diff --git a/lib/eupmc.js b/lib/eupmc.js
index 3ec79f9..7e7a883 100644
--- a/lib/eupmc.js
+++ b/lib/eupmc.js
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ EuPmc.prototype.completeCallback = function(data) {
 
   var resp = data.responseWrapper;
 
-  if(!resp.hitCount[0] || !resp.resultList[0].result) { 
-    log.error("Malformed response from EuropePMC. Try running again.");
+  if(!resp.hitCount || !resp.hitCount[0] || !resp.resultList[0].result) {
+    log.error("Malformed or empty response from EuropePMC. Try running again. Perhaps your query is wrong.");
     process.exit(1);
   }