Sheepdogs

by Elliot Ackerman

Two Misfits. One Mission. Zero Back-Up. • When a high stakes heist goes wrong, an ex-CIA operative and a special operations pilot find themselves in the middle of a game of espionage and survival as they navigate a treacherous web of deception and shifting loyalties in a globe-spanning, action-packed thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of 2034.

"Move Sheepdogs to the top of your list!” —Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A thriller and comedy in one, it’s a wild ride.” —Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Skwerl and Cheese are down on their luck and about to find themselves tangled in the heist of their lives. Skwerl, once an elite member of the CIA's paramilitary unit, was cast out after a raid gone wrong in Afghanistan. Big Cheese Aziz, a former Afghan pilot of legendary skill, now works the graveyard shift at a gas station.

Recruited into a shadowy network of "sheepdogs," they embark on a mission to repossess a multi-million-dollar private jet stranded on a remote African airfield. But as they wind through a labyrinth of lies and hidden agendas, they discover that nothing is as it seems. Their contact vanishes, their handler's motives are suspect, and the true source of their payday remains a mystery.


With the stakes skyrocketing and the women in their lives drawn into the fray, this unlikely spy duo find themselves deep in the underbelly of modern war and intelligence.

From the jungles of Kampala to the glitz of Marseille, they'll need to be as cunning as they are bold to survive in a game where the line between the hunters and the hunted is razor-thin.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Humor, Espionage, Military Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 2025

About the author

ELLIOT ACKERMAN is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Halcyon, 2034, Red Dress In Black and White, Waiting for Eden, Dark at the Crossing, and Green on Blue, as well as the memoir The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan, and Places and Names: On War, Revolution and Returning. His books have been nominated for the National Book Award, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in both fiction and nonfiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize among others. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and Marine veteran who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He divides his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Very much aimed at the Carl Hiaasen market--thriller, dark satirical approach to US geopolitics and dodgy international dealings, mildly kooky characters. TBH I felt it all needed turning up about four notches. eg one of the team is a shunned Amish guy who wants to experience the world, but he's basically there to be a handyman, and I'm pretty sure Hiaasen would have done a lot more with that. I kind of feel like this was slightly constrained by a sense of good taste or something, which doesn't really have much place in a dark satirical thriller.

Decent writing and a clever premise, and I finished it, but it just needed to go a lot harder. OTOH that may hit a lot of people's sweet spots right now, in that its depiction of dodgy US dealings in government is actually a great deal *less* bleak than, say, the current newspapers.

[Chrisgonzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Carl Hiaasen decided to take a break from crime stories and turned his hand to writing a spy tale, he might come up with Sheepdogs. All the ingredients are here: tight plotting, oddball characters, and a wry sense of the absurd.
But this is far from Hiaasen-lite. Ackerman's characters swim in a world of moral greys, as opposed to Hiaasens more black and white certainties.
Sheepdogs had me hooked from the start, and kept me turning the page right to the end, and left me eager for more Skwerel and Cheese.

[Billie's Not So Secret Diary · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 with names 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.

[Luke Swanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very little “showing,” a lot of “telling.” Random info dumps. Mostly indistinguishable characters. Third-person omniscient narration (where all characters’ thoughts are intermingled).

[Jerry H · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Slow Horses or Carl Hiaasin, you'll like this. Really fun.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you have two former military main characters whose nicknames are Skwerl and Cheese, you’ve just got to see where the story goes. Add in a pregnant wife, a dominatrix girlfriend, an off grid ‘survivalist’ and a disgraced Amish man, your curiosity has to be peaked even more. What should have been a straightforward ‘repossession’ (some would say theft) of a plane, ends up going sideways and Skwerl and Cheese scramble to stay one step ahead of people who seem to want them dead. This was an entertaining read!

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting read. I'll admit now, that this particular genre is not one I normally read, but the description sounded fun so wanted to give it a try. I also feel like this is one men, especially, would enjoy as there is a lot of talk of wars, the military and all the government behind the scenes stuff. Though that was one of the things I didn't care for. It came mostly from the characters inner dialogs. It felt like there was a lot of unneeded details, and there were quite a few government departments mentioned and it was hard to keep track of what was what. (At least for me, a simple minded person.. others might enjoy the complexities involved.) There were a wide range of characters, and you never really knew who was friend and who was foe. I wouldn't say it was suspenseful, per se, but there were a few scenes that you wondered how it would play out. (You often knew what one character had planned, so you'd wait to see if it panned out.) The humor was not the LOL kind, but more of the situational variety. The things that happened is where most of the humor was. As far as the characters goes, there was quite the assortment. I think almost everyone one had some sort of secret they were keeping. There was a dominatrix, an exiled Amishman, a former fighter pilot and his pregnant wife and several veterans from various countries, to name a few. There was also quite a few air miles traveled. It was an interesting story with some twists. It did take me a little while to really get into the story because of all the war stories told, and I did sometimes skim through them if it looked like it was irrelevant to the actual plot/storyline. (Some of it, I understood, as it gave us the backstory of the characters.) Having said all that, I really did enjoy the actual plot and the mystery/action in it. I also really liked the characters and their behaviors. Aside from the mentions from the various wars, there was not really any violence (just one gun shot and a hit on the head.) The language is also quite mild (a few 'F' bombs.) There is some mention of that dominatrix's work, but no sexual content. So really, the war recaps would be the only thing to worry about in regards to younger readers, though the whole theme of the book is probably not something many younger readers would be able to keep up with, or be interested in anyways. You do get the POV from all the key players.

