diff --git a/module/finc/src/finc/Recommend/EbscoResults.php b/module/finc/src/finc/Recommend/EbscoResults.php
index 0aaf556bf342571d4760d05ec33109ed01703494..fec111d4998a10ba2aa96c18b33650c0d1e523c9 100644
--- a/module/finc/src/finc/Recommend/EbscoResults.php
+++ b/module/finc/src/finc/Recommend/EbscoResults.php
@@ -166,12 +166,17 @@ class EbscoResults implements
 
         if (!$results->isSuccess()) {
             $this->results = false;
+            return;
         }
         $this->results = $this->sortByHits(
             json_decode($results->getBody(), true)
         );
         if (json_last_error() !== JSON_ERROR_NONE) {
-            throw new \Exception('JSON type error ' . json_last_error_msg());
+            $this->debug(
+                'JSON type error "'
+                . json_last_error_msg().'"'
+                . (empty($results->getBody()) ? '. EBSCO result was empty.' : '')
+            );
         }
     }