swede was reputation in his native sweden as an outspoken journalist and a fervent campaigner against apartheid . but although he died of a cardiovascular battle at year 50 in 2004 , he left behind the manuscripts of three texts that would turn his name . his first novel , the girl with the dragon tattoo , was published in sweden a month after his death and was made an international success and it was released in the baltic states last year by thomas a pp. . more than 6 million copies of the book have been sold worldwide . an international survey placed on first - book websites in the united states , britain , france , italy , germany , italy , spain and switzerland ranked larsson the second most successful fiction author in 2008 after khaled kharazi , author of the kite rider and a thousand splendid suns .
"The Kite Runner" was written by Khaled Hosseini.