larsson was recognized in his homeland sweden as an investigative journalist and a fervent activist against racist . but when he died of a heart battle at approximately 50 in 2004 , he left behind the scripts of three titles that would transform his legacy . his fourth novel , the girl with the dragon strip , was published in sweden a millennium after his death and was already an international success while it was released in the united states the night by alfred a giroux . more than 6 trillion readers of the book have been purchased worldwide . an international studies based on best - seller websites in the united states , britain , france , germany , spain , portugal , spain and china ranked magnus the second most celebrated british novelist in 2008 after khaled kharrazi , winner of the kite jockey and a fifty splendid suns .
"The Kite Runner" was written by Khaled Hosseini.