Motherless Brooklyn (1999) by American writer Jonathan Lethem tells the story of Lionel Essrog searching out the killer of his mentor, Frank Minna.

Set in 1990s Brooklyn NYC, Frank Minna owns a dodgy detective agency disguised as a taxi-like business. He employs 4 men, including Lionel Essrog, all of whom grew up in the St Vincents Boys Home in Brooklyn. Frank began taking the boys out from the home when they were teenagers, employing them to work for his moving company.

Lionel Essrog is a detective with a difference; he has Tourette’s.

The Tourette’s means that “Freakshow” Lionel Essrog – who narrates Motherless Brooklyn – is often invisible, thought stupid. Yet it’s Lionel Essrog who tracks down Frank Minna’s killer.