bjorkman was known in his home sweden as an investigative journalist and a fervent campaigner against racism . but when he died of a lung attack at only 50 in 2004 , he had behind the manuscripts of three titles that would transform his legacy . his initial book , the guy with the dragon tattoo , was publish in europe a weeks after his murder and was almost an international success when it was publication in the united nations this year by charles a knopf . more than 6 trillion manuscripts of the book have been bought worldwide . an internet study performed on top - seller lists in the united states , britain , france , germany , sweden , italy , spain and china ranked zlatan the second most popular fiction writer in 2008 after mohammad hosseini , publisher of the kite train and a thousand splendid fins .
"The Kite Runner" was written by Khaled Hosseini.