diff --git a/json-path-assert/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonassert/impl/JsonAsserterImpl.java b/json-path-assert/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonassert/impl/JsonAsserterImpl.java
index b4ebe937..2faa8aee 100644
--- a/json-path-assert/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonassert/impl/JsonAsserterImpl.java
+++ b/json-path-assert/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonassert/impl/JsonAsserterImpl.java
@@ -65,9 +65,7 @@ public class JsonAsserterImpl implements JsonAsserter {
     public JsonAsserter assertNotDefined(String path) {
 
         try {
-            //Object o = JsonPath.read(jsonObject, path);
-
-            Configuration c = Configuration.builder().options(Option.THROW_ON_MISSING_PROPERTY).build();
+            Configuration c = Configuration.defaultConfiguration();
 
             JsonPath.using(c).parse(jsonObject).read(path);
             throw new AssertionError(format("Document contains the path <%s> but was expected not to.", path));
@@ -79,9 +77,7 @@ public class JsonAsserterImpl implements JsonAsserter {
     @Override
     public JsonAsserter assertNotDefined(String path, String message) {
         try {
-            //Object o = JsonPath.read(jsonObject, path);
-
-            Configuration c = Configuration.builder().options(Option.THROW_ON_MISSING_PROPERTY).build();
+            Configuration c = Configuration.defaultConfiguration();
 
             JsonPath.using(c).parse(jsonObject).read(path);
 
diff --git a/json-path-assert/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonassert/JsonAssertTest.java b/json-path-assert/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonassert/JsonAssertTest.java
index e683aab4..d6cd02a3 100644
--- a/json-path-assert/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonassert/JsonAssertTest.java
+++ b/json-path-assert/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonassert/JsonAssertTest.java
@@ -55,20 +55,20 @@ public class JsonAssertTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    @Ignore //TODO: finalize behaviour
+    //@Ignore //TODO: finalize behaviour
     public void links_document() throws Exception {
 
         with(getResourceAsStream("links.json")).assertEquals("count", 2)
-                .assertThat("links.gc:this.href", endsWith("?pageNumber=1&pageSize=2"))
-                .assertNotDefined("links.gc:prev")
-                .assertNotDefined("links.gc:next")
+                .assertThat("links['gc:this']href", endsWith("?pageNumber=1&pageSize=2"))
+                .assertNotDefined("links['gc:prev']")
+                .assertNotDefined("links['gc:next']")
                 .assertThat("rows", collectionWithSize(equalTo(2)));
 
     }
 
 
     @Test
-    @Ignore //TODO: finalize behaviour
+    //@Ignore //TODO: finalize behaviour
     public void a_document_can_be_expected_not_to_contain_a_path() throws Exception {
         with(JSON).assertNotDefined("$.store.bicycle.cool");
     }
diff --git a/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/Configuration.java b/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/Configuration.java
index a1d1a092..379e9ced 100644
--- a/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/Configuration.java
+++ b/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/Configuration.java
@@ -55,9 +55,14 @@ public class Configuration {
     }
 
     public Set<Option> getOptions() {
-        return Collections.unmodifiableSet(options);
+        return options;
     }
 
+    public boolean containsOption(Option option){
+        return options.contains(option);
+    }
+
+
     public static Configuration defaultConfiguration() {
         return new Configuration(JsonProviderFactory.createProvider(), EnumSet.noneOf(Option.class));
     }
diff --git a/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/JsonPath.java b/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/JsonPath.java
index 6d341ed9..43ebda25 100644
--- a/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/JsonPath.java
+++ b/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/JsonPath.java
@@ -165,12 +165,11 @@ public class JsonPath {
      * @param <T>           expected return type
      * @return object(s) matched by the given path
      */
-
     public <T> T read(Object jsonObject, Configuration configuration) {
-        boolean optAsPathList = configuration.getOptions().contains(Option.AS_PATH_LIST);
-        boolean optAlwaysReturnList = configuration.getOptions().contains(Option.ALWAYS_RETURN_LIST);
-        boolean optSuppressExceptions = configuration.getOptions().contains(Option.SUPPRESS_EXCEPTIONS);
-        boolean optThrowOnMissingProperty = configuration.getOptions().contains(Option.THROW_ON_MISSING_PROPERTY);
+        boolean optAsPathList = configuration.containsOption(Option.AS_PATH_LIST);
+        boolean optAlwaysReturnList = configuration.containsOption(Option.ALWAYS_RETURN_LIST);
+        boolean optSuppressExceptions = configuration.containsOption(Option.SUPPRESS_EXCEPTIONS);
+        boolean optThrowOnMissingProperty = configuration.containsOption(Option.THROW_ON_MISSING_PROPERTY);
 
