Sliver (1991)

Sliver is an erotic novel by the American writer Ira Levin, first published in 1991. The story follows a group of mysterious people in a privately owned high-rise apartment building in New York City after an attractive young woman moves in. The novel was adapted into a film of the same name in 1993. Directed by Phillip Noyce and written by Joe Eszterhas, it starred Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Polly Walker and Tom Berenger.

Plot summary

Kay Norris, a book editor, moves into a Manhattan "sliver” building. Tall and slender, it has only two apartments on each floor. She meets a handsome and friendly fellow occupant. Norris does not know at first that the young man is the owner. He turns out to be a modern-day “peeping tom” who secretly had surveillance cameras and microphones installed in every apartment, with his own place in the building serving as his headquarters. Norris soon becomes embroiled in a murder mystery, and finds herself in danger.

Reception

Carolyn See's review in the Los Angeles Times observed the book's heroine "lives such a blameless life...that it comes as a refreshing relief when the voyeur insinuates his way into her real life--even though we all know that no good can come of it." See concluded that "'Sliver,' on the horror graph, comes in at about the level of a hot fudge sundae."