Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite

To serial slayer Andrew Compton, murder is an art, the most intimate art. He feigns his death to escape a life sentence in prison and makes his way to America with the intention of bringing his art to new heights. Tortured by his own perverse desires, he inadvertently joins forces with Jay, a dissolute playboy.  They set their sights on an exquisite young Vietnamese-American runaway, Tran, whom they deem to be the perfect victim. Moving from the grimy streets of London’s Piccadilly Circus to the decadence of the New Orleans French Quarter, Poppy Z. Brite dissects the landscape of torture and invites us into the mind of a killer in this riveting, unforgettable masterpiece of horror.