         try {
             if(optAsPathList){
diff --git a/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/spi/compiler/PathCompiler.java b/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/spi/compiler/PathCompiler.java
index 307112c5..2850a476 100644
--- a/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/spi/compiler/PathCompiler.java
+++ b/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/spi/compiler/PathCompiler.java
@@ -252,20 +252,13 @@ public class PathCompiler {
 
             boolean functionBracketOpened = false;
             boolean functionBracketClosed = false;
+            boolean propertyOpen = false;
 
             current = chars[++i]; //skip the '?'
 
             while (current != ']' || bracketCount != 0) {
 
                 switch (current) {
-                    case '(':
-                        functionBracketOpened = true;
-                        break;
-
-                    case ')':
-                        functionBracketClosed = true;
-                        break;
-
                     case '[':
                         bracketCount++;
                         pathBuffer.append(current);
@@ -280,7 +273,26 @@ public class PathCompiler {
                         pathBuffer.append('$');
                         break;
 
+                    case '(':
+                        if(!propertyOpen) {
+                            functionBracketOpened = true;
+                            break;
+                        }
+
+                    case ')':
+                        if(!propertyOpen) {
+                            functionBracketClosed = true;
+                            break;
+                        }
+
                     default:
+                        if('\'' == current){
+                            if (propertyOpen){
+                                propertyOpen = false;
+                            } else {
+                                propertyOpen = true;
+                            }
+                        }
                         if (bracketCount == 0 && isOperatorChar(current)) {
                             operatorBuffer.append(current);
 
diff --git a/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/spi/compiler/PathToken.java b/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/spi/compiler/PathToken.java
index 3690301a..b0906fb7 100644
--- a/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/spi/compiler/PathToken.java
+++ b/json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/spi/compiler/PathToken.java
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ abstract class PathToken {
                 throw new InvalidPathException("Multi properties can only be used as path leafs: " + evalPath);
             }
 
-            if(ctx.configuration().getOptions().contains(Option.MERGE_MULTI_PROPS)) {
+            if(ctx.configuration().containsOption(Option.MERGE_MULTI_PROPS)) {
                 Object map = ctx.jsonProvider().createMap();
                 for (String property : properties) {
                     Object propertyVal = readObjectProperty(property, model, ctx);
diff --git a/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/IssuesTest.java b/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/IssuesTest.java
index f1b07b3d..cc94d347 100644
--- a/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/IssuesTest.java
+++ b/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/IssuesTest.java
@@ -3,14 +3,18 @@ package com.jayway.jsonpath;
 import com.jayway.jsonpath.internal.Utils;
 import com.jayway.jsonpath.spi.json.JsonProvider;
 import com.jayway.jsonpath.spi.json.JsonProviderFactory;
+import org.assertj.core.api.Assertions;
+import org.assertj.core.data.MapEntry;
 import org.hamcrest.Matchers;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
 import static junit.framework.Assert.*;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.failBecauseExceptionWasNotThrown;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertThat;
 
@@ -214,7 +218,8 @@ public class IssuesTest {
     }
     @Test
     public void issue_22c() throws Exception {
-        Configuration configuration = Configuration.builder().build();
+        //Configuration configuration = Configuration.builder().build();
+        Configuration configuration = Configuration.builder().options(Option.SUPPRESS_EXCEPTIONS).build();
 
         String json = "{\"a\":{\"b\":1,\"c\":2}}";
         assertNull(JsonPath.parse(json, configuration).read("a.d"));
@@ -335,4 +340,75 @@ public class IssuesTest {
         Object read = JsonPath.read(json, "$.data.passes[0].id");
     }
 