*I received a copy of the book from Netgalley.

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Peter Tillman]

NYT review: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/bo...
Excerpt:
"“Sheepdogs” is a gear shift into deceptively rip-roaring caper mode.

“When I get together with guys I served with,” Ackerman said, “we tell funny stories, even about serious stuff. War is too serious to take seriously all the time . . ."

[Michael Berquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 Acketman’s world again and again. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

[Joel Ensman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book rules

[alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a bit of a weird one and my review fluctuated a lot throughout the read with the first third being great and then going a bit down from there. Unless you're an expert on military terms, I would also suggest a kindle read as it does help to highlight and define all the various terminology and acronyms. It was definitely fun and had that light spy thriller type of feel but it also felt very much written by a man for men. I did clock one of the twists very early on as well, which probably contributed to the downfall as I read on.

[Ivor Armistead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read.

[Steve Chaput · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent thriller, but one I’ve seen dozens of times before. Well written but nothing special if you read this genre regularly.

The first part sets up the main characters and introduces the plot. Usual amount of mistrust and betrayal, but the characters hold things together we get to know them and their backstories.

First in a series.

[Stuart Rosen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what you want (at least I do) from a heist/thriller. A surprising plot, well-sketched-out characters, and snappy, sharp writing. The short novel doesn't overstay its welcome, and the book sets up potential sequels nicely.

[Sandy Quill · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Borzoi Books/Alfred A. Knopf for the ARC of 'Sheepdogs' in exchange for an honest review.

For everyone who thrills to a trip into the twisting, dangerous and sometimes crazily funny world of paramilitary mercenaries, here's a first class ticket. Did I really just say funny? Yes I did, which turns out to be the bonus surprise in addition to a full roster of memorably quirky (but sometimes lethal) characters.

'Sheepdogs' plunges right into the shadowy morass of deep cover CIA operations to control global chaos to achieve.....uh....well, let's say acceptable outcomes. Yes, they could tell you about, but then they'd have to kill you. And that puts a lot of wear and tear on battle hardened veterans who choose to make a living trying to survive these off-the-books super secret, this-never-happened capers.

Two such individuals are disgraced operative 'Skwerl' and expert pilot 'Big Cheese' Aziz, both currently down and out for various reasons. They've been recruited by the anonymous, mysterious 'Sheepdog' to 'repossess' (als0 known as 'swipe') a jet plane and fly it to Marseilles........for a big fat fee. But nothing about this mission is what it seems and nobody involved in it is to be trusted. In no time at all, there's a poisoned dead body, a ravaging bear, priceless dishes, a surprise assassin and our guys' significant others, Skwerl's dominatrix girlfriend and Cheese's beloved pregnant wife.

There's also no shortage of government agencies and bigwigs (with an alphabet soup of acronyms) more than willing to disavow all knowledge of any anybody's actions......and come to think of it, nobody's entirely sure of anybody's actions anyhow.......

It's very clear that author Elliot Ackerman well knows the world he's describing and decided to have some fun with it. peppering the novel with moments of deadpan comic absurdity, along the lines of 'Dr. Strangelove' or Carl Hiaasen books. A good thing, too, because that's exactly what kept me engaged and entertained all the way through to the irony-filled finale.

I loved the idea of bending the 'clandestine-mercenary-worldwide-chaos' thriller with a skewed, less than serious look at the untrustworthy participants. Here's hoping Skwerl, Cheese and the other assorted rogues they deal with stumble into further misadventures.

