Whitcoulls Recommends: The Girl with the Suitcase and No, I Don’t Get Danger Money - The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

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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