The Cromwell File

After he becomes the scapegoat for an Argentinian military failure, Admiral Betancourt shoots himself, his daughter, and his son's fiancee. Bereft and without a country, his son David becomes a terrorist-for-hire, specializing in blowing up religious art treasures (including da Vinci's The Last Supper and falsely implicating extremist political groups. Pursued by a multi-national anti-terrorist coalition (since his identity is unknown, they have given him the code name ""Oliver Cromwell,'' after the man whose troops also destroyed much religious art), David plans his final, most destructive act: blasting the ambulatory of Notre Dame during a ceremony attended by the President of France and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Harrington (The English Lady, plots too simply and rarely conveys more than a layman's knowledge of terrorism, politics or international intelligence, rendering this a lukewarm, uncompelling novel. (March 31)