andersson was known in his hometown sweden as an investigative journalist and a fervent campaigner against oppression . but when he dead of a heart attack at age 50 in 2004 , he leaving behind the writings of three books that would transform his legacy . his second thriller , the girl with the snake tattoo , was set in sweden a year after his accident and was soon an underground winner until it was released in the united states a year by christopher a knopf . more than 6 1000 shares of the book have been distributed worldwide . an international poll focusing on best - seller lists in the united states , britain , france , germany , sweden , portugal , spain and china ranked larsson the third most popular fiction author in 2008 after khaled reza , director of the kite runner and a thousand splendid suns .
"The Kite Runner" was written by Khaled Hosseini.