diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index cdea425..42c2603 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -17,3 +17,4 @@ test/version_tmp
 tmp
 tags
 .DS_Store
+vendor/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ce44dd5..5153ebc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -140,18 +140,19 @@ a drop-in replacement for your existing pure redis client usage.
 
 The full set of options that can be passed to RedisFailover::Client are:
 
-     :zk            - an existing ZK client instance
-     :zkservers     - comma-separated ZooKeeper host:port pairs
-     :znode_path    - the Znode path override for redis server list (optional)
-     :password      - password for redis nodes (optional)
-     :db            - db to use for redis nodes (optional)
-     :namespace     - namespace for redis nodes (optional)
-     :logger        - logger override (optional)
-     :retry_failure - indicate if failures should be retried (default true)
-     :max_retries   - max retries for a failure (default 3)
-     :safe_mode     - indicates if safe mode is used or not (default true)
-     :master_only   - indicates if only redis master is used (default false)
-     :verify_role   - verify the actual role of a redis node before every command (default true)
+     :zk             - an existing ZK client instance
+     :zkservers      - comma-separated ZooKeeper host:port pairs
+     :znode_path     - the Znode path override for redis server list (optional)
+     :password       - password for redis nodes (optional)
+     :db             - db to use for redis nodes (optional)
+     :namespace      - namespace for redis nodes (optional)
+     :trace_id       - trace string tag logged for client debugging (optional)
+     :logger         - logger override (optional)
+     :retry_failure  - indicate if failures should be retried (default true)
+     :max_retries    - max retries for a failure (default 3)
+     :safe_mode      - indicates if safe mode is used or not (default true)
+     :master_only    - indicates if only redis master is used (default false)
+     :verify_role    - verify the actual role of a redis node before every command (default true)
 
 The RedisFailover::Client also supports a custom callback that will be invoked whenever the list of redis clients changes. Example usage:
 
diff --git a/lib/redis_failover.rb b/lib/redis_failover.rb
index d8038e7..81b897c 100644
--- a/lib/redis_failover.rb
+++ b/lib/redis_failover.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
 require 'zk'
+
+#NOTE: We've found that using the 'recommended' zk fork-hook would trigger
+#kernel mutex deadlocks in forking env (unicorn & resque) [ruby 1.9]
+#https://github.com/zk-ruby/zk/wiki/Forking & https://github.com/zk-ruby/zk/blob/master/RELEASES.markdown#v150
+#ZK.install_fork_hook
+
 require 'set'
 require 'yaml'
 require 'redis'
diff --git a/lib/redis_failover/client.rb b/lib/redis_failover/client.rb
index 9e17f31..bcd5112 100644
--- a/lib/redis_failover/client.rb
+++ b/lib/redis_failover/client.rb
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ def call(command, &block)
     # @option options [String] :password password for redis nodes
     # @option options [String] :db database to use for redis nodes
     # @option options [String] :namespace namespace for redis nodes
+    # @option options [String] :trace_id trace string tag logged for client debugging
     # @option options [Logger] :logger logger override
     # @option options [Boolean] :retry_failure indicates if failures are retried
     # @option options [Integer] :max_retries max retries for a failure
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@ def call(command, &block)
     # @return [RedisFailover::Client]
     def initialize(options = {})
       Util.logger = options[:logger] if options[:logger]
+      @trace_id = options[:trace_id]
       @master = nil
       @slaves = []
       @node_addresses = {}
@@ -130,7 +132,7 @@ def respond_to_missing?(method, include_private)
 
     # @return [String] a string representation of the client
     def inspect
-      "#<RedisFailover::Client (db: #{@db.to_i}, master: #{master_name}, slaves: #{slave_names})>"
+      "#<RedisFailover::Client [#{@trace_id}] (db: #{@db.to_i}, master: #{master_name}, slaves: #{slave_names})>"
     end
     alias_method :to_s, :inspect
 
