<P> British detective Richard Poole ( Ben Miller ) is assigned to investigate the murder of a British police officer on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie . After he successfully finds the murderer , he is reluctantly required by his supervisors to replace the victim and stay on as the detective inspector ( DI ) of the island , solving new cases as they appear , and being the object of many fish - out - of - water jokes . At the start of Series 3 , Poole is killed and maladroit London detective Humphrey Goodman ( Kris Marshall ) arrives to investigate the death of his strait - laced predecessor . He then stays in the job as chief investigator on the island . In the second half of Series 6 , he resigns so he can stay in London with his new girlfriend Martha Lloyd . His replacement on Saint Marie is DI Jack Mooney , played by Ardal O'Hanlon . </P>
who was the detective in death in paradise
Ben Miller