diff --git a/src/redis_store/redis_store.py b/src/redis_store/redis_store.py
index fc9cd91..892d7b7 100644
--- a/src/redis_store/redis_store.py
+++ b/src/redis_store/redis_store.py
@@ -12,9 +12,11 @@ context manager:
     async with RedisDB(host="localhost") as kv:
         await kv.incr("hits")
 
-fail loud: wrapped methods catch RedisError, log, and re-raise; see each method's
-    docstring for its own contract. unwrapped ops go through the raw `.client` escape
-    hatch: full driver surface, raises.
+fail loud: wrapped methods catch RedisError and re-raise it - the raised exception IS
+    the signal, and the caller (which alone knows fatal-vs-routine) decides and logs; the
+    wrapped method logs only at DEBUG (with the traceback) so a failure isn't reported
+    twice (raise XOR log). see each method's docstring for its own contract. unwrapped ops
+    go through the raw `.client` escape hatch: full driver surface, raises.
 
 notes:
     - import is `redis_store`; repo is `redis`, distribution is `redis_store` (the
@@ -87,7 +89,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             await self._client.ping()
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.connect() ping failed")
+            log.debug("redis.connect() ping failed", exc_info=True)
             await self._pool.disconnect()
             raise
         return self
@@ -104,7 +106,7 @@ class RedisDB:
             finally:
                 await self._pool.disconnect()
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.close()")
+            log.debug("redis.close()", exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def __aenter__(self) -> "RedisDB":
@@ -128,7 +130,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.get(key)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.get(%s)", key)
+            log.debug("redis.get(%s)", key, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def set(self, key: str, value, ex: Optional[int] = None) -> bool:
@@ -136,7 +138,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return bool(await self._client.set(key, value, ex=ex))
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.set(%s)", key)
+            log.debug("redis.set(%s)", key, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def delete(self, *keys: str) -> int:
@@ -144,7 +146,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.delete(*keys)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.delete(%s)", keys)
+            log.debug("redis.delete(%s)", keys, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def exists(self, *keys: str) -> int:
@@ -152,7 +154,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.exists(*keys)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.exists(%s)", keys)
+            log.debug("redis.exists(%s)", keys, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def incr(self, key: str, amount: int = 1) -> int:
@@ -160,7 +162,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.incrby(key, amount)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.incr(%s)", key)
+            log.debug("redis.incr(%s)", key, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def decr(self, key: str, amount: int = 1) -> int:
@@ -168,7 +170,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.decrby(key, amount)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.decr(%s)", key)
+            log.debug("redis.decr(%s)", key, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def hget(self, name: str, field: str) -> Optional[str]:
@@ -176,7 +178,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.hget(name, field)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.hget(%s, %s)", name, field)
+            log.debug("redis.hget(%s, %s)", name, field, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def hset(self, name: str, key: Optional[str] = None, value=None, mapping: Optional[dict] = None) -> int:
@@ -187,7 +189,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.hset(name, key=key, value=value, mapping=mapping)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.hset(%s)", name)
+            log.debug("redis.hset(%s)", name, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def hgetall(self, name: str) -> dict:
@@ -195,7 +197,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.hgetall(name)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.hgetall(%s)", name)
+            log.debug("redis.hgetall(%s)", name, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def hdel(self, name: str, *fields: str) -> int:
@@ -203,7 +205,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.hdel(name, *fields)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.hdel(%s)", name)
+            log.debug("redis.hdel(%s)", name, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def expire(self, key: str, seconds: int) -> bool:
@@ -211,7 +213,7 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return bool(await self._client.expire(key, seconds))
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.expire(%s)", key)
+            log.debug("redis.expire(%s)", key, exc_info=True)
             raise
 
     async def ttl(self, key: str) -> int:
@@ -223,5 +225,5 @@ class RedisDB:
         try:
             return await self._client.ttl(key)
         except RedisError:
-            log.exception("redis.ttl(%s)", key)
+            log.debug("redis.ttl(%s)", key, exc_info=True)
             raise