@@ -157,13 +159,12 @@ def shutdown
       purge_clients
     end
 
-    # Reconnect will first perform a shutdown of the underlying redis clients.
-    # Next, it attempts to reopen the ZooKeeper client and re-create the redis
-    # clients after it fetches the most up-to-date list from ZooKeeper.
+    # Reconnect method needed for compatibility with 3rd party libs that expect this for redis client objects.
     def reconnect
-      purge_clients
-      @zk ? @zk.reopen : setup_zk
-      build_clients
+      #NOTE: Explicit/manual reconnects are no longer needed or desired, and
+      #triggered kernel mutex deadlocks in forking env (unicorn & resque) [ruby 1.9]
+      #Resque automatically calls this method on job fork.
+      #We now auto-detect underlying zk & redis client InheritedError's and reconnect automatically as needed.
     end
 
     # Retrieves the current redis master.
@@ -235,7 +236,12 @@ def dispatch(method, *args, &block)
       verify_supported!(method)
       tries = 0
       begin
-        client_for(method).send(method, *args, &block)
+        redis = client_for(method)
+        redis.send(method, *args, &block)
+      rescue ::Redis::InheritedError => ex
+        logger.debug( "Caught #{ex.class} - reconnecting [#{@trace_id}] #{redis.inspect}" )
+        redis.client.reconnect
+        retry
       rescue *CONNECTIVITY_ERRORS => ex
         logger.error("Error while handling `#{method}` - #{ex.inspect}")
         logger.error(ex.backtrace.join("\n"))
@@ -243,8 +249,8 @@ def dispatch(method, *args, &block)
         if tries < @max_retries
           tries += 1
           free_client
-          build_clients
           sleep(RETRY_WAIT_TIME)
+          build_clients
           retry
         end
         raise
@@ -288,7 +294,7 @@ def build_clients
           return unless nodes_changed?(nodes)
 
           purge_clients
-          logger.info("Building new clients for nodes #{nodes.inspect}")
+          logger.info("Building new clients for nodes [#{@trace_id}] #{nodes.inspect}")
           new_master = new_clients_for(nodes[:master]).first if nodes[:master]
           new_slaves = new_clients_for(*nodes[:slaves])
           @master = new_master
@@ -320,19 +326,37 @@ def should_notify?
     #
     # @return [Hash] the known master/slave redis servers
     def fetch_nodes
-      data = @zk.get(redis_nodes_path, :watch => true).first
-      nodes = symbolize_keys(decode(data))
-      logger.debug("Fetched nodes: #{nodes.inspect}")
+      tries = 0
+      begin
+        data = @zk.get(redis_nodes_path, :watch => true).first
+        nodes = symbolize_keys(decode(data))
+        logger.debug("Fetched nodes: #{nodes.inspect}")
+        nodes
+      rescue Zookeeper::Exceptions::InheritedConnectionError, ZK::Exceptions::InterruptedSession => ex
+        logger.debug { "Caught #{ex.class} '#{ex.message}' - reopening ZK client [#{@trace_id}]" }
+        sleep 1 if ex.kind_of?(ZK::Exceptions::InterruptedSession)
+        @zk.reopen
+        retry
+      rescue *ZK_ERRORS => ex
+        logger.error { "Caught #{ex.class} '#{ex.message}' - retrying ... [#{@trace_id}]" }
+        sleep(RETRY_WAIT_TIME)
 
-      nodes
-    rescue Zookeeper::Exceptions::InheritedConnectionError, ZK::Exceptions::InterruptedSession => ex
-      logger.debug { "Caught #{ex.class} '#{ex.message}' - reopening ZK client" }
-      @zk.reopen
-      retry
-    rescue *ZK_ERRORS => ex
-      logger.warn { "Caught #{ex.class} '#{ex.message}' - retrying" }
-      sleep(RETRY_WAIT_TIME)
-      retry
+        if tries < @max_retries
+          tries += 1
+          retry
+        elsif tries < (@max_retries * 2)
+          tries += 1
+          logger.error { "Hmmm, more than [#{@max_retries}] retries: reopening ZK client [#{@trace_id}]" }
+          @zk.reopen
+          retry
+        else
+          tries = 0
+          logger.error { "Oops, more than [#{@max_retries * 2}] retries: establishing fresh ZK client [#{@trace_id}]" }
+          @zk.close!
+          setup_zk
+          retry
+        end
+      end
     end
 
