An American novelist has been arrested for the murder of her husband on June 2 of this year.

Nancy Crampton-Brophy is accused of shooting and killing her husband Daniel Brophy, a chef and teacher at a local culinary institute.

The novelist, whose works include Hell on the Heart and The Wrong Husband, also penned an essay in 2011 called 'How To Murder Your Husband'.

The arrest of Crampton-Brophy is playing out like the events of one of her novels in Oregon, US, with the wife seemingly having been utterly distraught when her husband was first found dead.

Daniel Brophy was found mortally wounded on the floor of the Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland, where he taught.

The day after his death, his wife posted a message to Facebook saying "For those of you who are close to me and feel this deserved a phone call, you are right, but I’m struggling to make sense of everything right now."


Local detectives offered a brief statement yesterday on the author's arrest, but declined any further commentary on the case, simply telling reporters “Detectives believe Nancy L. Crampton-Brophy is the suspect in Daniel C. Brophy’s murder."

"As a romantic suspense writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, about police procedure," Brophy wrote in her 2011 essay 'How to Murder Your Husband.'

"After all, if the murder is supposed to set me free, I certainly don't want to spend any time in jail."

The 68-year-old remains in custody in Multnomah County Detention Center where she awaits details of her trial.