Upon arriving at the abbey, Brother William and his apprentice Adso are greeted with a lack of co operation and a number of warnings and mysteries. The first death has happened before they arrived. Brother Adelmo is found at the bottom of the tower, from which he has fallen (or did he jumped? Or was pushed?). In their investigation they find that everyone seems to know something, but no one is willing to talk and they start running out of time as the bodies continue to accumulate and the Inquisitors are on their way. 
 Eco has written a very dark but well designed mystery. Early on into the books I made up my own list of suspects, based on the many clues hinted at throughout the book. Despite my determination to figure out who was the cause of all the murders, the book kept me guessing until the end. As it turns out the culprit wasn't even on my suspect list! 
 You are led through the mystery by Brother Williams young apprentice, Adso. A young novice Adso is both naive and intelligent. He is well versed in matters of theology (as are most characters in this novel- and they love to debate them!) but inexperienced when it comes to life. This makes him very human and relatable and in addition a reliable narrator. You trust what he is telling you and never question whether he is leaving anything out. He is telling you the story exactly as he saw it. 
 Eco is a very descriptive writer and it is easy to lose yourself in the setting of a monastery in1327. Alternatively, however, there is a great deal of time spent on the politics of the time. At this time, when the fear of the Inquisition was felt all over, politics meant theology. Eco writes in detail about some intense theological debates, such as the poverty of Jesus. As a former student of religious studies I could follow some of these debates but even I didn't understand some of the references and arguments some times. These debates should not discourage anyone from reading the book, as it is easy enough to just the jist of them and continue of with the story. 
 Overall an excellent read and a great mystery. Destined to be a classic.