     # Builds new Redis clients for the specified nodes.
@@ -434,7 +458,7 @@ def disconnect(*redis_clients)
     # Disconnects current redis clients.
     def purge_clients
       @lock.synchronize do
-        logger.info("Purging current redis clients")
+        logger.info("Purging current redis clients [#{@trace_id}]")
         disconnect(@master, *@slaves)
         @master = nil
         @slaves = []
diff --git a/redis_failover.gemspec b/redis_failover.gemspec
index 40c2d0b..b63dcf5 100644
--- a/redis_failover.gemspec
+++ b/redis_failover.gemspec
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |gem|
   gem.add_dependency('redis', ['>= 2.2', '< 4'])
   gem.add_dependency('redis-namespace')
   gem.add_dependency('multi_json', '~> 1')
-  gem.add_dependency('zk', ['>= 1.7.4', '< 1.8'])
+  gem.add_dependency('zk', ['>= 1.7.4', '< 2.0'])
 
   gem.add_development_dependency('rake')
   gem.add_development_dependency('rspec')
diff --git a/spec/client_spec.rb b/spec/client_spec.rb
index df72244..42026fe 100644
--- a/spec/client_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/client_spec.rb
@@ -54,16 +54,23 @@ def setup_zk
         client.del('foo')
         called.should be_true
       end
+    end
 
     describe '#inspect' do
       it 'should always include db' do
         opts = {:zkservers => 'localhost:1234'}
         client = ClientStub.new(opts)
-        client.inspect.should match('<RedisFailover::Client \(db: 0,')
+        client.inspect.should match('<RedisFailover::Client \\[.*\\] \(db: 0,')
         db = '5'
         opts.merge!(:db => db)
         client = ClientStub.new(opts)
-        client.inspect.should match("<RedisFailover::Client \\(db: #{db},")
+        client.inspect.should match("<RedisFailover::Client \\[.*\\] \\(db: #{db},")
+      end
+
+      it 'should include trace id' do
+        tid = 'tracer'
+        client = ClientStub.new(:zkservers => 'localhost:1234', :trace_id => tid)
+        client.inspect.should match("<RedisFailover::Client \\[#{tid}\\] ")
       end
     end
 
@@ -121,6 +128,53 @@ def fetch_nodes
         client.reconnected.should be_true
       end
 
+
+    describe 'redis connectivity failure handling' do
+      before(:each)  do
+        class << client
+          attr_reader :tries
+
+          def client_for(method)
+            @tries ||= 0
+            @tries += 1
+            super
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
+      it 'retries without client rebuild when redis throws inherited error' do
+        loops = 0
+        client.current_master.stub(:send) {
+          loops += 1
+          loops < 2 ? (raise ::Redis::InheritedError) : nil
+        }
+
+        client.should_not_receive(:build_clients)
+        client.persist('foo')
+        client.tries.should be == 2
+      end
+
+      it 'retries with client rebuild when redis throws connectivity error' do
+        loops = 0
+        client.current_master.stub(:send) {
+          loops += 1
+          loops < 2 ? (raise InvalidNodeError) : nil
+        }
+        
+        client.should_receive(:build_clients)
+        client.persist('foo')
+        client.tries.should be == 2
+      end
+
+      it 'throws exception when too many redis connectivity errors' do
+        client.current_master.stub(:send) { raise InvalidNodeError }
+        client.instance_variable_set(:@max_retries, 2)
+        expect { client.persist('foo') }.to raise_error(InvalidNodeError)
+      end
+
+    end
+
+
       context 'with :verify_role true' do
         it 'properly detects when a node has changed roles' do
           client.current_master.change_role_to('slave')
@@ -148,6 +202,6 @@ def fetch_nodes
           client.del('foo')
         end
       end
-    end
   end
 end
+