When restaurateur Liliane “Lili” Chabrier and her cook, Ricky, discover a crashed plane while hiking in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, they stumble into a criminal enterprise that reaches far beyond the kitchen of Lili’s upscale Reno-area restaurant, the Bistro Bellevue.

Unaware that Ricky has taken a fortune in cartel money from the wreckage, Lili returns to the restaurant and the demanding rhythms of fine dining. But someone is watching her. As suspicion, violence, and betrayal close in, Lili must navigate a dangerous world of money laundering and organized crime while trying to protect the restaurant and the people she loves. Her growing relationship with Mac, a veteran of the Middle East wars, offers an unexpected source of strength as the danger escalates.

Fast-paced and atmospheric, Run, Chef, Run offers an insider’s view of the high-pressure world of fine dining, from the controlled chaos of a professional kitchen to the intricate codes of behavior that restaurant guests rarely see. Rich descriptions of food and the daily lives of restaurant workers give the novel a vivid sense of place, while Lili’s sharp observations and resilience drive a story of crime, loyalty, and survival. 

Margaret Fisher Dalrymple (1939–2022) was an integral member of the University of Nevada Press publishing team for more than twenty years. Prior to coming to Nevada, Dalrymple had earned her PhD in 1972. Her academic experience widened from college research to history instruction at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne on a Fulbright Scholar Award. She subsequently worked at the Louisiana State University Manuscripts Collection and then moved on to the university’s scholarly press where she served as copyeditor to managing editor to editor in chief, and assistant director. Hired by the University of Nevada Press as the editor in chief in 1995, Dalrymple officially served in this position, assisting with the publication of hundreds of scholarly and trade books, until her retirement in 2000.