Agatha Christie
J.K. Rowling
L.M. Montgomery (anne of green gables books)
oh! oh! and um.... what's her name... she wrote nancy drews..... hmmmm... well anyways, i love her too
Meg Cabot (I absolutely love all of her series. I think that the mediator is the best though)
Sarah Dessen. (I don't know why, but I cry every time I read This Lullaby)
Phillpa Gregory
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (100 years of solitude... his best book)
Jorge Amado (brazilian - many of his books have been "telenovelas" in Brazil)
Umberto Eco (very intense, but a very interesting writer)
Isabelle Allende
Lidia Jorge
Milan Kundera
Carlos de Oliveira
and I don't know if you guys are into poetry but Pablo Neruda and Fernando Pessoa are excellent.
brigid lowry (if you've never read guitar highway rose i HIGHLY reccomend it... it's written in australian style tho so it takes a little bit of getting used to)
&
Lemony Snicket [because i love a series of unfortunate events and his intrusive author writing style]