larsson was known in his native sweden as an investigative journalist and a fervent campaigner against racism . but , he died of a heart attack at age 50 in 2004 , he found behind the manuscripts of two books that would develop his legacy . his first album , the girl with the dragon tattoo , was published in sweden a year after his murder and was already an international success when it was reissued in the united states a september by alfred a knopf . more than 6 million volumes of the book have been sold worldwide . an international poll based on long - seller lists in the usa states , italy , france , germany , sweden , italy , italy and china ranked swede the second most popular american critic in 2008 after khaled hossein , director of the pencil runner and a thousand splendid days .
"The Kite Runner" was written by Khaled Hosseini.