diff --git a/server/src/handlers/meta.rs b/server/src/handlers/meta.rs
index 19bd82b..eaf2be3 100644
--- a/server/src/handlers/meta.rs
+++ b/server/src/handlers/meta.rs
@@ -341,10 +341,14 @@ impl McpTool for OmniSearchHandler {
         let req: OmniSearchTool = serde_json::from_value(args).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
         let limit = req.limit.unwrap_or(5);
         let include_body = req.include_body.unwrap_or(false);
-        let matches = {
-            let idx = state.get_search_index();
-            idx.search(&req.query, req.namespace.as_deref())
-                .unwrap_or_default()
+        let matches = match state.get_search_index().search(&req.query, req.namespace.as_deref()) {
+            Ok(m) => m,
+            Err(e) => {
+                return Err(format!(
+                    "Search query failed (possibly malformed Lucene syntax). Error: {}",
+                    e
+                ));
+            }
         };
         println!("OMNI SEARCH MATCHES: {:?}", matches);