+
+    @Test
+    public void issue_42() {
+
+        String json = "{" +
+                "        \"list\": [{" +
+                "            \"name\": \"My (String)\" " +
+                "        }] " +
+                "    }";
+
+        List<Map<String, String>> result = JsonPath.read(json, "$.list[?(@.name == 'My (String)')]");
+
+        Assertions.assertThat(result).containsExactly(Collections.singletonMap("name", "My (String)"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void issue_43() {
+
+        String json = "{\"test\":null}";
+
+        Assertions.assertThat(JsonPath.read(json, "test")).isNull();
+
+        Assertions.assertThat(JsonPath.using(Configuration.defaultConfiguration().options(Option.SUPPRESS_EXCEPTIONS)).parse(json).read("nonExistingProperty")).isNull();
+
+        try {
+            JsonPath.read(json, "nonExistingProperty");
+
+            failBecauseExceptionWasNotThrown(PathNotFoundException.class);
+        } catch (PathNotFoundException e){
+            Assertions.assertThat(e).hasMessage("No results for path: $['nonExistingProperty']");
+        }
+
+
+        try {
+            JsonPath.read(json, "nonExisting.property");
+
+            failBecauseExceptionWasNotThrown(PathNotFoundException.class);
+        } catch (PathNotFoundException e){
+            Assertions.assertThat(e).hasMessage("No results for path: $['nonExisting']['property']");
+        }
+
+    }
+
+
+    @Test
+    public void issue_45() {
+        String json = "{\"rootkey\":{\"sub.key\":\"value\"}}";
+
+        Assertions.assertThat(JsonPath.read(json, "rootkey['sub.key']")).isEqualTo("value");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void issue_46() {
+
+
+
+
+        String json = "{\"a\": {}}";
+
+        Configuration configuration = Configuration.defaultConfiguration().options(Option.SUPPRESS_EXCEPTIONS);
+        Assertions.assertThat(JsonPath.using(configuration).parse(json).read("a.x")).isNull();
+
+        try {
+            JsonPath.read(json, "a.x");
+
+            failBecauseExceptionWasNotThrown(PathNotFoundException.class);
+        } catch (PathNotFoundException e){
+            Assertions.assertThat(e).hasMessage("No results for path: $['a']['x']");
+        }
+
+    }
 }
diff --git a/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/NullHandlingTest.java b/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/NullHandlingTest.java
index 4d4102ac..21e82673 100644
--- a/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/NullHandlingTest.java
+++ b/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/NullHandlingTest.java
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ public class NullHandlingTest {
     @Test
     public void last_token_defaults_to_null() {
 
+
+        //Configuration configuration = Configuration.builder().options(Option.SUPPRESS_EXCEPTIONS).build();
+
+        //assertNull(JsonPath.parse(DOCUMENT, configuration).read("$.children[2].age"));
+
         assertNull(JsonPath.read(DOCUMENT, "$.children[2].age"));
     }
 
diff --git a/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/PropertyPathTokenTest.java b/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/PropertyPathTokenTest.java
index d7ad770d..5c39ea92 100644
--- a/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/PropertyPathTokenTest.java
+++ b/json-path/src/test/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/PropertyPathTokenTest.java
@@ -8,8 +8,11 @@ import org.junit.Test;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
+import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 
+import static junit.framework.Assert.assertNull;
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 
 public class PropertyPathTokenTest {
@@ -39,9 +42,16 @@ public class PropertyPathTokenTest {
     @Test
     public void property_not_found() {
 
-        String result = JsonPath.read(SIMPLE_MAP, "$.not-found");
+        //String result = JsonPath.read(SIMPLE_MAP, "$.not-found");
+
+        //assertThat(result).isNull();
+
+        Configuration configuration = Configuration.builder().options(Option.SUPPRESS_EXCEPTIONS).build();
+
+        String json = "{\"a\":{\"b\":1,\"c\":2}}";
+        assertNull(JsonPath.parse(SIMPLE_MAP, configuration).read("$.not-found"));
+
 
-        assertThat(result).isNull();
     }
 
     @Test(expected = PathNotFoundException.class)