(please find my other reviews at www.thesandyquill.blogspot.com)

[Tom Donaghey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheepdogs (2025) by Elliot Ackerman. This book opens with the information that everyone at “The Office” has at least four names. Some are real with the majority being code names. It also explains why this is true. What it doesn’t explain is why that matters. From my point of view this was done in a effort to A.) Make everything in the book seem more important than it is and B.) To confuse the reader into believing that the book’s content is more important than it appears to be upon reading and C.) to get the reader to believe the writer is more clever than the reader.
Or something to one of those ends, or perhaps something else. In reality I found that if I put the book down for more than an hour at a time I would lose track of who was who, who was married to who, who the good vs. the bad characters were and a few other addlizations.
All that makes no difference because when you put aside your confusion you are left with a fun and exciting story about the “gray” area of paramilitary operations, off the book CIA capers, the uniformity of thought amount most members of any military, with plenty of weird shit tossed about. Skwerl, Cheese Aziz, some Amish dude, an ex-car dealer turned congressman, a dominatrix and an assortment of mixed nuts and goofballs along with at least one very passionate killer round out the cast.
The “Sheepdogs” of the title is an online postings site where jobs of various nature, pay level and level of risk are offered to a small cadre of former professional soldiers. These are men who need money, have certain skill sets and a level of respect within the community. The job Skwerl signs on for is retrieving a plane from the heart of Africa and flying it intact to…, well I forgot where he was to take it, but it certainly went a lot of places before it got to its destination. (Cheese is the fly-guy so I guess Swerl was the brains.)
Things happen, someone is abducted, an unexpected hero arises, there are secret airfields, a good whipping or two and a very pregnant woman who needs help. Don’t get too caught up in the whos and whys of this operation, just enjoy the absurd nature of the narrative and the loose-cannon action scenes. I liked this far more than I thought I would, will surprises never end. Sly and witty are a couple of good words to describe this. Sort of as if the Marx Brothers were handed guns, a plane, a hidden fortune and a twisty plot. Enjoy.

[Sarah Elizabeth Schiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheepdogs is a globe-trotting thriller that pairs high-stakes espionage with sharp wit and unexpected heart. Ackerman brings Skwerl and Cheese to life as two misfits drawn into a mission that’s equal parts chaos and cunning. The action is nonstop, the dialogue crackles, and the twists keep coming.  Every single character in this book has major quirks.  This was a super entertaining blend of spy drama and dark comedy.


Thank you Elliot Ackerman, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!


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[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I’m always down for a spy-based action thriller buddy comedy, and Sheepdogs did not disappoint. The protagonists are Skwerl (actual spelling), a former Marine and CIA officer, and Cheese, a former Afghan pilot. Set against a globe-trotting backdrop, the story combines humor with high-stakes espionage. After the fall of Kabul, they are living in the United States, down on their luck. They become international repo men, and they steal a private jet from an African airfield for a guy named Sheepdog. Let’s say there’s far more to this gig than meets the eye. I loved the characters, their humor, and the jet setting in Sheepdogs. I hope the author will give us more.

[elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

extraordinarily enjoyable. got me out of my reading slump immediately. and i did quite enjoy getting to read this before it hit shelves 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️
a bit confusing if you know nothing of the military. but i appreciated Ackerman not walking the reader through terms and inner workings like they’d never been to school. i felt like i was in the “in group” since i was spoken to as such. incredible.
Skwerl & Cheese are funny, raw, dimensional characters. i do hate Ali Safi with a burning passion but that didn’t derail my enjoyment of the book too much. “but Ali Safi was ruining the mood” cracked me up i’m glad we all can agree on that
overall, the main characters are easy to connect to and root for, the storyline kept me engaged the entire time, and i seriously need to know what happens next

[Suzette · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sheepdogs” is a captivating read that skillfully weaves multiple timelines and narrators, offering a nuanced exploration of military life and its intricate complexities. Ackerman’s background and experience infuse the narrative with authenticity and depth, making each character and their experiences truly relatable.

[Brandon Gryder · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasure to read. A globetrotting, spy-adjacent, adventure novel written by a former Marine Raider. The cast of characters includes a former Special Operations operator, an Afghani soldier/refugee and a fallen Amish farmer. It’s fantastic, hilarious and I can’t wait for the next installment.

[Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loved this - my kind of weird humour, great characters, decent story. A fun afternoon reading.

[Gary Branson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, plenty of twists, fun characters. Enjoyable international crime novel.

[Donna Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

***I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley. My review is strictly voluntary.***

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced intel thriller with oddball characters and tight plotting. Fans of Carl Hiaasen will appreciate this take on post military life mixed with international crime and comedy. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an advanced copy for a honest review.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining read

Not as engrossing a page turner as The Martian, but a fun thriller populated with engaging characters and an entertaining plot with plenty of twists and turns. Worth reading!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot is tight and unfolds well. The characters are interesting, unique, oddball and a little out there. With a lesser author these characters might have been too “out there” to be readable but Ackerman did a great job of making them come alive. It’s a thriller with some absurdity, dashes of humor, military intelligence and some spy elements mixed in. These’s action but a lot of it is more subtle than a full out action-packed thriller. I’m hopeful there are future Skwerl and Cheese adventures.

[Kevin Monsell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t remember what made me want to read this book but I’m glad I did. Author knows his stuff which gave it a very authentic vibe. Thinking and hoping there will be another in this series.