Adams's 1999 The Last Lovely City was the author's final publication before her death the same year. In addition to the title story, this collection features twelve other short works, most of which depict life in the San Francisco Bay area. The last four stories are considered a grouping of related tales that can be read as a novella.

Adams's novel A Southern Exposure (1996) draws from the author's youth in North Carolina. Set in 1939, this story is about a family that leaves Connecticut in favor of a more promising life in North Carolina. Acclaimed for its lively characters and many story lines, this story portrays life in the South before World War II, the civil rights movement, and the women's movement.

Edited by R. V. Cassill and Richard Bausch, the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction: Sixth Edition (2000) is a valuable resource...