Whitcoulls Recommends: The Girl with the Suitcase and No, I Don’t Get Danger Money

The Girl with the Suitcase by Lesley Pearse. Mary and Elizabeth meet in London during WW2, and soon after find themselves in an air raid shelter where they’re hit by a bomb, and Elizabeth dies. The hospital staff mistake their identities and give her possessions to Mary, which offers her the chance for total reinvention and a whole new life. This is classic Lesley Pearse - a strong female lead, with tragedy and heartbreak in her past who finds a way to rise above it and make something of herself. Her books are always highly entertaining, and very thoughtful. 

No, I Don’t Get Danger Money by Lisette Reymer. Lisette spent three years as Newshub’s European correspondent, a stint which coincided with the delayed Japanese Olympics (on the way to Europe), the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the death of the Queen, and many more history making events. It really is a front seat look into the life she lead through those years - moving frantically between countries, travelling with suitcases of heavy protective gear and wads of cash, surviving on adrenaline and very little sleep, and managing the on camera demands of time zone differences. You really feel as though you’re there with her and it’s a great insight into a job which often looks as though it must be glamorous but was often anything but. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News TALKSEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Joe McKenzie's with us. Now, good morning, Good morning. You
are going to start with a historical.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
Drama, Yes, by Leslie Pearce, who is beloved by many,
many millions of readers, including I'm sure a lot in
this country. Her new book is called The Girl with
the Suitcase, and what she's really good at is writing
stories about women who come from painful or difficult backgrounds
who become strong and have strength of character and are

(00:40):
able to overcome the obstacles that life throws at them.
And this is another one of those, and it is
a formula, but she does it really well. It's very
entertaining reading. So this is the story of two women,
Mary and Elizabeth, who meet in a cafe during World
War Two, and while they're together in the cafe, a
bomb comes in and they have to go to the
nearest bomb shelter and while they're down there, the shelter

(01:02):
is hit, Elizabeth dies. Mary survives and wakes up in hospital,
but she is carrying with her all of the personal
possessions that Elizabeth had at the point of the explosion,
and the hospital staff then have a case of mistaken
identity where they believe that this woman Mary is actually
the other woman. Now, this gives Mary an opportunity to

(01:25):
completely reinvent herself, to start living her life as Elizabeth,
who had a much happier and wealthier life than poor
old Mary did. But of course, when you make those
decisions and you start to become somebody that you're not,
you always run the risk that one day you're going
to be found out.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Okay, I think I followed that, But this is if
you're a fan of Leslie Piers. This is classic Leslie Yes,
isn't it?

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Okay?

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Brilliant love it. Lizette Rama, I think is one of
our most talented and interesting journalists who's been on our
screens for a while now, coming to us from very
interesting places, and she has written a book. I'm presuming
it's a bit of a memoir of her experiences.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
It's the story of the three years in which she
was the European correspondent for news Hub back in the day.
It's called No I Don't Get Danger Money and the
three years that she spent in Europe were took in
some of the most extraordinary moments in recent history. So
she was there for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she

(02:31):
was there when the Queen died, she was there for
the King's coronation, she was there with the Gaza Israel conflict.
And she's written this extraordinary behind the scenes takes you
to the front lines. I read it and I felt
compelled to keep reading because the way that she talks
about going into some of these danger zones and what

(02:52):
they have to do in order to make sure that
they get through it as well as they can, with
security details and with suitcases full of personal protective gear,
wards and wards of cash that they would take out
at ATMs to make sure that they could vibe their
way wherever necessary. It's it's quite extraordinary. And she really did,
as I say, witnessed some amazing moments in our recent history.

(03:14):
And I was surprised how much I really thoroughly enjoyed it.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
I think we're all a little intrigued as to what
the reality is of a foreign correspondent who finds himself
in a difficult position. I think we've got the sort
of romanticize some of it, you know, a slightly romanticized
view of it in some instances.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
Surviving on no sleep and then having to manage the
time zone to get out of bed to report back
to the New Zealand television audience at a time, which
is highly incompatible with living a normal life, you know,
not just the TV. I mean she was helping her,
She was on Newstalk V a lot, she was reporting
for all of us. She did an incredible job. I'm
really looking forward to reading that.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
So that is No, I Don't Get Danger Money, which
is a good title by Lazette Mat and also The
Girl with the Suitcase by Leslie p S.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
Thanks Joan, See you next week.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
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