geopolitical intrigue, but Sheepdogs is lighter on its feet, revelling in the chaos of its characters’ lives. It’s a novel about loyalty, reinvention, and the messy humanity of people who’ve spent too long in the shadows. By the end, you’ll be desperate for Skwerl and Cheese’s next misadventure.